# L.A. Beast
**L.A. Beast** is a professional competitive eater and YouTube entertainer whose videos combine speed eating, extreme-quantity challenges, and stunts involving very spicy or non-food items.[1](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2017/11/video-competitive-eater-l-a-beast-conquers-his-fear-of-bugs-by-eating-a-tarantu-504325) He became a professional eater in 2012[1](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2017/11/video-competitive-eater-l-a-beast-conquers-his-fear-of-bugs-by-eating-a-tarantu-504325) • [2](https://reallifemag.com/challenge-eating/) • [1](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2017/11/video-competitive-eater-l-a-beast-conquers-his-fear-of-bugs-by-eating-a-tarantu-504325) and has held multiple [Guinness World Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/guinness-world-records) titles, including nine powdered doughnuts in three minutes, a bottle of maple syrup in 10.84 seconds, 66 grams of ghost peppers in two minutes, and 642.12 grams of chicken nuggets in three minutes.[3](https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/competitive-eater-shatters-powdered-donut-maple-syrup-chugging-records) • [10](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2017/5/video-competitive-eater-and-youtube-star-l-a-beast-gobbles-doughnut-and-maple-s-472047) • [3](https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/competitive-eater-shatters-powdered-donut-maple-syrup-chugging-records) Listed by Major League Eating, his contest results include 54 cupcakes in six minutes and 31 meatballs in ten minutes,[4](https://majorleagueeating.com/eaters/210/) and his signature stunts have included eating a cactus, two cacti, an entire watermelon including the rind, and the full [Burger King](https://www.edgepedia.org/burger-king) burger menu in 24 minutes.[5](https://time.com/38424/in-whopper-of-a-challenge-watch-a-guy-eat-every-burger-on-the-burger-king-menu-in-24-minutes/)
His videos combine speed eating, extreme-quantity challenges, and stunts involving very spicy or non-food items, and he has held multiple Guinness World Records titles.[1](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2017/11/video-competitive-eater-l-a-beast-conquers-his-fear-of-bugs-by-eating-a-tarantu-504325)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Professions | Professional competitive eater and YouTube entertainer; professional eater since 2012[1](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2017/11/video-competitive-eater-l-a-beast-conquers-his-fear-of-bugs-by-eating-a-tarantu-504325) • [2](https://reallifemag.com/challenge-eating/) |
| Guinness records | 9 powdered doughnuts in 3 minutes; a bottle of maple syrup in 10.84 seconds; 66 g of ghost peppers in 2 minutes; 642.12 g of chicken nuggets in 3 minutes[3](https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/competitive-eater-shatters-powdered-donut-maple-syrup-chugging-records) |
| MLE table results | 54 cupcakes in 6 minutes and 31 meatballs in 10 minutes[4](https://majorleagueeating.com/eaters/210/) |
| Signature stunts | Eating two cacti, an entire watermelon including the rind, and the full Burger King burger menu in 24 minutes[5](https://time.com/38424/in-whopper-of-a-challenge-watch-a-guy-eat-every-burger-on-the-burger-king-menu-in-24-minutes/) |
## Early life and athletic background
Before his eating career he worked as a sales representative for a beer distributor, and by 2013 he was living in [Santa Monica, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/santa-monica-california), making what the *Los Angeles Times* described as a modest living from his viral videos.[6](https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sriracha-despite-legal-woes-is-cultural-icon-20131105-story.html)
## Competitive eating career
Strahle became a professional eater in 2012.[1](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2017/11/video-competitive-eater-l-a-beast-conquers-his-fear-of-bugs-by-eating-a-tarantu-504325) He is listed by Major League Eating (MLE), the sanctioning body for professional eating contests, on a bib sheet from [Ridgewood, New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/ridgewood-new-jersey), listing a weight of 275 pounds, with contest results including 54 cupcakes in 6 minutes and 31 meatballs in 10 minutes.[4](https://majorleagueeating.com/eaters/210/) In a 2013 interview with *Racket Magazine*, he said he was ranked 17th in the world and described the professional circuit as tough, with strong newcomers such as Miki Sudo and [Matt Stonie](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-stonie) raising the level of competition.[7](https://racketmag.com/interviews/racket-magazines-thanksgiving-extravaganza-day-3-l-a-beast/)
