♪ gentle music playing ♪
[pepper crunching]
[crowd cheering]
♪
NARRATOR: Chili eating is a ballet of snot and tears.
An inferno of heat attacks the sinuses
before the cramp and the shakes begin.
SHAHINA WASEEM [on microphone]: One, two, three!
NARRATOR: At Zest Fest in Dallas,
underdog chili eater Zach Goot is feeling it all.
CROWD [chanting]: Zach, Zach, Zach, Zach, Zach.
[clock ticking]
[heartbeat thumping]
[ticking]
[heartbeat thumping]
[ticking faster]
[stomach rumbling]
[bell rings]
[retching]
[crowd cheering]
Woo!
[flames whooshing]
Oh!
My body literally shut down,
and I dumped these dipping dots on top of this convention trashcan.
PERSON: You killed 'em, bro. - [mouthful] I'm sorry.
Oh.
I was not aware at the time of what I was doing
because I was just in panic mode.
I hate that you're eatin' off the trash can,
but I'm really proud of you.
I don't even know where I am right now.
NARRATOR: Zach is absolutely wrecked.
I mean, look at him. Woof.
And far sooner than he hoped.
But he's not the only one who goes down in flames.
♪ playful music playing ♪
[retching]
[retching, coughing]
NARRATOR: Frankly, there's far more vomiting going on here
than any of us care to see, ever.
But when the, um, [clears throat] dust settles,
former champion Mike Jack is one of only two left standing,
with a shot at the championship belt.
SHAHINA [on microphone]: One, two, three.
ALL: Eat those chilies.
[crowd cheering]
SHAHINA: Come on, guys, you've got this!
You've got this.
[crowd cheering, applauding]
SHAHINA: Wow, it worked.
PERSON: Let's go, Mike!
SHAHINA: Come on!
Mike seems good! PERSON 2: Go, Mike.
Come on, buddy. JAIME: Come on, baby.
PERSON 3: Come on, you got it.
PERSON 2: Swallow it! Yeah!
[crowd cheering]
SHAHINA: He's holdin' it together!
ANNOUNCER [on microphone]: Mike Jack.
[crowd cheering, applauding]
This here is a League of Fire,
America's Chili Pepper Eating Belt.
So this is the, the belt that you get
when you win the American competition.
And it's my belt, for right now anyway.
♪ dramatic music playing ♪
♪
[flames crackling]
[bubbling]
[flames sizzling]
♪ upbeat music playing ♪
NARRATOR: Chiliheads spend every waking moment
attempting to melt face.
And Zest Fest weekend did just that,
serving up new mouth-blowing superhots
to the pepper faithful.
As Chili kingmaker Johnny Scoville returns home,
some of those scorchers are still burning on the brain.
JOHNNY SCOVILLE: Since I started the channel,
I mean, since year one,
I've known that the Reaper's not the hottest pepper.
But I got all these things right up here.
It's a scary place to be.
I'm gonna put it right here so you have an idea
of what's out there.
NARRATOR: Johnny's life has become consumed by the hunt
for a pepper that can challenge the Carolina Reaper
as the world's hottest.
Just whipping out the dry board, you guys.
NARRATOR: Today, he's making it official,
organizing a pantheon of worthy contenders.
At Zest Fest, superhots created by Troy Primeaux
and Gary Montcalm rocked the event
and Johnny took notice.
There's a few people that right now that I know deserve to be on this board,
and one of 'em is Mr. Gary Montcalm.
He's down in Louisiana.
The growers in Louisiana say it's like
the Napa Valley for peppers, it's the perfect environment.
He's got a, a pepper called the Nova Brain, beast of a pepper.
He's got chocolate and variety.
Stupid hot, both of 'em are just sinister.
The chocolate ones have this burn like
you stole its lunch money and they're mad at you or something.
It's crazy.
You gotta know that Troy Primeaux,
boy, that's a name, huh?
With his 7 Pot Primo.
The 7 Pot Primo, as legendary as legendary gets.
