Not sure about y’all, but if this writer were to undertake a journey of eating more than 34,000 Big Macs from McDonald’s, that’d be a McWrap on my bowels and central nervous system. Sitting on the bathroom throne would be a legitimate part-time job I could only pray to be compensated for. Otherwise, what would be the point of scarfing down that many double-decker burgers?
If you’re Donald Gorske of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, you apparently do it for the love of the game — and a Guinness World Record most would croak in pursuit of.
Now 70 years old, Gorske is laughing in the face of any and all conventional wisdom about dieting, quality of elderly life, aging and so on. In a recent interview with Guinness, Gorske revealed his latest Big Mac count on the heels of a 2023 season in which he consumed 728 more of them. His total is now counted out to 34,128 (h/t The Guardian).
Gorske’s Big Mac journey began on May 17, 1972. He just loves these sandwiches. There’s nothing else really to it. Back in his Mac-chomping prime, Gorske used to mow down nine Big Macs per day. He’s cut all the way back to a measly two nowadays. Walking six miles daily and not eating fries with the Big Macs are what Gorske largely attributes to his ability to stay in shape.
Allow me to pass along some notable quotes from the affable Gorske on his one-of-one situation.
“Out of respect to my mother, from 1973 to 1981 I ate one non-Big Mac meal a day because she was worried about my health. On 1 April 1981 she let me relinquish that promise when she said: ‘If they haven’t killed you by now, go ahead.’
“[…] Many people thought I’d be dead by now but instead I’ve been a record holder for my 24th year – one of Guinness World Records’ longer-running record holders, so that’s pretty cool to me.”
OK that first bit is probably not a direct quote. I doubt Gorske said, “1 April 1981” out loud just like that, but that’s how Guinness transcribed it. They pride themselves on accuracy. Don’t harm the messenger please.
Another fun fact about our dude Donald: He proposed to his wife in a McDonald’s parking lot. Because of course he did.
If you doubt this man, watch and learn how he tracks every single Big Mac he’s eaten.
TLDW: Gorske keeps all the Big Mac containers and receipts to hold himself to account.
In case you’re interested in further Big Mac exploits, here you go. Prolific professional binge eating legend Joey Chestnut has lost the famous Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on the Fourth of July only once since 2007.
Chestnut also set the record for most Big Macs eaten in under 40 minutes, with 32 in 38 minutes back in 2020.
