Seeing people visiting restaurants on television food shows might be my favorite thing.
It can be anyone from Gordon Ramsay to Guy Fieri; just the fact that people are so passionate about food makes me want to visit all the best places in the world.
Yet there’s one show that’s quite unique.
Adam Richman was the face of Man Vs. Food for many years – and it was always entertaining.
Adam got the job in quite an unexpected way. But over the years, he turned into a very well-known television celebrity, visiting places you couldn’t even imagine.
At the same time, however, Richman struggled with himself during the years on the show – and has undergone an amazing transformation since leaving.
Watching people eat crazy amounts of food poses problems. Firstly, there are people starving in some parts of the world, not to mention the fact that consuming considerably more than humans are supposed to can lead to significant health problems.
Adam Richman – ‘Man Vs. Food’
But for some reason, seeing people engaging in food challenges makes for great television. Just look at Man Vs. Food.
The show aired for the first time on the Travel Channel in 2008 – and it didn’t take long before the program was one of the biggest success stories around at the time.
All in all, it was hard not to watch it. It had crazy challenges and provided great entertainment. Most importantly, though, it had a host who was very well liked.
Addam Richman didn’t really aim to head into the Man Vs. Food business when he was young. In fact, he wanted to be an actor. However, destiny brought him to television as the host for the popular show – and boy did he do well.
At the same time as Richman was loved for his performances, he struggled on a more personal level. So what happened? Here’s all you need to know about him!
Adam Richman was born on May 16, 1974 in Brooklyn, York. He grew up in a Jewish family in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn and at a young age, Richman had a taste for food. He worked in restaurants in his teenage years, but also enjoyed the entertainment business.
Adan Richman – early life
Following high school, he decided to leave the state. and went to complete his undergraduate degree in International Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
While living there, he found his passion for the theater.
“I acted in my youth and did some TV stuff as a kid. Stopped it. Did a little bit in high school. Went away to college. I was told like most good, northeastern Jewish boys that I was gonna be a doctor,” he recalled.
“So I went to Emory and then in a $5 bet with a fraternity brother of mine, I auditioned for the theater program there and just unlocked something.”
Richman knew he wanted to try and make it as an professional actor. He partly did, and went on to live in Ireland for a bit, as well as on an Indian reservation.
Living in different places gave him plenty of life experience in meeting different people from different cultures. But looking back, that wasn’t what would change his life.
Instead, it was that he started to keep a food journal.
“It happened randomly. I had a monster break-up with a Jewish girl from New Jersey. I bought one of those Moleskine books probably to write, like, kind of douche-y, sappy, college-boy broken-heart poetry,” Adam Richman explained.
“And then I just kept doing it and then eventually that journal became a reference tool, if you will. I kept it up through living in all these places.
Auditioned by eating
“I kept auditioning, kept acting. Got into Yale. Got agents out of school. Began doing regional theater and television and in so doing, again, augmented my journal.”
Richman earned a master’s degree from the Yale School of Drama. Between 2003 and 2006, he made smaller appearances in several television shows including All My Children and Law & Order. But the big breakthrough never arrived. Instead, a new television food show that was being produced caught his eye.
Man vs Food were holding auditions, and Adam Richman decided to give it a go.
“I had nothing to do with the conception or the creation of it at least in the initial stages. I auditioned. It was a six-round process. No challenges along the way, it was just talking about food,” Adam recalled. “So you had to eat this-and-that and the other and they needed to see that you can eat.”
Things went great at the audition and Richman went through to the final screen test. It turned out that he was practically made for the job.
The final screen test was at the legendary Kat’z Deli in New York – and Richman was full of joy.
“If you’re a New York Jew, you know f***ing Katz’s. I went there a day before, learned it, just fine-tuned it and came in,” Richman said.
“And I came in and I worked out like a beast that morning, didn’t eat that much the day before, and I walked into Katz’s and that smell was like ambrosia. And to be given a reuben and fries and slaw and whatever from Katz’s deli for free — it wasn’t a challenge.
Adam Richman – challenges on ‘Man Vs. Food’
“And it was interviews, screen tests, this-that-and-the-other and they said basically “You have the job, provided there’s a job to have.”
