Kobayashi’s career has been going strong for over a decade now, beating wave after wave of hungry, fat Americans to claim numerous eating titles. Where did this guy get his start?

Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

Nothing has made Kobayashi more famous than his incredible success in the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.

This competition, held every year on July 4 in Coney Island, gained fame in the 90s when a handful of other competitive Japanese eaters came onto the scene.

Historically, Americans had reigned supreme at Nathan’s, so it was a bit of a surprise when some skinny Japanese guys started winning.

But nothing could prepare the world for Kobayashi’s hot-dog dominance.

From 2001 to 2006, Kobayashi went undefeated in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, owning the competition and setting five world records for hot dog eating in the process. For those six years, he was untouchable.

Celebrity

In the process of winning all those titles, Kobayashi became a minor celebrity in the US. He appeared on a TV show to compete with a bear in a hot dog eating contest. For the record, the bear won – but it’s claimed that Kobayashi beat the bear in rehearsal.

Downfall

But there have been definite dark spots in Kobayashi’s career in consumption as well.

He lost his hot dog eating title a few years back in a stunning defeat, and actually is banned from Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest due to contracting disputes. In 2010, Kobayashi was arrested at the hot dog eating contest he once reigned over.

There were rumors that Kobayashi had even retired from eating altogether.

Return and the Wing Bowl

Recently though, things are looking up for Kobayashi. Even thought he’s been barred from competing at Nathan’s, he continues to dominate other eating contests. Last year, he ate along to a live broadcast of the Nathan’s contest and not only beat the winner, but set a new world record.

He’s been interviewed on Reddit and fashion magazine The Block, where his shirtless photo spreads made him look more like a model than a guy who eats things for a living.

And the Wing Bowl? That’s the cherry on top to his comeback.

While this video of Kobayashi’s Wing Bowl entrance shows that he doesn’t always get the warmest reception, Kobayashi remains resilient.

The boos and jeers shouldn’t get Kobayashi down; he’s been through a lot more. Having gone to the top of the competitive eating world and back, been beaten, turned back and even arrested, the only thing Kobayashi should worry about is maybe some indigestion.

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It’s been a year since the last “Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest” at Coney Island, when reigning king (at the time) of eating food “really really fast” lost his title, and his world record, to San Jose’s Joey Chestnut. This makes me sad. I thought for sure he would come back with a victory, regaining his honor.

Still, Kobayashi did actually manage to tie Joey Chestnut with 59 hot dogs in 10 minutes (it was 12 minutes in years previous), but lost it in overtime, where they had to eat 5 hot dogs faster than each other. It seems that now, though, both of them hold the record for most hot dogs eaten in 10 minutes, so that’s something I suppose.

I remember seeing a little blurb about Kobayashi on TV when I was in Japan. They wanted to find out how such a skinny guy was able to eat so many hot dogs. They followed him to a ramen shop where he at a ridiculous amount of ramen. They then did a cat scan, or something, where they found out his stomach was much larger than a normal human’s. If I remember correctly (and let me know if I’m wrong), it’s 3 times as large as a normal stomach. Not sure where there’s room for that, but apparently it’s there.

He also uses a special technique when eating hot dogs – they call it the “Solomon Method.” Basically, he breaks the hot dogs in half and stuffs both sides into his mouth and swallows it that way. Whatever works, I suppose. Not surprisingly, though, hot dogs aren’t his favorite food. His five favorite things to eat are cold tofu, Yogurt, Plain Bagels with Cream Cheese and Lox, Royal Milk Tea, and Vietnamese Spring Rolls.

Here is a list of his matches. It’s really interesting to see his improvement. You would expect a professional eater to just be able to eat until his stomach is all full, but apparently there is a lot of training that goes into it.

-2001: Ate 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes (shattering the previous record of a mere 25). He gained 8 pounds during this contest.
-2002: Ate 50 and one half hot dogs.
-2003: Ate 44 and one half hot dogs.
-2004: Ate 53 and one half hot dogs, getting a new record
-2005: Ate 49 hot dogs
-2006: Ate 53 and three quarters hot dogs, getting another world record. He also became world champion at eating bratwurst (I imagine this contest was a bit tastier) by eating 58 sausages in 10 minutes.
-2007: World record was broken by Joey Chestnut, who ate 59 and one half hot dogs in 12 minutes. Later that year they went head to head, and even though Kobayashi ate a ridiculous 63 hot dogs, Chestnut bested him by eating 66.
-2008: Kobayashi loses a tie-breaker to Chestnut in a “who can eat 5 hot dogs the fastest contest.” Both of them ate 59 hot dogs in 10 minutes (that’s really fast).

It’s obvious he’s not “losing it,” he has improved in the last few years. It’s just that there’s finally someone better than him eating lots of hot dogs. So, the question is, can Kobayashi keep improving and eventually beat Chestnut? I suppose it all depends on where their limits are, and I’m not sure if they’ve reached them yet.

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