I cannot help but laugh each time someone sarcastically asks me what a 34-year-old man is doing, walking around with a teddy bear. “What is the deal with Leonidas?” That is a very common question I get asked, particularly by people newer to our channels who just recently started watching videos. Leonidas first arrived on my doorstep back in mid-2015. Since then, he’s been to all 50 states & 37 countries with me. He can be seen in almost every video and/or food picture we post online. Why? There are even long-time viewers who still don’t understand his purpose, so I’m dedicating this entire post to explaining the origin of of my good ole buddy Leonidas!!
Back in 2015, we made the decision to start an online store to sell merchandise and apparel. I didn’t have extra funds to buy upfront merchandise, so we opened a store through the company Spreadshirt, a print-on-demand shop that handled the shipping too, with no upfront costs needed. We still have that same store available today for people needing shirts 4XL or larger. There are some other lower-demand designs too that are not available through our current store. Through Spreadshirt, we could offer not only shirts, but also hats, hoodies, bags, coffee cups, and dog bandanas. There was even a teddy bear you could order with a red or white t-shirt, & that worked perfect because both matched perfectly with our FoodChallenges.com logo. I ordered a red-shirt bear for 4 purposes:
“You don’t have to be young to find a friend in a Teddy bear.” – Rachel Newman
Brand Awareness (Marketing) – Around that time, there were photos going viral on the internet (mostly on Facebook), featuring food challenges and other giant restaurant meals. Unfortunately, many of them had little to zero branding on them, showing where the meal(s) could be found and purchased. There were photos I had previously posted, taken and shared by lots of pages, without any branding that brought traffic back to our pages. The teddy bear had a big FC logo on his shirt, so before each challenge, I would take pictures of it with the food. Then, if/when our food photos got shared, people could link them back to our pages as the source.
Store Promotion – Plain and simple, the bear would help promote to subscribers that we have a store available. When people asked about him, I could mention that we have a store where t-shirts, long-sleeve shirts, hoodies, hats, bags, & coffee mugs are available.
Food Size Comparison – A five pound burger looks a lot smaller in front of me, than it does in front of a person shorter & over 100 lbs lighter. To judge the size of food, there has to be a known reference to compare it to. If a cheeseburger is placed next to a can of soda, you can judge the size of it because you know big the can is. I knew of a few situations where fellow eaters thought a challenge looked do-able while sitting in front of me, but then were overwhelmed when they went to try the same-sized challenge themselves, and it was actually much bigger than they thought. The teddy bear was to be a reference point for eaters following my challenges, so they could judge the size of challenge meals accordingly & know what they were getting themselves into – to win before they began!!
Travel Buddy – This was mostly a joke between my mother and I. She often worried about me, because I was known to do a lot of dumb things while traveling alone. I was cheap and stubborn, without much money, so sometimes I’d try to “cut corners” in ways that weren’t too smart. Whenever she’d ask me a question while I was touring solo, and I could sense she was worried, I’d jokingly tell her to have no fear, since Leonidas there to protect me. It never worked, and mom never thought it was funny, but I sure did!!
Example: One time in Chicago, Illinois upon arriving at the airport, in the middle of winter while it was snowing, I decided the cab fare was overpriced to a restaurant I felt was within walking distance. I had time to spare, so I tried to walk. ~30 minutes later, I found myself lost and walking in the snow along the highway, with vehicles zooming past me. Thankfully, a police officer pulled over, made me get into his vehicle, and brought me back to the exact same spot I started from (haha). I ended up taking a cab!!
The name Leonidas actually came from a Facebook post I made a few days before my 2015 Eastern USA & Canada Tour. I had the bear and knew it needed a name, but I couldn’t think of anything fitting. I asked everyone following on Facebook for suggestions, & thankfully someone recommended the name Leonidas. Right away, I knew that it was the winner since it kept with our Greek theme and the FC logo is shaped like a Spartan helmet. I originally intended to have an Instagram page for Leonidas, where I’d take photos of him while sightseeing during our travels together, but that plan never came to fruition. That would have been a lot of extra work!!
“Teddy bears are just about the only toy that can lose just about everything and still maintain their dignity and worth.” – Samantha Armstrong
Sadly, Spreadshirt stopped carrying teddy bears in either 2016 or 2017. Every so often, I’d get an email from someone asking where they could order their own Leonidas teddy bear. Finally, after 15-20 much appreciated inquiries, I decided to find the original teddy bear supplier, and order Leonidas some “relatives” to sell myself. After a few hours of detective work, I located the manufacturer & put in an order. Today, there are over 1,000 bears in happy households around the world. Many are bought for children, and I love hearing what some of the kids name their bear. Hint: “Randy” and “Atlas” are my favorites!! They are available at all food challenge events, and most people choose to have me sign them!! When Katina is with me, she can sign the bears too. If you are interested in getting a bear for someone special to you, please check out our store, where signed bears are available. Thanks for your support!!
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