Kobayashi Defends His Weiner Crown

Outlawed from the official Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island for a contract dispute with Major League Eating (MLE) and for bum-rushing and getting arrested at the stage last year, the legendary scarfer and troublemaker Takeru Kobayashi went rogue on July 4th by staging his own contest on the 230 Fifth rooftop bar in Manhattan.

With a crowd of several hundred fans, two judges, and the Coney Island contest airing live on a big screen TV, Kobayashi choked down 69 dogs, one more than nemesis Joey “Jaws” Chestnut’s 2009 world record.

For the fifth year in a row, Chestnut won the official title, with 62 hot dogs + buns in 10 minutes. While Kobayashi took home six consecutive Nathan’s contest titles from 2001 to 2006, his contract dispute with MLE bans him from challenging Chestnut in person, and MLE also won’t recognize Kobayashi’s 69 as the official record.

Kobayashi gained 18 pounds during the rooftop contest, but as you can see, didn’t lose his 6-pack. I’ve never seen anything so simultaneously disturbing and HAWT at the same time (also, he’s like identically sporting my Pepé Le Pew haircut! Maybe this is a sign we’re meant to be together. Obviously, we share many interests — questionable meat, hair bleach, and pissing people off being among them). Um anyhoo, Kobayashi said his performance demonstrated: “that I’m still good, that I’m still in the contest.” I’ll raise my weiner to that!