Kobayashi Independently (and Unofficially) Broke Hot Dog Record on a Manhattan Rooftop, July 4, 2011

Downing 69 hot dogs increased Takeru Kobayashi's weight for 18 pounds - from 140 before the contest and 158 after.

The skinny Japanese competitive eater has established a world record of hot dog eating in a time limit of 10 minutes - the record, however, is unofficial.

On Independence Day, 2011, championship eater Kobayashi reportedly broke the world record of hot dog eating off-site, while Joey Chestnut won his 5th straight title at Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest held in Coney Island, New York.

Avoiding the official venue this year, Kobayashi declared his independence of showcasing his dominance on top of a New York Bar.

It was the rooftop of a Manhattan bar at 230 Fifth, where Kobayashi ate 69 hot dogs, as he competed simultaneously as Coney Island eaters, broadcasting the scene via a live satellite feed.

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His consumption of 69 dogs in 10 minutes would crown him as the world record holder, one above the current record of 68 which Chestnut has held since 2009. 

However, Kobayashi had refused to sign the contract with Major League Eating & International Federation of Competitive Eating, which makes his record lose its validity. Since he was not monitored by a committee, his glorious record-breaking competition cannot be counted as a real title. What's more, the Guinness Book dropped records within their "eating and drinking records" section in 1991.

The most real record here may just be his 18 pounds gained through the 69 hot dogs, and some pumped media reports such as this one.

Nevertheless, Kobayashi said history was made in Manhattan on Monday.

Kobayashi won the contest for 6 years in a row from 2001 to 2006, and then was beaten by Chestnut from 2007 on.

Back in the glorious days, the Associated Press reported Kobayashi as a "wiry Japanese man ready for eating contest." (June 17, 2004, AP) The article said, "He's taken on sumo wrestlers. No contest. Former NFL star William 'The Refrigerator' Perry, three times his size, took up the gauntlet. Not even close. Nobody, but nobody, can eat hot dogs like Japan's Takeru 'The Tsunami' Kobayashi. And, once again, he's in training to devour the field at one of competitive eating's most venerable battles."  

Kobayashi, who was once hailed by his fans as "the prince of gluttony," was famously arrested for attempting to storm the stage in Coney Island on July 4, 2010.

According to his interpreter, Kobayashi intended to cheer on his fellow competitive eaters, but after arriving and the chanting from the fans, he was swooped onto the stage from mere excitement. The crowd chanted, "Free Kobi!" (it was written on his T-shirt) and "Let him eat!" while police  handcuffed him and later charged him with obstruction of governmental administration, resisting arrest, trespassing and disorderly conduct. Kobayashi spent the rest of Independence Day in jail.

"I'm really hungry," he said outside Brooklyn Criminal Court after spending a night behind bars.