Joey Chestnut: 5 Things to Know About the Record-Breaking Hot Dog Eating Champion

Who is Joey “Jaws” Chestnut? The 41-year-old is the undisputed GOAT of competitive eating. As a 16-time Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest champion, he’s turned gluttony into an art. But after skipping the 2024 contest due to a sponsorship disagreement, he’s back for July 4, 2025.

“I’m thrilled to be returning to the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest,” Chestnut wrote on X. “This event means the world to me. It’s a cherished tradition, a celebration of American culture, and a huge part of my life.”

Chestnut’s 76-hot-dog world record, set in 2021 at Coney Island, still stands. In his absence, rival Patrick Bertoletti claimed the title in 2024 with 58 hot dogs, only to be overshadowed when Chestnut, in a Netflix livestream, devoured 83 hot dogs in 10 minutes, besting even his own previous feat.

Beyond hot dogs, Chestnut has demolished competitive eating records across the board—from burritos to popcorn and chicken fingers. And despite leg surgery in 2021 and other health setbacks, his appetite and determination remain unbreakable.

Now that he’s resolved his differences over the Impossible Foods deal and signed a new three-year exclusive contract with Nathan’s and Major League Eating, Chestnut isn’t just back—he’s hungrier than ever. Read on to learn more about the man behind the mustard-stained record belt.

Joey has won countless competitions

Joey won his very first Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in 2007, defeating champion Takeru Kobayashi. He won every year until he was beaten by Matt Stonie in 2015. Since that one shocking loss to Matt, Joey has yet to be beaten again in the annual hot dog eating contest on July 4. Joey has become the face of eating contests.

And the ̶w̶e̶i̶n̶e̶r̶ winner is… Joey Chestnut! 🌭

He takes the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog-Eating Contest for the 14th time, eating a world-record 76 hot dogs!!! 🤯

Chestnut -3335 💵pic.twitter.com/yMke4JOWLw

— YouBet.Sports 💵 (@TS_Sportsbook) July 4, 2021

He has no plans to retire

“I know eventually I will give it up for one reason or another,” Joey told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “Either if I have a family eventually. If I want to live a more normal life and can’t travel as much or if ever my health changes or if I have a health issue that would be a reason. But I would love… I mean these past three years I have been trying to eat healthier and running more and I hope I can continue that trend so I could prolong this as long as I can because I have had a normal job and I have had to answer to bosses and have had nasty emails and checked schedules and changed orders and I mean I could go back to all of that!”

He’s open to his kids following in his footsteps

When asked whether or not he’ll train his kids in competitive eating, Joey told HollywoodLife: “I don’t know about training them but I would tell them to do whatever makes them happy and I chose a degree I wanted to do and a company I wanted to work for and it made me happy and then it grew into something I would have never imagined so I think do whatever makes you happy. Always try new things and never close any doors.”

He once proposed to an ex at a competition

Right before winning the Nathan’s 2014 Hot Dog Eating Contest, Joey proposed to his longtime girlfriend. Sadly, they split in early 2015.

He doesn’t just eat hot dogs

Joey is a professional eater. He’s competed in eating contests of grilled cheese sandwiches, waffles, burgers, wings, pizza, macaroni and cheese, bratwursts and more. What a life!