1
00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:04,880
Speaker 1: The Action Network Podcast. I'm just about that Action bosson.

2
00:00:05,519 --> 00:00:10,360
Speaker 2: He is the silent warrior who stands where land meets horizon,

3
00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:14,040
Speaker 2: steadfast and unshakable, a.

4
00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:17,759
Speaker 1: City on a hill wait for all to see. He

5
00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:21,520
Speaker 1: is a feed of light floating in the dark oil

6
00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:22,280
Speaker 1: of night.

7
00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:27,480
Speaker 2: Party is the very betsel of our freedom, the champion

8
00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:31,600
Speaker 2: of the fourth of July, the number one ranked eater.

9
00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:32,040
Speaker 3: In the world.

10
00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:33,600
Speaker 1: Joye.

11
00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:43,040
Speaker 3: Just hello everybody, and welcome back to the Action Network Podcast.

12
00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:48,120
Speaker 3: I'm Action Audio Director Matt Mitchell, and that stirring introduction

13
00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:52,479
Speaker 3: to today's episode comes to us from Master of Ceremonies

14
00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:57,400
Speaker 3: George Shay before the twenty nineteen edition of the Nathan's

15
00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:01,680
Speaker 3: Hot Dog Eating Contest. This year contest takes place on

16
00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:06,319
Speaker 3: Coney Island this Friday, the fourth of July, and to celebrate,

17
00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:09,120
Speaker 3: just like we did last year, I'll be joined by

18
00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:14,360
Speaker 3: Action Network predictive analyst and fellow competitive eating enthusiast doctor

19
00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,560
Speaker 3: Nick Giffin for a quick betting preview episode of the

20
00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,440
Speaker 3: podcast that will take place this Wednesday, and we'll give

21
00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:26,840
Speaker 3: our top bets for this Independence Day gastronomical right of passage.

22
00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:31,000
Speaker 3: But today we have a special treat in late May,

23
00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:34,880
Speaker 3: Nick and I had an exclusive interview with sixteen time

24
00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:39,680
Speaker 3: Hot Dog Contest champion Joey Chestnut shortly before breaking his

25
00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:44,360
Speaker 3: own popcorn eating record in Tara Haute, Indiana. We decided

26
00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:47,800
Speaker 3: to save that interview for today, the first day of July,

27
00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:51,800
Speaker 3: to set the table, so to speak, for the contest

28
00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:54,680
Speaker 3: this Friday. Nick and I will see you back here

29
00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:57,960
Speaker 3: on Wednesday with our favorite picks, but until then, please

30
00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:00,360
Speaker 3: enjoy this interview with joe Chess.

31
00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:05,600
Speaker 4: Today, we are honored to welcome on world champion competitive

32
00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:09,200
Speaker 4: eader Joey Chestnut, whoill attempt to set the official popcorn

33
00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:13,560
Speaker 4: eating world record this Memorial Day in South Terra Haute, Indiana,

34
00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:18,600
Speaker 4: in an event sponsored and hosted by Rural King. Joey. Welcome,

35
00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:21,639
Speaker 4: and please tell us about the record you are attempting

36
00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:25,160
Speaker 4: to break of twenty nine servings of twenty four ounces

37
00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:25,720
Speaker 4: of popcorn.

38
00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:26,560
Speaker 1: I did the math.

39
00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:29,560
Speaker 4: That's six hundred and ninety six ounces of popcorn. Tell

40
00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:30,080
Speaker 4: us about that.

41
00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:32,400
Speaker 1: Good, great to be all with you. This is actually

42
00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:34,600
Speaker 1: a record I set a few couple of years ago.

43
00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,760
Speaker 1: This is great because Real King is then known their

44
00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:40,840
Speaker 1: popcorn awesome popcorn, and they give it out for free,

45
00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:43,440
Speaker 1: but it's also delicious. They invited me to break the

46
00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:45,880
Speaker 1: record on Memorial Day and it's going down.

47
00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:49,720
Speaker 3: Joey. I've actually been to that South Terra Hate rural

48
00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:53,560
Speaker 3: king location. It is where my wife's grandmother, Mary Lou,

49
00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,160
Speaker 3: does a lot of her shopping. And obviously popcorn is

50
00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:00,480
Speaker 3: a famously light and puffy item. Do you have any

51
00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:04,760
Speaker 3: special training to prepare for the mechanics of unusual or

52
00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:05,840
Speaker 3: more unique foods like this?

