A history of the 4 beers and 2 cigs speedrun
A history of the 4 beers and 2 cigs speedrun
An exploration into a challenge that's exactly what it sounds like
It’s Herculean, a feat ancient poets wish they’d witnessed, a scene that should be engraved on Grecian urns: a man in a baseball cap sinks four beers and smokes two cigs in a minute-and-a-half before vomming everywhere.
The crowd goes wild. A world record is broken. But the game is only just beginning…
The man in the video is Joe Mama, a YouTuber and musician from the UK. He’s currently engaged in a battle with another vlogger, Dornia, to become the world champion of drinking four beers and smoking two cigs in the shortest possible time.
This is known as the four beers and two cigs (4B2C) speedrun — and it’s taking the internet by storm.
So… where the hell did this challenge come from? Let’s find out.
The original runner was a YouTuber called StankyKong911. He posted the first ever 4B2C challenge, which was taken down, but eventually reuploaded here.
And the time StankyKong got? 14:34.
The 4 beer 2 cigarettes speedrun was properly solidified in StankyKong’s second attempt. Not only did he smash his original time and pick up an 08:29, he actually codified the rules of the challenge:
Since this moment, the 4B2C speedrun community has tweaked this ruleset into something slightly more comprehensive:
No drinks under 5.5% ABV
Videos must include a disclaimer
No water or any other drinks to be consumed during the speedrun
Cigs must be inhaled, no puff scamming
Each drink must be a minimum of 350ml
No shotgunning (although vortexing is allowed for bottles)
Can’t smoke slimline or lite cigs
No use of any aids, such as siphons, and you can only drink from bottles, cans, or glasses
No decarbonisation of any kind
Containers must be opened during video
Throwing up is allowed as long as it isn’t self induced
And minor spilling is allowed
Some of these rules have been questioned. One such example is the vomiting rule, with some feeling that ruins the spirit of the speedrun.
Another is the minimum drink size regulation, as Joe Mama does his videos in the pub, in which he drinks 2.5 pints, and the half comes in at 284ml.
Overall, though, the 4B2C community is pretty accepting as long as proper rationale and proof is given. All they want to see are records smashed.
And, lord oh lord, have records been smashed.
The point where the 4B2C speedrun exploded in popularity was in August of this year when Dornia demolished the previous world record. He posted a video of him drinking 4 beers and 2 cigs in around 03:24.
From there, participation increased. The goal was to push the world record even lower, with everyone focused on getting a sub-3min time.
Then, Dornia upped the ante once more and dropped another incredible effort:
Community competition drove these huge leaps in times, but so did technique. Now it’s common practice in 4B2C speedruns to smoke two cigarettes at once, and decant several cans into one receptacle.
There was more to come though. Dornia may have been breaking records, but he didn’t have a proper challenger.
But in mid-September, Joe Mama burst onto the scene.
“I saw Dornia’s 01:41 run on my YouTube recommended,” Joe Mama tells me, “I thought I could beat the time … so I wanted to try.”
And that’s exactly what he did. Joe Mama achieved the 01:34 that began this piece, and Dornia took notice.
The record bounced back-and-forth between them. Joe Mama clocked a 01:17 world record:
And Dornia upped that, managing an incredible 01:05. At the time of writing, this is the current world record.
It seems only a matter of days until the one minute barrier is broken. The battle between Dornia and Joe Mama is our generation’s Messi and Ronaldo, we’re witnessing greatness in real time.
But while we wait with bated breath to see what these two athletes do next, I had the chance to speak with Joe Mama and find more about his journey.
On the toughest part of the 4B2C speedrun, Joe tells me he thinks “the cigarettes are the hard part,” but admits this is innately personal. “Others find the beers harder.”
What’s really surprised him though is the reaction to the challenge and the huge amount of attention.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Joe says, “I have some questions for Google.”
I can’t write this piece without bringing up the darker side of the 4 beers 2 cigarettes speedrun though: health concerns. While each video has a disclaimer before it, and is often positioned as a stunt, this is clearly a loophole.
“You’re just forced to say that shit so you are allowed to do it,” Joe says.
He’s well aware of the health concerns though.
“Yeah I'm gonna move off the smoking cigarettes, maybe completely,” he tells me, “but I might keep making videos if they keep getting views.”
This is the issue at the heart of algorithmically-driven online content. As I’ve discussed before, provocative behaviour is often prioritised by platforms like YouTube. This leads to edge behaviour reaching wide numbers of people and the makers of the content receiving cash and attention, leading to an infinite loop of questionable activities.
To put it another way, online platforms can broadcast extreme actions and make them seem normal, something that’s fine on a small scale, but can be problematic when billions can see it. Simply, Big Tech profits from humans hurting themselves.
But, equally, people speedrunning several beers and cigs is pretty funny.
It’s hard to say what’s “right” or “wrong,” sometimes you just have to enjoy the weird things the world throws your way.
Eventually though, Joe has plans to move beyond the 4B2C challenge. “I’m a good runner so I'm thinking to combine running and drinking,” he says, suggesting the idea of running a 10k and drinking five pints in under an hour.
Honestly? That’s probably an improvement health-wise.
Beyond that, Joe is also a musician going under the moniker JOEH2, and says he has “a new album coming soon.”
What we’re all waiting for though is the ongoing battle between Dornia and Joe Mama to reach its conclusion. Will one of them break the one minute barrier? Who will it be? And what will it take to achieve this momentous goal.
I can’t wait to see. To these generational athletes, I raise a glass. If the world was fair, one day there’ll be statues of Dornia and Joe Mama.