Although we realize that gluttony is one of the Seven Sins for a very good reason, we can’t help but be fascinated by the sport of competitive eating. We previously marveled at the gustatory prowess of Juris “Doctor Bigtime” Shibayama, a Tennessee orthopedist who can put away T-bones like nobody’s business. Today our adulatory gaze turns toward Eric “Badlands” Booker, a New York-based subway conductor currently ranked 13th by the International Federation of Competitive Eating. The heartfelt documentary above gives a good sense of what it’s like to be Badlands, who’s a renaissance man of sorts: In addition to steering the 7 train and downing mass quantities of corned-beef hash, he is also an accomplished rapper. Check out one of his finest public performances here, and pay a visit to his personal website here.
By the way, yes, we realize that competitive eating can seem grotesque in a world in which at least 800 million people are in danger of starvation. We therefore feel obligated to post this rightfully celebrated “Hungry Planet” slideshow as a much-needed corrective.
Humble Bob Shoudt // Jun 5, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Badlands is THE MAN in Competitive Eating. He has a heart as big as his stomach capacity. I always consider it an honor to be at the same table as him in a contest.
Go Badlands!
Humble Bob Shoudt // Jun 5, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Dang, this family of 12 eats on $5 a week.
Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village
Wow.
That was a cool Hungry Planet slideshow.
Brendan I. Koerner // Jun 5, 2009 at 1:31 pm
@Humble Bob: Thanks a mil for the comments, and for stopping by. Honored to have a top-ranked IFOCE competitor making the Microkhan rounds. Any friend of Crazy Legs’s is a friend of ours.
“Kobayashi Steady Twitchin’…” // Sep 2, 2009 at 12:33 pm
[…] gives us immense pleasure to announce Microkhan’s favorite rapping competitive eater, Eric “Badlands” Booker, is back with his fifth album, Extended Play. As always, Booker’s lyrical content focuses on […]