Think you can eat a ton of pizza? We bet you can, but you have a long way to go before you can contend for the world record.

Ladies and gentleman, meet Geoff Esper. Geoff is a mild-mannered teacher during the week, but he’s a fierce competitor on the Major League Eating tour. And, in 2018, he showed the world that he is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to everyone’s favorite food.

Geoff ate 83 slices of pizza in ten minutes.

Geoff Esper’s entrée into the upper crust of pizza eating came in April of 2018 when he downed 83 slices of a 10-inch pie in just ten minutes. Each pizza was composed of six slices, which means that Geoff ate nearly 14 pizzas in less than one-third of the average pizza delivery time.

Ever brag about the time that you ate a whole pizza in one sitting? Geoff (respectfully) scoffs at your boasting. His achievement set a new world record for pizza eating and dwarfed the day’s runner-up by a margin of 21 slices.

Geoff was hungry for more, so he ate more than 19.25 personal pies in ten minutes.

Geoff had his grease-soaked hand raised on that glorious day in April, but he was still hungry for more. A few months later, he went toe-to-toe Joey Chestnut, who is the world’s most famous gurgitator for his ten championship victories in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Chestnut is the kingpin of the hot dog world, but pizza eating is Geoff’s sauce-laden turf. With that, he bravely entered into Ontario, Canada’s International Pizza-Eating Championship and consumed 19.25 9-inch personal pizzas. Chestnut gave him a run for his money, but, ultimately, could only find the room for 17.

Both men showed incredible heart, but Geoff proved to have the superior stomach when it comes to pizza. After that chowdown, there was no question about it – Geoff Esper is the world’s record holder for pizza eating when it comes to both full pies and slices.

How does Geoff do it?

Competitive eaters come in all shapes and sizes and they all have various methods for training and preparation. Geoff’s, however, is especially unique.

Japanese sensation Takeru Kobayashi used to reign supreme on the Fourth of July by maintaining a petite 128-pound figure. When Chestnut stepped up to the plate to beat him, he did it while sporting a sick dadbod. Esper comes at it from a different angle – he’s a former powerlifter who has biceps as big as his appetite.

Did Geoff’s calorie-scorching workouts propel him to unforeseen heights in the competitive pizza eating realm? The regimen gave him a good base, but he tweaked his game plan in order to take home the prize dough.      

“I had to scale back some,” Esper said. “When you lift really heavy weights your midsection gets thick and doesn’t stretch well. That was hurting my capacity and would stop. Heavy lifting isn’t the best – getting lean is.”

Esper used to deadlift and squat with the best of ‘em, but these days, his workout regimen is specifically geared towards maximum pizza consumption. That’s a #fitnessgoal that we can all get behind.