- The man, who hasn’t revealed his identity but is a 22-year-old NYU graduate, drew a crowd of 1,000 people for his 30-minute spectacle in Union Square
A mysterious masked man ate an entire jar of cheeseballs in front of a cheering crowd in New York City and only nearly threw up once.
The man, who hasn’t revealed his identity but is a 22-year-old NYU graduate, drew a crowd of 1,000 people for his 30-minute spectacle in Union Square on Saturday.
Using the moniker cheeseballman427 on social media, he began posting photos of himself in his distinctive bright orange ski mask in March, gaining hundreds of followers.
Videos of the stunt went viral showing a crowd roaring their support and chanting ‘Cheeseball Man’ as he finished his final piece.
He garnered so much attention that he said he has been contacted by people threatening to reveal his true identity, and has even started legal proceedings against them.
The man, who hasn’t revealed his identity, drew a crowd of 1,000 people for his 30 minute spectacle in Union Square on Saturday
He posted adverts around the city telling people to ‘watch me eat this entire jar of cheeseballs. Union Square Park April 27th 3pm.’
He posted adverts around the city telling people to ‘watch me eat this entire jar of cheeseballs. Union Square Park April 27th 3pm.’
When the day came crowds descended on the square flocking around Cheeseball Man where he stood on a small stool holding his barrel.
He told the crowd that he was gluten-intolerant and had forgotten to buy gluten-free cheeseballs.
Then he began eating the bright orange balls to cheers from the crowd.
He told the Independent there was only one point where he thought he might be sick, but he persevered for the crowd.
He said: ‘There was a moment that I was definitely going to throw up. And then people said, ‘Keep it down,’ really loudly. So, I just kept it in.’
Over the next 30 minutes he steadily worked his way through the barrel, waving a flag and washing down the balls with water.
A massive cheer went up as he ate his final ball.
He told The Independent: ‘I really didn’t expect this many people to show up. I think everybody wants to be behind the mask.’
Fans flocked to social media after to share their videos of the stunt.
One said, ‘Cheeseball man did it’ while another said, ‘This dude draws more people to an event than Biden does.’
But his fame came at an unexpected cost and he shared a video days after the feat saying he had received threatening messages
Fans flocked to social media after to share their videos of the stunt.
He is now weighing up what to do with his newfound platform, saying he may go quiet until his next feat next year
But his fame came at an unexpected cost and he shared a video days after the feat saying he had received threatening messages.
He said: ‘I am being threatened and I am sick of it.
‘People have been sending me DMs threatening to release my secret identity and my address and I have to go to court against these people.’
He is now weighing up what to do with his newfound platform, saying he may go quiet until his next feat next year, or travel to different cities to perform different spectacles.
He told the Independent: ‘I’m not really sure where to take the whole thing. I’m thinking about maybe just keeping it to New York or maybe just not uploading anything until next year’s event.
‘I just want to make sure I’m doing what’s right for my people.’