His path into the sport began with a single restaurant challenge: he ate Fatburger's 3.5-pound XXXL burger in 40 minutes without practicing, and decided that with training he could go further.[7](https://racketmag.com/interviews/racket-magazines-thanksgiving-extravaganza-day-3-l-a-beast/) In 2013 he placed second in a Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest qualifier in [Naples, Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/naples-florida), eating 24.5 hot dogs in 10 minutes.[8](https://eatfeats.com/query.php?_table=eaters&id=7545) He later stepped away from competition; EatFeats reported his return at a pizza eating contest in Maplewood, New Jersey, his first competition in four years, and he has produced a video about his career titled "Why I Never Made It To The Nathan's 4th of July Hot Dog Contest".[9](https://eatfeats.com/category/men/kevin-strahle)
## Guinness World Records
Strahle has set multiple Guinness World Records, several of them during Facebook Live broadcasts from Guinness World Records' New York office in 2017.[10](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2017/5/video-competitive-eater-and-youtube-star-l-a-beast-gobbles-doughnut-and-maple-s-472047) In May 2017 he ate nine powdered doughnuts in three minutes, breaking a previous record of six, and drank a bottle of maple syrup in 10.84 seconds, cutting the old mark of 26 seconds by more than half; the doughnut rules forbid licking his lips or drinking anything.[10](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2017/5/video-competitive-eater-and-youtube-star-l-a-beast-gobbles-doughnut-and-maple-s-472047) Earlier that month he set records for eating 66 grams of ghost peppers (bhut jolokia chilies) in two minutes and 642.12 grams of [McDonald's](https://www.edgepedia.org/mcdonalds) chicken nuggets in three minutes, beating the previous nugget record of 531 grams.[3](https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/competitive-eater-shatters-powdered-donut-maple-syrup-chugging-records) In December 2017 he set the record for the fastest time to eat all the chocolates from an advent calendar, finishing in 1 minute 27 seconds after unsuccessful attempts earlier in the year.[11](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2017/12/christmas-comes-early-for-speed-eater-l-a-beast-as-he-chomps-his-way-to-a-new-re-505139) Records he has attempted on the *Beyond the Record* series also include most marshmallows eaten in one minute without hands and fastest time to drink two liters of soda through a straw.[1](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2017/11/video-competitive-eater-l-a-beast-conquers-his-fear-of-bugs-by-eating-a-tarantu-504325)
## YouTube channel and notable challenges
Strahle describes himself as a "competitive eater and YouTube entertainer", and his channel mixes eating records with stunts that push the definition of food.[2](https://reallifemag.com/challenge-eating/) His ghost pepper video had drawn nearly 6 million views by late 2013.[6](https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sriracha-despite-legal-woes-is-cultural-icon-20131105-story.html) In 2014 he accepted Burger King's Instagram challenge to eat every burger on the menu, finishing in 24 minutes while wearing a shock collar and washing the food down with Gatorade, for a total of 6,370 calories.[5](https://time.com/38424/in-whopper-of-a-challenge-watch-a-guy-eat-every-burger-on-the-burger-king-menu-in-24-minutes/) In an attempt to eat 150 Warheads sour candies he stopped at 86 because his mouth began bleeding.[5](https://time.com/38424/in-whopper-of-a-challenge-watch-a-guy-eat-every-burger-on-the-burger-king-menu-in-24-minutes/)
**Non-food and novelty stunts.** In his own *Racket Magazine* interview he named a 40-ounce jar of mayonnaise and chugging olive oil as his grossest challenges, saying he struggles with slimy, squishy textures.[7](https://racketmag.com/interviews/racket-magazines-thanksgiving-extravaganza-day-3-l-a-beast/) A writer in *Real Life* magazine observed that his videos frequently show him failing and almost always show the aftermath, which distinguishes them from straightforward athletic performance.[2](https://reallifemag.com/challenge-eating/)
## Training and health context
Strahle trains like an athlete, according to Guinness World Records, and in his *Racket Magazine* interview he described lifting weights and doing cardio since high school, eating a high-protein diet of egg whites and strawberries between challenges, and stretching his stomach by eating 7 pounds of cantaloupe three times a week.[1](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2017/11/video-competitive-eater-l-a-beast-conquers-his-fear-of-bugs-by-eating-a-tarantu-504325) • [7](https://racketmag.com/interviews/racket-magazines-thanksgiving-extravaganza-day-3-l-a-beast/)