53
00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:08,919
Speaker 1: Yeah, I have to find I find the right rhythm.

54
00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:11,440
Speaker 1: I'll be quick with drink my drinking. I'm when I

55
00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:14,560
Speaker 1: use the water literally water also just like almost makes

56
00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:17,160
Speaker 1: it almost vanish a little bit quicker. I'll pour it

57
00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:18,840
Speaker 1: in my hand a little bit and try to get it,

58
00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:20,679
Speaker 1: get it in and get it down. There's gonna be

59
00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:22,720
Speaker 1: a judge there if I make a mess, a lot

60
00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:26,240
Speaker 1: of deductions, but I usually I'm pretty clean. It's gonna

61
00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:28,640
Speaker 1: be buttery. It might be a sunny day in Indiana,

62
00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:30,600
Speaker 1: so it's a I'm gonna be glistening.

63
00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:33,919
Speaker 4: It's gonna be buttery. So that flavor enhancer there, which

64
00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:36,600
Speaker 4: is nice. I always like the good food when you're

65
00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:40,160
Speaker 4: doing these contests, whether it's popcorn or anything else. Are

66
00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:42,480
Speaker 4: there any other like factors that come into play, whether

67
00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:44,839
Speaker 4: it's environmental factors or just how you feel that day.

68
00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:48,360
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's there's tons of little things. You know, I

69
00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:51,280
Speaker 1: am crazy. I try to hide it, but I uh,

70
00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:55,760
Speaker 1: whether weather affects me. If it's it's I was thinking,

71
00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:58,200
Speaker 1: oh my god, it's Indiana. We have the wind, and

72
00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:00,520
Speaker 1: so I've been looking at the forecast. Make sure it's

73
00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:02,800
Speaker 1: not too windy because the wind might blow things around.

74
00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:05,520
Speaker 1: I really don't like when it's cold, because you know,

75
00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:07,640
Speaker 1: you're not flexible and it's cold, your muscles don't want

76
00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:10,720
Speaker 1: to stretch, and a lot of competitive eating, you're stretching

77
00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:14,240
Speaker 1: your your whole core to the max. Whether it won't

78
00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,280
Speaker 1: be really warm, won't be uh, it won't be freezing them.

79
00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:19,760
Speaker 1: And also the day you wake up, you got to

80
00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:21,680
Speaker 1: make sure you're able to breathe. If you wake up

81
00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:23,760
Speaker 1: with any kind of cold, your nasals are messed up.

82
00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:26,279
Speaker 1: I have to breathe through my nose the entire time.

83
00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:29,920
Speaker 1: And so those little things they and usually when I'm

84
00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:32,520
Speaker 1: even if I have a little something going on, I

85
00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:35,159
Speaker 1: can clear up. I'll use whatever I need to do

86
00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:37,920
Speaker 1: to be able to breathe. Moment of the contest. But

87
00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:41,240
Speaker 1: every food's a little bit different. So and this popcorn.

88
00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:44,440
Speaker 1: Last time I did it, there was some unpopped kernels

89
00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:47,440
Speaker 1: and I almost broke a tooth. It was real close.

90
00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:50,360
Speaker 1: So little things like that can say like it can

91
00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:53,120
Speaker 1: just really throw you off. But it's still eating. It's fun.

92
00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:55,080
Speaker 1: It's like the best thing in life. Every time I

93
00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:57,360
Speaker 1: think it's hard, all right, I still have the best

94
00:04:57,440 --> 00:04:58,440
Speaker 1: job in the world.

95
00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:01,680
Speaker 5: You know him from being a sixteen times Nathan's Hot

96
00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:05,800
Speaker 5: Dog Eating Contest winner. But Joey Chestnut was in Tara

97
00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:09,760
Speaker 5: Hate to take on a different challenge. Joey Chestnut took

98
00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:13,160
Speaker 5: the stage in Tara Hoe on Memorial Day. Chestnut crushed

99
00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:17,080
Speaker 5: his original record of eating thirty two twenty four ounce

100
00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,640
Speaker 5: bags of popcorn in just eight minutes. He ate five

101
00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:22,560
Speaker 5: more bags to shatter the record.

102
00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:25,680
Speaker 3: I'm delighted to hear that you still enjoy it so

103
00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:28,440
Speaker 3: much because you've been at it now for at least

104
00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:30,719
Speaker 3: twenty years. You've become something of Yeah.

