Tyler Carroll, 28, Melbourne, Vic shares his story…
Driving home from the gym, the bright yellow sign of Guzman Y Gomez caught my eye.
My stomach was rumbling, so I obediently turned into the drive through in Yatala, Qld.
“Hola!” a voice asked through the speaker box. “What can I get for you?”
It was February 2020, and although I loved Mexican food, I’d never tried GYG before.
My eyes scanned the menu.
“I’ll take the soft-shell chicken tacos,” I said.
Collecting the order, I realised it contained salsa, which I typically hated, but I was starving from my workout, so I took a bite.
It was like the heavens opened and angels started singing.
I called my girlfriend.
“This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten!” I said.
“Did you get me some?” she laughed.
“I definitely will next time,” I replied. “I’m hooked!”
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Soon, I was eating Guzman a couple of times a week, everything from nacho fries to breakfast burritos.
At the time, I was working in sales and marketing, and saving to buy my first property.
“You’ll need to reduce your takeout bill,” my mortgage advisor warned when she looked at my expenses.
My monthly outgoings were around $2500 a month and over $500 of that was going to GYG.
“Not going to happen,” I told her firmly.
Guzman had brought too much joy into my life to cut it off.
I continued working hard and fortunately, that July, I managed to buy a unit without reducing my Mexican intake.
In fact, over the next couple of years, I bought three more properties, while eating GYG for most breakfasts and lunches.
Then, when my girlfriend and I went our separate ways in 2024, I started eating it for dinner too.
In July 2025, I did a post on TikTok @_tylercarroll_, titled, ‘How much I spent at GYG in one year’, showing my spendings in an excel spreadsheet.
“I’ve eaten there 395 times,” I chuckled. “Coming in at $6500.”
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Within minutes of posting, hundreds of people were commenting, saying how unhealthy it was.
That’s why you’re renting for life, one troll commented.
I politely let these critics know that Guzman clearly laid out their nutritional content and that I owned four properties.
The post received so much attention that three days later I was flown to the Guzman Y Gomez headquarters in Sydney.
Meeting their CEO, Steven Marks, I was over the moon.
“Why don’t you do the loyalty scheme?” he asked, referring to their point system that gives discounts over time.
“Because it’s worth full price!” I replied.
After that, I was handed a suitcase full of GYG vouchers and merchandise which I handed out on social media to all my new followers.
When I returned to Guzman Yatala, I was welcomed like a king!
Recently, I moved to Melbourne for a new job in marketing and I no longer have time to be the burrito king of the internet.
But I still eat Guzman Y Gomez once, if not three times, a day.
Its nacho average obsession, I know, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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