Joey Chestnut, known as ‘Jaws,’ has been the most dominant competitive eater of all time, with 17 wins in the 20 Nathan’s contests he’s competed in. He has consumed 1,289 hot dogs during those competitions.
Early Life and Career
Chestnut grew up in Vallejo, California, with a reputation for being a fast eater. He was self-conscious about it, but his friends in college encouraged him to participate in a lobster-eating contest at a casino in Reno, Nevada.
That experience sparked his interest in competitive eating, and he went on to win a deep-fried asparagus eating contest at the Stockton Asparagus Festival in California. He has since set a world record in that contest, eating over 12 pounds of asparagus.
Training and Preparation
Chestnut follows a low-carb, high-protein diet and regularly practices eating large quantities of food to prepare for competitions. He has been competing in food-eating contests at minor league baseball games across the country, including eating 10 cheeseburger dogs in 83 seconds in Reading, Pennsylvania.
For the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, Chestnut plans to fast for 24 hours before the competition to ensure his body is empty and ready to digest the hot dogs. He will also simulate the contest by videotaping himself eating and having friends yell at him to push him to eat faster.
Original reporting: NBC10 Boston — read the source article.