And I've eaten hundreds of these and any given day, either one of these
could end up being the hottest pepper in the world.
Bobby McFadden, the Mighty Mustache.
So he has this pepper called the, uh, Orange Gusher.
And it's a beautiful pepper and it-it tastes good.
To me, it's one of those peppers that's right on the cusp
of having the potential to be a real, like, a threat.
But these are a good start.
When this is done, there's gonna be all kinds of names on here and peppers.
And then there are gonna be some that are crossed off
that don't make it.
NARRATOR: His list is growing,
but Johnny's just getting started.
Next up, superhot creator Jimmy Pickles
has asked for a visit to show off his new monster,
The JP Piranha.
JOHNNY: Well, you know, I've known Jimmy for years
and when he said I got something serious.
I'm like, "Put it in the mail. Put it in the mail and send it."
He's like, "Not a chance."
I'm like, "Man, they can send kidneys in the mail.
Throw that pepper in the mail and send it."
And there was just no way he'd do that.
When he's that protective of the pepper,
tells me he's got something special.
So, it's gonna be a monster, I think.
[footsteps echo]
NARRATOR: As human beings, our expectations are created
by stereotypes and preconceived notions.
For instance, close your eyes right now
and picture the face of the world record champion
competitive chili eater.
Okay, were you thinking of some dude with a big beard? How dare you?
Open up your eyes, take a look.
♪ playful piano music playing ♪
SHAHINA: It's so funny, you do this makeup and stuff
and then the lipstick just goes after a few peppers and things.
We still gotta do it, it's part of the ritual.
NARRATOR: That is Shahina Waseem.
[crowd cheering]
NARRATOR: A pepper-eating machine known as the UK Chili Queen.
ANNOUNCER: Shahina is the winner.
NARRATOR: Shahina has completely dominated
the competitive chili-eating circuit for the past decade.
She's undefeated as a competitive eater since 2012.
ANNOUNCER 2: We have a winner!
NARRATOR: Leading to sponsorships and worldwide glory.
ANNOUNCER 3: Shahina, the UK Chili Queen machine!
KATIE BANNISTER: Shahina.
That is the undefeated.
That is the reigning queen in every aspect.
Uh, she is beautiful, she is poised,
and I don't think anybody has ever beat that woman.
She's doing it, and she's representing
all the badass women everywhere.
So I'm known around the world for having taken part
in, uh, chili-eating competitions and never being defeated.
Yes, I do, yeah.
My friend discovered a competition happening
in-in a local town in Kingston.
She said, "Shahina, there's a chili-eating competition,
we've gotta go to this."
And at that time, I didn't even know
what a chili-eating competition was.
I didn't even know superhots existed.
So it was a brutal contest and somehow I won that,
and that's how it all kind of started.
PAUL OURO: Hey, Shan, have you ever heard of an Orange Gusher?
No.
So you're gonna be eating some of these for the first time I think.
SHAHINA: Yeah.
Do you know the Scoville rating on that?
Scoville rating will be bloody hot, I think.
[chuckles]
NARRATOR: As a UK native, Shahina wasn't eligible
to compete in the recent North American title bout at Zest Fest.
But today, she's back in action.
Putting her incredible winning streak on the line
in an event at Winthrop University.
God, I'm feeling nervous now,
like, uh, like the butterflies and all.
It's scary.
PAUL: I know. It sounds like it. - It's hard to breathe sometimes
when you're thinking about it.
You know, it's just because you know
when you've been through the worst pain, I think, uh, having suffered,
like, capsaicin cramps,
like, so many times... - Mm.
...and just being on the floor
for like, I think, like, my worst one was like 18 hours.
I think I couldn't move, you know? - I remember that. I remember that.
You see, it's that kind of thing that worries you the most,
it's the stress of, like, what if that happens again?
I feel really sorry for me.
[laughs] Why, what do you have to do?
Sympathy pains, it's worse.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
NARRATOR: When Shahina competes later today,
it'll be streamed online for all the chili world to see.
