The story of Takeru Kobayashi

A BETTER WAY TO EAT

Takeru Kobayashi doesn’t like to think about hot dogs much right now

Kobi is the biggest star that has ever been.

not for pleasurethis is what he does for a livingin the world of competitive eatingas the sport is known

because he is preparing to eat a very large pile of them

it began back in japan

he was a college student

a friend signed him up for a televised eating contest

he gave it a try for the $5,000 grand prize

it was a four–stage eating contest

starting with boiled potatoes

then a seafood bowl

mongolian mutton barbeque

then finishing up with noodles

kobi studied earlier contests like this one

ones with qualifying stages

he saw that most people went so hard in the early rounds

that even if they did advance

they didn’t have the energy

or stomach capacity

to finish strong

so he decided to eat just enough at each stage

just enough to qualify for the next

and when it came down to the final round

he blasted past the others

and won

having tasted victory as an amateur

kobi immediately thought about turning pro

it began back in japan

he was a college student

a friend signed him up for a televised eating contest

he gave it a try for the $5,000 grand prize

it was a four–stage eating contest

starting with boiled potatoes

then a seafood bowl

mongolian mutton barbeque

then finishing up with noodles

kobi studied earlier contests like this one

ones with qualifying stages

he saw that most people went so hard in the early rounds

that even if they did advance

they didn’t have the energy

or stomach capacity

to finish strong

so he decided to eat just enough at each stage

just enough to qualify for the next

and when it came down to the final round

he blasted past the others

and won

having tasted victory as an amateur

kobi immediately thought about turning pro

I really was shocked because at that time I really didn’t think I could eat that much more than the normal person.

I really was shocked because at that time I really didn’t think I could eat that much more than the normal person.

I really was shocked because at that time I really didn’t think I could eat that much more than the normal person.

I really was shocked because at that time I really didn’t think I could eat that much more than the normal person.

American–style hot dogs weren’t available where he lived

so he used sausages made of minced fish

No hot–dog buns either

so he cut bread down to size

He began a long series of experiments

For instance: ripping the hot dog and bun in half

before eating it

known as the solomon method

he found another way to speed things up

separating the sausage from the bun

and eating two halves of the hot dog at the same time

the sausage itself

being slick and dense

actually went down pretty easy

but eating a hot dog bun on its own

without the meat

is harder than you’d think

American–style hot dogs weren’t available where he lived

so he used sausages made of minced fish

No hot–dog buns either

so he cut bread down to size

He began a long series of experiments

For instance: ripping the hot dog and bun in half

before eating it

known as the solomon method

he found another way to speed things up

separating the sausage from the bun

and eating two halves of the hot dog at the same time

the sausage itself

being slick and dense

actually went down pretty easy

but eating a hot dog bun on its own

without the meat

is harder than you’d think

AT HOME IN JAPAN, KOBI BEGAN TO TRAIN FOR CONEY ISLANd – the world cup of competitive eating

