The Observer Newspapers |From Fried Zucchini to Frozen Custard, Competitive Eating Champ Devours It All

May 16, 2008

From Fried Zucchini to Frozen Custard, Competitive Eating Champ Devours It All

By Rebecca Plevin

Observer Staff Writer

Walk into a local Starbucks and it might be hard to pick out competitive eater Ian "the Invader" Hickman. He's not overweight and he's not sloppily slurping a giant drink. Instead, he's the slim guy in the worn Adidas t-shirt who jogged over to the coffee shop after finishing up his regular workout at Gold's Gym.

But don't let his good looks and good-natured attitude fool you. Hickman, a 25-year-old Herndon resident and Booz Allen Hamilton employee, is ranked third in the country by the Association of Independent Competitive Eaters and has gobbled his way to world records eating Wendy's chili, quarter-pound hot dogs, potato latkes, spoon bread, fried zucchini and frozen custard, among others.

He now has his sights and stomach set on the Delaplane Strawberry Festival on May 24, where he will attempt for the third time to eat more strawberries in seven minutes than any of his opponents. And from experience, he said, he knows that eating strawberries in mass quantities can be challenging.

Strawberries, he said, are a "funny little fruit." When it is ripe, the berry "just goes down like," he said with a pause, searching for the right food analogy, "like mashed potatoes. Soft and gooey." But when the berry is green and less ripe, he said, he has to chew the berry more like a carrot.

The berries' variance in size, texture and taste presents a challenge, he said, because he is more of a "consistency eater" who prefers to eat uniform food and "just go through the motions." He does not normally train for eating events because, he said, "I don't want to get burned out on the food," but strawberries might be a different story. For foods he's not familiar with, he said, "I do a couple of trial runs."

Hickman entered his first eating competition in 2005 because he said he "always felt like I could eat more than the next guy." Since then, he said he has enjoyed competing in every contest he has enteredÑexcept for the World Frog Leg Eating Championship, held in Madison, Wis. "I was afraid I was going to choke on the bone," he said. He placed fourth in that contest after devouring 1 pound, 7.2 ounces, of meat off the leg.

His favorite competition, he said, was the World Elvis Sandwich Eating Contest, held in Asbury Park, N.J. In that competition, he was the first contestant to drink 8 ounces of buttermilk and then down 14 fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches. He said he loves peanut butter sandwiches, but those were less than appetizing. "Competition food doesn't taste too well," he said. "It's not too good."

While the mere thought of these contests might give some people heartburn, Hickman said his stomach has adapted to the pain he regularly inflicts upon it. "You develop some sort of a pain tolerance," he said. "The body gets used to the discomfort." When he stops eating during a contest, he said, it is not because he feels ready to burst. "The sensation of full never really hits," he said. He said he slows down because of "flavor fatigue more than the actual sensation of not wanting to eat."

Hickman said he tries to counter his extreme eating with an otherwise healthy lifestyle. He said he eats about six to eight meals a day, mostly consisting of a "clean diet" of fruits, vegetables and protein. He said he works out at the gym five or six days a week and practices Tae Kwon Do four or five days a week.

But becoming more lean and muscular has had a detrimental effect on his competitive eating ability, he said. His theory is that developed abdominal muscles make it difficult for his stomach to expand so, he said, "I try not to work my abs for a few days before a contest."

Even with his numerous world records and national titles, Hickman prefers to call himself an "avid hobbyist" rather than a "professional" competitive eater. His main source of income is from his day job, he said, and the "couple grand a year" he brings in from eating is nothing more than "beer and pizza money." "As long as I'm still having fun," he said, "I'll probably keep doing it."

But before he takes on the sweet strawberry challenge, he has an even bigger obstacle to confront: the 19-pound Bigger Mac Daddy Challenge at the Burger Joint in Bethesda, Md. In this contest, scheduled for Saturday, Hickman will have 20 minutes to attack the giant burger, which comes complete with two 8-pound beef patties, 1 liter of special sauce, three heads of Iceberg lettuce, 40 slices of cheese and four pounds of pickles, all on a 2.5-pound sesame seed bun.