L.A. Beast

Kevin Thomas Strahle (born January 6, 1984), better known as the L.A. Beast, is an American professional competitive eater[3][4] who hosts a challenge-based channel on YouTube. Strahle started making videos in his hometown of Ridgewood, New Jersey then moved to Los Angeles, California.[5] After several years at his home in California, he moved back to his hometown of Ridgewood, New Jersey. As of December 2020, his channel has over 2.6 million subscribers and over 438 million total views.[2] In addition to his online presence, he has made appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,[6][7] The Today Show Australia[8] and Tosh.0.[9][10]

L.A. Beast
Personal information
BornKevin Thomas Strahle
(1984-01-06) January 6, 1984[1]
Ridgewood, New Jersey, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
YouTube information
Also known as
  • L.A. Beast
  • KevLAbeast
  • labeast62
  • skippy62able
Channel
Years active2010–present
Genre
Subscribers2.62 million
Total views438.47 million
NetworkFullscreen[2]
Catchphrase(s)
  • "Have a good day!"
  • "I need to get my bearings straight." (Often accompanied by an image of the Bering Strait.)
  • "...Okay!"
  • "I gotta go to the hospital."
100,000 subscribers 2013[2]
1,000,000 subscribers 2015[2]
Updated: November 17, 2020

In 2015, Strahle led a successful campaign to bring back the soft drink Crystal Pepsi.

Early life

Strahle was born on January 6, 1984 and grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey.[1][11]

As a child, Strahle developed a love for eating[11] and later used his natural bulk to join the football team at Ridgewood High School.[12][13][14] In his free time he would often accept money from his classmates to complete outrageous food challenges.[11] Strahle is of Italian and Irish ancestry on his maternal side and German and Irish on his paternal side.

After high school, Strahle was recruited to play football for the Fordham Rams of Fordham University in New York. In his four years on the team, he started on the offensive line in almost every game for the 2004–2006 seasons.[15]

In 2008, Strahle moved to Los Angeles[16] and obtained a job working for Pepsi. After two years, he quit after a manager told him he wasn't "persistent enough" to be a salesman within PepsiCo.[17][18] That criticism would later drive him to spearhead the 'Bring Back Crystal Pepsi' campaign.

Kevin is shown to feel quite nostalgic when mentioning his childhood as seen in some of his videos, including his Crystal Pepsi videos.

Internet videos

While Strahle was in Los Angeles, he uploaded his first YouTube video where he performed a milk chugging challenge. Noticing the positive response the video received, he started his own channel under the user name "skippy62able" on August 7, 2010. Having completed Fatburger's XXXL burger challenge[4], Strahle's roommate commented that he was 'a beast' for finishing it so fast.[16] Starting in 2011,[19] Strahle would often refer to himself as either "Beast" or "L.A. Beast", eventually choosing the latter as his official nickname.

In September 2015, Strahle and fellow eaters Takeru Kobayashi, Bob Shoudt, Patrick Bertoletti and Tim Brown assembled in Chicago, Illinois to consume an entire cooked goat.[20] This eating challenge was performed with the intention of lifting the infamous Chicago Cubs curse.[21] The Cubs would go on to win the World Series the following year.

L.A. Beast's YouTube channel features dozens of videos in which he films himself performing a variety of over-the-top eating and drinking challenges. In some cases when he is unsuccessful at these challenges, the featured entertainment value is the schadenfreude and gross-out humor of him experiencing pain and vomiting copious amounts of food and drink. His comedic approach also includes outlandish but extremely specific descriptions of what the experience of eating or drinking these substances is like. In addition, Strahle has a number of humorous catchphrases and frequently used terms, and he usually edits his videos to include picture-in-picture visual puns and other images to accompany the sayings, such as a map of the Bering Strait (or a photo of machine bearings) when he says "I need to get my bearings straight," or amusing photos of animals such as seals that appear as if they're making the vocalizations that L.A. Beast makes as he dry-heaves and retches.[22]

Competitive eating

In November 2011, Strahle competed in his first professional eating contest at the Wild Turkey 81 Eating World Championship in New York City.[16][23][24]

In 2012, Strahle was ranked the 16th best competitive eater in the world, and ranked 17th in 2013.[4]

In June 2012, Strahle consumed 25 hot dogs in 10 minutes at the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest qualifier in Cleveland, Ohio.[25][26] Though Strahle lost to eating veteran Crazy Legs Conti, he was beaten by only a quarter of a hot dog.