The sport he works in carries documented medical risks. A University of Pennsylvania fluoroscopy study of a champion speed eater found that after a 12-minute hot dog contest the stomach appeared as a massively distended, food-filled sac occupying most of the upper abdomen, with little or no gastric peristalsis; the researchers concluded that training had allowed the eater to overcome the satiety reflex.[12](https://time.com/2954614/competitive-eating-health-risks/) Reported risks in the literature include gastroparesis, intractable nausea and vomiting, gastric perforation, Mallory-Weiss tear, Boerhaave syndrome (spontaneous rupture of the esophagus wall), and loss of normal satiety.[13](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3589306/) [Choking](https://www.edgepedia.org/choking) is the biggest risk across speed-eating contests and can result in death, with food accumulating in the lower esophagus when the stomach cannot accept it fast enough.[14](https://time.com/6994306/competitive-eating-health-effects/) Major League Eating keeps contest durations short and requires emergency medical technicians at official contests.[12](https://time.com/2954614/competitive-eating-health-risks/)
## References
1. [Watch competitive eater L.A. Beast conquer his fear of bugs and go after six eating records, Guinness World Records (30 November 2017)](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2017/11/video-competitive-eater-l-a-beast-conquers-his-fear-of-bugs-by-eating-a-tarantu-504325)
2. [Challenge Eating, Real Life](https://reallifemag.com/challenge-eating/)
3. [Competitive eater shatters powdered donut, maple syrup chugging records, Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/competitive-eater-shatters-powdered-donut-maple-syrup-chugging-records)
4. [Kevin "LA Beast" Strahle, Major League Eating](https://majorleagueeating.com/eaters/210/)
5. [In Whopper of a Challenge, Watch a Guy Eat Every Burger on the Burger King Menu in 24 Minutes, TIME (26 March 2014)](https://time.com/38424/in-whopper-of-a-challenge-watch-a-guy-eat-every-burger-on-the-burger-king-menu-in-24-minutes/)
6. [Sriracha, despite its legal woes, is a cultural icon that bites, Los Angeles Times (5 November 2013)](https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sriracha-despite-legal-woes-is-cultural-icon-20131105-story.html)
7. [Racket Magazine's Thanksgiving Extravaganza Day 3: L.A. Beast](https://racketmag.com/interviews/racket-magazines-thanksgiving-extravaganza-day-3-l-a-beast/)
8. [Kevin "LA Beast" Strahle, information and eating contest results, EatFeats](https://eatfeats.com/query.php?_table=eaters&id=7545)
9. [Kevin Strahle category, EatFeats](https://eatfeats.com/category/men/kevin-strahle)
10. [Video: Competitive eater and YouTube star L.A. Beast gobbles doughnut and maple syrup world records, Guinness World Records (18 May 2017)](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2017/5/video-competitive-eater-and-youtube-star-l-a-beast-gobbles-doughnut-and-maple-s-472047)
11. [Christmas comes early for speed-eater L.A. Beast as he chomps his way to a new record, Guinness World Records (7 December 2017)](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2017/12/christmas-comes-early-for-speed-eater-l-a-beast-as-he-chomps-his-way-to-a-new-re-505139)
12. [Here's What Competitive Eating Does to Your Body, TIME (3 July 2014)](https://time.com/2954614/competitive-eating-health-risks/)
13. [Competitive consumption: Ten minutes. 20 000 calories. Long-term trouble?, PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3589306/)
14. [What Competitive Eating Does to the Body, TIME (2024)](https://time.com/6994306/competitive-eating-health-effects/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Food, customs, and everyday culture › Food, cooking and hospitality › Food media, writing, and celebrity food culture › Food festivals, events, and gastronomy culture › Competitive eating and food contests*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license