A hero is born
The four-minute mile. Swimming the Atlantic. Circumnavigating the globe. All epic feats of human endurance and perseverance.
To that list we can now add eating 40 entire rotisserie chickens in 40 days, which is what one Philadelphia man achieved on Sunday.
Alexander Tominsky has become an internet hero after completing the remarkable challenge.
Tominsky has been updating his followers on Twitter for the last six weeks, sharing a photo everyday of him making his way through an entire bird.
37 consecutive days eating an entire rotisserie chicken #chicken pic.twitter.com/83UJIYwbgw
— smooth recess (@AlexiconTom) November 3, 2022
39 consecutive days eating an entire rotisserie chicken #chicken pic.twitter.com/hOrDUX3GIF
— smooth recess (@AlexiconTom) November 5, 2022
It all culminated with a public gathering to watch Tominsky consume his final bird on a pier in Philadelphia – an event attended by hundreds of people.
The flyer for the public event read: “Come watch me eat an entire rotisserie chicken – November 6th will be the 40th consecutive day that I have eaten an entire chicken.”
It added that the final dining would take place “on that abandoned pier near Walmart” and disclaimed that “this is not a party.”
TODAY pic.twitter.com/3uv8VMmth6
— smooth recess (@AlexiconTom) November 6, 2022
And sure enough, hundreds flocked to witness a piece of history, as he completed his final mouthful to chants of “eat that bird!”
40 consecutive days eating an entire rotisserie chicken #chicken pic.twitter.com/a4AoNWDLTa
— smooth recess (@AlexiconTom) November 6, 2022
Perhaps most incredibly, he has actually revealed that he doesn’t even like chicken that much.
He told The Takeout: “I find them to be kind of a mysterious food. It’s very cheap, and there’s a mystique about it.”
He deliberately would pick the plainest chicken possible and eat it without seasoning because he “I enjoy torturing myself.”
The cult hero said that his favourite chicken over the 40 days was from Philadelphia business Rittenhouse Market where “the staff is nice and the chicken is barely seasoned”.
So, I know what you’re all thinking – what was the physical toll that this challenge took on his body?
In an interview with Philadelphia publication Billy Penn he said: “I mean, nothing’s a challenge without a little bit of pain and without a little bit of pain, it’s hard to understand what it feels like to feel good.”
— smooth recess (@AlexiconTom) November 6, 2022
The pioneer said the challenge had been “pretty easy” when he started out but had “really taken a toll” on his body by the latter stages.
“I have had so much sodium and have felt really dizzy at times and my stomach is just bloated,” he said.
Tominsky shared that as well as the chicken he eats “a little yogurt for breakfast” and sometimes a beer for dinner.
When asked if that means no vegetables, he replied “I don’t want to die. Sometimes I’ll have a little tater tots, or the kitchen will give me a dollop of sauce.
“I have vegetables. If you look through the photos on Twitter, I bought a two and a half-pound carrot, and that got me through three days”.
💪💪💪 pic.twitter.com/xLhGKL3Eo7
— uncle schuylkill (@bundleshirker) November 6, 2022
Tominsky explained to the New York Times that he could “feel the pulse of my heart in my stomach,” and lost around 16 pounds during the challenge.
He says he recalls thinking: “This is just a little bit of an inconvenience and a sacrifice for the joy that it seems to be bringing people.”
The 31-year-old has also said he hopes to use his new-found fame to collect donations for people that cannot afford chicken themselves.
A true king, who has secured immortality in both Philadelphia and internet history.
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