In February 2016, Strahle competed at Wing Bowl 24 where he ate a cactus live on stage. To qualify for the competition, Strahle ate 24 raw eggs in under four minutes.[27]

On May 3, 2017, Strahle broke the Guinness World Record for the most chicken nuggets eaten in 3 minutes by consuming 642.12 grams (22.650 oz) of chicken nuggets beating the previous record of 531 g (18.7 oz).[28]

Later that morning, Strahle also broke the Guinness World Record for the most bhut jolokia peppers eaten in 2 minutes by consuming 121.9 grams (4.30 oz) of peppers, beating the previous record of 66 grams (2.3 oz).[29][30]

On May 12, 2017, Strahle broke two additional Guinness World Records for both the most powdered doughnuts eaten in 3 minutes,[31] and the record for fastest time to drink a 32-ounce bottle (0.95 l) of pure maple syrup.[32] The previous record for most powdered doughnuts eaten in 3 minutes was 6 doughnuts, set by Shamus Petherick of Australia. It was beaten when Strahle managed to consume 9 whole doughnuts in the same amount of time. For the second record, Strahle drank 32 US fluid ounces (0.95 l) of pure maple syrup in 10.84 seconds, beating the former record of 26 seconds.

In September 2018, Strahle entered a competition at Jimmy Geez in Haledon, New Jersey in which he has eaten 40 nuclear wings. Strahle completed the challenge in a span of 57 minutes and 22 seconds.


"Bring Back Crystal Pepsi" movement

In April 2015, Strahle rallied his fans to comment on Pepsi's official social media accounts with the hashtag "#BringBackCrystalPEPSI" in an effort to revive the once-popular soft drink.[33][34][35] This led to the creation of a Change.org petition and as of August 2016, it has over 34,000 signatures.[17][18][36][37] The popularity of the movement also produced 15 billboards placed all around the Los Angeles area.[36]

On June 8, 2015, Strahle received a message from Pepsi via Twitter, acknowledging his efforts to get Crystal Pepsi brought back to store shelves and hinting at the soft drink's potential return.[38][39] The next day, a Pepsi spokeswoman confirmed the message's authenticity.[40][41]

On July 26, 2015, Strahle released a song on iTunes called "The Crystal Pepsi Song" featuring production company That's Classic Media (now named Mac N’ Cheese Media).[42] A music video was later released August 5, 2015.[43][44]

On December 8, 2015, Pepsi announced the re-release of Crystal Pepsi in a limited quantity sweepstakes.[37] In June 2016, Pepsi announced that Crystal Pepsi would be released in the U.S. on August 8, 2016 for an eight-week run.[34][35][39][44][37]

Notable challenges

Eating

Drinking

Other stunts

World records

Strahle currently holds eleven Guinness World Records, which include the following feats:

  • Most chicken nuggets eaten in 3 minutes (642.12 grams). Beating the record previously held by Todd Fernley (531 grams) on February 26, 2016.[75][76]
  • Most Bhut jolokia chili peppers (Ghost Peppers) eaten in two minutes.[77]
  • Most powdered doughnuts eaten in three minutes.[78]
  • Fastest Time to Drink a 32 oz. Bottle of Maple Syrup.[79]
  • Fastest time to eat all chocolates from an advent calendar. [80]
  • Most marshmallows eaten in one minute (no hands).[81]
  • Most peanut butter cups eaten in one minute.[81]
  • Most gummy bears eaten with a stick in one minute.[81]
  • Fastest time to drink a cup of coffee.[81]
  • Fastest time to drink two litres of soda through a straw.[81]

