How Man vs Food Almost Ruined Adam Richman's Life

Adam Richman was the host of the hugely popular mid 2000's TV show "Man vs Food". He would take on gargantuan and spicy food challenges, so how did the show almost ruin Adam's life?.....
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00:00 - 01:10 - Introduction/Adam's Early Life
01:11 - 03:34 - The Origins Of Man vs Food/Prime Time
03:35 - 04:16 - Man vs Food International Success
04:17 - 06:16 - Great Balls Of Fire/Habanero Poisoning
06:17 - 06:52 - Chili Me Timbers
06:53 - 8:18 - 86kg Burger & Health Concerns
08:19 - 09:51 - Retiring From Competitive Eating
09:52 - 12:23 - Weight Loss & Getting Cancelled
12:24 - 14:25 - UK Connections/Conclusion

[@phatmemer69]

bro must have been a nuclear reactor of gases and smells after the challenges lol

[@bobobobobobo-gw2lr]

Have

[@goodoldbubba6620]

A new source of energy.

[@crushbeast29]

Stop speaking like a 10 year old.

[@phillybul30]

Lmao!!!😂

[@danielwright568]

Man Vs Food was a huge part of my childhood and I adored Adam's humorous enthusiasm. The food challenges were endlessly entertaining and fascinating, though in hindsight the show needed to end for Adam's sake. I'm glad he's seemingly in a better place now.

[@chrisnelson3668]

Sorry about your childhood

[@diesel9723]

you probably weigh over 300 pounds yourself LOL@@chrisnelson3668

[@floydsemlow8253]

​@@chrisnelson3668😂😂

[@monkeyballs512]

Not just him. It also popularized food challenges, ridiculous portions, and a generally unhealthy view of eating

[@jason0938]

Literally same.

[@JoeNimmo-cj3bf]

My Brother met Adam last year , we live in Scotland and Adam was up filming a segment for his new show at my brothers work. My Brother said he’s one of the most genuine people he’s ever met. After filming the segment he took time to speak to every member of staff and get photos with everyone who wanted one. Bloody legend of a guy

[@Otembe]

That's awesome! I've known people that have worked at places where Guy Fieri filmed DDD and unfortunately, he seems like an a-hole.

[@hankstrickland5011]

He does this because he’s not that famous

[@ericharmon7163]

​@hankstrickland5011 he was interviewed on Hot Ones, so ya, he has some fame being that First We Feast has 13 million followers.

[@jacobsvetich8735]

​@@ericharmon7163 your brain is mush.

[@edenjets]

He didn't have to either, speaks volumes

[@MikeLockheart]

the best part of man vs food was him exploring the town for the first few seconds at the start of each episode, and the unique, historic, and amazing tasty resturants before the challenges.

[@shadowmarez7457]

Him talking about the Habaneros "I didn't know if I wanted to Puke, Shit, Die, Cry, Pray" 🤣🤣🤣

[@nolancho]

Lol just shut up 😅 not funny 😊

[@ryancarter2959]

That’s about how I felt after eating BWW’s Wild sauce. It had been a hot minute since I had eaten spicy wings and that sauce being 1 step below their top wings was not a good idea 😂

[@2nd2LastUnicorn]

​@@ryancarter2959 even medium are surprisingly hot 🥵

[@macdaddybender]

Adam Richman is a legend. Also, he's definitely the guy who would respond to you on Twitter if you were respectful to him. I wish he was on TV more but he really opened the door for the food based entertainment that followed.

[@ashleyhutchison3736]

Man Vs Food, Top Gear repeats and Storage Hunters on weekday mornings on Dave. The streets won't forget.

[@umarrazvi]

Trust me that was lit 🔥

[@damienlee1165]

What an era.

[@mrclapz1488]

Back when Cable TV was actually good

[@GrayWolf8472]

The best!👊😎

[@leea1988]

Fond memories of watching Man v Food all those years ago in 2009, 2010 etc. I'm glad he's still around doing what he loves. You're the man, Adam!

[@someguynamedmike4766]

Back in an era where celebs would reply on social media & your friend would show you at school the next day

[@RedFail1-1]

Can't relate. Was already a grown man when Social Media became a thing.

[@paulie9483]

I was invited by a restaurant's owner to be an 'extra' when Man vs Food came there. Adam was the same friendly, jovial guy off camera as he was on. Chit chatting in between shoots and making sure everyone was in good spirits through the whole day (and it was a loooong day). Awesome dude.

