Pepsi
There are a number of people in contention for the title of Most Dominant Athlete of All Time, and while the likes of Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are certainly in the running, I’d argue they have nothing on the one man who truly deserves it: Joey Chestnut.
In 2006, Joey Chesnut competed in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest for the first time and gave reigning champion Kobayashi a serious run for his money before ultimately being forced to settle for second place.
However, he returned with a vengeance the following year and set a world record by downing 66 wieners while snapping his rival’s six-year title run.
That win marked the start of a truly illustrious dynasty, as the man known as “Jaws” won the Mustard Belt 16 times in his next 17 appearances (his lone loss during that run was to Matt Stonie in 2015) while repeatedly raising the bar before setting the current record of 76 hot dogs in 2021.
As you likely know by now, Chestnut was barred from competing in the contest in 2024 due to a dispute over a sponsorship deal, but he’s still managed to keep pretty busy.
He spent the Fourth of July at Fort Bliss in Texas competing against some soldiers in another hot dog contest where he ate 59 in five minutes just a few days before he managed to devour 200 boneless wings in less than 40 minutes, and in September, he’ll be going head-to-head with Kobayashi in a highly-anticipated hot dog contest organized by Netflix.
I got the chance to discuss that upcoming showdown with Chestnut earlier this week while chatting with him about his partnership with Pepsi in celebration of National Hot Dog Day during a conversation where he also shed some light on the moment he realized he wanted to become a competitive eater, the grossest competition he’s ever participated in, and why he thinks Kobayashi used his announcement about his short-lived retirement to try to psych him out ahead of their matchup.
Without further ado…
BroBible’s interview with Joey Chestnut
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BroBible: Joey, I’m honored to get the chance to chat with you today. I know you worked with Pepsi last year when they launched “Colachup,” Can you shed some light on what you’re doing this time around?
Joey Chestnut: This year is all about celebrating National Hot Dog Day. We’re putting it out there that hot dogs taste better with Pepsi and, I mean, it’s true.
I go to baseball stadiums all around the country and luckily a lot of them serve Pepsi nowadays. It’s the best way to have a hot dog.
I’ve always been curious: was there a single moment that led to you realizing you wanted to pursue competitive eating as a career or was it sort of a culmination?
It’s weird because I grew up as a big eater and I was almost ashamed of it. My mom would literally get mad at me for eating too fast, so I was always like, “Alright, don’t eat too fast. Don’t make a fool of yourself.”
When I was in college, every once in a while it would come out. I’d eat healthy during the week, and then on the weekends I’d, I’d have a couple of drinks and eat like a madman. My friends knew that I could eat and I eventually got signed up for a contest when I was 21.
That first contest, I remember when I got on stage, I was like, “Oh my God, I love this.” I loved everything about it.
When I started eating, the crowd was yelling at me to keep eating and there were guys on each side of you and you’re pushing each other. It was like a weird “Aha!” moment. I loved every bit of it and I didn’t have to hold back. After the contest, I enjoyed the bloated feeling.
I didn’t know it was gonna be a career at that point. I was a weekend warrior for a while—even when I became Nathan’s champion for the first time. I was working a day job and then eventually the eating got big enough to a point where I could do it full-time.
I’m stubborn. I worked really hard for my engineering degree so I didn’t really want to stop doing it, but eventually the eating won. I love it too much.
You’ve been doing this for around 20 years. What would you say is the most notable aspect of your personal evolution as a competitive eater over that span?
I’m older. When I was younger, I could get away with being 25 or 30 pounds heavier than I am now, and my weight fluctuated really quickly. I didn’t have to work out and I didn’t have to diet so much in between. You can kind of abuse your body when you’re young and really use it to the limit.
Now that I’m older, I have to work a lot harder; control my calories in between contests and my recovery after a contest, I really work hard to make sure I get the weight down before I get ready for my next contest. If every week I do an event and I’m two pounds heavier, it just gets worse. It just compounds and I start to slow down.
So my body is the biggest change It’s easier to gain weight, harder to lose it. At the same time, I know my body way better than I did when I was 20.
I know how to train the muscles in my throat and esophagus. I know more about my digestive system and how to make sure that I’m empty and know how to properly do my cleanses and what little things I can do to make sure that when I eat at contests it settles deep and starts moving fast and I can maximize my capacity.
My body’s definitely slowing down, but I also know my body so I can push it as hard as I can.
That’s actually the perfect segue into my next question. Kobayashi cited the physical and mental toll competitive eating had while explaining his decision to retire. Have you grappled with any of those psychological issues yourself?
I was worried when he said that. I was like, Wow.” I’m really lucky.,
I still love to eat so much. It’s the best. It’s my favorite thing. I look forward to eating when I’m traveling.
It sucks when I’m going to a new city and I’m on a diet. It’s the biggest form of torture ever when I want to try new food but I have a contest tomorrow. Sometimes I’ll show up three days early just so I can have one free day in that city to eat.
Part of me thinks Kobayashi’s putting out weird information because he’s hoping I’m going to think he’s going to be lazy and not do well. But that guy can eat, and I’d be really surprised if he can’t.
What’s awesome about him is we push each other. I don’t really know what he’s capable of. That uncertainty makes me work so much harder.
So there might be some mind games going on?
I’m sure there’s mind games. Remember one year when he said he had a jaw injury at Nathan’s? The day before that contest he told me he was only there for his appearance fee and that he was only going to eat a dozen hot dogs. He ended up eating 63 hot dogs that day. I ate 66.
He’s definitely putting out bad information. It isn’t beneath him.
What’s the most difficult challenge you’ve ever done? Is there anything you’d refuse to try again or wouldn’t do in the first place?
The most difficult challenge I’ve ever done was a cow brain taco eating contest. It was really, really rough.
They had seared the brains. They really looked like brains. They were veiny and metallic tasting, so I had to eat them with my eyes closed.
Two people got sick during the contest. It was almost like a Stand By Me moment. Everybody had to calm down. I hated it. I love that I was able to win. I think I did 54.
You obviously have a ton of achievements under your belt, but is there anything you haven’t done you still want to check off?
I want to do more international travel.
I’d love to hold contests in other countries and make some really awesome records in other countries, whether it’s with different foods or having a hot dog record in a ton of countries.
But definitely traveling. Traveling and eating. That’s what I want to do.
Portions of this interview were lightly edited for clarity.