I Adopted a Retired Racing Pigeon and Won $87,000
I Adopted a Retired Racing Pigeon for $12 — Three Months Later He Won $87,000 and Became a National Legend
His name is Kevin.
He cost me exactly $12 and half a sandwich.
I bought him from a drunk old man at a flea market who said: “This one’s finished. Too slow. Good for soup.”
Kevin looked at me with one lazy eye, cooed once, and fell asleep standing up.
I took him home as a joke.
90 days later Kevin flew 712 km in 8 hours 41 minutes, beat 14,832 elite racing pigeons, and won the 2025 Barcelona International — the biggest prize in pigeon racing history.
First place money: €78,000 ($87,412)
The drunk guy still thinks I turned Kevin into soup.
How It All Started (Pure Dumb Luck)
April 2025. I’m at the Sunday market buying cheap beer when I see this old guy with a cage of sad-looking pigeons.
He’s selling them for €10 each. I offer €12 for the sleepiest one “because he looks like my uncle Kevin”.
Deal done.
I name him Kevin The Pigeon.
Take him home in a Lidl bag.
He immediately poops on my PlayStation.
I love him instantly.
The Training That Wasn’t Training
I did zero training.
Literally nothing.
Kevin’s daily routine:
- Wake up at 11:47 a.m.
- Eat my leftover chips
- Nap on the router (warm)
- Fly one lazy circle around the block at 4:20 p.m.
- Back to sleep
Meanwhile, other racers spend €50,000+ per bird on GPS anklets, special diets, and private jets to training locations.
Kevin’s total investment: $12 + 3 months of chips.
The Race Day (July 19, 2025)
Barcelona International — 712 km from release point in France.
14,832 birds entered. Prize pool: €1.2 million.
I entered Kevin as a joke for €40 entry fee.
Release day: I throw Kevin off my balcony with a “good luck mate”.
He circles the building twice, lands on the satellite dish, takes a 7-minute nap.
I go play PlayStation.
8 hours 41 minutes later my phone explodes.
Kevin is first to land — by 11 minutes.
Live stream comment: “Who the hell is ‘Kevin The Pigeon’ from apartment 4B???”
The Aftermath (Kevin Becomes a God)
Reporters at my door. Belgian TV calls him “The People’s Champion”. Someone makes Kevin fan merch — sold out in 3 hours.
Breeding offers: €180,000 per egg (declined — Kevin is family)
His victory interview (me holding him):
Reporter: “What’s your training secret?” Me: “I just let him be Kevin.”
Kevin poops on the reporter’s shoe.
Internet loses its mind.
Kevin’s Current Lifestyle
- Own room (my old office)
- €200 custom heated perch
- Personal chef (still just chips)
- Instagram: @kevin_the_pigeon_official — 2.1M followers
- Netflix documentary in production
He still falls asleep standing up.
He is perfect.
Moral of the story:
Sometimes the universe just picks the laziest bastard and says “today you win”.
Thank you Kevin.
(He’s asleep right now. As usual.)
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