American–style hot dogs weren’t available where he lived

so he used sausages made of minced fish

No hot–dog buns either

so he cut bread down to size

He began a long series of experiments

For instance: ripping the hot dog and bun in half

before eating it

known as the solomon method

he found another way to speed things up

separating the sausage from the bun

and eating two halves of the hot dog at the same time

the sausage itself

being slick and dense

actually went down pretty easy

but eating a hot dog bun on its own

without the meat

is harder than you’d think

dunking

as he fed himself the

bunless

broken

hot dogs with one hand

he used the other hand

to dunk the bun in water

then he’d squeeze out the excess water

and smush the bun into his mouth

kind of like a bun ball

not only did this make eating faster

but now he didn’t have to take time

between eating and drinking

so to fight the dry– bun problem

kobi came up with a novel solution

so to fight the dry– bun problem

kobi came up with a novel solution

as he fed himself the

bunless

broken

hot dogs with one hand

he used the other hand

to dunk the bun in water

then he’d squeeze out the excess water

and smush the bun into his mouth

kind of like a bun ball

not only did this make eating faster

but now he didn’t have to take time

between eating and drinking

dunking

i simply wanted to be number one in the world at this

i simply wanted to be number one in the world at this

i simply wanted to be number one in the world at this

i simply wanted to be number one in the world at this Takeru Kobayashi

takeru kobayashi dreamed a dream of

eating more hot dogs than any

human being in history

takeru kobayashi dreamed a dream of

eating more hot dogs than any

human being in history

takeru kobayashi dreamed a dream of

eating more hot dogs than any

human being in history

takeru kobayashi dreamed a dream of

eating more hot dogs than any

human being in historynathan’s annual hot dog eating contest is an international eventchampions from all over the world converging on coney islandthe contest had been going on for roughly four decadesthe world record – 25 1/8 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes

when i showed up the first time to compete

i did not think about the other competitors

i was full of the feeling of

i have come here to win

and the bell rings

and i start to eat

and for 12 minutes i eat

and i break

and i separate

and i slurp

and i dunk

and i smush

and i swallow

and i shake

and i do all that

and then the bell rings

and then i see my number

i only saw it at the end

i wasn’t looking at all at the number

i ate 50 hot dogs

shattering the world record.

The americans just dropped their dogs in awe. the clear cut wiener: kobayashi, who inhaled 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes. shattering the world record.

when i showed up the first time to compete

i did not think about the other competitors

i was full of the feeling of

i have come here to win

and the bell rings

and i start to eat

and for 12 minutes i eat

and i break

and i separate

and i slurp

and i dunk

and i smush

and i swallow

and i shake

and i do all that

and then the bell rings

and then i see my number

i only saw it at the end

i wasn’t looking at all at the number

i ate 50 hot dogs

shattering the world record.

The americans just dropped their dogs in awe. the clear cut wiener: kobayashi, who inhaled 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes. shattering the world record.

the kid is incredible. he was like a conveyor belt, putting them in two at a time

the kid is incredible. he was like a conveyor belt, putting them in two at a time

the kid is incredible. he was like a conveyor belt, putting them in two at a time

the kid is incredible. he was like a conveyor belt, putting them in two at a time

I always change my mentality very quickly

simply said

somtimes you win

because someone is having a bad day

and sometimes someone beats you

because you are having a bad day

even winning or losing doesn’t really mean

you are the best

so when you look at the long run

you can’t think about competing against a rival

that doesn’t even tell you 100% that you are the best

what you can only do is compare yourself

to yourself

and try to see how far you can actually go

How do you handle defeat?How do you handle defeat?

I always change my mentality very quickly

simply said

somtimes you win

because someone is having a bad day

and sometimes someone beats you

because you are having a bad day

even winning or losing doesn’t really mean

you are the best

so when you look at the long run

you can’t think about competing against a rival

that doesn’t even tell you 100% that you are the best

what you can only do is compare yourself

to yourself

and try to see how far you can actually go

How do you handle defeat?How do you handle defeat?

I always change my mentality very quickly

simply said

somtimes you win

because someone is having a bad day

and sometimes someone beats you

because you are having a bad day

even winning or losing doesn’t really mean

you are the best

so when you look at the long run

you can’t think about competing against a rival

that doesn’t even tell you 100% that you are the best

what you can only do is compare yourself

to yourself

and try to see how far you can actually go

the key to me was thati had to change the mentality that it was a sport

it wasn’t having a mealit was just a physical action

Kobayashi redefined the problem he was trying to solve

the key to me was thati had to change the mentality that it was a sport

it wasn’t having a mealit was just a physical action

the key to me was thati had to change the mentality that it was a sport

it wasn’t having a mealit was just a physical action

Kobayashi redefined the problem he was trying to solve

the key to me was thati had to change the mentality that it was a sport

it wasn’t having a mealit was just a physical action

This book was created by Michael Tarazi, a senior at Washington University in St. Louis. The text is taken from the Freakonomics podcast A Better Way to Eat. The typefaces used are Bebas Neue and Univers.