Esch began his fighting career on the Toughman Contest scene in Texarkana, Arkansas in the early 1990s and went on to become a five-time World Toughman Heavyweight Champion with a record of 56???5 with 36 knockouts.[3] He received the nickname Butterbean when he was forced to go on a diet (consisting mostly of chicken and butterbeans) in order to meet the Toughman 400 pound (181 kg) weight limit