Massachusetts High School teacher Geoffrey Esper lost to now-17-time champion Joey Chestnut in Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on Friday.
Esper, a 50-year-old Oxford resident and Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School science teacher, was the No. 3-ranked eater in the world going into the 2025 competition. He placed second last year when, for the first time in 16 years, Chestnut did not compete.
“The big story is Joey’s back. All eyes are on Joey,” Esper said in an interview with ESPN prior to the start of the competition.
This year, Esper ate 44 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes in 80-degree weather at Coney Island, coming in fourth overall. He was consistently among the top five competitors throughout the contest, but Chestnut ate 70.5, earning him the “Mustard Belt” once again.
Chestnut ate 23 more hot dogs than the runner-up this year, but didn’t beat his own world record of eating 73 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
Esper also holds multiple world records, including eating 36 4.5-ounce bratwurst sausages in 10 minutes. His career-best is 51 hot dogs, according to ESPN.
Major League Eating, which organizes the annual food-eating contest, described him in a profile as “a quiet, industrious man who says very little but eats very much.” When introduced on Friday, the announcer said he has a doctorate.
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