[@nolancho]

Nope. Wrong. He actually slapped my doggie and gave me a passive wink while crying .

[@tuto5311]

@@nolanchoLucky man

[@springfallendeer7236]

I remember a while ago there being a talk about how producers had to get involved whenever Adam had to partake in spicy challenges. Because apparently there were multiple incidents where a spicy challenge would opt out of using the fresh chilis (which, while hot, are more flavorful and have limits) and would instead dump in a bunch of chili oil/extract, which is just pure Capsaicin. So these places would hear he was coming and then basically cheat to try and get the win by making the recipes more potent.

[@okayswisher2799]

The British Sunny V2

[@muckymoe5619]

Sunny V2 if he was British and actually did research

[@JYM60]

I actually thought Sunny V2 was also British! Just seen he is Aussie. PM so much better though.

[@migzydrift]

Sunny V2, the worst evaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh

[@brandonm8901]

Sunny V2 with actual content

[@Rootiga]

@@brandonm8901 literally the exact same channel in every way

[@anonnnymousthegreat]

He has a photographic memory? I didn’t know that.

[@e-money5085]

I knew that but I forgot

[@cozzerh9292]

Adam is a legend to be remebered

[@satesup4353]

I remembered that Habanero fritters challenge. So many ppl on the internet thought this was the tamest spicy challenge he ever attempted on the show. "It's just Habanero." Then revealed that he had a Habanero poisoning eating it. Shows that don't judge food challenges by the cover... .

[@Farleyyy1]

The king of Sunday morning hangover tv!

[@chuchonchuchon7640]

He ate so much food, it traumatized his taste buds. Ended up living at a place where boiling is the preferred cooking method

[@t.j.helming5534]

Adam on Man Vs Food is who inspired me to take on a Food challenge of my own many years ago. On my 21st birthday (instead of my 1st drink like a normal person) I competed against the same large German sausage platter Adam did in the episode that featured: Minnesota, and I won! It was difficult, but without Adam and the show, I would have never known about the challenge or had the incredible memory to go with it!!

[@SolidSnake240]

Man Vs Food was one of my favorite shows back in the day. Alwaysgot hungry watching it.

[@TrialzGTAS]

I loved watching Adam Richman on Man Vs Food and Andrew Zimmern on Bizarre Foods. TV was actually good when I was younger, now it’s just brain rot.

[@JohnTalksRugby]

Almost at 100k man. Absolute love your editing style!

[@phatmemer69]

Thanks bro! Always appreciate you watching!

[@AerynKDesigns]

One of the things I loved about his Man vs Food show was that when my husband and I would drive across the US we would specifically look for places he'd gone because (outside of the really spicy challenges - we don't like spice) the food was always good. In fact, I didn't know it when I picked it, but in february, on our anniversary as we were driving through, we went to that pasty place in Butte, Montana. Saw his picture on the wall, and we knew it was gonna be good. It was.

[@bes03c]

I had no idea that he was big in the UK. Man vs. FOOD always felt excessively American in the best way.

[@Jessepigman69]

He was a huge part of my childhood. I watched him alot on food network uk and Dave. Actually used to record episodes while I was at school so I didn't miss anything. He's a very charismatic guy and he showed the heart of small us towns. It was very interesting

[@oniondesu9633]

us brits love to hate on americans, but this guy had the right mix of charisma and humility.

[@Crimsoneyez003_]

I loved man vs food, growing up I didn’t have cable in my room but the travel channel was one of the channels I could get, I loved his personality ! God bless him he’s genuinely apart of my childhood

[@armdaggerblade]

Man v Food, Bizarre Foods, Bourdain's No Reservations, River Monsters; the holy quartet of my college days TV. Love Adam to bits and glad to hear he's doing well nowadays. Hope one day he'll get back into the food show scene, possibly hosting something far less... taxing😅 Honestly i'd love for him to host something like Sonny's Best Ever Food Review Show; Sonny's a great guy too and hell, them co-hosting an episode would be lit af.

[@mariaboletsis3188]

Great video - I learned a bit more about Adam. I always liked him; watched him all the time. He's a great commentator on the History Channel series, "The Food That Built America". Had no idea about his ties to the UK. Very cool!

[@woodcock696969]

Great video, glad I found your channel mate

[@maxbuckland1309]

Great vid, great channel. Keep it up pal!

[@phatmemer69]

Will do, cheers lad!

