Small-Time Big Eating
There’s nothing sexier than a guy gorging himself on six pounds of custard.
It’s Saturday afternoon at BR Frozen Custard & Sweets, a small store tucked behind a Woodbridge strip mall. Ian “The Invader” Hickman takes swigs of Powerade, preparing to down as many pounds of frozen vanilla custard as he can in six minutes (”In these contests you sweat, you put your body though a lot of stress,” Hickman said. “It’s like running a marathon, but different.”)
Hickman, 25, of Herndon, is one of four professional eaters about to compete for a grand prize of $250. He’s not worried about his competition, nor is he jittery about the build up during the kids and amateur competitions before the main event.
He’s worried about farting. With so much dairy, a custard-eating contest could quickly turn into that classic scene from “Blazing Saddles.” You know the one—all those cowboys sitting around the campfire, eating beans and, well, you get the idea.
He’s had gastrointestinal problems before, eating rice curry in Japan on Nippon Television last December.
OK, so there are lots of things sexier than this guy. Or any guy. Farting. While gorging on custard. But it’s still pretty cool. Contest results at the BR Frozen Custard & Sweets site here.
