From throwing his political support behind Robert Kennedy Jr. to showing off his summer workout routines, Jakob Chychurn is very online and an open book on his Instagram page. (And honestly, we're grateful.)
Recently, the defenseman posted a video on Instagram of himself eating a whole-a** watermelon. But that description does not sufficiently capture the experience so please watch for yourself.
Chychurn, wearing only his boxer briefs and a gold necklace, seems to be having a euphoric experience eating his summer snack. He looks up to the sky at one point, juice dripping everywhere, as if to thank The Watermelon Gods for giving him this moment in time.
"There, I'm done," Chychurn says at the end. Completely full, he then spreads out on his deck as if he just completed Thanksgiving dinner.
The clipped video also has an ASMR feel and the caption features a health tip.
"Dead water < living water," he wrote. "One of nature's electrolyte elixir's 🍉"
The tip wasn't taken so seriously by Chychrun's former teammate with the Arizona Coyotes, Ryan Dzingel. "This guys lost it @claytonkeller19," Dzingel commented.
Chychrun's diet has long been a topic of conversation around the league. He does not make what anyone would call "conventional choices" with what he eats as evidenced by what he told PHNX's Craig Morgan late in 2022.
"The guys think I'm crazy. My family thinks I'm crazy. My girlfriend thinks I'm crazy," Chychrun said. "It's a lot of protein and I'm not really eating carbs. On game days. I'll eat some sweet potatoes, some white rice, fruit, but all my dairy stuff I try to get raw. I'm really big into that.
"It's like an ancestral way of living, and I'm also eating raw liver, raw beef heart, doing all this crazy stuff. The taste is awful, but your body almost craves it when you eat it consistently because it's just so nutrient-dense."
Chychrun has labeled his diet "animal-based" in the past, preferring to source his food directly from farms or wild-caught alternatives. The primary idea being that humans have purposefully evolved to eat in a certain way and that modern, processed foods are harmful and not part of that evolution.
After battling injuries for most of his career, Chychrun played his first full, 82-game season last year. His previous career-high in games played in a single season was 68 games during his rookie campaign with the Coyotes in 2016-17. He credits his diet as part of that success.
"I've battled some injuries and stuff and I've always been huge into health and wellness," Chychurn told Sportsnet in 2023. "Doing what's best for me and finding out ways to help the body with inflammation, swelling, healing, and recovery.
"I just kinda found cutting back on some of those heavy carbs, wheat, and grains. I just try to stick to sweet potatoes, white rice, and a lot of beef, fish, and mix in some of those beef organs. Which is just very nutritious and they say beef liver is the most nutrient-dense food on the planet."
However, consuming raw meat and organs puts humans at risk of contracting foodborne illnesses or food poisoning due to the presence of harmful bacteria like Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli in the meat. The USDA explicitly recommends not eating or tasting raw or undercooked beef.
The risk factors of eating an entire watermelon in one sitting are less severe although experts also do not recommend that practice.
What we personally recommend is following Chychurn on Instagram immediately because he's a character and we're happy to have him on the Capitals. #CottageWorkout