Local man wins Adventureland’s Phantom Earthworm Challenge

ALTOONA -- Last weekend, Stephen Hiracheta got a protein kick to his diet when he was the first to eat six earthworms at the inaugural Phantom Earthworm Challenge, part of Adventureland's Phantom Fall Fest, now in its second year.

Hiracheta, who lives in Le Grand and works in Marshalltown, said his Altoona-based family members encouraged him to sign-up for the challenge, even though he'd never done anything like it in the past.

"They have season passes to Adventureland and asked if I thought I could eat six worms in 30 seconds. I was the first one at the registration table. I stood there an hour, signed up, and five of us got to do it," he said. "There were 20 people that waited in line in case one of us couldn't do it."

Hiracheta competed alongside Tristen Davis of Ankeny, Tan Nygard of Des Moines, Jailyn Bucklin of Newton and Haley Revell of Chariton. Des Moines native Andrew Fuller, the winner of season one of the Netflix show "Is It Cake?" served as the host.

Each worm was placed in a two-ounce shot glass style cup and then presented to the five challengers.

"For me, I strategized. By the time I showed the person (assigned to supervise the contest) my empty cup, another worm was in my other hand."

He noted the worms, which were alive at the time of consumption, tasted like "a cold, raw potato."

"It was super weird," he said.

In what he estimates to be less than 30 seconds, he had eaten the required six worms.

"I was kind of shaky. It was a lot all at once. Andrew said, 'oh you're trembling. Don't worry.' He was so nice. A colorful person," Hiracheta said.

He didn't drink any water during the contest, but he says, consumed a great deal afterwards.

"And chewed a lot of bubblegum," he added.

As the winner of the competition, he was presented with a custom worm-shaped cake made by Fuller. While it may have looked un-appetizing, Hiracheta said it was delicious.

"The texture was very worm-like, but the inside was chocolate ganache. I ate it with my family," he noted.

In addition to the cake, he went home with a prize package valued at around $1,500, which included a Yeti Tundra 45 hard cooler, cups and accessories, two 2024 Adventureland platinum season passes, merchandise, plus North Face and Carhart hats and more. All the participants received a custom Raygun shirt that says Worms: Nature's Spaghetti.

While Hiracheta said he'd be interested in doing a similar competition in the future, he does have his limits.

"It wouldn't be so much how much you can eat in a short time, but eating something more unusual -- that hasn't been eaten by a bunch of people," he said. "Grasshoppers I'd maybe do, or mealworms. Roaches would be a no."

He hopes to get the chance to participate in next year's Phantom Earthworm Challenge.

"I'm not really a foodie. I like challenges. I like thinking and being outside the box. I like doing things that are different," he said. "Overall, the experience was very unique. I was really happy to have participated in something that most people would say they'd never try. I won some great prizes and was really proud of myself for accomplishing something others couldn't."

Adventureland's Phantom Fall Fest continues every weekend through the end of October.