What You Need To Know About Joey Chestnut

Hot dog! Some call him disgusting. Others call him an American hero. But no matter what you think of competitive eater Joey Chestnut, it's indisputable that his eating records are impressive. The athlete is most famous for being the reigning champion of Coney Island's annual Fourth of July Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. In 2021, he broke his own personal record and the world record by eating 76 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes (via Major League Eating).

Chestnut didn't plan on becoming a professional competitive eater; he attended college at San Jose State University where he studied engineering and spent time working in construction (via Heavy). It was his younger brother who recognized his talent for eating and signed him up for his first competition. Chestnut wasn't sure about competing at first, but when he heard he'd be getting a free hotel room, he was sold (via Delish). The rest, as they say, is history. But there's more to Joey Chestnut than scarfing down hot dogs. He has made TV show appearances, trains heavily, and sets limits on what he will and won't eat. Let's dig into everything you need to know.

Ahead of the Hooters World Wing-Eating Championship in 2013, Joey Chestnut told USA Today that when eating one chicken wing every three to four seconds, he sometimes ingests chicken bones. "I've swallowed some bones. Dogs can't digest them; I'm pretty sure I can, though. The first time I swallowed one, I was a bit worried. But it's not a big deal. Not going to waste any time worrying about it," he said. Dr. Troy Madsen of the University of Utah agrees with Chestnut that ingesting a chicken bone probably isn't something to worry about and doesn't warrant a trip to the emergency room. "If you happen to swallow a chicken bone, you're probably going to be fine," he said. "It's probably going to pass with no problem" (via University of Utah).

According to HuffPost, during the 2019 National Chicken Wing Day, Chestnut ate 413 Hooters chicken wings in 12 hours. He truly cashed in on the restaurant's then-deal of unlimited wings for $15.99 (via USA Today).

Despite his gluttonous gorges on nearly every food imaginable, Joey Chestnut says his doctor is pleased with his health. He told ESPN his normal diet is pretty much like everyone else's (via CNN). "The more I train for contests, I have to eat healthy," he said. In fact, when Chestnut entered his first eating contest (a lobster-eating contest) at age 21 when he was in college, he consulted with his nutrition professor on the best and most healthy way to train (via Forbes). Chestnut told New York Daily News, "My doctor is happy with how my body has responded. He worries about me when I gain weight, but he said it's better than going on a football field and getting hit" (via CNN). 

But there was one time when Chestnut's doctor wasn't thrilled with him: when he got frostbite on his fingers during an ice cream sandwich eating competition. "The way I was holding the ice cream sandwiches, I'd squeeze them really hard and shove them in my face. And I ended up getting frostbite on my fingers because I was touching the ice cream." But maybe it was worth it, as, of course, Joey Chestnut won the competition, breaking the world record by eating 25.25 Baked Bear ice cream sandwiches in six minutes (via Yahoo! Sports).