What happened to Takeru Kobayashi? From Nathan's hot dog-eating champion to obscurity

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Takeru Kobayashi is done hot doggin' it.

The Japanese competitive eater dominated the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in the early 2000s. His reign launched the event's popularity into an entirely new stratosphere, but soon after his six straight title wins, Kobayashi was nowhere to be found.

Kobayashi dazzled — and grossed out — the masses with his ability to shove dog after dog straight down the gullet, with his signature shimmy and his diminutive stature. Once Joey Chestnut arrived on the scene to challenge Kobayashi, Chestnut dethroned the champ and started a dynasty of his own.

Since then, Kobayashi has strayed further and further from the frankfurter.

So, what happened to "Kobi?" 

MORE: What happens inside an eater's body after the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest?

What happened to Kobayashi?

The answer is … not much.

If you're expecting the tragic downfall of a once-dominant champion, there's not really much there. There is lots of red tape, though.

While Joey "Jaws" Chestnut's arrival subsequently ended Kobayashi's reign of six consecutive hot dog eating titles, it wasn't until 2010 when Kobayashi's eating career started to spiral. Kobayashi entered a contract dispute with Major League Eating, which sanctions the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, leading to the end of his appearances on Coney Island during the Fourth of July spectacle.

His disputes with MLE prevented Kobayashi from competing at events outside of the MLE banner, resulting in Kobayashi's ban from the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in subsequent years, effectively ending his chance at redemption vs. Chestnut.

"They want complete control over me," he told the New York Daily News in 2010. "I just want to compete and do what I love. They are trying to take away my freedom."

In 2010, Kobayashi infamously rushed the stage at the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, resulting in his arrest. While there are conflicting reports as to what exactly happened, Kobayashi maintains that he took the stage to appease fans at the event who were chanting his name and congratulate Chestnut for his victory. The 2009 competition would be the last that Kobayashi would be involved in.

In 2011, from a rooftop bar and set during the same time as the traditional hot dog eating contest, Kobayashi downed 69 hot dogs setting a world record, thus "challenging" Chestnut for hot dog supremacy. Even with the officials, though, it wasn't quite as sweet as raising the Mustard Belt at the corner of Surf and Stillwell.

In recent years, Kobayashi has still been chomping away, just in relative obscurity, away from the spotlight of the Fourth of July. In 2019, he was one of the subjects of the ESPN 30-for-30 documentary "The Good, The Bad, The Hungry" alongside Chestnut, which detailed the chompers' rivalry.

MORE: Full list of Joey Chestnut's 55 competitive eating world records

Kobayashi hot dog eating contest results

Kobayashi was doing things with his mouth and stomach that were previously unseen in the hot dog eating contest.

He burst onto the scene in 2001, devouring 50 dogs; second-place winner Arai Saitama ate 31. Both competitors broke the previous record (25), but Kobayashi took home the glory.

In 2011, Kobayashi once again set a world record with 69 nice hot dogs consumed, "beating out" Chestnut by one dog. The catch: Kobayashi set the mark at a rooftop bar, not at the Nathan's event, which he was banned from. Kobayashi's record was officiated by two ordained judges, so it was legitimate. The record would eventually be broken by Chestnut.

Year Hot dogs eaten Place
2001 50 First
2002 50 First
2003 44 1/2 First
2004 53 1/2 First
2005 49 First
2006 53 3/4 First
2007 63 Second
2008 59 Second
2009 64 1/2 Second
Author(s)
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Joe Rivera is a senior content producer at The Sporting News and teaches Multimedia Sports Reporting at his alma mater, Rutgers University.