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A32 FEATURE
Friday 11 OctOber 2019
Binge eating videos find big audience, even for weight loss

NEW YORK (AP) — While try- He’s a classically trained
ing to lose weight, Becky violinist who gave up that
Beach found assistance career struggle for muk-
in an unlikely place: thou- bang in 2016. He started
sands of online videos fea- with videos focused on
turing people binging on the vegan lifestyle he fol-
massive amounts of ramen, lowed for about five years.
burgers, chicken wings and Then he gave up veganism
seafood boils brimming for junk food-fueled muk-
with crab and lobster. bangs that go deep into
The South Korea-rooted vid- his personal life. He messily
eo trend is known as “muk- answers viewer questions,
bang,” and it has spread burps and chows down
to the U.S. and around the with regular “mmm, mmm,
globe on YouTube, Face- mmmmms.”
book and Instagram. Perry has three mukbang
“I watch one whenever I channels under the handle
feel like eating sweets or Nikocado Avocado, with
bad foods,” said Beach, 1.72 million subscribers on
a Dallas-based product the largest. He would not
designer for a Fortune 500 This image from video released by Nate Gaskin shows Bethany Gaskin, 44, who has 2.2 million reveal how much money
company. She has lost 10 subscribers to her Bloveslife channel on YouTube. he earns.
pounds and views up to Associated Press “One of my friends told me
three mukbang videos a to try it out,” he said from his
day. “It’s just satisfying to don’t like it, don’t watch.” is not focused on fancy lism. During a 30-minute home outside Philadelphia.
watch.” The word mukbang is a food. It’s “more about the video, she said she may “I thought she was crazy.
Ashley Cobb, a math mashup of the Korean `treat yourself’ moment actually eat for only 11 to I said to myself, ‘Who on
teacher in Washington, words for “eating” and and the simple joy of ca- 15 minutes. Earth is going to watch me
D.C., is also a fan after “broadcast,” translating sual conversation over a Gaskin, who grew up poor eat food? Sure enough, my
one of her eighth-graders in English to “eatcast.” no-frills, delicious meal,” in Chicago, was making very first mukbang got like
turned her on to the videos. Livestreams in South Ko- Chang said. circuit boards for the mili- 50,000 views in a couple of
Cobb said it’s “fun and rea started sprouting up Some mukbangers avoid tary in January 2017, when weeks, which was a lot for
soothing” to watch people around 2009. It didn’t take speaking in their videos, she put up her first muk- me at the time, and every-
dip food in sauce and “eat long for fans to catch on using specialized micro- bang video. She retired body was asking, when’s
with so much enjoyment.” and YouTubers to cash in. phones to heighten the from her day job that May. the next mukbang?”
The footage transports her “The core principle behind crunches and slurps. Others Her husband, Nate Gas- After gaining weight, Perry
to “a different place” and mukbang is that eating like Gaskin are in it for the kin, retired after 20 years tries to counter all the fast
“has a way of making you is a social activity,” said chatter. Visiting with Gas- at General Electric to help food with exercise and nu-
leave reality for a second, Victor Chang, market- kin on YouTube as she talks, manage her mukbang ca- trition off screen.
sort of like a good book.” ing manager for the South dips and eats feels like reer, which is packed with “I just want to do this for
Such glowing feedback Korea-based fried chicken catching up with a neigh- speaking engagements, a couple more years,” he
is pure gold to top cre- restaurant chain Bonchon. bor over the backyard Make-a-Wish visits with sick said. “It IS very unhealthy.”
ators like Bethany Gaskin It’s “a way of connect- fence. kids and brand deals. Brittany Marsicek, 28, a
in suburban Cincinnati. The ing people through meals At 4-foot-11 and about To round out the family af- dancer, actor and YouTu-
44-year-old, who has 2.2 even when they are miles 130 pounds, Gaskin said fair, their two sons _ the ber, has a 2-year-old Muk-
million subscribers to her apart.” she’s able to put away the youngest is 18 _ are also bang Monday channel
Bloveslife channel on You- The company’s wings ap- amounts of food that she earning incomes from muk- with Chantal Plamondon,
Tube, is a top earner, clear- pear frequently in videos. devours on camera due in bang. 27. The two focus on vegan
ing more than $1 million in The mukbang phenomena part to her high metabo- So does Nicholas Perry, 27. food, but Marsicek eats
ad money as she eats her and chats her way through
way through seafood boils, non-vegan videos on some
ginormous servings of bar- Wednesdays when she
becue ribs and other drool- goes solo or teams up with
worthy spreads. her boyfriend.
She recently put out a Ca- Marsicek and Plamondon
jun butter dipping sauce, often film in their cars while
Bloves Smackalicious, and munching from food con-
counts Cardi B and Amber tainers, rather than making
Rose among her 1.1 million videos featuring a spread
followers on Instagram. of food and people who
“I started off trying to cook mostly “just gorge,” Mar-
in videos,” Gaskin said. sicek said.
“I cook really well, then Consumer psychologist Mi-
people wanted to see me chal Strahilevitz, an associ-
eat. I unapologetically eat ate professor of marketing
whatever I want, however I at Saint Mary’s College of
want, food dripping down California, said mukbang
my chin.” “may seem crazy” at first,
Gaskin has some advice for but “watching people
critics who say the excess This image taken from video and released by Nikocado Avocado shows him surrounded by items binge eat is a whole lot
of mukbang promotes an from fast-food chains Wendy's and Taco Bell. healthier than binge eating
unhealthy lifestyle: “If you Associated Press yourself.”q