Eric Booker
Encyclopedia
Eric "Badlands" Booker (b. circa 1969, Jamaica, Queens
) is an American
hip hop
artist and record-holding competitive eater
.
in New York City
. Booker has appeared on the television series Wife Swap
and Last Call with Carson Daly
, where he served as announcer and "Eater in Residence." He lives with his wife and sons on Long Island.
Jamaica, Queens
Jamaica is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States. It was settled under Dutch rule in 1656 in New Netherland as Rustdorp. Under British rule, the Village of Jamaica became the center of the "Town of Jamaica"...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
artist and record-holding competitive eater
Competitive eating
Competitive eating, or speed eating, is a sport in which participants compete against each other to consume large quantities of food in a short time period. Contests are typically less than 15 minutes in length, with the person consuming the most food being declared the winner...
.
Competitive Eating
Booker trains for competitions by trying to stretch his stomach and develop jaw strength. He eats large amounts of fruit and vegetables and drinks a gallon of water in a sitting in order to stretch his stomach, and chews over twenty pieces of gum at a time to build jaw strength. He maintains that competitive eating is a healthy sport, and has lost weight since he began competing. Presently ranked 10th. by the IFOCE, some of Booker's accomplishments include:- Burritos: 15 BurritoVille burritos / 8 minutes
- Candy Bars: Two Pounds Chocolate Candy Bars / 6 minutes
- Cannoli: 16.5 cannoli in six minutes / 2004
- Corned Beef Hash: 4 pounds of hash / 1 minute 58 seconds
- Cheesecake (Mini): 50 Mini-Cheesecakes / 6 minutes
- Doughnuts: 49 glazed doughnuts / 8 minutes
- Hamentaschen: 50 traditional Purim cookies / 6 minutes
- Matzo Balls (Ben's Deli): 21 baseball-sized (half-pound) matzo balls / 5 minutes, 25 seconds / 2003
- Matzo Balls (Ruthie & Gussie's): 30 matzo balls / 5 minutes, 25 seconds
- Raw Onions: 8.5 ounces Maui Onions (three onions)/ Whalers Village / 1 minute/ Aug. 8, 2004
- Peas: 9.5 one-pound bowls / 12 minutes
- Pumpkin Pies: 4-3/8 Entenmann's Pumpkin Pies / 12 Minutes/ Nov. 22, 2004
Career
Outside of competitive eating, Booker is an aspiring independent hip-hop recording artist. Badland has released multiple albums for Hungry and Focused to Extended Play and is still coming out with new songs. He works full time as a conductor on the Number 7 Subway Train7 (New York City Subway service)
The 7 Flushing Local and 7 Flushing Express are rapid transit services of the New York City Subway, providing local and express services along the full length of the IRT Flushing Line...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Booker has appeared on the television series Wife Swap
Wife Swap
Wife Swap is a reality television program, originally produced by UK independent television production company RDF Media and created by Stephen Lambert. It was first broadcast in 2003 on the UK's Channel 4. Since 2004, a US version has also been broadcast on the ABC network...
and Last Call with Carson Daly
Last Call with Carson Daly
Last Call with Carson Daly is an American late night talk show that is broadcast on NBC. The show is hosted by Carson Daly, the half-hour show featuring celebrity interviews, documentary-style coverage of a topic, and musical performances. Last Call airs weeknights at 1:35 a.m. Eastern / 12:35 a.m....
, where he served as announcer and "Eater in Residence." He lives with his wife and sons on Long Island.