105
00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:33,640
Speaker 1: Last month, actually twenty years since my first one. And

106
00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:39,440
Speaker 1: where was I Boomtown Casino in Reno. Wow, that was

107
00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:42,719
Speaker 1: lobster when I was twenty one years old. Jeez.

108
00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:45,039
Speaker 3: I mean, you have become truly an iron horse in

109
00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:48,880
Speaker 3: the space. When you first started, did you expect to

110
00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:50,880
Speaker 3: be going strong here in.

111
00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:55,480
Speaker 1: Oh my god, heck no. When I first started, I

112
00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:58,320
Speaker 1: was like not really not necessarily ashamed of it. But

113
00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:01,360
Speaker 1: I wasn't something like, oh, I'm telling everybody I'm doing this.

114
00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:03,680
Speaker 1: It was like I was in love with it. Then

115
00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:06,039
Speaker 1: it started to be more acceptable, and so eventually I

116
00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:08,360
Speaker 1: was able to give up my job in construction management

117
00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:11,800
Speaker 1: years later and I was able to Yeah, this is

118
00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:14,120
Speaker 1: who I am. I'm the best in the world, and

119
00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:15,080
Speaker 1: I'm proud of it.

120
00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:18,640
Speaker 4: So yeah, you mentioned how you got started, and you

121
00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:20,880
Speaker 4: and I both come from big families. I know about

122
00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:24,040
Speaker 4: your background, of course, and that's what got me into

123
00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:28,479
Speaker 4: my first competitive eating contests. So for me, you know,

124
00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:32,760
Speaker 4: I ate pizzas my first competition, just from a challenge

125
00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:35,760
Speaker 4: from my friends. But what are your favorite and least

126
00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:39,159
Speaker 4: favorite things to eat when it's you know, not aside

127
00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:41,000
Speaker 4: from hot dogs, which is the big one, what are

128
00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:43,240
Speaker 4: your favorite and least favorite things to do in a competition?

129
00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:46,919
Speaker 1: Ge, Pizza's up there, and well are your Homa contests?

130
00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:50,160
Speaker 4: Yeah, or just anything you know, but pizza.

131
00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:53,200
Speaker 1: Fun like I remember eating Pizza's Family and that was

132
00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:54,800
Speaker 1: one of the first times I got in trouble for

133
00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:57,880
Speaker 1: eating too much because it was just going down easy

134
00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:00,840
Speaker 1: and people can keep tracking numbers like, oh, you've had

135
00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:04,000
Speaker 1: so many slices pieces. It's still one of my favorites.

136
00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:08,320
Speaker 1: It's great. I love for contest food. It's good ribs.

137
00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:10,720
Speaker 1: We talked about rib Oh my god, ribs. I have

138
00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,680
Speaker 1: an awesome technique because I can use my face and

139
00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:16,440
Speaker 1: my hands to strip the meat off the bone. I

140
00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:18,800
Speaker 1: do the same thing with wings, although lately I haven't

141
00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:23,000
Speaker 1: been winning wing contests, but dude, recently I did a

142
00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:26,720
Speaker 1: blowny contest and dude, it was. It was crazy how

143
00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:29,440
Speaker 1: good it was. They smoked it. It was really delicious.

144
00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:33,200
Speaker 1: I blew out the record fifteen pounds and three quarter

145
00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:35,160
Speaker 1: pounds or eight minutes. I was hustling.

146
00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:36,560
Speaker 4: What about your least favorite?

147
00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:39,840
Speaker 1: Oh, least favorite. It goes back to foods that I love.

148
00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:42,520
Speaker 1: If it's the food I love and the sponsor somehow

149
00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:46,240
Speaker 1: messed it up, it really really is depressing that I

150
00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:47,720
Speaker 1: have to try to eat a whole bunch of it.

151
00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:49,440
Speaker 1: It's like, oh my god. Normally I love this food

152
00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:52,120
Speaker 1: and they did a bad job. I've done some chicken

153
00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:56,960
Speaker 1: wing and ribbed contests where they let they overcooked and

154
00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:00,800
Speaker 1: you can't distinguish meat from bone. That's just it's torture.

155
00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:07,280
Speaker 1: I did a Cabraine chocolate contest and that was that

156
00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:09,800
Speaker 1: was gnarmal. They looked like brands and they were a

157
00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:13,400
Speaker 1: little like metallic tasting. That one I won't be doing again,

158
00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:17,320
Speaker 1: or usually the sponsor wants to do a good job

159
00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:19,320
Speaker 1: with the food. I only do contest foods that I

160
00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:19,840
Speaker 1: that I like.

