by Andrew Saxton
The sound of screams can be heard from a quarter mile away. Strange music and a random mix of people dressed in feathered wings, halos and odd boots mix with half naked locals. All of them surround the location where the meat is being rapidly consumed. Sound like an odd cult meeting? It's not. Well...not really. It's Surfing Nosara's first annual Hot Dog Eating Competition, created by the Surfing Nosara Foundation to help raise money for the local schools in the area. Our newest project, which this contest was targeting, was to raise money for a school without a floor or windows in one wing of the school.
The event had been talked up all week long, as local businesses had the opportunity to create teams, and then choose one representative to enter the competitive mayhem, and the gastrointestinal punishment. Many competitors managed to leak rumors that they had been training by stretching their stomachs in various ways leading up to the event. Danny (The Disposal) Floam claimed drinking gallons of water and not eating anything the day of the event was his method. Some of the others supposedly practiced by purchasing and force feeding themselves entire packages of Johnsonville Brats in one sitting. Some were just in town on a budget, and looking to eat as many hot dogs as they could to cut down on their food costs for the day.
The event itself was held at Marlin Bills, who funded the equipment needed for the event which was mostly comprised of two hundred and forty hot dogs, along with buns. Also included in the supply list were the vomit buckets that were placed behind the competitors during the event. Strangely enough, none of these said buckets were used, however Esteban (El Mentiroso) came dangerously close at one point, which ultimately seems very likely to have cost him the competition.
In the end, the event went off without a hitch, and just under $700 was raised by the Surfing Nosara Foundation. It was certainly one of the more fun and most creative ways I've seen money raised for charity in quite some time that didn't involved nudity or someone going to jail. We hope to see everyone back again next year, and in the meantime, feel free to start training.
The competitors who entered, along with a brief recap of their performance follows:
-The Wild Card - Rick "Johnny Hammerstix",
A tourist that was in town from South Carolina. He'd spent the morning surfing his brains out at Marbella, and therefore increasing his hunger exponentially. He was a last minute entry, and ultimately won, by half a hot dog bun. He seemed unfazed when done.
- Esteban "El Mentiroso"
One of the owners of Nosara Tico Surf School, almost won, however stopped early after a close call with a yammi attack. He had a solid three minutes left to where he could have eaten more, and I for one am disappointed.
-Danny "The Disposal" Floam
Sponsored by Harbor Reef, Danny made a good run as well. Danny has the strange ability to distend his stomach forward, and we had thought we finally found a use for that odd talent. Danny finished in fourth place, almost placing in the top three. Better luck next year Danny.
-Christian "The Conqueror "
Sponsored by Beach Dog Cafe, Christian was an early favorite do to his competitive spirit, but ate a measly five hot dogs. It should also be noted that Christian's significant other, Raquel, wanted to compete as well, but Christian nixed this idea after realizing that she would have probably beaten him.
-Cacho "El Alacran"
Sponsored by Coconut Harry's Surf Shop. Cacho finished in the middle of the pack.
-James Rees "DJ Drippy Buns"
Sponsored by Surfing Nosara, James for some reason decided to take his time in the competition, and almost edged his way into the top three, but since he was eating on Tico time, he didn't make it. After the competition, James ordered some french fries, because somehow the eight hot dogs he ate weren't enough.
-Jason "The Tortuga" Flores
Sponsored by El Fenix and Refugio del Sol, the Tortuga easily had the most support from his fan base of sporadically dressed, motley crew of miscreants Arriving in a freshly rolled pick up truck sans windshield, they had a boombox pumping music and they danced up the steps. Tortuga danced his way into third place. His team also earned the most money for the foundation and won the grand prize with Agua Azul Charters and are all going fishing. May God have mercy on Ryan Bombard's soul when these guys decide to come aboard.
-Donna "The Premadonna"
Sponsored by Marlin Bills at the last minute, Donna did a fantastic job representing for her team. Donna also put some of the younger boys in the running to shame, showing that hot dogs don't discriminate against age, sex, or late entry. Great job Donna.
-Kevin "The Dogminator"
Sponsored by Dee's restaurant, Kevin did a decent job and finished in the middle of the pack as well. He did tell me in the lineup the next day that he had a difficult time hiding his Oscar Meyer variety flatulence from the restaurant tables he had to work later that night. So for all the people who ate at Dee's on Saturday night, no, they were not cooking hot dogs in the kitchen.
The local businesses who contributed to the raffle are listed below:
Refugio del Sol
Casa Tucan
Sufari Surf School
Nosara Surf Shop
Innocent Surf School
Beach Dogs
Harbor Reef
Tica Massage
Frog Pad
Il Basilica
Surfing Nosara
Solo Bueno
Coconut Harry’s
La Banana
Zen Cafe
Joya Rica
MARLIN BILLS!
A huge thank you to Dustin Estes from Pura Vida Videos for the contest footage and hilarious highlight video below. For more information, visit his website - www.puravidavideos.com or email him at puravidavideos@live.com for bookings.
