Leia
A former reality star who made $200,000 (£148,000) from farting in jars has announced her retirement, after she was rushed to hospital for squeezing out one too many.
Steph Matto, 31, from Connecticut, recently found herself in A&E with symptoms of a ‘heart attack’ after experiencing shooting pains in her chest.
Concerned doctors performed blood tests and an electrocardiogram (EKG/ECG) but later told the 90 Day Fiancé TV star that the symptoms were actually caused by excess gas from her frequent diet of beans, eggs and banana protein shakes.
Speaking about the moment she took ill, Steph said: “I thought I was having a stroke and that these were my final moments. I was overdoing it.”
She began selling her farts in a jar in November last year, after receiving requests on the adult-content site Unfiltrd.
The unique product saw her rake in the cash at $1,000 (£740) per jar, though Steph offered a 50 percent discount during the festive period.
To keep up with demand – which saw her squeeze out up to 50 jars worth of farts a week – the self-proclaimed ‘fartrepreneur’ opted for a fibre-high diet, living off beans and eggs.
She later added protein shakes to the mix after discovering it made the farts smell worse.
Reliving the lead-up to the hospital visit, Steph said: “I remember within one day I had about three protein shakes and a huge bowl of black bean soup.
“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.
“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.
“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.”
During her two-month venture, reality star Steph worked every day to keep up with demand and says the key to smellier gas is banana protein shakes.
Steph said: “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.”