A biography for Joey Chestnuthasn’t been written yet.
“There are competitive people who love to push their body but don't love to eat like I do.”
“It's pretty rare for me to be someplace that serves hot dogs and not eat one.”
“I've learned how to gnarl the food down. It's not pretty.”
“It's always a battle to maintain my weight.”
“I travel pretty much every weekend of the summer. And then during the winter, I still do appearances and a couple contests here and there.”
“I can't always go out to a restaurant and have a normal dinner.”
“I don't mind losing because it really shows me what the other eaters are capable of.”
“There's nothing pretty about competitive eating. It might be uncouth, but it is fun, and it is lighthearted.”
“I've slowly made my body adapt and understand what's going to happen.”
“Make sure I'm chewing, swallowing, and breathing, my whole body is working together. I can just find a rhythm and keep going and going and going. It's my love of food.”
“I don't really get hungry that much. Sometimes I get cravings for certain foods. But I can go all day without eating.”
“There's nothing worse than getting third.”
“I like going to the doctor, being vigilant, being told that I'm healthy so I can push myself.”
“I don't want to train for every contest the way I do for the Fourth of July. It would be impossible.”
“Kobayashi won't talk to me. He hates me.”
“When I'm in training, I eat no solid food except hot dogs for six weeks.”
“I think Peter King... he's kind of narrow-minded.”
“I remember as a kid watching that movie - 'Cool Hand Luke' - with my grandfather.”
“I love to eat! I don't think I have ever gotten sick of eating a food, unless it is bad food.”
“The weather in New York, it fluctuates so much. Some days it's humid, some days you have a thunderstorm.”