[crowd cheering]
NARRATOR: In fact, the pepper community is always online,
almost exclusively, hanging in chat rooms
and on social media.
BOBBY MCFADDEN: It's such a strange occurrence
how people can just meet online
and just become friends and not actually ever meet.
NARRATOR: It's how pepper grower Bobby McFadden
formed almost all of his pepper-based connections.
And get this, his best online Pepper Pal,
is someone we already know.
Hot sauce phenom Aurea de Guzman, a.k.a. the Chilipino.
Aurea has 35,000 followers on Instagram.
She makes me look like a [laughs]
a chump here.
NARRATOR: Though the two have only known one another online until now,
that's all about to change.
Today, they'll meet IRL for the very first time.
AUREA DE GUZMAN: I'm excited and mostly nervous.
What if he's not as cool as he actually plays out to be online?
What if he's a jerk? No, he's not.
I'm sure he's like a lovely person.
Him and his wife have been very supportive of me.
I consider them as family.
Bobby!
My brother.
I can't believe-- Oh, my God.
AUREA: My brother!
Oh, my God, you're here.
BOBBY: Oh, my God, I'm so happy.
Are you crying?
No, shut up.
- You're crying. - I'm-- Stop.
AUREA: I was so happy.
It was such a tender moment, and I hugged him
for the first time because he's a real person.
Your mustache is real!
How are you?
- I'm good, how are you? - Good.
I can't believe you're here right now.
I said this to Aurea.
I said, "We talked for three years online,
"and meeting you in person felt exactly the same.
Like, nothing was different."
She's like the sister I always wanted.
I've met Johnny Scoville and he tried my peppers,
and he said that my Orange Gusher was very hot.
You know what's crazy?
I didn't know about Johnny Scoville until, like, a year ago.
Because I just followed the growers.
- Yeah. - I didn't know that there was a,
there was a space for-- - Well, there was like, some weird divide.
Yeah, like competition eaters, sauce makers,
spice ma-- - But now everybody's coming together.
And it's just blending all together now,
and people who grow are making hot sauce.
Wait, you know I eventually want to get into that, it's just--
You're trying to get into the hot sauce business?
Yeah, I want to get, um, like a license,
but I have to go through, like, the FDA, FDA and all that.
NARRATOR: While Aurea has big plans
for her Chilipino Pepper Company.
Bobby is the more prolific superhot grower.
The duo wants to join forces to stack the odds
ever in their favor
as they aim to make a splash on the pepper scene.
AUREA: We are newbies,
we are babies.
So Bobby is my, my wingman, helping me, uh, navigate
through all of the, the difficulties that we're gonna face.
It makes me feel a little bit more courageous in that sense,
um, to venture into wherever this will take us.
You imagine us, like, following each other online
and then becoming BFFs, making hot sauce?
I-it's-- This is just-- The whole thing is incredible.
[Bobby laughs]
[wings fluttering]
[plane flying overhead]
NARRATOR: Johnny Scoville's quest for the holy grail of heat
has taken him all over the world.
[plane engines roar]
NARRATOR: And today, he's arrived in exotic Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
[bell dings]
NARRATOR: On a mission to taste Jimmy Pickle's new superhot,
one that could challenge the Carolina Reaper
as the world's hottest.
♪ playful piano music playing ♪
[knocking on door]
- Hey, Johnny. - Pickles!
How you doing, brother?
What's going on, dude?
Lots of love, man.
Finally got to meet you after seven years. - Yeah, absolutely.
How are you, dude?
Yeah, I'm freaking doing fantastic. How about you?
I'm doing great, man.
Look at you, man. Oh, my God.
JIMMY PICKLES: Yeah. I live and breathe peppers.
JOHNNY: Pods everywhere.
JIMMY: Well, you can eat whatever.
Oh, what a great pepper.
[pepper crunching]
NARRATOR: If it were up to Johnny, he would be lined straight
from the front door to wherever Jimmy's hiding his JP Piranha.
JOHNNY: Look at that little nasty little stinger on that.
