Meet a Kelowna competitive eater as he downs 10 lbs of sushi

Many athletes train with huge workouts, strict dieting, and tests of endurance.

But for Scott Watkins, a typical training session involves eating as much food as he can stomach.

“I’m a competitive eater, so I like to eat lots of food and travel around and do different kinds of challenges and competitions,” Watkins told Kelowna10. “I just really get to see the world and eat a lot of great food while I’m doing that.”

Watkins said one of the things that had gotten him into competitive eating was a bet with his friend when he was younger.

A local pasta restaurant offered a four-pound plate of pasta, and after going with a friend and claiming he could handle another serving, a bet was born.

Watkins ended up doing just that and his friend had to pay out the $50 bet as well as paying for his two plates of pasta.

But his decision to take it to the next level would come later.

“About four years ago I was watching someone on YouTube and I’m like ‘man I could probably do that, especially with a little bit of training,” he explained. “And that was it, Randy Santel was the one that inspired me to do food challenges and go from there.”

Though he said he doesn’t really consider it a sport, he still thinks it requires training, as well as mental and physical prowess.

Mental fortitude is one of the most important qualities in his opinion.

“It gets to a point in a lot of challenges where I always say the first five pounds are the best and then after the five pounds, it’s work,” Watkins explained. “It could be your favourite food in the whole world, but you don’t want to eat anymore, your mind is telling you no. So, you have to be stubborn and overcome.”

Kelowna10 joined Watkins for an early lunch at local sushi restaurant Tokyo1 where he scarfed down a whopping ten pounds of food, the number that he said he typically aims for in any training session.

He doesn’t see himself getting into the major competition circuit, instead opting to do restaurant challenges for his YouTube channel.

“I just love doing challenges,” Watkins said. “Whether it’s working out and challenging your body or eating a lot of food, it’s like saying, okay, this is your goal, let’s see if you can hit this.”