HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

How Flamin' Hot Cheetos Became a Cultural Sensation

Views:1107
@ReasonVids

The fan culture around the #FlaminHotCheetos has allowed the snack to survive school bans, media panic and an origin story debacle. Food nannies don't stand a chance. #HotCheetos
------------------
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/ReasonTV?subconfirmation=1
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magazine/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason

Reason is the leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Go to reason.com for a point of view you won't get from legacy media and old left-right opinion magazines.
----------------

Richard Montañez, the self-proclaimed inventor of Flamin' Hot Cheetos, has a memoir out this week called Flamin' Hot: The Incredible True Story of One Man's Rise from Janitor to Top Executive. It's also being made into a movie by actress and producer Eva Longoria.

But last month, the Los Angeles Times published allegations that Montañez fabricated his role in the snack's creation.

"None of our records show that Richard was involved in any capacity in the Flamin' Hot test market," Frito-Lay said in a statement. "We have interviewed multiple personnel who were involved in the test market, and all of them indicate that Richard was not involved in any capacity in the test market."

Whether or not the Flamin' Hot Cheetos origin story is a legend, what matters most is how this fiery snack has been embraced, repurposed, and re-interpreted by legions of fans.

These puffy and pungent snacks have been featured in rap songs, YouTube challenges, TikTok cooking videos, clothing, jewelry, and a variety of food dishes with roots all over the world. Singer Katy Perry dressed up as a Flamin' Hot Cheeto for Halloween in 2014. 

This fan culture helped make Flamin' Hot Cheetos resilient to attacks by food regulators who object to artificial dyes and high-calorie cornmeal.

They're also a culinary phenomenon. "Either before school or after school you were going to get a bag of chips and the only one you were going to get was Flamin' Hot," says Tirsa Farah, co-owner and chef at Tirsa's Mexican Cafe in Los Angeles, California. Farah's menu features Flamin' Hot Cheetos in sopes, nachos, and esquites. "It's not just a flavor—it's a memory, it's an occasion. You just flash back to all the times you ate Flamin' Hot."

Bags of Flamin' Hot Cheetos appeared on American store shelves in the early '90s. They came to symbolize the poor eating habits of America's youth. The panic intensified with the rise of social media. There were claims that kids were showing up at doctors' offices with heartburn and red stool.

YouTube creators like @MegatoadStonie mocked the calorie intake concerns of school administrators and dietitians—perhaps unintentionally—with Flamin' Hot Cheetos challenges where contestants try to eat as many as they can in 10 minutes.

Mexicana YouTube creator Wendy, from the @Wendy's Eating Show channel, made a video in 2018 where she added Flamin' Hot Cheetos to her sushi and took part in a Korean YouTube trend called #Mukbang: videos where someone eats food and talks to the audience about it.

"You guys want to know why I picked these sushi rolls? Because they have cream cheese in the middle and Hot Cheetos and cream cheese also go together like peanut butter and jam," Wendy explains.

The way fans are able to engage with and fuse cultures together make Flamin' Hot Cheetos deeply American. Those flavors combine into something new, surprising, and better practically every single day.

"You can be as different as you want to be, or non-traditional as you want to be, and still make delicious, yummy food," says Farah. "It's just the different chip."

Produced by Paul Detrick. Shot by Zach Weissmueller and Detrick. Graphics by Detrick.

Music: Turn Up by Monako, TipToes by Myuu, Shibuya by Bad Snacks, The Beacon by Zachariah Hickman, Fundy by Rew.

Richard B. Levine/Newscom, FCA/ZOJ/WENN/Newscom, Jonathan Wong/SCMP/Newscom, Kris Tripplaar/Sipa USA/Newscom, Will/MEGA/Newscom, Paul Bersebach/ZUMA Press/Newscom, Eve Edelheit/ZUMA Press/Newscom, Orange County Register/ZUMA Press/Newscom, Photo 145166139 © Suriyapong Koktong | Dreamstime.com, Sharyn Jackson/TNS/Newscom, Richard B. Levine/Newscom, Cheetos/MEGA/Newscom

libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
,
flamin hot cheetos
,
flaming hot cheetos
,
flamin hots
,
mukbang
,
katy perry
,
eva longoria
,
richard montanez
,
cheeto
,
cheetos
,
flamin hot cheetos challenge
,
food
,
food nannies
,
tirsa's mexican cafe
,
mexican food
,
spicy
    Thumbnail for How Bitcoin Could Replace the U.S. Dollar1:01:34
    How Bitcoin Could Replace the U.S. Dollar
    ReasonVids
    692 views
    Thumbnail for How Drone Kills Happen: "Eye in The Sky" Film Dramatizes Techno-Moral Dilemma10:55
    How Drone Kills Happen: "Eye in The Sky" Film Dramatizes Techno-Moral Dilemma
    ReasonVids
    901 views
    Thumbnail for Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* | Teaser Trailer | Only In Theaters May 2025 | Marvel Entertainment0:58
    Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* | Teaser Trailer | Only In Theaters May 2025 | Marvel Entertainment
    invidious
    177 views
    Thumbnail for Welcome to Oaksterdam! The Epicenter of the Marijuana Legalization Movement7:59
    Welcome to Oaksterdam! The Epicenter of the Marijuana Legalization Movement
    ReasonVids
    926 views
    Thumbnail for American politics in a nutshell 0:10
    American politics in a nutshell
    voatcatbox
    509 views
    Thumbnail for Ralph Nader on Obama, Hillary Clinton, and their "total support" of war and empire1:04
    Ralph Nader on Obama, Hillary Clinton, and their "total support" of war and empire
    ReasonVids
    817 views
    Thumbnail for The Thames Barrier must never fail. Here's why it doesn't. | Tom Scott7:29
    The Thames Barrier must never fail. Here's why it doesn't. | Tom Scott
    invidious
    348 views
    Thumbnail for Vanessa Grigoriadis on the 'Blurred Lines' of Consensual Sex and Assault on Campus50:43
    Vanessa Grigoriadis on the 'Blurred Lines' of Consensual Sex and Assault on Campus
    ReasonVids
    925 views
    Thumbnail for 3 Reasons Eric Cantor Lost - And Why Republicans Will Continue to Lose2:05
    3 Reasons Eric Cantor Lost - And Why Republicans Will Continue to Lose
    ReasonVids
    885 views
    Thumbnail for We Don’t Have a Gun Problem. We Have a Race Problem.11:57
    We Don’t Have a Gun Problem. We Have a Race Problem.
    AmericanRenaissance
    1616 views
    Thumbnail for Gun Control Is Still Dead: Paloma Heindorff on the Future of the Homemade Firearm Movement14:21
    Gun Control Is Still Dead: Paloma Heindorff on the Future of the Homemade Firearm Movement
    ReasonVids
    899 views
    Thumbnail for Iran now killing protestors - Release the hashtag0:35
    Iran now killing protestors - Release the hashtag
    publicfreakouts
    543 views
    Thumbnail for Happy Holi | Rank Push Fun Stream | Grandmaster Top 100 | Free Fire Max Live On Phone | Boss Army2:52:02
    Happy Holi | Rank Push Fun Stream | Grandmaster Top 100 | Free Fire Max Live On Phone | Boss Army
    invidious
    69 views
    Thumbnail for Crowder names the jew0:36
    Crowder names the jew
    bestofvid8
    1591 views
    Thumbnail for Tweeting Around Egypt's Web Blackout: Meet John Scott-Railton4:51
    Tweeting Around Egypt's Web Blackout: Meet John Scott-Railton
    ReasonVids
    912 views
    Thumbnail for Fauci before and after1:24
    Fauci before and after
    bestofvoatxyz
    603 views
    Thumbnail for Injustice Gods Among Us Gameplay Walkthrough Part 14 - Superman - Chapter 1411:39
    Injustice Gods Among Us Gameplay Walkthrough Part 14 - Superman - Chapter 14
    invidious
    354 views
    Thumbnail for Minute details0:45
    Minute details
    bestofvoatxyz
    1398 views
    Thumbnail for California Killed 1.2 Million Birds To Stop a Virus. Pet Owners Say They Were Terrorized.12:59
    California Killed 1.2 Million Birds To Stop a Virus. Pet Owners Say They Were Terrorized.
    ReasonVids
    927 views
    Thumbnail for White man attacked by group of negro teens on Staten Island | NBC New York1:00
    White man attacked by group of negro teens on Staten Island | NBC New York
    bestofupgoat
    258 views
    Thumbnail for Robert it Goes Down FULL | Koob0:29
    Robert it Goes Down FULL | Koob
    invidious
    356 views
    Thumbnail for New York Cops Took $8,040 From Her. She Was Never Charged With a Crime.3:47
    New York Cops Took $8,040 From Her. She Was Never Charged With a Crime.
    IJvids
    837 views

points

Permalink
Reply
libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
,
flamin hot cheetos
,
flaming hot cheetos
,
flamin hots
,
mukbang
,
katy perry
,
eva longoria
,
richard montanez
,
cheeto
,
cheetos
,
flamin hot cheetos challenge
,
food
,
food nannies
,
tirsa's mexican cafe
,
mexican food
,
spicy
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle