After being rushed to the hospital after squeezing out one too many farts, a former reality star who made $200,000 (£148,000) by farting in jars has announced her retirement.
Steph Matto, 31, of Connecticut, went to the ER after feeling shooting pains in her chest and exhibiting symptoms of a heart attack.
Doctors conducted blood tests and an electrocardiogram (EKG/ECG) after becoming concerned, but the actress from 90 Day Fiancé was eventually told that her symptoms were caused by excess gas from her regular diet of beans, eggs, and banana protein drinks.
Steph described how she got sick in the following way: “I thought I was having a stroke and that these were my final moments. I was overdoing it.” After receiving requests on the adult-content website Unfiltrd, she began selling her farts in a jar in November of last year.
Steph made $1,000 (£740) each jar for her one-of-a-kind product, but around the holidays, she offered a 50% discount.
To keep up with demand, the self-described ‘fartrepreneur’ ate a high-fiber diet consisting primarily of beans and eggs, which saw her create up to 50 jars of farts every week.
She then discovered that adding protein beverages to the mix made the farts smell even worse.
Steph described the days preceding up to the hospital visit, “I remember within one day I had about three protein shakes and a huge bowl of black bean soup.” She explained in an interview with Jam Press.
“I could tell that something was not right that evening when I was lying in bed and I could feel a pressure in my stomach moving upward.It was quite hard to breathe and every time I tried to breathe in I’d feel a pinching sensation around my heart.And that, of course, made my anxiety escalate.” She continued.
“I actually called my friend and asked if they could come over to drive me to the hospital because I thought I was experiencing a heart attack.”
“I ended up going to the hospital that evening. I didn’t tell my doctors about the farting in the jar but I did tell them about my diet.” she added.
“It was made clear that what I was experiencing wasn’t a stroke or heart attack but very intense gas pains. I was advised to change my diet and to take a gas suppressant medication, which has effectively ended my business.”
After working every day for two months to keep up with demand, Steph claims that banana protein drinks are the key to stinkier farts.
This is how Steph described it:Â “I decided to do it on a whim after people requested it a few times.As luck would have it, once I put the jars up for sale they began to sell like hotcakes.”
“I honestly could not believe the demand. I think a lot of people have this fetish in secret. I began this venture by eating mostly protein muffins, shakes, and also hard-boiled eggs. Since then I’ve decided to branch out a little bit and try some new recipes to keep it exciting.”
“I have been loving black bean salad, onion, ham and pepper omelettes, and I have been making a really great protein smoothie with lots of banana.”
“I think that certain foods produce better smelling farts, so I usually tend to go with the smoothies as opposed to things such as cabbage and eggs.”
Despite its financial success, her unconventional business model has received mixed reviews.
“I have a lot of people praising me, calling me a girl boss, telling me that I inspire them to be unashamed of who they are and what they do.” Steph chimed in with some further information.
“But on the other end I have been getting a ton of negativity.I have even received death threats, people telling me I should end my life, and so on. I try my best to not react to these people and give them what they want, which is attention.” She continued.
“In this day and age, we need to stop tearing people down for their choices. Especially if their choices are literally hurting no one”.