[@baxterenrife]

Considering how the doc' "Supersize Me" got the supersize option in fast food restaurants dropped, due to concerns over obesity. I've always found it confusing how a show like "Man V's Food" is allowed to exist! Surely it encourages the celebration of gluttony and over consumption?

[@abcdefg3214]

You think the government or big pharma give a flying fuck about anyone's health... It's exactly what they want

[@___AVARICE___]

Because it wasnt about normal big ass meals it was about actual food challenges. Itd be like saying a competitive hot dog eating contest is bad and encouraging obesity

[@baxterenrife]

@@___AVARICE___ Do you not think these celebrations of abject gluttony encourage an entitlement to access amongst Americans. Who let's face it, are quite fat and unhealthy enough? And what exactly are "big ass meals"?

[@HawerTipeZero]

Never ever bend the knee to the mob.

[@LuigiL75]

Never.

[@joshbrown2217]

This is why I always thought it was smart that the British spin off of this show used a world's strongest man to host. As they need so many calories just to burn for their workout, the risk wouldn't be as high for him as it would be for Adam.

[@DoctorWasabi]

I always remember watching these types of shows when I was younger, absolute food fever dream mate 😂😭

[@ryancwatson5349]

No one could've done man v food but Adam

[@jacobstoling8765]

Excellent video. Informative and fair to the subject. Definitely will subscribe!

[@petermahoney5718]

Loved watching man vs food as a kid with my dad, really interesting watch. love your channel mate!

[@spderman123]

when he ate all the oysters i was like he is done

[@karldoyle8470]

Who would have thought eating like that would cause problems

[@hoibsh21]

I wish all the best for Adam, he's one talented guy!

[@RhysGarrard]

“Fatctorvist” I didn’t need to hear anymore….

[@kieronparr3403]

I thought that 🙄

[@Aussiematee]

It made me giggle, and I’m fat. Fat positively and fat activism is fn stupid. Body positivity is good though, but people who promote obesity are fn idiots

[@TheOrignalKillezz]

I'm fat. Being fat isn't healthy period. People thinking otherwise are delusional

[@SolidSnake240]

must be a miserable existence getting offended by light jokes

[@CO-Ray]

Fatty ahead

[@aanntthhoonnyy]

You are gonna get there bud. Your editing is fantastic

[@phatmemer69]

Thanks mate, means a lot!

[@dougmasters4579]

Love Adam, a genuine salt of the earth guy and the coolest celebrity around right now, he makes anything fun and watchable. It's sad that his career almost ended because of his spat with the hamplanets (i remember he vanished for a while after that). He learned a valuable lesson never to engage with trolls online, they just drag you down into the gutter with them.

[@MasterBlaster3545]

He was exactly right how he engaged with the eternally offended group. Let them know you don’t give a …. Say sorry and they will never stop.

[@Spacecadet690]

Spot on.

[@daviddavidson4496]

Don't give a shit

[@glumar9274]

Like. Yeah, they were wrong. But it’s insane acting like it’s a real war and not just people on the internet being stupid lol

[@AL-yk1tc]

No, he wasn't exactly right, he went way overboard lol

[@MasterBlaster3545]

@@glumar9274 It is affecting lives across the west everywhere so it is a war.

[@philip4193]

Myself & my housemate at the time (who is a chef) would religiously watch this show here in Australia and would make notes during the show on the restaurants Adam would visit, with the idea that we would both one day go to the 'States & do a road-trip, trying to visit some of these restaurants when we passed through the particulars towns/cities they were located in (not for the challenges, but just for a good feed). Finally managed to complete this trip a couple of years ago, visiting a total of 13 of these restaurants during our stay (sadly, quite a few on our list that we tried to visit had gone out of business during the Pandemic and were no more).

[@Lana-vs2gp]

Living the dream :)

[@purpleaki06]

Very well researched video. Subscribed

[@jazzcatjohn]

I did that Habanero Fritter challenge and had the same reaction as Adam. The punch in the gut hit on the way home and lasted the rest of the night. Not recommended.

[@evandaymon8303]

Yea i am still shocked they still allowed that to happen. They seriously asking people to pay for food poisoning

[@jazzcatjohn]

@@evandaymon8303 Well, it's not food poisoning, just too many habanero peppers. But that's the challenge so I have nothing against the restaurant. It's a personal decision so eat them.

[@tomspencer4371]

Ill never forget his “sandwich” he made….when he explained the complexity of how to eat and why the layering is important….and proceeded to eat it upside down 😂

[@JakeCrawford]

great videos mate! you're like the british sunnyv2 🥰

[@josho1994]

I loved Man v. Food when I was growing up. It was a pinnacle show in the 2000s.

