MONTAGUE — Last Monday, March 11, Nate Klein beat the “knockout challenge” at North Grove Brewers and created a new record, only a few weeks after professional eater Randy Santel became the first to beat the difficult challenge. The previous record by Santel was 44 minutes and 40 seconds. Klein set the new record at 39 minutes and 10 seconds.
North Grove introduced the challenge shortly after the new year as a means to introduce something fun, new and different to the White Lake community. The challenge consists of four different pizzas of the challenger’s choice and the restaurant’s Rocky IV sandwich. If a competitor completes the challenge in under 45 minutes, they get their name on the wall, along with other prizes and their meal getting paid for. If a competitor completes the challenge, but goes past the time frame, they get their name on the wall and all of the prizes, but they must pay for their meal. For his pizzas, Klein chose the “Death from Above,” “King of Sting,” chicken bacon ranch, and the “I Must Break You.”
Klein has been competing in food challenges for six years.
“I really liked the show Man versus Food and always wanted to try one of these challenges,” Klein said. “In 2018, I tried one, a Team Pizza challenge with my brother-in-law. Then I tried a donut eating contest, which I got second place in. I figured I was going to be somebody that just never was able to win. One day on my lunch break, I went to a local pub and won their three-pound burger challenge. After that, I started doing them once a weekend and things quickly took off.”
Klein stated he has wins in all 50 states and plans to continue competing as a professional eater. To prepare, he essentially stretches his stomach through a high-volume, low-calorie meal the day before and drinks at least half a gallon of water.
“I am obviously an experienced individual doing this,” said Klein. “I always put a disclaimer out there that I never recommend anybody try this because it can be dangerous.”
North Grove co-owner RJ Nordlund found Klein on Facebook and messaged him, offering the challenge.
“I went there with intensity, knowing the record holder, who is actually a friend of mine,” Klein said of Santel. “There’s always been a friendly banter between us over the years. When I got towards the end, I knew I had a really good chance of winning. I just continued to focus on the end goal. When I saw the finished time, I finished 4-5 minutes before Randy and of course felt pretty good about it.”
