Joey Chestnut Addresses Longstanding Takeru Kobayashi Rivalry Ahead Of Netflix’s ‘Unfinished Beef’: “We Push Each Other Hard”

The day has finally come for Joey “Jaws” Chestnut and Takeru “Tsunami” Kobayashi to determine who is the ultimate world eating champion once and for all.

The longtime rivals are set to compete in Netflix ‘s first-ever live eating competition, which is aptly titled Unfinished Beef . Streaming Sept. 2 at 3/2c, the live event marks the first time the competitors will face off against each other since the 2009 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, when Chestnut bested Kobayashi with a five hot dog advantage. But Chestnut still considers Kobayashi his “biggest rival ever.”

“With him, I’m motivated. He’s motivating me, and I’ve been training harder than ever before,” he said at the press conference and weigh-in before the event. “We’re gonna push each other.”

Chestnut currently holds the Guinness World Record for eating 76 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes at the 2021 Nathan’s Fourth of July Contest, where he nabbed his 14th of 16 total wins. But his decades-long career hit a major bump in the road when he was banned from competing in the 2024 Nathan’s contest after he signed a sponsorship with the “rival” brand Impossible Foods.

Now, Chestnut, Kobayashi, and undercard competitors Matt Stonie and Leah Shutkever are descending upon the HyperX Arena in Las Vegas for what will surely be the competitive eating event of the year.

Joey Chestnut Defends Title At Netflix’s ‘Unfinished Beef’ Special, Crowned The Weiner Of Hot Dog-Eating Showdown

DECIDER caught up with Chestnut at the weigh-in to discuss their rivalry, his competitive eating strategy, and what to expect from today’s events.

DECIDER: How does it feel to be back competing against Kobayashi again for the first time in 15 years?

JOEY CHESTNUT: Oh, it’s so exciting. Last time I competed against him, I think I was 25 now I’m 40. It’s been a long time and it actually makes me feel like a kid again. It’s bringing back a lot of old feelings, and it’s exciting.

What it is that makes your rivalry against Kobayashi so different?

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When I got started in competitive eating, I was just telling the other eaters that I wanted to beat Kobayashi. They got mad at me. It was like I was trying to do something that was impossible. It was like I was trying to grow wings and fly. It was like I was being crazy. So when I was able to accomplish that goal and beat him, it was awesome. It’s great… We pushed limits. When I got started, his record was 52 hot dogs, and when I finally beat him, he did 63 and I did 66 so I drove him higher. We just push each other hard, and it’s over 19 years competitive eating. I haven’t met anybody like that.

How does it feel to be competing with Netflix after being barred from the Nathans’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest?

Not competing on the Fourth of July Contest in Coney Island, it hurt. The fans have been going to that contest for years and years and years, and I got tons of messages of people telling me that they’re bummed out that I wasn’t there and and I’m using that as motivation.

I’m from Brooklyn and what I will say is you have a legion of fans out there.

That’s so awesome. I go to the bars on the boardwalk and the pizza place, dude. People are so cool. And that contest is such a staple to Brooklyn. I’m super lucky that I have such a great following, and I’m really hoping I make it back there, but I’m using it [as motivation]. Like I said, missing that contest was a big deal, and it’s pushing me to be my best tomorrow. Like, I don’t win the contest the day of, I usually win by my prep and going empty and loose and all my practices. So I’m working hard right now.

Since the rules are so different this time, how did that affect your strategy and how you practiced and prepared?

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Practice, it was exciting. I remember my first practice, I did 46 hot dogs, and I was like, ‘Oh my God,’ it was so hard. I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to get to 55, and then my next practice I did 56 and I was like, ‘Oh, yes, I think I can get to 60.’ And I did more than my than my 60 goal the next time. So every time I was getting a little bit better. I’ve watched my videos and I get more graceful with my technique and my method, and it was awesome. I was like a kid learning something again. For years and years, I’ve been eating hot dogs the same way, and now it’s really been fun learning how to eat hot dogs again. And it’s a lot cleaner. It’s weird. At first I hated the rules because it slowed me down, but now I like them because it’s been a fun challenge.

Do you think you’ll ever do a hot dog eating contest again, especially if it employs the same rules?

I think I do like a hybrid thing. So towards the end of the contest, I like eating them, no dunking. It’s simpler. It’s maybe a little bit slower, but it’s simpler. And when you’re tired, you don’t want to have to separate the buns and hot dogs and dunk. It’s a lot easier just to stand up straight, grab a hot dog and take a little sip of water to help swallow it, wiggle it down. So if I ever make it back to Coney Island, probably the first five minutes, I’ll be dunking, the last half of the contest, I’ll just stand up straight and eat it like a boss.

During the press conference you mentioned that you’ve had to fix your strategy and practice now that you’ve gotten older, can you talk a little about that?

When I was younger, I wasn’t really scared of gaining weight, because when I was younger, I could gain weight 30 pounds in a month and I could lose it in about a month. Now, if I gain 30 pounds, it’s really hard to lose. It’s not fun. And so I work a lot harder to make sure I get the weight off from a contest as soon as I can. Because if I do one contest and I am five pounds heavier the next week, and I do another event, it’s just compounds, and then I start losing and there’s nothing worse than going to a contest and people are expecting me to do well… It’s so important for me to be healthy, so I can push my body. That’s hard, because I love eat it.

Do you ever eat hot dogs for fun anymore?

Oh my gosh, yeah. I plan next week to go to a baseball game and do a 999 challenge. And I still love a good [hot dog]. I’m a little bit picky. If it’s a steam dog then it turns gray that’s been sitting down for like [ages], it grinds my gears. And I don’t like when buns like split down the middle. Five Guys is notorious, their buns always split. I love hot dogs, but I’m also a little bit picky when people mess up with simple things… I’m reasonable. I think I’m reasonable, but I’m crazy.

Unfinished Beef streams live on Netflix Monday, Sept. 2 at 3/2C.

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