 Crazy Legs Conti at a 2007 french fry eating competition | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | John Conti |
| Nickname | Crazy Legs |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | 1974 (age 49–50) Belmont, Massachusetts |
| Alma mater | Johns Hopkins University |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Competitive eating |
Crazy Legs Conti (formerly known as John Conti or Jason Conti, prior to a legal name change [1] ) is an American competitive eater. In 2011, he was ranked 21st in the world by the International Federation of Competitive Eating. [2]
Conti was raised in Belmont, Massachusetts. [3] He attended Johns Hopkins University. [4] He was a three-sport athlete for the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays, playing basketball, football ("third string punter"), and on the track team he competed in high jump ("but I never quite got high enough to qualify"). [5]
In addition to competitive eating, he has had a variety of jobs including purchasing agent for a steakhouse restaurant, screenwriter, bouncer, nude model, and window washer. [4] Conti has appeared as a commentator for MLE Chowdown on Spike TV. He appeared once on the Discovery Channel's Cash Cab program with Tim Janus who won $1600 total by answering the bonus question.
Conti counts Eric Booker as an early inspiration to begin competitive eating. He won his first competition in New Orleans during Super Bowl weekend 2002 by eating over 400 oysters. [6] He has held several world records, including the green bean and buffet food categories. [7]
Conti trains by eating six hot dogs at a time as fast as possible and has studied video of Takeru Kobayashi in order to improve his technique. He also runs and goes to the gym three times a week to avoid gaining excess weight. This led him to compete in several marathons. [4]
He claims that his motivation in competing is the joy of winning, rather than prize money. [8] In addition to his successes, he is known to be magnanimous in defeat. [9]
He is the subject of the 2004 competitive eating documentary film Crazy Legs Conti: Zen and the Art of Competitive Eating .
Conti and his fellow Johns Hopkins alumnus Chris Russell produced a short film, "Dearly Beloved", which won the Gold Award for Best Short Film Comedy-Adaptation at the Houston International Film Festival in 1997. [10] [11]
Conti has been involved in several other productions as assorted crew members; films include Mambo Café (2000) and The Bumblebee Flies Anyway (1999).[ citation needed ]
Conti appeared as an uncredited cameo in The Sopranos, in the episode "The Ride".
Conti's short film 'SOULFINGER vs GOLDFINGER screened at The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival in 2017. [12]
Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi is a Japanese competitive eater. Described as "the godfather of competitive eating", he is a six-time Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest champion and widely credited with popularizing the sport.
The Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest is an annual American hot dog competitive eating competition. It is held each year on July 4 at Nathan's Famous' original, and best-known, restaurant at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island, a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City.
Sonya Thomas , also known by her nickname The Black Widow, and "The Leader of the Four Horsemen of the Esophagus", is a South Korean-born American competitive eater from Alexandria, Virginia. Thomas joined the International Federation of Competitive Eating in 2003 and quickly rose to the top of the ranks, beating competitive eaters such as Eric Booker.
Competitive eating, or speed eating, is a sport in which participants compete against each other to eat large quantities of food, usually in a short time period. Contests are typically eight to ten minutes long, although some competitions can last up to thirty minutes, with the person consuming the most food being declared the winner. Competitive eating is most popular in the United States, Canada, and Japan, where organized professional eating contests often offer prizes, including cash.
Crazy Legs Conti: Zen And The Art Of Competitive Eating is a 2004 documentary film portraying the culture of competitive eating. It was directed by Danielle Franco and Christopher Kenneally.
David "Coondog" O'Karma is a competitive eating champion, entertainer, and writer from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. He was formerly a member of the IFOCE, but is now the director of a Competitive Eating organization called the Association of Independent Competitive Eaters (AICE).
The Krystal Square Off was the official World Hamburger Eating Championship from 2004 to 2009, taking place in Chattanooga, Tennessee and sanctioned by the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE). In this event, contestants ate as many Krystal hamburgers as possible in eight minutes.
