'Man v. Food' host Adam Richman - See how he changed after the show

Not so long ago, Adam Richman was one of the most popular hosts on television thanks to 'Man v. Food'.

In the show, we could see him traveling around the United States taking on some of the most brutal food challenges in the country.

Picture: @adamrichman / Instagram

A 4-pound loaded sandwich, 12 chicken wings that were 400 times spicier than a jalapeño, or an 8-scoop ice cream with 8 toppings are some of the food challenges the host met between 2008 and 2012.

Picture: @adamrichman / Instagram

The success of 'Man v. Food' would take the show worldwide and Adam Richman's popularity grew immensely.

But how did Adam Richman get to host that kind of show? Apart from being a self-taught cook, he had been writing reviews of every restaurant he had visited since 1995.

With that experience, in 2008, Travel Channel gave him the opportunity to lead his own show: 'Man v. Food'.

Millions of spectators wondered for years if Richman was really eating whatever the challenge made him to. And the answer is a resounding yes.

Although the show was pure entertainment, Adam Richman went through hell during some of the challenges. When trying to eat 10 spicy chicken wings, the TV host started to feel really bad: "I was so jacked up in the bathroom of the place that my tongue had swollen, my nasal passages had swollen - This is not to be trifled with."

For four seasons, the TV personality hosted the show and gained a considerable amount of weight.

Richman was working out twice a day, avoided eating the day before shooting the show, and tried to stay hydrated and cleanse his body. Still, he gained weight thanks to the challenges.

Finally, after opening up in an interview with The Guardian about his depression due to his physical state, Adam Richman decided to step aside and not participate in any more challenges in the fourth season of the show. Instead, he would train others to do so.

He was with the Travel Channel up to 2014 when, in the following season, he hosted the NBC show 'Food Fighters'.

During this time, Adam Richman began to lose weight and, in just 10 months, he lost 70 pounds. Nobody could predict that this would mean a halt in his professional career.

In June 2014, the TV host wanted to share his amazing weight loss. Along with his message, he wrote the hashtag #thinspiration.

The problem is that that hashtag has a double meaning. It often appears in posts and content that promotes eating disorders. As Time magazine explains, its use is frowned upon on social media platforms.

It isn't clear if Richman knew the meaning of the hashtag, so it could have all been an innocent mistake. However, after receiving a lot of criticism, the former TV host started to fight back.

With just an apology, editing the post, or erasing the hashtag, Richman would have saved himself from the situation. To everyone's surprise, he did just the opposite.

Adam Richman started using the hashtag frequently and responded to some of the strongest comments with insults. The cruelest of all was one where he suggested to one of the users to take their own life. That day, definitively ruined his television career.

After the Twitter exchanges, the TV host explained that getting all that feedback from people really hurt him. "I've long struggled with my body image and have worked very hard to achieve a healthy weight."

In fact, as he told People, he felt that his time on 'Man v. Food' had ended, and that he had left the show. He was substituted by Casey Webb.

According to what he told People, rewatching some of the episodes of the show affected him psychologically: "I could see my belly; it was unflattering. It sent me into depression."

The reality is that Travel Channel let him go. It also delayed his new show 'Man Finds Food' which was supposed to run from the summer of 2014 to the spring of 2015.

After some time to reflect, Adam Richman decided to change his image and life, beginning with his food habits. The TV host went from meat-filled food challenges to becoming a vegan.

After the scandal, Adam Richman was invited to shows like 'Today', where he cooked some recipes, and 'Good Morning America', where he promoted a healthy lifestyle and habits.

It wasn't until 2020 that he received an offer to host again. History Channel gave Adam Richman the opportunity to host new shows like 'The Food That Built America', 'Modern Marvels,' and 'Adam Eats the 80s.'

Picture: @adamrichman / Instagram

Adam Richman has gone through a lot, and we can tell those 17 years have changed him. Whatever you may think about his scandalous Twitter messages, many consider Richman a great host who beat the workings of 'cancel culture.'