Established 1826 — Oldest College Newspaper West of the Alleghenies

Adam Richman touches lives at Miami

From left, Matt, Christine and Sam Neitzke, Adam Richman, Kyle, Caron and Rob Bergen.
From left, Matt, Christine and Sam Neitzke, Adam Richman, Kyle, Caron and Rob Bergen.

Sam Hitchcock, For The Miami Student

From left, Matt, Christine and Sam Neitzke, Adam Richman, Kyle, Caron and Rob Bergen. (SCOTT ALLISON | The Miami Student)

Travel Channel's Man v. Food star Adam Richman's appearance in Miami University's Hall Auditorium Monday night was a roaring success, with the sold-out crowd engaged and entertained throughout. Behind the scenes, Richman touched two lives in a more intimate way with his warm and congenial demeanor.

In February 2010, at age 10, Matt Neitzke was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Undergoing chemotherapy at such a young age is a daunting battle, but with his community's support, Matt has been in remission for three months. Kyle Bergen, a first-year at Stephen T. Badin High School in Hamilton, Ohio, is facing a similar battle with Hodgkin's, but he has been buoyed by the support from The Dragonfly Foundation, an organization founded by Christine Neitzke, Matt's mother, designed to bring comfort and joy to kids with cancer.

Besides unfathomable courage and a remarkable positivity towards life, what do these young men share in common? They happen to find nothing more enjoyable than Richman chowing down as he takes on mind-boggling eating challenges all across the nation. Monday, Matt and Kyle had their greatest wish come true when they met Richman before the show.

Stories backstage were about Cincinnati Bengals Head Coach Marvin Lewis taking a swing at Richman and his brief stint as starting quarterback in high school, both of which brightened the day of not just his devoted fans, but everyone in the vicinity.

After Richman was reluctantly forced to stop chatting with his smaller backstage audience and entertain his bigger one, Kyle and his mother shared their joy.

"He could talk forever," Kyle said happily. "He was telling about a story every minute and making jokes throughout."

Kyle's mother explained Richman's influence on her ill son.

"When Kyle was in chemo, he lost a lot of weight, but it was Man v. Food that stimulated him to want to eat again," she said. "We liked to think that Adam was there all along and really helped our son get better."

Richman welcomed the entirety of Hall Auditorium and led them down the path he took to where he is now.

Starting out in a single-parent household, Richman truly climbed from the bottom of the ladder as he learned the ins and outs of culinary arts. He is also the first to admit that his expansive palette benefited greatly from being born into the cultural melting pot known as Brooklyn, N.Y. He found commonalities between people and food.

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter

"Food is a universal language we all speak," Richman said.

With an almost HBO uncensored edge, Richman presented his passion for food in a way that seemed more like a comedy act than expounding a central thesis.

Miami University senior Collin Showe was shocked by how smart and lewd Richman was compared to his family friendly image on Travel Channel.

"You see him on TV and you think, what is he like in reality?" Showe said. "Often television personalities disappoint when you see them in public, but Richman far exceeded my expectations. He was a lot sharper and more genuine in real life, something I would not expect from someone who eats massive amounts of food for a living."