Meet The Men Competing At The 2019 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest

Darrien Thomas Orillia, Ontario • 5’9”, 160 lbs, 20 y/o How He Got Here: Won Syracuse, NY, Qualifier with 19.25 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • #27-Ranked Eater in the World by Major League Eating • Making his first appearance at the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Contest • The top-ranked eater in Canada, a constitutional monarchy located to our north

Steve Hendry Pleasant Hill, CA • 6’2”, 215 lbs, 34 y/o How He Got Here: Won Santa Cruz, CA, Qualifier with 25 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • #22-Ranked Eater in the World by Major League Eating • Placed 16th last year; 24 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • Ate 69 Silver Dollar Pancakes in 8 min

Gideon Oji Zaria, Nigeria • 6’9”, 225 lbs, 27 y/o How He Got Here: Won Washington, DC, Qualifier with 25 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • #5-Ranked Eater in the World by Major League Eating • Placed 6th last year; 37.5 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • World Green Chile Stew Eating Champion; 1.3125 gallons in 6 min • World Kale Eating Champion; 25.5 16oz Kale Salads in 8 min • Played college basketball (center) for Clayton State College • Born in the great city of Zaria, Nigeria. Currently lives in Atlanta, GA

Juan “More Bite” Rodriguez Seattle, WA • 5’7”, 165 lbs, 36 y/o How He Got Here: Won Denver, CO, Qualifier with 26 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • #14-Ranked Eater in the World by Major League Eating • Placed 9th last year; 32 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • Works as a personal trainer; known for his deep commitment to manscaping

Adrian “The Rabbit” Morgan New Orleans, LA • 6’1”, 200 lbs, 36 y/o How He Got Here: Won Valdosta, GA, Qualifier with 26 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • #9-Ranked Eater in the World by Major League Eating • Placed 8th last year; 33 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • Ninth consecutive year at Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Contest • World Short-Course Hard-boiled Egg Eating Champion; 20 eggs in 84 seconds • Ate 42 dozen Acme Oysters in 8 min

Juan Neave Austin, TX • 5’5”, 177 lbs, 21 y/o How He Got Here: Won San Antonio, TX, Qualifier with 27 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • #20-Ranked Eater in the World by Major League Eating • Placed tied for 12th last year; 27 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min

Pablo Martinez Visalia, CA • 6’0”, 165 lbs, 33 y/o How He Got Here: Won Miami, FL, Qualifier with 27.25 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • #23-Ranked Eater in the World by Major League Eating • Placed 16th last year; 24 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • Works as a Licensed Marriage and Family therapist • Investigates the paranormal in his free time

Matt Hazzard Normal, IL • 6’2”, 188 lbs, 25 y/o How He Got Here: Won Des Moines, IA, Qualifier with 29.5 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • #11-Ranked Eater in the World by Major League Eating • Placed 14th last year; 25 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • Works as a cyber security specialist, which means he can likely see your browser history

Ronnie Hartman Buffalo, NY • 6’3”, 225 lbs, 30 y/o How He Got Here: Won Cincinnati, OH, Qualifier with 29.5 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • #18-Ranked Eater in the World by Major League Eating • Placed 18th last year; 21.25 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • Made his MLE debut in 2013 while on leave from US Army service in Afghanistan • Training to become a pro wrestler

Derek Jacobs Vandalia, OH • 6’5”, 200 lbs, 36 y/o How He Got Here: Won St. Louis, MO, Qualifier with 30 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • #15-Ranked Eater in the World by Major League Eating • Placed tied for 12th last year; 27 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • Enjoys weightlifting and obstacle course racing

George Chiger Pocono Pines, PA • 6’6”, 340 lbs, 40 y/o How He Got Here: Won Lancaster, PA, Qualifier with 31.5 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • #12-Ranked Eater in the World by Major League Eating • Placed 15th last year; 24.75 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • Despite appearances, is a warm-hearted and kind man—a true gentle giant

Adam Moran Leeds, United Kingdom • 5’10”, 155 lbs, 33 y/o How He Got Here: Won Queens, NY, Qualifier with 32 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • #1-Ranked Eater in the UK—and, until Brexit, the #1-Ranked Eater in Europe • #13-Ranked Eater in the World by Major League Eating • Making his first appearance at Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Contest • His BeardMeetsFood YouTube Channel has over 600k subscribers

Nick Wehry Torrington, CT • 5’10”, 205 lbs, 30 y/o How He Got Here: Won Cape Coral, FL, Qualifier with 34 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • #8-Ranked Eater in the World by Major League Eating • Placed 10th last year; 31 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • Works as a diet coach and competes in bodybuilding

Max Suzuki Tokyo, Japan • 5’11”, 155 lbs, 38 y/o How He Got Here: Won Las Vegas, NV, Qualifier with 41 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • #1-Ranked Eater in Japan • #7-Ranked Eater in the World by Major League Eating • Placed 7th last year; 34 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • Ate 20.5lb of ramen noodles in 45 min

Darron Breeden Orange, VA • 6’0”, 165 lbs, 30 y/o How He Got Here: Won Norfolk, VA, Qualifier with 47 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • #4-Ranked Eater in the World by Major League Eating • Placed 3rd last year; 43 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • World Cheese Curd Eating Champion; 5lb, 2oz in 6 min

Matt Stonie San Jose, CA • 5’8”, 130 lbs, 27 y/o How He Got Here: 2015 Men’s Champion • #3-Ranked Eater in the World by Major League Eating • Ate 62 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min to win 2015 Championship • Placed 5th last year; 40 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • Ninth consecutive year at Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Contest • World MoonPie Eating Champion; 85 in 8 min • World Pumpkin Pie Eating Champion; 20 lbs, 13 oz in 8 min • His YouTube channel has over 8.3 million subscribers

Geoffrey Esper Oxford, MA • 5’7”, 195 lbs, 44 y/o How He Got Here: Won Central Islip, NY, Qualifier with 47 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • #2-Ranked Eater in the World by Major League Eating • Placed 4th last year; 41 Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min • World Pizza Eating Champion; 83 slices of 10-inch pizza in 10 min • Works as a teacher and holds a graduate degree in physics

Joey “Jaws” Chestnut San Jose, CA 6’1”, 230 lbs, 35 y/o How He Got Here: Eleven-time and Defending Nathan’s Famous Men’s Champion • #1-Ranked Eater in the World by Major League Eating • World Hot Dog Eating Champion; ate a World Record 74 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs & Buns in 10 min at last year’s Championship • Claimed his 11th Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July title last year • Winner of eight consecutive Fourth of July titles from 2007 to 2014 • 15th consecutive year as a Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Contestant • Won his first Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Championship in 2007, eating 66 Hot Dogs & Buns in 12 min to snap Takeru Kobayashi’s streak of six Fourth of July wins • Defeated Kobayashi head-to-head for three consecutive years—2007, 2008 and 2009 • Currently holds 49 World Records, which is a World Record of World Records • World Twinkie Eating Champion; 121 Twinkies in 6 min • World Hard Boiled Egg Eating Champion; 141 hard-boiled eggs in 8 min • 2012 Graduate of San Jose State, Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering • Learned to eat fast while growing up with five siblings