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Tuesday, August 05, 2008
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| McClatchy Tribune Tim ‘Gravy’ Brown often consumes his hot dogs two at a time. |
CHICAGO — While you might chomp a hot dog or three this weekend, Tim “Gravy’’ Brown was planning on downing 10 times that many. The Chicago resident ranks 13th on the International Federation of Competitive Eating circuit.
At Drew’s Eatery in Lincoln Square, a favorite training ground, Brown showed how he packs encased meat in his stomach sack. (He recently swallowed 33 hot dogs in 10 minutes.)
The weeks before. Most competitive eaters aren’t obese. Brown (200 pounds and 5 feet 11 inches tall) runs 5 miles a day five times a week: “It builds endurance, and an eating contest is endurance. It might be 10 minutes of eating, but it’s 10 minutes of hell.’’
The day before. To ready his stomach for a beef blitz, Brown takes his last meal on the day preceding a contest, at noon. He hits the gym and nightcaps with a gallon or two of water to stretch his stomach.
“Japanesing.’’ At Nathan’s 2001 contest, Takeru Kobayashi scarfed 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes, smashing the old record of 25. The 110-pounder did it by separating dog and bun, then gulping franks in twos. Admirers dubbed this “Japanesing,’’ and it’s how Brown chows: “If you grab two hot dogs at a time, it feels like one.’’
Crystal Light dunk. Brown peels buns open (“reverse bunnage’’) for a swift gulp; he dunks them in Crystal Light, starting with raspberry and moving to orange. “I have a problem with flavor fatigue,’’ he says. “In four minutes you’re repulsed by garlic and salt. I’ve tried dunking in everything from milkshakes to chocolate sauce. This is what works.’’
Brain training. Competitive eaters override brain signals that tell them they’re full. “You have to trick it,’’ says Brown, who also packs an iPod to drown out announcer prattle with books on tape or punk rock. “You don’t want to know if you’re winning or losing. You just want to concentrate.’’ His brain and gut rewired, Brown finds: “I never get full. I don’t get hungry. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love to eat.’’
Aftermath. Following competitions Brown grabs a water bottle, not so much to cool off as to push his stomach wall even more. “I usually guzzle a liter to 2 liters of water 20 to 30 minutes afterwards,’’ he says. “It’s total dedication, trying to get better every time, so the best thing to do afterwards is just hit your capacity. For anyone who takes this seriously, you’ve got to push yourself.’’
Next meal. Brown finds he bounces back quickly — and would choose a clambake or loaded Chicago dog over the plain wieners he consumes on the circuit. As for when he’s ready to eat again following a big meet, “after an hour or an hour and a half, it’s all gone. I don’t want to get into the details of that
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