161
00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:22,960
Speaker 3: Speaking of foods, you like when you are out with

162
00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:26,600
Speaker 3: loved ones as a human being, like what is your

163
00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:27,840
Speaker 3: ideal meal?

164
00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:32,960
Speaker 1: Oh gosh, it's my ideal meal? And then it's I

165
00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:36,000
Speaker 1: get cravings. Some days it's Mexican. But the other day

166
00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:38,679
Speaker 1: I was craving Thai food and we had two different

167
00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:42,439
Speaker 1: types of noodles and two kinds of salad, the pious

168
00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:45,760
Speaker 1: salad and then a larb. And I mean, when I

169
00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:47,960
Speaker 1: get a craving for a food, it's kind of like

170
00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:50,640
Speaker 1: I'm going all in. If I go to a steakhouse,

171
00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:54,199
Speaker 1: it's me, me and my fiance. Well, I have two

172
00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:57,480
Speaker 1: different cuts of meat just so just because she's eating

173
00:08:57,559 --> 00:08:59,280
Speaker 1: half of hers and I meant in the other half

174
00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:01,120
Speaker 1: and I'm gonna make sure right like we're gonna try

175
00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:04,120
Speaker 1: something new. Uh. And when when it's yeah, when I

176
00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:07,839
Speaker 1: get it craving, I uh, and it's a weekend, I

177
00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:10,880
Speaker 1: go all out, but I have to be careful. My

178
00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:13,520
Speaker 1: normal day to day is I have to eat really

179
00:09:13,559 --> 00:09:18,720
Speaker 1: clean otherwise I gain weight. And when I gain weight,

180
00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:21,800
Speaker 1: then I don't eat well on the weekends and I

181
00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:26,079
Speaker 1: lose contests. So there's I have to eat. As much

182
00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:28,760
Speaker 1: as I love eating, I have to control it so that, uh,

183
00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:31,240
Speaker 1: when I do these contests, I'm able to perform. And

184
00:09:31,559 --> 00:09:33,480
Speaker 1: there's been times where I go and have them heavy

185
00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:35,839
Speaker 1: and I end up losing to people I shouldn't lose to,

186
00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:38,400
Speaker 1: and I have to I have to shake hands with

187
00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:40,280
Speaker 1: with fans who have driven a couple of hours, has

188
00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:41,719
Speaker 1: come to see me, and and that's a that's a

189
00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:43,920
Speaker 1: bummer that I that I didn't perform for them.

190
00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:47,680
Speaker 4: Yeah, you talk about losing, you hate losing. But in

191
00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:51,439
Speaker 4: multi person contests, how are you sizing up your competition

192
00:09:51,679 --> 00:09:53,960
Speaker 4: is there? Is it different for different events?

193
00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:58,719
Speaker 1: Oh? Absolutely, Yeah, every contest is a little different. Everybody

194
00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:01,760
Speaker 1: has every competit or has their strengths. I mentioned a

195
00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:03,800
Speaker 1: little bit ago it that I haven't won a wing contest

196
00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:05,880
Speaker 1: in a while. Well, that's because there's a guy from

197
00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:10,280
Speaker 1: Australia who's just an animal, James Webb, and he beat

198
00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:13,760
Speaker 1: me like three times in a row in wings and

199
00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:16,199
Speaker 1: I need to go back to the drawing board figure

200
00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:20,280
Speaker 1: out how to beat this guy, this Australian crocodile. Every

201
00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:23,280
Speaker 1: food has different strategies. For the most part, I'm able

202
00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:25,000
Speaker 1: to really figure him out.

203
00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:28,880
Speaker 3: Twenty years in. Do you consider yourself the greatest eater

204
00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:29,440
Speaker 3: of all time?

205
00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:33,559
Speaker 1: I don't know of all time. Once I'm done, and

206
00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:36,480
Speaker 1: ten years after I'm done, it'll be easier to look

207
00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:39,520
Speaker 1: at that. But I can do you confidently say I'm

208
00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:41,920
Speaker 1: the best one out there right now with the exception

209
00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:42,679
Speaker 1: to wingings.

210
00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:44,800
Speaker 3: How do you okay?

