" A lot of guys can cook a good brisket. Most of them can't sell it like I can."

Dr. BBQ is a man's man who plays with fire and owns a whole lot of sharp knives. He is 59, and also has two tiny dogs, a chiweenie named Minnie Pearl and Pinkie Lee, an albino chihuahua-terrier mix who wears sunscreen on her snout and bedazzled pink goggles.

You've seen him on Food Network's Chopped Grill Masters.

Last month, Lampe headed to Sparks, Nev. to judge the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off, what he called "the Mac Daddy of Rib Burner events."

But Dr. BBQ wasn't always at the top of the rib heap.

Read more at the Tampa Bay Times.