Kevin Carr is a lot of things.

He’s a husband and father. He’s an entertainment reporter and movie critic.

He’s also a competitive eater.

Carr, 36, says it all started for him about five years ago when he was out in California, while working with a local film production company, 7M Pictures.

“We were in San Diego for a media convention. In the hotel, I saw a TV show called Gutbusters, I think it was called, on the Travel Channel. We joked that if we couldn’t make money doing movies, I could do that to make money,” Carr says. “The show featured Ed 'Cookie' Jarvas, Kevin Lipsitz and Don 'Moses' Lerman.” 

He then search the Web and found a site for IFOCE (International Federation of Competitive Eating).

“I kept my eye out for a local contest,” the Dublin resident says. “And eventually there was a wing contest in Cleveland. I placed fifth, I think.”

Other contests came up for Carr, including one in Columbus – for eating noodles. The challenge: How many noodles can a person eat in 10 minutes?

“I was just shy of four pounds and then had a devastating ‘reversal’ at nine seconds left,” Carr admits. “I was ahead of the next competitor by more than a pound.”

Carr says he lost that competition, but had fallen in love with the sport.

He ended up doing a wing sprint against Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas in Cleveland later, and from there, joined the IFOCE.

“I’ve been doing contests ever since,” he says.

Carr has no idea how many competitions he’s been a part of, but estimates it at “a couple dozen.”

“I do anywhere from three to 10 a year,” he says. “It depends on where they are. I’ll drive up to six to eight hours to go to a contest.”

Carr says this year, there haven't been many competitions around Columbus. He went from September of 2006 to June of this year without competing.

When asked why he engages in such an activity, Carr smiles and says, “It’s a sport I can do without getting into shape,” he jokes.

“Actually, you’re better off to be in shape and not overweight. It goes into the ‘Belt of Fat’ theory which is from Ed Krachie, a former hot dog champ from Queens. If you have fat around your belly, it acts like a weight belt around your stomach and it can’t expand and you can’t eat as much food," Carr explains, adding the best eaters in the sport are actually in good shape. 

In addition to competing, Carr also does a podcast about the circuit at www.Eatcast.com and recently interviewed Bob Shoudt, who ate a record number 39 Krystal burgers in 2 minutes.

On Sunday, Sept. 16, Carr will be participating in the “Krystal Square-Off” in Knoxville, Tenn.

“They’re like a White Castle [burger], really,” Carr describes - a small slider burger.

“I don’t know who’s going to be there. I don’t expect to win,” Carr says. “The best I’ve done is 22 in 8 minutes for Krystals. I’d like to get close to 30, that’d be nice.”

Don't expect Carr to embark upon rigorous training for any of his competitions.

“The IFOCE discourages any training because it can be dangerous and they practice certain standards,” he says. “Every contest you do, they have an EMT there. You can choke, you can tear something.”

Still, there are some that train, Carr says.

Carr says some do water training, where they drink a lot of water over time to expand their stomach. Others chew gum to build up their jaw strength. Still others try to work on suppressing their gag reflex.

“To be honest, I don’t train a whole lot,” he says.

Carr's wife, Carolyn, takes her husband's sport in stride.

“It’s amusing,” she says. “He always has great stories to tell about the interesting people he meets.”

Carolyn, a teacher in Hilliard, adds that it’s an excuse to get away and do something different. She has a book in her classroom about unusual sports and has pointed out to her students all of the people she's met through her husband.

“They didn’t think I was serious, they thought I was making it up,” she says. “They don’t understand famous people are real people.”

Carr has been in his fair share of eating contests and even appeared on ESPN.

“We don’t have our 15 minutes of fame, we have our 15 percent of fame. (This sport) is accessible, fun and a great conversation starter,” he says.