Tim Janus - Career

Career

The IFOCE's 2004 Rookie of the Year, in the summer of 2005 Janus advanced to the Final Four of the inaugural Alka Seltzer U.S. Open of Competitive Eating, a single-elimination tournament featuring 32 of the world's best eaters. He is the current tamale-, cannoli-, burrito-, and tiramisu-eating champion of the world.

In 2006, Janus was featured on the show "True Life: I'm a Competitive Eater" along with then world-champion hot-dog eater Takeru Kobayashi. The show showcased his daily life, including his training for different events.

In 2007, Tim was a test subject in a documentary, The Science of Speed Eating from National Geographic. He underwent an upper gastrointestinal series and was shown to have a stomach that expands four times larger than a normal stomach. His digestive rate of the stomach was also slower than a normal human.

On July 4, 2007, just before the release of the final Harry Potter book, Janus appeared on-stage at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest with a sign saying "Hermione dies". Janus would later admit that the stunt led to rules against signage at competitive eating events, and that he suffered a significant amount of personal backlash for the prank.

On September 22, Tim Janus ate 10¾ 18-ounce burritos (made of rice, black beans, pork, cheese and a mild sauce wrapped in a tortilla) in a 12 minutes to win the $3,000 Costa Vida world burrito-eating championship.

On November 21, 2007, Tim Janus helped draw attention to the plight of New York City's homeless by consuming a Thanksgiving meal for four, including a 10-pound turkey, four pounds of mashed potatoes, three pounds of cranberry sauce, 2½ pounds of beans, and a pumpkin pie. The IFOCE donated $6,000 to Second Harvest, a hunger-relief organization, to celebrate the accomplishment. Second Harvest estimated that the donation would provide 30,000 meals to area residents.

On May 16, 2009, Janus became the third person in the history of the world to eat 50 or more hot dogs and buns in a Nathan's hot dog eating contest, consuming exactly 50 in his qualifier in Hartford, CT. In the finals on July 4, he ate 53 hot dogs.

On July 4, 2010, Eater X placed second at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest by eating 45 hot dogs and losing to Joey Chestnut who ate 54 hot dogs and buns.

In an August 24, 2010, episode of "Shaq vs." on ABC, Tim coached a team led by Shaquille O'Neal to victory in a hot dog eating contest against Joey Chestnut.

He is the current champion of the Doodle Challenge, a hamburger eating contest in Connecticut.

Janus appeared in the music video for the Boston Spaceships song "Let it Rest for a Little While" from the band's 2009 album "Zero to 99".

On October 13, 2012, Janus tied for second place with Bob Shoudt in the World Poutine Eating Championship, after eating 8.5 lbs of poutine (or 17 boxes) in 10 minutes.