211
00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:47,760
Speaker 4: How do you feel for you know, Memorial Day? Do

212
00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:50,280
Speaker 4: you feel confident that you're going to break the record,

213
00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:51,000
Speaker 4: your own record?

214
00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:54,480
Speaker 1: I'm nervous. I'm nervous as heck. Like I said, I'm

215
00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:57,559
Speaker 1: hoping nothing throws me off. No crazy kernels to come

216
00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:01,040
Speaker 1: in there and break a tooth, no weird COFs. It's

217
00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:04,520
Speaker 1: only an eight minute event. So if I have some

218
00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:07,360
Speaker 1: water or popcorn goes down the wrong tube and a

219
00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:09,440
Speaker 1: cough could really throw me off. Just want to find

220
00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:11,679
Speaker 1: a rhythm real quick. There's gonna be a little bit

221
00:11:11,679 --> 00:11:14,079
Speaker 1: of dancing, like like there's a person that's going to

222
00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:16,200
Speaker 1: pour a new bag of popcorn in once my bull

223
00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:19,240
Speaker 1: is close to empty. So I'm hoping that person's on

224
00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:21,880
Speaker 1: top of their game and the week we can kind

225
00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:24,960
Speaker 1: of coordinate together, they can get in there so that. Yeah,

226
00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:27,800
Speaker 1: there's always little variables. But I wouldn't do it if

227
00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:29,640
Speaker 1: I didn't think. I wouldn't try if I didn't think

228
00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:32,199
Speaker 1: I could do it. So I'm really hoping I can

229
00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:35,439
Speaker 1: do it, but uh, it's it's gonna be a challenge.

230
00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:40,240
Speaker 3: The Joey last year who did not compete in the

231
00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:43,160
Speaker 3: Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Contast on July fourth? Is this

232
00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:45,880
Speaker 3: popcorn eating event kind of a Is this like a

233
00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:48,360
Speaker 3: warm up in your build up to that event this year?

234
00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:52,000
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, fourth of July. No matter what, I'll be

235
00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:54,520
Speaker 1: eating hot dogs on the fourth of July somewhere. I

236
00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:57,880
Speaker 1: love competition, I love pushing myself, and I've already started

237
00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:01,920
Speaker 1: training to eat eat hot dogs, so it's my body's

238
00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:04,640
Speaker 1: working really well, and I'm gonna be able to push

239
00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:06,120
Speaker 1: really really hard on tomorrow day.

240
00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:09,520
Speaker 4: Speaking of a pushing hard, you know, I was once

241
00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:12,960
Speaker 4: a aspiring competitive eater. I had my one year or so.

242
00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:15,880
Speaker 4: What advice do you have for people who do want

243
00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:17,200
Speaker 4: to do this or do you tell them to not

244
00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:17,679
Speaker 4: do this?

245
00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:22,640
Speaker 1: What advice do you have? Oh, it's competitive eating on paper,

246
00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:24,800
Speaker 1: when you look at it just really kind of like,

247
00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:28,720
Speaker 1: without digging deep, it looks really really unhealthy. But in

248
00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:30,360
Speaker 1: order to be a great competitive ear, you have to

249
00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:32,800
Speaker 1: be really in tune with your body and be able

250
00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:37,839
Speaker 1: to push your body. And so I tell people the

251
00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:40,440
Speaker 1: biggest thing is is learn about your body. Keep a

252
00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:44,040
Speaker 1: food journal and really log what you're eating and what

253
00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:47,120
Speaker 1: you're doing and how you're feeling. And you can learn

254
00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:49,240
Speaker 1: that you don't have to necessarily feel good to be

255
00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:51,520
Speaker 1: able to perform good. It's like there's days where I

256
00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:55,320
Speaker 1: don't feel like practicing. I feel tired and lethargic from

257
00:12:55,360 --> 00:13:00,200
Speaker 1: doing it, doing my fast beforehand, but I want to

258
00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,760
Speaker 1: get to get everything going. I find this rhythm and it's, uh,

259
00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:06,040
Speaker 1: it works. I think you have to learn about your

260
00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:08,760
Speaker 1: body or in order to really be great at pushing

261
00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:10,400
Speaker 1: your body to a crazy limit.

262
00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:15,240
Speaker 3: You're now at the rare air of competitive eating. You've

263
00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:18,680
Speaker 3: reached a pinnacle and maintained that pinnacle for quite some time.