JIMMY: Yeah.
NARRATOR: But first, there's time for a few appetizers.
JOHNNY: Oh, my gosh.
Are these Purple UFOs?
JIMMY: Yeah, it's one of my favorites.
JOHNNY: I'ma eat this now, is it alright? JIMMY: Go ahead.
[crunching]
Beautiful jalapeno, look at the corking.
JIMMY: Yeah, that's, uh, Beni Highlands,
[indistinct] sweet red habanero.
[crunching]
You'll get a crunch from a fresh pepper
picked from the plant
unlike anything you're ever gonna get at a grocery store.
I mean, it's just the most amazing--
It's almost like biting into an apple.
[pepper crunching] - Want another?
JOHNNY: Maybe one more.
[both crunching]
JOHNNY: One more, then I'll stop.
NARRATOR: If you can't tell,
Johnny is in his happy place.
And though each spicy bite is reason to smile,
both he and Jimmy know there's really only one that matters.
JOHNNY: Alright, take me to your JP Piranha.
JIMMY: Okay.
NARRATOR: The time has come to head inside,
into Jimmy's basement grow chamber,
where he's moved the Piranha to keep it safe
under lock and key.
JIMMY: Welcome to grow room number one.
JOHNNY: Wow.
♪ dramatic music playing ♪
NARRATOR: Anticipation can be a funny thing.
For some like Johnny Scoville, it's a jittery excitement
before a new pepper.
But for others, it breeds anxiety.
The last hours before a chili-eating showdown
are when the nerves kick in for Shahina Waseem.
SHAHINA: I'm nervous now.
You know, I'm not feeling one hundred percent today.
PAUL: Really?
SHAHINA: Uh, so that sort of gives you even more sort of doubt
about how well you're going to perform.
NARRATOR: Shahina's on her way to a chili-eating event
at Winthrop University.
[click, tape rewinds]
NARRATOR: But before we get there, let's peel the onion
on why she's about to do what she's about to do.
Shahina's husband, Paul Ouro, doesn't eat peppers himself,
but he happens to be the co-founder
of the League of Fire chili-eating circuit.
[balls clacking]
NARRATOR: Here's Paul to explain more.
Every sport has its rules,
like pool it's easy, you get the ball into the hole.
But chili eating's a little bit different, there were no rules,
so we created the League of Fire.
Now people all around the world can do chili challenges.
Eat the world's hottest chip or the spiciest peanuts,
suffer through it and earn world ranking points.
We even have championships on every continent.
[balls clack]
You think you can beat the UK Chili Queen?
Then come and prove it.
ANNOUNCER: One, two, three.
CROWD: Eat that chili!
NARRATOR: Shahina's skill inspired Paul
to co-found the LOF, as fans call it.
And in just four years, it's grown like wildfire
into a global circuit where anyone who likes heat can compete.
[crowd cheering]
You think about the NFL to American football,
you think about ATP to tennis,
or the FA to soccer ball,
as they call it here in the USA.
Uh, that's what we are to chili eaters,
competitive chili eating.
This is nice, innit? SHAHINA: Yeah.
PAUL: It's like Saved by the Bell. I think so.
[Shahina laughs]
NARRATOR: Today, at Winthrop University,
the League of Fire is hosting a one-time event,
where the student body will collectively take on
the UK Chili Queen.
- After you. - Thank you.
After my boo. [Shahina laughs]
NARRATOR: One woman against a mob,
it's a chance for Shahina to grow her legend,
and for the students to check out the world of chili eating.
I mean, how hot could it be?
Alright, so what's gonna happen is this, right?
The UK Chili Queen's never been beaten,
so you've got a chance to go down in history.
Let's take a seat.
It's not gonna be easy, Shan,
you're gonna end up eating a lot of hot peppers today.
Yeah.
Good luck.
[bell tolls]
ANNOUNCER [on recording]: Joe DiMaggio has made plenty of--
NARRATOR: Joe DiMaggio was legendary
for his 56-game hitting streak.
