In 2001, Japanese competitor Takeru Kobayashi revolutionized American eating competitions by devouring 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes, doubling the previous record.
He created an astonishing technique: he soaked the hot dogs in water to break down the starch and make them slide more easily into his stomach. But his plan would have a dark side.
Kobayashi also trained for this “sport” like any professional athlete. He went to the gym, lifted weights, did cardio and, most importantly, practiced drinking 3 gallons of water in 90 seconds. They did this before every competition to expand their stomachs as much as possible and make room to swallow hot dogs nonstop. Between 2001 and 2006, he won Nathan’s contest every year and earned up to $650,000 annually from eating.
But his stomach began to grow so much that it started pushing against his lungs and made it difficult for him to breathe. He lost the ability to feel hunger and fullness. His jaw, from opening it so wide, began to fail him. In the Netflix documentary “Hack Your Health”, he confessed that he never actually liked hot dogs and that today, thinking about food makes him nauseous, and that he has gone several days without eating anything.
Currently, he feeds himself with nutritional powders because his body can no longer tolerate what he once swallowed in seconds. And he works on something that sounds like redemption: a healthy Japanese-style hot dog.