TERRE HAUTE — Competitive pepper eater Stephen Curgan set a stunning Guinness World Record on Saturday, downing 50 fiery ghost peppers in less than five minutes during the second annual Wabash Valley Pepper Fest and Hot Sauce Expo in Terre Haute.
Curgan, known professionally as “Fiery Redd,” obliterated the previous mark of 14 minutes and 37 seconds, which had been set in August 2025 by Canadian competitor Mike Jack in Nicolet, Quebec.
“I knew I was going to beat 14 minutes and 37 seconds; doing it in under five minutes is awesome,” Curgan said following his record-breaking performance. “Honestly, my goal was to cut it in half, and I almost cut it in third. It’s just constantly about push, push, push—don’t slow down, even when your body is telling you ‘please stop.’ It’s just push harder, push through, and now is the time.”
A High-Stakes Thermal Challenge
The record attempt required strict verification measures. Event emcee Kevin Bracken noted that Guinness required official adjudicators on-site to individually weigh each ghost pepper (Bhut jolokia) prior to the contest.
The heat involved in the feat is extreme:
- The Ghost Pepper: Measures between 800,000 and 1,000,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU). In 2012, Guinness certified it as the world’s hottest pepper, a title now held by newer hyper-hybrids like Pepper X.
- The Comparison: A standard jalapeño typically measures around 3,000 to 8,000 Scoville units—making ghost peppers roughly 100 to 300 times hotter.
“Not only did he beat the record, he blew it out of the water,” said event co-host Shahina Wasim, known in competitive circles as the “UK Chilli Queen.” Wasim, an undefeated 14-year veteran with 97 competition wins based out of London, helped host the League of Fire segment at the festival.
From Arkansas to the World Stage
Although Saturday marked Curgan’s first official Guinness World Record, he is far from a novice in the extreme spice circuit. Originally from South Carolina and currently residing in Arkansas, Curgan is a three-time League of Fire world champion.
Curgan has competed for more than two years on the global circuit. In just a few weeks, he will travel to Bulgaria to defend his League of Fire World Title for a fourth time.
The League of Fire follows an international tournament structure:
- State Level: Competitors across roughly 12 U.S. states vie for state champion titles.
- National Level: State winners advance to the America’s Championship at the Blaze for the Brave Festival in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
- Intercontinental & World: Winners move on to the Intercontinental Championship—often hosted in Italy—before reaching the ultimate World Title Match.
Beyond competitive eating, Curgan launched his own hot sauce company and founded a hot sauce festival in Bentonville, Arkansas, last month.
“I do this because I love the community,” Curgan said. “It’s become a crazy, fun, extreme sport.”
Organizers noted that this year’s Wabash Valley Pepper Fest and Hot Sauce Expo drew significantly larger crowds than its inaugural event, featuring expanding vendor spaces and regional pepper farmers alongside headline competitive events.