Ken Jennings won 74 straight on Jeopardy.
Well, move over gents, UK Chili Queen Shahina Waseem
has not lost in a decade,
and the streak is still going.
That is, if she can defeat the entire student body
of Winthrop University today.
[indistinct chatter]
SHAHINA: Every competition that I go into,
I think I'm going to lose.
And I have gone up in so many competitions
where people just come up from the crowd and they turn out to be
this, like, monster chili eater.
So you never know who you're going to go up against,
and the pressure is absolutely intense.
PAUL: So what's gonna happen is you're gonna eat the world's hottest peppers.
That pepper goes in, but nothing can go out.
Any spit, vomit, you're out of there.
You eat all the way to the stem.
I wanna see a nice clean stock and in five minutes, alright?
This is definitely a mistake.
PAUL: If anybody drinks any milk,
you are out of there, okay?
STUDENT: Whew.
NARRATOR: In this event, the students are all working together
as a team to beat Shahina.
The contest runs 90 minutes,
with every pepper consumed equaling one point.
While Shahina will go it alone,
the students will participate four at a time.
Fresh students replacing those who can no longer handle the heat.
Good luck, guys.
Come on, let's do this!
CROWD: Eat that chili!
[crowd cheering]
It's toasty.
NARRATOR: In each round,
Shahina and the students can eat as many superhots
as they can handle,
but for them to count on the scoreboard,
they need to survive a five minute burn period after
without puking or drinking milk.
[clock ticks]
PAUL: Two more minutes.
NARRATOR: Those five minutes can feel like
approximately one thousand years.
[crowd yelling, cheering]
You got this, you got this, you got this.
Come on, Ryan.
[crowd cheering]
How much time?
PAUL: You got a minute and a half.
Look, his eyes are watering,
his nose is running, but he's staying in there.
- Woo! - Okay, you got this now, one more minute.
No, we're gonna lose somebody. SHAHINA: No!
PAUL: Alright, you can do this,
you're nearly there. SHAHINA: Well done, well done.
PAUL: Ten--
ALL: Nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two,
one.
Well done, a round of applause for those two.
[cheering and applause]
PAUL: Two for the home team, one for the guests.
We're gonna have two more people come out,
and let's give 'em a round of applause.
[cheering and applause]
PAUL: One, two, three.
CROWD: Eat that chili!
♪ upbeat marching band music playing ♪
CROWD [echoing]: Eat that chili!
♪
[pepper crunching]
Aah!
♪
[exhales]
Oh, wow. [laughs]
CROWD: Four, three, two, one.
NARRATOR: Through the first few rounds, the students,
as most newcomers, succumb to the pain.
[coughing]
NARRATOR: Capsaicin in each superhot
triggers heat receptors in their skin,
tricking the nervous system into thinking it's overheating.
In turn, tricking their brains to believe they're being poisoned.
They'll be fine, but it doesn't feel like it.
Horrible. [laughs]
But I don't regret, I don't regret it at all. [laughs]
NARRATOR: Just when it seems all of Winthrop is outmatched,
in comes one unsuspecting contender.
PAUL: Sorry, what was your name, mate?
Rocky McCreary, like the boxer.
Never at all.
PAUL: With the UK Chili Queen, people have come and said,
"Right, I'm gonna take her on, I'm gonna beat her."
And she's gone up against some of the toughest people in the world.
I think she's the greatest chili eater of all time now.
No one's gonna beat her.
But then I remembered this movie called Rocky, right?
As Johnny, my friend Johnny Scoville says,
"Any given Sunday, anything can happen in one of those."
CROWD: Eat that chili!
[crowd cheering]
Whew!
CROWD: Eat that chili!
Woo!
Rocky, he was so, so good.
He was just eating pepper after pepper.
Just distracting yourselves.
So keep your mind off the pain.
SHAHINA: I really felt, "Oh, no, I'm in trouble here."
Rocky, he's like, "No problem, bring it on, bring it on,
why not," you know?
PAUL: He doesn't feel pain, Rocky.