264
00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:22,520
Speaker 3: What's the best part of being at that level right now?

265
00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:26,200
Speaker 1: Best part? Like when I was talking about it earlier,

266
00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:29,720
Speaker 1: I was I was in love with from the start.

267
00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:32,400
Speaker 1: But in the beginning, I was like, it was hard

268
00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:35,040
Speaker 1: to say that I am a competitive reader. Now being

269
00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:37,280
Speaker 1: at the top, it's it's easy to say it. Like, God,

270
00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:39,720
Speaker 1: this is my job, and I have the best job

271
00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:44,000
Speaker 1: in the world, and I can travel around eat beat people,

272
00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:48,040
Speaker 1: meet tons of people that love eating. It's just great.

273
00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:50,120
Speaker 1: Like almost every time I go to rest not every time,

274
00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:52,839
Speaker 1: but like I go to restaurants and then like like

275
00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:55,960
Speaker 1: the head chef will come out and like give me

276
00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:59,400
Speaker 1: like their best food. It's so not fair. I don't

277
00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:01,000
Speaker 1: know how I got it. I love it. Yeah.

278
00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:02,920
Speaker 3: Do people just love feeding you?

279
00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:04,839
Speaker 1: Oh? They love Oh yeah, because yeah, because like a

280
00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:06,720
Speaker 1: lot of like famous people go to a restaurant, they

281
00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:08,800
Speaker 1: just take a bite of the food and wait, waste

282
00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:10,559
Speaker 1: the rest. No that they love that. I actually eat

283
00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:11,679
Speaker 1: the food and I enjoy it.

284
00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:16,040
Speaker 4: So Memorial Day weekends July fourth, these are you know,

285
00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:18,120
Speaker 4: very American holidays.

286
00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:20,320
Speaker 1: They don't celebrate them around the world yet.

287
00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:26,320
Speaker 4: Not yet yet, but great American holidays and you're performing

288
00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:30,160
Speaker 4: events on these holidays. Do you consider yourself an American hero?

289
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:36,359
Speaker 1: No, I'm a goofy American that got lucky and yeah,

290
00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:39,160
Speaker 1: I found my little uh my little thing, and I

291
00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:42,600
Speaker 1: went all in. That's what you know American is you

292
00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:45,120
Speaker 1: have the ability to free them to do your thing

293
00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:47,120
Speaker 1: and go all in. That's nice.

294
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,280
Speaker 3: You're a Bay Area guy, like I said, guy right,

295
00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:51,200
Speaker 3: I grew up.

296
00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:54,640
Speaker 1: In the Bay Area. Yeah, uh Leo high School, went

297
00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:56,760
Speaker 1: to Santa stayed for college, and stayed there for a

298
00:14:56,800 --> 00:14:59,720
Speaker 1: long time. Now I live in Indiana. I'm a who's

299
00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:00,000
Speaker 1: your name?

300
00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:04,080
Speaker 4: I was gonna segue to that Memorial Day weekends. Another

301
00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:08,320
Speaker 4: big Indiana event is the Indy five hundred, and you'll

302
00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:10,720
Speaker 4: be performing the next day on Memorial Day on the

303
00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:13,720
Speaker 4: twenty sixth, big day for Indiana sports.

304
00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:16,840
Speaker 1: Absolutely, Well, it's a big weekend. We can yeah. Yeah,

305
00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:19,680
Speaker 1: with the Pacers doing well, we got Caitlin Kirk on

306
00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:23,240
Speaker 1: Saturday playing with the Beaver and it's going to be

307
00:15:23,280 --> 00:15:24,680
Speaker 1: a busy weekend in Indiana.

308
00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:26,840
Speaker 4: Well, hopefully you are able to cap it off with

309
00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:32,080
Speaker 4: another world record over seven hundred ounces of popcorn. We're

310
00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:33,000
Speaker 4: looking forward to it.

311
00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:34,200
Speaker 1: That's the plan, Matt.

312
00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:37,840
Speaker 2: The rock on which she stands.

313
00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:39,000
Speaker 1: It's not a rock.

314
00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:42,640
Speaker 2: It is the United States of the Rock.

315
00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:48,400
Speaker 4: Action Network reminds you please gamble responsibly.

316
00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:51,680
Speaker 3: If you or someone you care about has a gambling problem,

317
00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:54,560
Speaker 3: help is available twenty four to seven at one eight

318
00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:55,480
Speaker 3: hundred Gambler