How many hot dogs could you eat? Prior to winning the famous Nathan’s International
Hot Dog Eating Contest in 2015 Matt Stonie was just another professional eater trying
to make a name for himself in the mouth stuffing sport. That victory changed everything. So,
like those hot dogs, get ready to consume even more Untold Truths of Matt Stonie.
Matt is Also a Musician
Matt Stonie isn’t just a professional eater. This guy is a jack of all trades. Or at least
a jack of a couple trades which include competitive eating and playing music. Stonie has been
playing the guitar for most of his life (longer than he has been eating competitively) and
really does love performing for people. In an interview back in 2015 he said he's been
playing the guitar ever since he was walking. He went on to say how his grandparents bought
him a little miniature guitar when he was a kid, and signed him and his brother up for
lessons. Music has always been a big part of his professional eating as well. He uses
music as a motivational tool when he practices. He has a mix of songs on his iPod that he
listens to when practicing at home or gearing up for a contest. Stonie says it just reminds
him to get through this and push hard. Stonie doesn’t plan on ending his professional,
competitive eating career any time soon. But he already has plans for his second act when
this face-stuffing first act is over. When the eating is done Stonie wants to make music
his full-time gig. He has said that being a musician would be a dream job.
Guess What He Majored in at College
Matt Stonie pushes his body to its limits just as any professional athlete does (although,
in different ways than most other athletes). But for a guy whose job is to consume, what
would appear to be, an unhealthy amount of food, calories, fat, etc, you might find it
ironic to learn that Stonie actually studied Nutrition at College. Matt dropped out of
college before graduating, to pursue competitive eating full time, but he was majoring in nutrition
at Mission College in Santa Clara, California. And before diving into competitive eating
his plans were to become a dietitian. And Stonie knows that people find this fact kind
of ironic since nutrition and competitive eating do not go hand in hand. However, he
has said that having an interest in food science helps a lot, when it comes to all that eating
and what to know. And Stonie uses his knowledge to give him an edge in his sport. Helping
him figure out how to be competitive while also staying healthy. It took a lot of trial
and error to figure out what worked best for him and his body. But as he said in an interview
a few years back, what he's learned in his various classes has drastically helped his
understanding of the human body. Well if the music thing doesn't work out maybe he can
be a dietitian for the rich and famous.
What is Matt Stonie’s Favorite Food
They say it’s good to love what you do. So, you might think that a competitive eater,
with all of the generally fatty foods they have to consume would love said foods. But
Matt Stonie’s favorite food isn’t hot dogs, or pizza or chicken wings. This food
eating champion’s favorite eats are sushi and curry with rice. In fact, Matt isn’t
a huge fan of greasy and salty foods (generally what competitive eating is all about). But
that might actually work in his favor. While he has said that when the food is more enjoyable
he can eat more, Stonie has also said that you can’t focus on the enjoyment of the
food when you’re up on stage since there are a lot of good sponsors out there with
great contest food. He said that sometimes it's hard not to enjoy the food when up on
stage, and that becomes a problem in a speed eating contest. If you enjoy the food, you'll
slow down and lose. These aren’t foodie competitions he competes in. These are competitive,
speed eating contests and even a split-second wasted appreciating the different flavors
and the use of spices and ingredients of what you’re swallowing could cost you the championship!
Although, let's be honest. We all knew that taste didn’t matter once we saw hot dog
competitors soaking the buns in water before stuffing that wet, gross bread down their
throats.
His Grocery Bills are a Tax Write-Off
Every year when tax season rolls around we all play the same game. The write off game.
What can we deduct and get away with? Some of us do it ourselves using online software
and others have professional help in trying to find every little tax deduction. One thing
that most of us can’t get away with, is writing off our groceries. You could try claiming
that you need the food in order to survive and that you have to be alive to do your job
(whatever that may be), but we are pretty sure that the government isn’t going to
buy that reasoning and you might find an audit notice coming your way. But, if your job is
a competitive eater, then you could totally write off your grocery bills, just like Matt
Stonie does. And if you were wondering just how worth it writing off his groceries could
actually be… Well, when he is in training for a competition Stonie can be consuming
upwards of 10,000-20,000 calories a day! While we don’t know the current numbers, back
in 2015 he did an interview in which he said that he spent about $10,000 on training food.
And that’s just food for training. So, how much do you spend on groceries?
He Donates to Charities
Matt Stonie is currently the third ranked competitive eater in the world and has been
able to make a living doing what he loves to do. He has even been able to grow his fan
base with a very successful YouTube channel that has millions of subscribers. But he also
appreciates his success and has said how lucky he is to have been able to make a living from
basically, eating. His earnings for 2015 were in the six figure category. He also acknowledged
the fact that people sometimes take issue with his sport - when hunger and starvation
are a real issue, not only around the world but right at home in the United States as
well. But, he said, not only does Major League Eating do a lot for charity, but Stonie himself
seems to care about his community and giving back is something he does. He's generated
thousands of dollars for charity from his YouTube videos as well. Matt Stonie is walking
the walk, not just talking the talk.
His Family Supports Him 100%
It probably isn’t any parents dream for their kid to grow up and become someone who
overstuffs their body with food for sport. And while it probably wasn’t what Matt Stonie’s
parents envisioned for their son when he was just a little boy, they now completely support
their champion eater. His father, Dorian, is a procurement manager for a computer company.
In an interview in 2012, when Matt was still pretty new to the sport and still a few years
away from claiming a career-defining victory over Joey Chestnut in Coney Island, Dorian
Stonie said how it wasn't just about the Fourth of July. He was amazed at how many events
they put on. He also said that over time he and Matt’s mother have really gotten into
the sport and are just as into it as Matt. They frequently go to his competitions to
cheer him on. Matt also has a brother who plays an important role as the cameraman for
his YouTube channel. Stonie gives his brother credit as being the biggest help to him. Matt
has said that he's not just a cameraman who helps out, but he makes ridiculously funny
and stupid comments that are just out there, which make the videos entertaining. No matter
what you do, it is always great to have your family’s help and support!
What’s Matt Stonie’s Least Favorite Competition Food
Matt Stonie has stuffed a whole lott food down his throat over his years as a Major
League Eater and some of that food he has liked, and some of it he hasn’t. But his
least favorite food to chow down on in competition is any food of the spicy variety. In fact,
Stonie did a Reddit ‘Ask me Anything’ back about six years ago during which he answered
a question by replying he won't eat anything super spicy. No Jalapeno or Habanero contests
thank you very much. But in another interview, he jokingly acknowledged that everything has
its price, but you’d need to pay him a lot to do any sort of super spicy eating contest.
And speaking with a news outlet just a couple years ago he talked about one such competition
that he did actually partake in. This contest involved tamales and they put jalapeno oil
in the masa. This left Matt with a one word adjective - painful. While spicy competitions
are his least favorite, he obviously seems to enjoy sweet ones, as he currently holds
records in competitions involving peeps, frozen yogurt, birthday cake, moon pies and pumpkin
pie.
How Fast Can Matt Stonie Eat A McDonald's Happy Meal?
The answer is really, really, really fast! You want exact numbers? Okay, well, in December
of 2014 Matt “Megatoad” Stonie stuffed down a cheeseburger Happy Meal from McDonald’s
in just 15.22 seconds! And we thought saving 15% on car insurance in just 15 minutes was
fast. Stonie vacuumed up the cheeseburger, the fries and the soda in record time on his
YouTube channel. Matt definitely agreed with his cameraman brother afterwards, when he
said he looked all “proud and accomplished.” As well he should be. A really good typist
can type up to 90 words per minute. Which means that Matt Stonie would have already
finished an entire Happy Meal before a high-end typist could even finish typing out just this
one little sentence. This isn’t something we want to encourage our kids to try (or even
adults for that matter). Matt is a professional eater and has trained his body to be able
to accomplish feats such as this. But there is no doubt that it will have us looking at
Happy Meals just a little differently from now on. One question though - what happened
to the toy?
Insane Things Matt Stonie Has Actually Eaten
Where to begin on this one? On their surface, hot dogs aren’t anything insane (unless
you actually know what's in them - but that’s a whole other story). However, eating 62 of
them in 10 minutes like Stonie did when he won Nathan’s Hot Dog eating championship
- now that sounds insane. Now to quote every single infomercial, “But wait, there’s
more!” How does three pounds of honey sound? Well, unless you’re Winnie the Pooh, it
probably sounds like too much honey. Or at least enough honey to last you months. Not
if you’re Matt Stonie who downed two 1.5 pound bottles of the stuff in just minutes.
It took him a lot longer than a few minutes to accomplish another insane food feat, but
in just one hour Stonie made his way through an utterly amazing amount of food known as
the Super Bowl Challenge. We’re talking three burgers, a whole large pizza, a massive
bowl of Doritos, three bowls of refried beans and 75 chicken wings. The poor guy could barely
move after that 20,000 calorie extravaganza - so there were no end zone dances after that
gluttonous touchdown. It isn’t all fatty and unhealthy foods for Stonie though. In
another challenge he performed on his YouTube channel, Matt was able to down a whole pound
of raw broccoli in 6 minutes. You think a pound doesn’t sound like a lot. Well, when
it comes to raw broccoli it definitely is. Don’t believe us? Try it yourself… Actually,
don’t!
Here's How Many World Records Matt Stonie Really Holds
In 2009 when Matt Stonie was 18 years old he won $1000 dollars in a lobster roll eating
contest. And while the contest probably gave him a bit of a stomach ache, it also gave
him the desire to make food eating his job. Since turning pro in 2011, he has gone on
to win numerous competitions, beat the great Joey Chestnut in the biggest hot dog eating
contest in the world and has climbed the ranks to currently sit in third spot on the federations
list of food competitors. All that in just his first decade in the sport. But that’s
not all! This diminutive dude (he only weighs in at about 120-130 pounds) has also broken
a number of world food eating-related records. Over the last 10 years Stonie has held over
20 world records at one time or another. But in the world of food eating records, someone
is always out to best you. In 2019 Matt held 14 world records and most recently Major League
Eating lists 13 records held by Stonie, including among others:
eating 10 pounds spaghetti and red sauce in 8 minutes
182 Strips Smithfield Bacon in 5 minutes
255 Peeps in 5 minutes
15 8oz Pork Roll Sandwiches in 10 Minutes
and 43 Slugburgers in 10 Minutes (no, Slugburgers do not contain any actual slugs)
Matt has held some of his records going on five years now. Which means he has set some
pretty impressive marks. How many more will he set? Only time, and his stomach, will tell.
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