[weakly] Well done.
[count clicking]
CROWD [echoing]: Eat that chili!
[pepper crunching]
We have a future chili king right here.
NARRATOR: Rocky puts all of Winthrop University
on his back
and goes P for P,
pepper for pepper with the Chili Queen.
PAUL: One more minute.
Ahh! SHAHINA: Hang in there.
Hang in there.
PAUL: Rocky's struggling.
This one really got me.
[echoing groan]
And then suddenly he does one, and then everything starts to show.
STUDENT: Put three more down, man.
Come on!
Rocky's not gonna tap out, he's not gonna take a dive.
You'd have to pay him to take a dive.
NARRATOR: But then, as with most mere mortals,
Rocky bows out and bows down at the feet of the Queen.
ALL: Three, two, one.
PAUL: Yes, we have a winner! Your UK Chili Queen.
A big round of applause for Shahina Waseem. Well done.
Winthrop, you have been amazing. Wonderful, wonderful support.
Thank you.
Whew. INTERVIEWER: Rough one?
Rough one indeed.
Oh, my God.
[laughter]
It's like the fire keeps coming back.
Like, every time it goes away, it just comes back.
I feel like I'm gonna puke.
So many mistakes, we should not have done that.
[chuckles] We did. We did.
We did it.
NARRATOR: The Queen has consumed 28 superhots
in 90 minutes.
Taking on all comers and finding a way to win.
But though she's won the fight, it comes at a cost.
The battle inside her body has just begun.
[Shahina exhales sharply] - You okay?
I'll get better.
Oh, my God, that's unbelievable.
NARRATOR: This type of extreme chili binge
will deliver an agonizing aftermath.
The peppers will take all night
to work their way through her body,
and by this evening, it will be next level bad.
♪
Whether it's a chili-eating winning streak,
or a new business venture,
all things have to begin somewhere.
BOBBY: Aurea and I,
we've been talking about making hot sauce together.
Can't wait to do this--
NARRATOR: Today is that moment for Bobby McFadden
and Aurea De Guzman
as they launch their new pepper-based partnership.
Step one, figuring out what they can create
to best combine their talents.
Did you want to, like, try some stuff
and see kind of like-- get an idea of where we want to go with this?
Do you want to try some hot sauce? BOBBY: Yeah.
AUREA: I'll grab a few.
[bottles clinking]
Here's a few things that we can pick from.
Oh, my God.
Wait, not done yet.
I have a group of hot sauces,
about 20 of them that are in my fridge,
that are in the game right now.
Think of basketball, you have players that are in the game.
And then I have the benchwarmers
that are waiting to just, "Put me in, coach, I'm ready."
Oh, okay, okay.
I'll be back, there's more.
Uh--
And I decide on an MVP, and I usually stick with him.
What are you looking for viscosity-wise?
Um, like a medium body.
AUREA: You'll like it.
It smells really good. See, I love smoke.
It really kind of uniforms everything.
Oh, that's incredible.
Right?
NARRATOR: Bobby grows the superhots they need to craft something new,
and Aurea has a unique take on flavors.
Woo!
NARRATOR: A combo that could propel them together
into the conversation.
BOBBY: I love making hot sauce.
What are you gonna do with, you know,
a hundred pounds of peppers at the end of the season?
So, I think we're both good at making hot sauce,
but she brings, like, a whole new perspective.
Some things-- Things I wouldn't even think of.
Just the perfect flow working together. Yeah.
I was experimenting with different wood chips,
and I found a couple wood chips that I think that, uh,
really add a good-- Hey, bud. Add a good flavor to it.
AUREA: He wants what you're having.
No, you can't have that. [Aurea laughs]
Make the sauce that matters
and then put the cool label on it.
That's, that's the deal.
AUREA: Let's chug a bottle each.
BOBBY: No! [Aurea laughs]
[dog growls]
♪ tense music playing ♪
NARRATOR: When we were all little children,
we knew for a fact
that a monster lived in the basement.