[@ccb6013]

He went from doing nothing particularly wrong with that "thinspiration" comment to digging himself into a hole for no good reason.

[@jeremybeadle7961]

Worked for MSG Networks. Went on to eat lots of food containing MSG.

[@SamFisher69420]

adam having to apologise when they came after him first is ridiculous

[@stibblr]

for being called Phat Memer, you really do make some proper good videos on subjects

[@shaneharper6851]

I honestly loved watching the episodes while eating

[@Edge1588]

Im here because I spoke out loud about this show 2 days ago. Never stop listening phone, never stop listening....

[@lucamanget5283]

Great vid !

[@iraboss6691]

Smoking the leaf watching this was torture

[@floydsemlow8253]

💚💚😜

[@NSPaully]

Congratulations on 100k man 💪

[@phatmemer69]

Legend! Thanks for watching!!!

[@TheOwneroftheIC]

Sounds like Adam's stint on twitter was Man vs Food Enjoyers

[@bluelaser1012]

I used to be a teacher and the 4th and 5th graders that I used to teach LOVED Man Vs Food. I used to show dvds of it on Friday afternoon.

[@patrick3294]

Congrats dude!

[@Adam-ro3lu]

Great vid 👍

[@valensinclair6750]

I loved this show, well, the version with Richman on it. The ironic thing is Adam is heavier now than he every was on MvF, by a LARGE margin.

[@mikelmart]

I used to watch MVF with my Mom and children in Wednesday after dinner every week. Brings back good memories.

[@mickbenton8196]

I've had those great balls of fire, Salvador Mollies in Portland. I took the day off work the next day

[@aracesista]

Finally found a channel to binge-watch during the break 😊 love the content and i hope you keep it up!

[@phatmemer69]

Glad you're enjoying the content Ara! Appreciate you watching :)

[@Plasmaghost1305]

I used to watch this alot when I was a kid a lot of nostalgia for this show

[@sawmanUK]

Good ol Dave 🥲

[@Sadreath]

Meanwhile BeardMeatsFood and EriktheElectric keep doing insane challenges all the time and are fine over year now. The human body is a wonder

[@infinidominion]

Beard has been doing it for years and years

[@tommyfraz.]

To be fair, BMF is a physical beast, and probably burns 5000 calories a day in the gym.

[@nilsschear1095]

Yeah they don’t admit it but they just puke it all up later. No one can sustain this for as long as bmf has without purging. The damage to his health cannot be countered by twice a day gym runs. Bmf does multiple challenges a week consistently, even if he ran for 2-3 hours a day and fasted in between he’d still gain weight. Some of his challenges are 10k plus calories, a guy that size working out constantly would burn maybe 3-4k calories. And that much exercise isn’t sustainable long term. He’d have to fast two days for every challenge, have you ever tried to burn that many calories with an empty stomach? No, the simple answer is he gets rid of it. I just wish they were honest.

[@Sadreath]

@@nilsschear1095 BMF does one video a week. Meaning 52 challenges per year or on average one challenge a week. Not multiple a week the entire time with no breaks. Also lets say a challenge is 10k calories. There is evidence that above certain thresholds calories can no longer be processed and stored by the body so they just go through without actually adding fat. But even if you take in 10k calories on average once a week. At 2.5k daily needed calories without exercise you only need to reduce your intake on non challenge days to by 1250 calories. If you burn about 500 calories with workouts you come down to a daily calorie intake of ca. 1750kcal on non challenge days which is easily doable. So no. Puking it out is not necessary.

[@nilsschear1095]

@@Sadreath He puts out one video a week, but he will film multiples a week on his trips. Which could be weeks at a time. He even talks about doing back to back challenges regularly in his videos. Best case scenario is he gains a ton of weight on his trips then starves himself when he gets back to lose it. Or maybe he’s running a marathon everyday on his trip to Oklahoma or some place. It’s just not sustainable. Now if he’s getting rid of the calories the easy way? He can probably do this indefinitely. Either way it’s absolutely terrible for his health and just the sheer amounts of cholesterol, sodium, sugar etc he gets from these “once a week” challenges will eventually give him a heart attack. Not to mention the giant bowel movements and sluggishness he undoubtedly has the days following a challenge. Which would make exercising difficult for even the fittest among us. No, he’s doing it the easy way. This video is proof of what happens when you don’t, and he’s not going to give up his meal ticket.

