I'm lucky. My parents are, like, super hippies. They were just happy I was going to school and I wasn't getting in trouble.

I love Italian food, such as pasta or lasagna.

I love king crab a lot. I love good Mexican food, good tacos, and chile rellenos.

I like going to the doctor, being vigilant, being told that I'm healthy so I can push myself.

I travel pretty much every weekend of the summer. And then during the winter, I still do appearances and a couple contests here and there.

I have the greatest job in the world, and my life revolves around my love for food - particularly devouring hot dogs.

The weather in New York, it fluctuates so much. Some days it's humid, some days you have a thunderstorm.

There have been times when things get stuck in my throat, but you just work it up or down. Like how a swimmer probably can't imagine drowning - their bodies are so used to being in the water. I'm so used to shoving things down my throat.

If I'm going to get up on stage to eat hot dogs, I'm not going to do it to get third or fourth.

I was awful my first time. I was so shy eating in front of people. It was so awkward. But my next contest, I brought a bunch of my family out, and I won that one. I remember I almost barfed because my mom, at the end of the contest, she yelled out, 'Do it for Mama!' Everybody laughed. It was one of the closest I've ever been to barfing.

I think that happens to anybody, when they train for things over and over again, and then they just realize, 'What do I train for now?'

Once I get a rhythm going, I can jump those hot dogs down.

I'm getting older, and I'm smarter about how I eat.

After a contest, I try to eat fairly healthy.

When I started doing contests, I didn't look at it as a sport, but when I realized I was looking at it that way, I had to acknowledge it as a sport.

There's nothing pretty about competitive eating. It might be uncouth, but it is fun, and it is lighthearted.

I remember as a kid watching that movie - 'Cool Hand Luke' - with my grandfather.

I don't want to train for every contest the way I do for the Fourth of July. It would be impossible.

I've learned how to gnarl the food down. It's not pretty.

Every time you learn you can do something, you can go a little bit faster next time.

It was a hard decision to give up a normal job. I worked hard to get through school. You go from building a fire station to an eating contest.

I usually stay away from sweets.

Pretty much all I'm doing during an eating contest is being uncomfortable and not forgetting to breathe.

My weight does fluctuate, and there are extreme highs and lows in my blood sugar, so there is some worry about diabetes.