Takeru Kobayashi
I've been to the Empire State Building with four friends, and it was very beautiful at that time around midnight.
The one thing that's broken inside of me is that I've lost the signal most people have to feel hungry or feel full.
Food fighters in Japan think of themselves as athletes. They have a higher recognition of the game and are constantly thinking about records. I probably won't continue for long because it puts pressure on the body. But I am at the age where I can perform my best.
People think that if you have a huge appetite, then you'll be better at it. But actually, it's how you confront the food that is brought to you. You have to be mentally and psychologically prepared.
I just grill chicken and make very simple cuisine.
I basically go to the gym three times a week to do weight training for one or two hours.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a baseball player.
I realized crime isn't the only way you can judge people. People can do good things, and people can do bad things. It's probably better to understand people for the good things they do.
I was able to participate in New York Fashion Week and walk down the runway. I participated in a pizza contest in Canada.
About three months before a contest, I drink a lot of water. I start to drink a lot of water.
I just want to compete and do what I love.
I could easily go one or two days without realizing that I'm so, so hungry. That's the negative outcome of what I've become.
I know that I have a special stomach.
If you taste something, you're not at the maximum of your ability. What I think about in competition is temperature and texture. It has nothing to do with taste or emotion.
Stimulation-wise, I might be a little bit addicted when it comes to pushing my body to extremes.
[H]uman beings...make a limit in their mind of what their potential is. They decide, "I've been told this," or "this is what society tells me," or they've been made to believe something. If every human being actually threw away those thoughts...the potential of human beings is great, it's huge, compared to what they actually think of themselves.Collection: Believe
You have to have a lot of respect for hot dogs. It's completely different from sandwich. First of all, the hot dog is American. Sandwiches are not American. They're different. Second of all, a hot dog is like a pop idol. Hot dogs are cute. It's a pop image - everyone knows what a hot dog is.Collection: Cute
I think many people think competitive eating is a really disgusting sport, so people think they look bad normally. But I care about what I'm wearing. I don't want to be someone who is doing something that is considered gross and then also look like a slob.Collection: Sports
One cannot be betrayed if one has no people.Collection: People
I'm not really interested in anyone's record or anyone - I'm always fighting with myself. I always try to do my best.Collection: Fighting
I've been living in New York City almost seven years, and my mentality has changed a lot. Just from being in New York this long and going across America, I realize that in New York, nobody really cares. They are just like, "We're New Yorkers." I feel like that is really the way it should be.Collection: Long
I'm always like that about everything. When I try to do something, I always think, "What is the best way to do this?" Instead of taking what everyone else says and how it has been forever, it's faster for me to try myself. Of course I listen to what everybody says, and at first I'll try what people say, but I always come back to trying it my way.Collection: Thinking