Eat This Book is a book by Ryan Nerz which explores the world of competitive eating. Published by St. Martin's Press in 2006, Eat This Book provides a firsthand look into this sometimes controversial sport. Nerz, who spent a year as an emcee for the International Federation of Competitive Eating, has firsthand insight into the competitive eating phenomenon.
Gutbusters is a 2002 Discovery Channel documentary following the efforts of three competitive eaters seeking to gain entry into the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest.
The Glutton Bowl is a two-hour competitive eating special that was broadcast Fox on February 21, 2002 and was sanctioned by the International Federation of Competitive Eating. The special, which was co-executive produced by Nash Entertainment and IFOCE co-founder Richard Shea, featured Mark Thompson and IFOCE co-founder George Shea as hosts/color commentators. The 32-eater tournament was won by Takeru Kobayashi of Japan. The event also included such noteworthy world record eaters as Eric "Badlands" Booker, Dominic "The Doginator" Cardo, Don "Moses" Lerman, Edward "Cookie" Jarvis, and Bill "El Wingador" Simmons.
Joseph Christian Chestnut is an American competitive eater. As of 2024, he is ranked first in the world by Major League Eating.
Tim Janus is an American entertainer, media personality and retired competitive eater known in the competitive eating community as "Eater X". He was a member of the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE). He performed in contests wearing a painted mask and once stated, "I'd eat anything. One of my goals in life is to eat everything in the world at least once. I'd eat a roll of pennies if I thought I could set a world record. Some day I hope we make contact with beings from other planets. I'd love to eat alien."
Charles Hardy, known as Hungry Charles Hardy, was an American competitive eater from Brooklyn, New York, United States. Hardy was a long-standing member of the International Federation of Competitive Eating. He retired from the sport in 2005 to become the IFOCE's commissioner. During the latter half of 2004, Hungry Charles displayed dominance in eating, placing second and third in major events throughout the USA. Hardy secured victory for six consecutive years in the Civil Service qualifier for the hot dog circuit and he maintains records in sushi, shrimp, and cabbage.
Eric James "Badlands" Booker, also known by his online pseudonym BadlandsChugs, is an American competitive eater, rapper, and YouTuber. He holds seven Major League Eating recognized world records, three Guinness World Records, is a four-time Nathan's Lemonade Chugging Contest champion, and competed in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest every year from 1997 to 2018.
"Krazy" Kevin Lipsitz is a competitive eater from Staten Island, New York, and is affiliated with IFOCE, the International Federation of Competitive Eating. Known for his bear hat and charismatic eating style, Lipsitz has competed in events across the country, and appeared on the Gutbusters television special, which aired on the Discovery Channel in 2002. He is the former American pickle eating champion.
Major League Eating (MLE) is an organization that oversees professional competitive eating events and television specials. The league airs its annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest on ESPN.
Dominick “The Doginator” Cardo is an American competitive eater and a member of the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE). In 2001, he was featured on Glutton Bowl where he took first place in pickled cow tongue. Dominic is currently the IFOCE record holder for whole pickled beef tongue, at 3 pounds 3 ounces in 12 minutes.
Rick The Manager is an American independent competitive eater currently residing in Royersford, Pennsylvania with his wife, Sherri. The self-proclaimed Competitive Eating Extraordinaire is best known for his unique appearance, toting his signature two-toned goatee and sunglasses, and the motto he lives by, "Eat Each Meal Like It's Your Last!"
Dale Boone is an American competitive eater who holds several records for, among others, devouring pelmeni and hot dogs. Having been featured on numerous television programmes, he has proclaimed himself "Mouth of the South". Boone claims to be the great grandson of Daniel Boone.
Edward “Cookie” Jarvis is a retired competitive eater and a member of the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE). He is a real estate agent, married father of two, and cancer survivor. When Cookie Jarvis became a competitive eater in 2001, he was 365 pounds, and retired in 2006 reaching 525 pounds. His best finish in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest came in 2003, when he set an American record of 30½ hot dogs in 10 minutes. This put him in second place behind Takeru Kobayashi.
