Adam Richman spent years on TV as the host of Man Versus Food, but once his run on that
show was over, he seemingly disappeared.
So, what happened to Richman and what's he been up to since he stopped filming his famous
food challenges?
In 2014, Richman used the hashtag "thinspiration" in an Instagram post, and commenters immediately
called him out, noting that it was popularly used to glorify an unhealthy and extreme weight
loss - not celebrate healthy goals.
If Richman had just apologized and removed the hashtag, things may have gone differently.
But according to The Guardian, he responded with expletive-laced comments, including one
that encouraged a follower to harm themselves.
In the week after Richman's Instagram exploded, The Washington Post confirmed that the Travel
Channel pulled the new show they had planned with him.
It wasn't just a matter of hitting the pause button on something that was in the process
of being developed, either - Man Finds Food was ready to go.
It was pulled just days before it was set to debut in July 2014, and it didn't see the
light of day until it finally aired in April 2015.
There was a second season, but you may not realize it - it was renamed Secret Eats with
Adam Richman for what would be its final season.
Man Versus Food returned without Richman, replacing him with new host Casey Webb.
So why did Richman quit in the first place, and why didn't he return?
According to the Huffington Post, Richman was starting to worry about the toll on his
health the show - and his lifestyle - was taking.
In addition to having developed sleep apnea, he also said that catching a glimpse of himself
in the mirror made him rethink what he needed to do to get healthy.
"I think I possess somehow less intellectual fortitude than a wild elephant, so go figure,
hope I've done you proud Mom."
And based on what he told The Guardian, he stepped away in part because he thought the
show had simply run its course.
He told them,
"The spectacle diminishes over time.
[...] I believe that if you wait for your audience to say they want to see something
new, you've waited too long."
"I quit, I quit, I'm leaving."
Richman has also taken some time away from
the culinary world to take a trip that was years in the making.
In 1987, he'd had plans to visit Jerusalem with his family, but terror attacks that took
place at the time caused them to cancel the trip.
In 2019, he finally went.
He documented the whole trip, says The Nosher, and wrote a particularly moving post about
his visit to The Western Wall on Instagram.
It read, in part,
"I felt connected to the traditions of the past, and to the spirit of the Holy Land - not
just for Jews, but for Christians and Muslims as well.
I took one of the prayer books they had there, and prayed passionately and fervently [...] not
just for myself, but for my family - and all of you guys as well."
Most fans know Richman as the guy doing the eating, but since the end of Man versus Food,
he's popped up on other shows flexing his cooking muscles.
In 2018, he stopped in to visit with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb, and shared his
mom's recipe for chicken marsala.
He's also been on Good Morning America, where he's continued to show off some healthy eating
habits that are about as far from the gluttony of Man versus Food as you can get.
Richman is putting healthy spins on some classic comfort food, reaching out to fans to show
that you don't have to give up those hot-and-hearty meals when you're eating better.
The theater might be the last place you'd expect to see Adam Richman, but he's actually
got a degree from Yale Drama School, and since the end of Man versus Food, he's gone to the
stage with some heavy stuff.
Richman was the creative producer of an award-winning play called Stalking the Bogeyman, which is
the story of a journalist's quest to murder the man who sexually assaulted him when he
was a child.
The Travel Channel star explained to London Theatre,
"Whilst I was filming Man Vs. Food Nation I realized that I was just another angry voice
with a Twitter account, and I decided that I could either be a voice of anger or I could
be a voice of change."
That led him to a partnership with the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, and he
became a spokesperson for the organization.
Richman has said he saw the opportunity as one where he could, in his words,
"Help spark us to change or to come forward to help, or ask for help and tell us to do
better."
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