[door creaking]
NARRATOR: When mom and dad asked us to grab something from downstairs,
we ran down and back up again,
heart beating, barely touching the floor.
In Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, in Jimmy Pickle's house,
there's definitely a monster in the basement.
[zipper opening]
NARRATOR: But it's the very reason Johnny Scoville is here.
JOHNNY: Wow.
JIMMY: Presenting the JP Piranha.
JOHNNY: Wow.
JIMMY: You can see the tails.
JOHNNY: Wow.
JIMMY: But it is a Naga Bubblegum,
crossed with a Primotalii.
JP Piranha.
I have a lot of respect for Johnny.
The community has a lot of respect for Johnny.
His opinion matters.
Here's to your health, thank you.
JIMMY: Cheers.
[pepper crunching]
If he doesn't like it,
it's definitely backtracking everything I'm working for.
♪ tense music playing ♪
♪
NARRATOR: Johnny's life has become consumed
by the hunt for a pepper
that could challenge the Carolina Reaper
as one of the world's hottest.
So when he's tasting a true contender,
like Jimmy Pickles' JP Piranha,
he takes his time to assess the burn.
♪
[crow cawing]
♪ playful music playing ♪
[pepper crunching]
Hot right from the jump.
Very strong.
It is fruity, slightly floral,
a little bit of bitter notes, which the bitterness
and floral to me is such a wonderful combination.
Great finish on it.
You know, the-the bitterness and the floral flavors
dissipate pretty quickly.
So now you just have that great pepper flavor.
Great burn on the sides of my cheek.
I see your eyes watering a little bit.
You never really get flushed, but it's the eyes.
But very, very hot.
Have you had the Scoville ratings test on that?
No, but I'm going to.
It's gonna be-- It's gonna be north of 1.5, I promise you.
Like maybe 1.7, 1.9, it's gonna be hot. - Yeah.
NARRATOR: Of course Johnny's mouth
cannot immediately decipher Scoville heat units,
the scientific measurement used to classify superhots
from which he borrowed his name.
But his palate is developed enough
to recognize when a pepper breaks into the highest tier of heat.
Listen, if somebody was not like, I mean, hardcore chilihead,
they wouldn't even be able to think.
- Yeah. - It would scramble their brain.
- Yeah. - Oh, it's a beautiful thing.
Yeah. Awesome.
You've done something good there, Jimmy.
JP Piranha.
It tastes good, it's definitely crazy hot,
it's got great genetics, it's beautiful.
So it's got all the potential in the world to be, uh, you know, a monster,
but it's just young, it's early.
The JP Piranha, that's a contender.
We gotta come up with an idea.
JOHNNHY: Oh, I got some good ones.
We're getting it out there and getting a lot of eyes on it.
We need to do a big rollout and maybe, like,
I'll do a big challenge for you as well.
- Okay. - 'Cause people like seeing me in pain.
NARRATOR: Johnny's trip here has accomplished
what Jimmy hoped for,
earning the Piranha a spot
amongst the pantheon of contenders for world's hottest.
Now Jimmy needs to grow more and plan its release
in hopes of cashing in.
- Thanks, brother. - Of course, man.
We'll make it happen. - Yeah.
♪ intense music playing ♪
[Shahina exhales sharply]
[Shahina groans]
SHAHINA: Yeah, that really helps.
NARRATOR: On this journey into the belly of superhot,
it's often easy to forget just how brutal they can be.
♪
Unfortunately for Shahina, no amount of ice baths
or massage will help her now.
Oh, my goodness.
My friend, um, who, um, has had babies
and she does challenges and stuff,
she says it's worse than labor pain. [chuckles]
NARRATOR: As she knows all too well,
you may be done eating the chilies,
but, [elongated] girl!
The chilies are not done with you.
[panting]
PAUL: Shan?
You just let me know if you need anything, alright?
[retching]
Yeah, so this happens quite regularly really.
This-- It happens all night, so--
[Shahina retching, coughing]
[flames sizzling]
♪ dramatic theme music playing ♪
♪
[whistles]