Australian competitive eater, James Webb is the subject of a new documentary, appropriately titled, James Can Eat, but while many of us have gauged on one too many hot dogs, few have taken food consumption to the same extremes as this top ranked eater. Webb sat down with M&F to discuss his fondness for food challenges, and why his athletic approach has brought him to the table and beyond.
Earlier this year, James Webb earned a Guinness World Record for eating a kilogram of mozzarella in 1 minute and 22.59 seconds—with no hands! It’s just another stat for this man from Sydney, however. His vast archive of achievements includes a world record for eating 276 chicken wings in 12 minutes and another for swallowing 32 Sloppers (cheeseburgers with chili).
Even more insane is that those two records were scored within 48 hours of each other. Other incredible ingesting efforts include times of just 8 minutes for eating 70 donuts, 13.5 pounds of chocolate fudge, and 224 chicken wings in separate Major League Eating Events. But his current ambition is to win Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Contest. And with a peak position of third, he could be getting close. If you’ve ever wondered about the methods behind the madness of eating extreme amounts of food, Webb explains his winning ways.
Don’t Overthink it, ‘Just Eat It’
Before life as a competitive eater, Webb contracted the autoimmune disorder, Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS). He suffered paralysis and was told he’d never walk again. As a semi-professional football player, Webb fought hard to recover, and when he started to rebuild his life, he promised himself that he’d make the most out of every moment. So, when a tipsy bar man challenged him to enter his first event, he didn’t back down.
Webb explains that his strategy for swallowing mega meals during food challenges is to “Just eat it.” Unlike other competitors who break up foods such as burgers into the meat, salad, and bread, this eager Aussie picks the whole thing up where possible or makes a minimal cut to make it manageable.
“It’s a burger, let’s eat, right?” advises Webb. “Truthfully, the biggest mistake is people getting too complicated. It’s not that deep.”
Webb says that he prefers to leave his favorite food until last, however. “I love fries,” he shares, noting that he’d rather round-out a challenge this way. “When you’re full, who wants salad?” notes the nimble nibbler.
Being the Best at Anything Requires Serious Training
Webb reflects that surviving his illness put a fire in his belly that hadn’t been there during his football career, but now that he’s found what he calls his “inner beast,” and he’s all-in on eating. The first thing you notice about the man himself is that doesn’t have a huge beer belly or conform to stereotypes. Instead, the 36-year-old approaches each challenge and contest like it’s the most important game of his career. “I need to be fit to do what I do, but I also can’t get too fat because it’s gonna inhibit me and my ability, right?”
The competitor tells M&F that he works out in the gym up to twice per day, and when he’s on the road, he books hotels that are a 15 minute walk from his preferred gyms, so that he can take in some scenic cardio along the way. “The truth is, to eat like a maniac, you’ve got to be relatively fit,” says Webb. The record-breaking eater understands that exercise makes the most of the nutrients that he consumes, and he also focuses on other areas of conditioning, such as breath work.
“We’re taking big gulps of food,” he explains. “A lot of the time, you could get out of breath.” Then there’s the recovery phase. “After a food contest, you’re buckled,” he reflects. “I’ll sleep for 12 hours after a contest. It takes a lot out of you. It’s so physically demanding.”
Success Certainly Requires Sacrifice
While the ability to eat huge portions sounds like a whole lot of foodie fun, the reality of the competitive eating lifestyle is that this takes precedence over pretty much anything else. There are two, three-month blocks of major eating contests, but there’s work to be done in the off-season, too. Taking on these increasingly extreme challenges requires an individual to stretch their stomach in order to handle more and more mass.
“So, there’s no regular family meals, there’s no going out to nice restaurants with my wife,” he shares. “It’s like, dude, we’re gonna go hit the buffet, we’re gonna stretch our stomach! You lose a certain social-life aspect. You’re not just sacrificing physically, now you’re sacrificing social outings too.”
Far from eating at random, Webb’s swallows are carefully scheduled, following a strict protocol in order to get himself prepared for competition. “Let’s say my contest is on Saturday. I’ve got to plan my week of eating,” he notes. Conversely, after hitting the buffets, he stops eating for two full days before competition day, only drinking fluid in order to create max capacity.
“I’m tired, lethargic, and a bit grumpy,” he shares of this phase in his prep. “So again, I’m sacrificing.” Then there are those challenges that are a step too far. Webb tells M&F that he once ate 84 or 85 Krispy Kreme’s. “Around 32,000 calories, which was pretty stupid,” he recalls, almost turning green from the memory. Fortunately, he can laugh about it now, however.
Webb is grateful to have a very supportive wife, and his career continues to be on the ascent. In addition to the tens of thousands of dollars that he has earned by demolishing his dishes, Webb is also the subject of Generation Iron’s new documentary, James Can Eat.
“I’ve been very lucky,” he says. “I’m blessed in getting to do what I do, and I’ve been very lucky to achieve what I’ve achieved, but I think every competitive eater, they want to win the Nathan’s 4th of July Hot Dog Contest. I’ve come third, four years in a row now.” The objective is simple: east as many Nathan’s Famous hot dogs with buns as possible within 10-minutes. This year he managed 45.5 hot dogs, but way out in front was Joey Chestnut with 70.5 dogs.
Still, it’s not just the game, but the mind games that each competitor must be aware of in order to eat their way to the top. “If there are ten competitors, there’s always, like 8 chairs,” reveals Webb of the crafty culture behind some contests. “There are always the mind games, but you know what? This is my fourth season, and I’ve been around the traps a little bit. If they’re going out of their way to mess with you, it’s because they’re afraid of what you’re about to do!”
