Junior Raymond Jackson is a competitive eater. He has been competitive eating for almost five years, ever since he was 11 years old, and he has been in plenty of competitions. These competitions can go for $500-1000. Ever since Ray was a little kid, he says he would always eat like a horse. Ray has been in competitions like eating tacos, hot dogs, chicken wings, and poutine.

“My favorite out of them all was the street tacos cause who can’t go wrong with a couple hundred tacos?” Jackson said.

Believe it or not, there are some things competitors can do to practice for this sport. Training consists of getting used to the salty taste in foods so you won’t mess up during the competition from the salty taste. Although competitive eating is considered a sport, people can join a professional team. Jackson prefers to compete as a single individual

“I prefer to do mine alone because if I lose, I have no one to blame but myself and I can improve,” Jackson said.

There is some preparation to do before a contest.

“Many prepare differently than me. If I have a competition, I don’t eat the whole day until my competition begins,” Jackson said.

In these competitions, these competitors will eat pounds of food very quickly. Even after eating these foods, people will think they won’t eat for weeks, but it’s the complete opposite. Some competitors even eat the same things after the competition the next day.

“Even after eating pounds of food, I still crave to eat more. It’s a common misconception that after eating pounds of food you don’t eat for weeks or months, but it’s the complete opposite. I actually would eat it the next day because I’ve eaten so much of it,” Jackson said.