The cult of Epic Meal Time

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On October 5, the guys from Epic Meal Time rolled onto campus for a live version of their hit YouTube show. For those of you who don't know, EMT is a YouTube sensation that took off a little over a year ago where a group of men make disgustingly delicious- looking over-the-top meals. Since then, the show has reached 1.7 million subscribers on YouTube, 505,000 Likes on Facebook, and almost 200,000 followers on Twitter.

Creator and host Harley Morenstein is joined by friends Tyler Lemco, David Heuff, Josh Elkin, Ameer Atari, Alex "Muscles Glasses" Perrault and videographer Sterling Toth. Joined together by their love of bacon and Jack Daniels, they have created EMT classics such as the TurBaconEpic Thanksgiving (a bird in a bird in a bird in a bird in a bird in a pig) and the Angry French Canadian (French toasted Parisian baguette, poutine, bacon, hot dog and maple syrup sandwich.)

"The event was sold out. The line up went (from Forwell Hall) to the gym. There are a lot of sad students who couldn't get in. Next time they'll know to get their tickets in advance!" said FSU President Veronica Barahona. Clearly, EMT at Fanshawe was bound to be crazy before the show even began.

At the start of the night, students full of excitement and anticipation rushed into Forwell Hall, many wearing EMT t-shirts. Eleven students even had the letters of "bacon strips" spelled out on their shirts. "We came here because we love Epic Meal Time. Bacon strips are delicious, hence the shirts ... they have revolutionized the bacon strip genre for the rest of life," said Travis MacCarl, who wore the "B" of "bacon strips."

Once the show began, the atmosphere in Forwell Hall shifted from excitement to mayhem. The air filled with the smell of alcohol, meat and sweat. Students crowded the stage in hopes of getting bacon, Big Macs and free t-shirts. "This isn't even a show. We've just got our bacon and our liquor and we're gonna have a good time," said Morenstein, setting the tone for the rest of the night.

The mob mentality swelled as the EMT cast convinced audience members to go to the extreme, making the entire scene difficult to watch. One girl took off her own shirt for a free t-shirt, another let them pour maple syrup in her mouth, and multiple girls made out with each other on stage for bacon strips. To top it off, the EMT videographer was filming the whole thing, surely with plans to post it on YouTube.

Morenstein encouraged chants of "bacon strips" and "you fucked up," which students repeated in unison almost non-stop all night. Everyone fought over the slices of Big Mac—stuffed pig they were handing out, while Muscles- Glasses gnawed on the pig's head.

The entire night was a prime example of what people will do to get attention from "celebrities." Morenstein was the puppet master and had everyone eating right out of the palm of his hand, sometimes literally.