Takeru Kobayashi

Takeru Kobayashi is a competitive eater, most famous for his participation in the Nathans Hot Dog Eating contest. Once thought of as one of the greatest competitive eaters of all time, Kobayashi dominated any eating competition in the early and mid-2000’s, setting multiple records in the process. He currently holds six Guinness World Records for Twinkies, hamburgers, pizza, and others. Kobayshi came into the American public’s eye by shattering the previous record for hot dogs eaten at the annual Nathans contest, eating 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes, doubling the previous record. He would then go on to win the event for six consecutive years after until being bested by up and comer Joey Chestnut. After refusing to sign a Major League Eating contract to compete in the Nathans contest, Kobayashi would participate live via satellite in order to challenge his rival Chestnut. He would go on to break the record, but since he was not under official contract with the MLE, it did not count. Kobayashi competes in events around the world, and is still dominant.