See also

References
  1. "Kevin Strahle Stats, News, Videos, Pictures, Bio". ESPN. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  2. "Skippy62able's Youtube Stats, Channel Statistics". Social Blade. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  3. "Kevin "LA Beast" Strahle Major League Eating Eater Profile". Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  4. "Racket Magazine's Thanksgiving Day Extravaganza Day 3: L.A. Beast – Racket Magazine". Racket Magazine. November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  5. "Sriracha, despite its legal woes, is a cultural icon that bites". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  6. "Tonight Show Meal Or No Meal: Drinking 18 Raw Eggs & Golf Ball Trick". Recapo. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  7. "NBC TV Tonight Show Video: Jay Leno Skit – "Man Chugs 18 Raw Eggs" (March 21, 2013)". WritingShares.com. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  8. "TODAY: America's Vegemite man joins Today". MSN Video Australia. Archived from the original on April 27, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
  9. "Butter Challenge – Video Clip – Tosh.0 – Comedy Central". Comedy Central. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  10. "Video Breakdown – Buttered Floor – Tosh.0 – Comedy Central". Comedy Central. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  11. "Draw My Life – L.A. Beast". YouTube. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  12. #62 Kevin Strahle: Fordham Roster, Scout.com. Accessed May 19, 2015.
  13. "Playoff victory little consolation for Ridgewood". North Jersey Sports. Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  14. "Ridgewood – Bergen Passaic Football". Bergen Passaic Football. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  15. "FORDHAM RAMS CLOSE OUT 2004 SEASON BY HOSTING COLGATE ON SATURDAY" (PDF). CBS Sports Network. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  16. "SMOKING BOXED WINE? COMPETITIVE EATER KEVIN STRAHLE (A.K.A. L.A. BEAST) DOES IT". Broward Palm Beach New Times. February 14, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  17. "'Crystal Pepsi' could return in response to online #BringBackCrystalPEPSI campaign". New York Daily News. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  18. Ledbetter, Carly (June 11, 2015). "Crystal Pepsi Might Be Making A Comeback Thanks To One Man's Excitement". Huffington Post. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  19. "BEAST INHALES 3 DINNER ENTREES IN 20 MIN". YouTube. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  20. "Kobayashi – Tries to Reverse Curse ... Cubs Bars Run for Cover". TMZ. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  21. "Competitive eaters devour a goat in order to lift Cubs' curse". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
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  29. "L.A. Beast devours two speed-eating world records". Guinness World Records. May 4, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  30. skippy62able (May 5, 2017), Most Bhut Jolokia Chillis (Ghost Peppers) Eaten in 2 min | NEW Guinness World Records Title, retrieved May 5, 2017
  31. Strahle, Kevin. "Most Powdered Doughnuts Eaten in 3 min (Guinness World Records Title) | L.A. BEAST". Youtube.com. skippy62able. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  32. Strahle, Kevin. "Fastest Time to Drink a 32oz Bottle of Maple Syrup (Guinness World Records Title) | L.A. BEAST". Youtube.com. skippy62able. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  33. "Pepsi Needs To Bring Back Crystal Pepsi – ft. L.A. BEAST (Warning: Extreme Rainbow Vomit)". YouTube. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  34. "Crystal Pepsi Is Coming Back For a Limited Time". Time. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  35. Strutner, Suzy (December 9, 2015). "Crystal Pepsi Is Back, But You Have To Win It To Sip It". Huffington Post. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
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  41. "Crystal Pepsi is Ready for a Comeback". NBC News. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  42. "iTunes – The Crystal Pepsi Song (feat. That's Classic) – Single by La Beast". Apple. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  43. "The Crystal Pepsi Song (Feat. That's Classic)". YouTube. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
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  64. "SEE IT: Competitive eater L.A. Beast drinks gallon of honey while covered in bees". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
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  77. "Most Bhut Jolokia chilli peppers eaten in two minutes". Guinness World Records. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  78. "Most powdered doughnuts eaten in three minutes". Guinness World Records. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
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  80. "NEW Guinness World Records Title Fastest Time to Eat All Chocolates From an Advent Calendar". Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  81. "Video: Competitive eater L.A. Beast conquers his fear of bugs and goes after six eating challenges". November 30, 2017.
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