It's no secret the world of competitive eating has been dominated by male competitors for years. While female juggarnauts like Miki Sudo and Sonya Thomas are ranked within Major League Eating's top 10, there are only 13 female competitors in MLE's Top 50.
However, that will soon change, as a new and unknown female competitor is calmly eating her way through massive eating challenges on YouTube, and is set on breathing new life into the role of women in the realm of competitive eating.
Her name is Raina Huang, and she's hungry. To demonstrate her talents, Huang recently completed the In-N-Out 50x50 Challenge — in less than 40 minutes.
On November 2, more than 80,000 people tuned-in on FOODBEAST's Facebook page to witness history via livestream.
A few weeks ago, Huang created a name for herself by dominating the competition during the Pabst Blue Ribbon Pizza Eating Challenge at Oozefest 3. There Huang ate 16 slices of pizza in 10-minutes to take the W.
For the most part, Raina Huang, a resident of Walnut, Calif., is an unknown. She recently started a YouTube channel to showcase herself casually eating her way through massive 8-pound burritos and 6.5-pound sushi challenges. Her modest demeanor and shy persona are slightly deceiving characteristics, but once she starts eating — it's all business.
In order to prepare her body for these challenges, Huang claims her training consists of lots of cardio, and says she also drinks a gallon of water, everyday, in less than five minutes.
It's quite a sight to witness this miraculously gluttonous task in person. In total, the 50x50 challenge took the novice competitive eater less than 40-minutes to not just complete, but dominate.
Photo/Evan Lancaster
However, this 50x50 In-N-Out Challenge isn't a first. In 2016, well-known professional eater Naader "Freak Eating" Reda attempted the challenge live on a FOODBEAST livestream, but came up short, consuming a respectable and then world record, 40 patties.
For Huang's effort, she started off quickly, devouring multiple patties at a time. Unlike her counter-part Freak Eating, she didn't use any sauce or ketchup. From sitting, standing, and even jumping at times, Huang was determined to break Freak Eating's 40x40 record.
In the midst of the insane gastrointestinal task at hand, and another story for another time, is the fact that before now, ordering an In-N-Out's 50x50 has proved near impossible.
On November 2, FOODBEAST proved that Southern California's most well-known burger chain is capable of churning out a 50x50 upon request.
While a $63 In-N-Out 50x50 is impressive on its own, what's more impressive is watching YouTuber Raina Huang set a world record by eating THE ENTIRE THING.
Huang's tactic of going condiment-free might have been the smartest move. Freak Eating continuously dunked his portions into ketchup, but he had to tap out at 40.
However, as Huang mowed through the majority of the burger, she began to complain about the saltiness. Perhaps Freak Eating's ketchup tactic backfired, adding more sodium to the equation, draining his mouth of much needed saliva to help break down massive amounts of meat.
Either way, it's safe to say that there have been some long-standing heavyweights in the competitive eating world. Now, the industry should be ready to add Huang's name to the ranks of household names like Joey Chestnutt, Matt Stonie, and Naader "Freak Eating" Reda.
It's not everyday someone becomes the world record holder for eating a In-N-Out 50x50, so someone better call The Guinness Book of World Records, because Huang deserves a trophy.