[@Goodgirlsmiley1]

He pave the way for alot of these food bloggers.

[@OriginalEntitySourced]

I could be wrong so I apologise if I am but I do believe that originally in the UK as I have lived my entire life as a British person Man versus food was originally on the Food Network before it moved to Dave

[@mor8969]

I watched it on food network , didn’t know Dave also showed it ! 😮

[@Yid19755]

It’s like you just know what things I’d like to know about, then make fucking awesome content about it.

[@gerrym75]

Clearly "Beard Meats Food" is doing something right as he's been eating huge challenges for years and stays lean and healthy. I'm guessing Adam's diet outside of the show wasn't all that great, and he always seemed to carry extra weight which he can't simply blame on the food challenges. Beard never eats more than around 17,000 calories a week, regardless of the challenges he does. It's all about keeping it in balance.

[@themoddrummer4518]

Another banger video👌 Also, as if I didn’t love Adam enough already- he’s a Spurs fan?! Absolute baller! ⚪️ 🔵 🐓

[@mcmann7149]

I've always wondered where he ended up until his show on Copa90 aired and I loved it. Didn't know about his success in the UK, it seems like he's got a place he loves and the place loves him with how much success he's seeing.

[@DidYaServe]

Man vs Food was a very hard challenge to take on considering Adam was never prepared like a professional competitive eater. I'm glad he got out and I don't think the show actually ruined his life because he quit at the right time.

[@seekryt]

I jus KNEW a fully operational ambulance was posted at every challenge. I was always so concerned with his health

[@InfusedMaltesers]

I remember watching this when I was younger, loved all of it

[@ryancarter2959]

The Bizarre Foods, No Reservations, Man Vs. Food era on the Travel Channel was truly peak

[@ragingre4per242]

Used to love watching this man

[@sgt_slobber.7628]

I swear that guy was a food pornographer!!!!! He was GREAT!!!!! LOL!!!!!🤗🤗🤗

[@David-vf7if]

I did the great balls of fire challenge and while I didn’t finish I was sick/miserable for almost a full day. It’s funny to look back now but man oh man was I in pain.

[@ayjay579]

I’m starting to realize SunnyV2 is the new KZbin meta. But I’m not complaining.

[@MasterBlaster3545]

I bought Doner Kebabs every night for 2 weeks and my insides stopped working. When eventually I popped the toilet had an inch of fat floating on top of the water. That stuff is deadly if you eat it constantly.

[@sholas2088]

That’s rank 😂

[@smthompson89]

Hahahahaha bloody hell mate!

[@taup1007]

Brooooo what the actual @@@@

[@tomh6588]

And that's why he's the master blaster

[@MasterBlaster3545]

@@tomh6588 Haha good one.

[@bobouzala]

I shat out a lung a few years ago. I’m feeling much better now…. Thx Phat! 🕳️

[@Creamy360]

I still watch MvF, iconic

[@phil4986]

All the hot challenges that used super hot powders really made me angry. Use real peppers or simply don't do it. Adam always brought the entertainment. He, and his replacement, Casey were awesome.

[@Sailor-Khione]

I remember watching the show alot with my dad and was sad at first when i watched i think a new season and stopped watching at that point. I didn't know this happened to him and i feel sorry for him.

[@Gmoney375ps3]

My favorite part of mvf wasn’t the challenges but Adam and all the other places he ate

[@RupayanSamanta]

I also want to shout-out Erik The Electric for his food challenges too. And The Electrics too with Kristie.

[@steevobarker581]

Always reminded me of John Belushi

[@SSDGM26.2]

Shoutout to the firebrand chili! From my hometown Springfield, Illinois

[@joshfenwick1479]

Weight and physical fitness aernt as closely related as people seem to think

[@tom4208]

we need a Dave channel over here in the states.... that shit sounds lit...

[@markmckillen3793]

Did you pronounce the "s" in Illinois?

[@davidkennard6071]

I feel like the Travel channel tried to write off his role in MVF. On Max they only have the new guy’s episodes for us to watch.

[@RichardGarcia93]

0:12 that was harsh lol

[@davidepannone6021]

Man this and pimp my ride where my teenhood lol

[@james5353]

God that show was amazing, still watch it today

[@gasfrommyanusi0i594]

Unicef might be one of the worst charities to give too. They have a judge marketing budget. Salaries to the ceos and middle managers. A tiny percentage of what you give actually goes to poor people. You're better off donating to your local soup kitchen.