Moms are always complaining about how their kids won’t swallow food. But here’s one person whose mother probably had no such problem. In fact, her struggles were probably the opposite – trying to make him stop! Today, Shoenice22 is making use of his unique talent –being able to eat anything, literally – to entertain people and become a YouTube celebrity. Oh, and also stop world hunger.
In the real world, ‘Shoenice22’ is known as Chris Schewe. He is aware that a lot of people think he’s a complete idiot, but he disagrees. “They’re wrong,” he says. “I’m a professional idiot.” Shoenice isn’t bothered by that though, he thinks it’s really the best, because he’s living in a time when he can really do whatever he wants, even stupid things, and become famous for it. And famous, he is! Chris’s channel is one of the most popular on YouTube, where he has over 200,000 subscribers, and some of his videos get more hits than a lot of those posted by real-life celebrities . But what could possibly be so entertaining about a man putting random stuff in his mouth and swallowing it? BBs from a BB gun, an entire bottle of balsamic vinegar, painter’s caulk, or an entire can of Crisco are just some of the bizarre “treats’ he’s eaten so far. It’s revolting and sometime even repulsive to see him trying to finish his “meals” while trying to hold it all down. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who felt seriously nauseous after watching his performances, and yet, a lot of people love watching Shoenice do his thing. Because the truth is, there’s more to him than meets the eye.
Unlike many other so-called internet celebrities, who will do anything for quick fame, Shoenice’s story is quite sad, and there’s a reason for what he does. He had a tough childhood, dealing with a father who wasn’t around most of the time and an alcoholic mom. He is now divorced – his family threw him out a couple of years ago because they couldn’t really understand what his YouTube career was all about. Now, he travels around the U.S., living in motels and filming his videos. Shoenice is actually passionate about doing these videos, about taking requests from random strangers and consuming the stuff they want to see him eat. But what’s most surprising about Chris Schewe is the fact that he isn’t dead yet, considering he’s been doing this since childhood. He started off eating grass and small pebbles at first, and soon progressed to eating baking soda in his Home Economics class. He recalls this incident when he swallowed a tampon once. “It opened up in my throat like an umbrella, and when my mom was yanking on that string with my head between her legs, she knew she gave birth to something special,” he says. Shoenice sure does have a weird sense of humor, but that’s not the reason for his popularity.
The reason, I suspect, why people watch Shoenice22 eating stupid things online, is because of what lies at the heart of his mission. In the 1990s he happened to serve in the US Army in Iraq, and as he watched poor children die of hunger, he made it his life’s goal to try to end global hunger forever. Which is exactly the kind of revolution he hopes to lead through his channel. He hopes to raise awareness to the plight of millions starving in Africa through his unique videos. He would prefer not to raise money for his goal to end world hunger from those who actually work for a living, but never misses an opportunity to scold billionaires who can’t stop flaunting their wealth instead of helping those less fortunate.
Some of his most iconic videos are the ones in which he eats a whole roll of a 1000 sheets of toilet paper in 10 minutes, and drinks a whole bottle of glue. Most of whatever he’s eaten have been requests from his hundreds of thousands of followers. Surprisingly, this includes real food as well, like a 9” pizza in 9 seconds with no water to drink. In a short documentary that was made about Shoenice’s unique profession, he reveals a few of his secrets – medical marijuana, and cranberry juice. These two have the power to “solve any problem,” he says. For now, Shoenice hopes that he can solve global hunger in about 3 years, so he can finally take a break from his videos. But if it kills him, it kills him and he seems to be perfectly okay with that. Well, I don’t know if he can really stop hunger in the world, but I hope he doesn’t kill himself, because he sure does seem like a genuinely nice guy. Meanwhile, people have accused him of suffering from an extreme form of Pica, but all he has to say about that is: Pica is not something he can eat, so it does not exist. How’s that for a great answer?
Sources: Vice Motherboard, Internet Chronicle