Once Man Vs. Food aired, the success was immediate. Richman visited place after place, taking part in crazy challenges. In the first episode, he tried eating a 72-ounce steak with sides, salad and shrimp cocktail – all in under one hour. Of course, Adam Richman delivered – and people loved it!
Sometimes, however, the challenges were just too much. A number of times, Richman couldn’t finish them.
“The spicy [challenges] are pretty awful,” he explained. “They are all pretty difficult, but the spicy are painful from start to finish. The large ones start bad, but the ingestion of it doesn’t start at agony.”
It’s important to acknowledge that all the food Adam Richman was eating on the show wasn’t healthy. Sometimes – well, most times – the amount of food he ate wasn’t great for anyone’s body. But before shooting, Richman was well aware that there could be some health issues coming his way.
Tough on his mental health
Before Man Vs. Food started airing, Richman went to a specialist to ensure that he wasn’t doing anything his body couldn’t handle.
“When I started the show before the first episode was filmed, I went to specialists ahead of time because I wanted to start with a baseline of good health, versus correcting bad health down the road,” he told ESPN.
“Plus as a single man, I wanted to bring sexy back a little bit. I enjoy seeing my toes in the shower.”
Making your living by consuming food might be a great job. But in Adam Richman’s case, it was something else. He ate an insane amount.
During his time on Man Vs. Food, Adam didn’t feel that great. It took its toll on his mental health, as well as physical. Speaking to the Mirror, the television host explained that he gained some extra pounds, and he eventually became ashamed of his body.
“I didn’t like how I looked -– it was making me depressed,” Richman said.
Before the show aired, he had problems with his body image. He compared his physical attributes to “a small car”, and at one point, things got really bad.
Adam Richman – other projects
Richman explained that he even tried to use different camera angles to try and cover the way he looked.
He wasn’t doing great mentally or physically. However, that wasn’t really the reason why he decided to leave the show in 2012 after four years. He decided to stay on for more food shows, including Adam Richman’s Best Sandwich in America, Food Fighters and Man Finds Food.
“A lot of people thought the transition to [Man Vs. Food Nation] was motivated by health, doctors, me having a premonition of death. Quite frankly, I felt it’s incumbent upon me as a producer to stay ahead of the curve and bring something new to people,” Richman told Chicago Tribune.
“How much of the same guy doing the same stuff can anybody watch? I was talking to my co-(executive producer), one of my best friends, Dan Adler, and said ‘Dude, let’s just get back to basics’.
“People tell me they use Man v. Food for a travel guide. I said ‘Dude, let’s just show the best sandwiches in America. Every culture has got a sandwich, every income bracket has a sandwich.’ And that’s how it was born. “
Man Vs. Food changed Adam Richman’s life. He got a very good salary and became a television celebrity. But since he didn’t feel comfortable in his own skin, he decided to do something about it when he left the show.
Speaking to People, as quoted by Yahoo, he revealed that he lost 60lbs thanks to avoiding the huge portions he had on the show, as well exercising regularly.
Lost 60lb – new diet and exercise
He started to do weight training and play soccer, as well as walk 10,000 steps per day. He also started on a healthy diet, dramatically cutting back his calorie intake.
In the end, him hosting the popular television show actually helped him get on the right track.
“It made me very aware of caloric impact on my diet,” Richman said. “It’s really very easy to forget how many calories you’re consuming.”
As of now, Adam Richman is doing great and sure looks amazing! He currently hosts the History Channel show Modern Marvels.
Even though life goes on, Man Vs. Food was – and still is– a big part of Richman’s life. So does he miss doing the show?
“I mean, I miss my crew. We were very much a family, and we’re still in touch. But I miss them very much. I miss going to the mom and pop restaurants very much,” he said. “People always wanted me to say, ‘Oh! I love having all the barbecue. I love having all the fried chicken.’
“That’s cool. But anyone can go to these restaurants and buy that. But it was the people and seeing the country, I think, that I miss and value the most.”
Adam Richman is really looking great, and we’re so happy for him.
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