New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu stepped in to aid a choking this weekend, performing the Heimlich maneuver in front of a crowd of people gathered to watch an eating contest.

Video shows Sununu grabbing the man, Christian Moreno, and performing several abdominal compressions until the food – in this case, a lobster roll – was dislodged.

Moreno participated in the lobster roll eating contest at the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival on September 8. He attempted to eat as many lobster rolls as possible in 10 minutes. After a couple of rolls, though, he began choking.

Watch as New Hampshire’s Governor saves a man’s life

More rescue news: A man went missing in a Washington national park on July 31. He was just found alive.

Quick thinking: ‘That was the governor?’

Sununu, who had been addressing the crowd earlier, noticed that Moreno was in distress, and quickly intervened, wrapping his arms around Moreno and performing the Heimlich maneuver.

“I started saying, ‘He’s choking, he’s choking,’ and I could tell people weren’t responding. So I just moved forward and immediately started to kind of give him the Heimlich,” Sununu told WMUR, adding, “It was crazy because it wasn’t so much the jumping in and doing it – I mean, that was wild in itself – but there was so much commotion.”

A paramedic soon took over for Sununu and freed the bits of lobster roll from Moreno’s throat, at which point he continued eating. Moreno eventually finished having consumed nine lobster rolls.

Having taken his glasses off before the contest, it wasn’t until later that Moreno realized it had been the New Hampshire Governor performing the Heimlich maneuver on him.

“My counter came up to me and, like, made a joke. And was like, ‘Oh, like, I bet nobody else can say that they’ve gotten a Heimlich from the governor before.’” Moreno told WMUR. “And I looked at him, and was just like, that was, that was the governor?”

Max Hauptman is a Trending Reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at MHauptman@gannett.com

Dear Fellow Hobby Lobby Shopper,

Though we live in an age where it is easier to stay connected with loved ones through technology, life can still feel lonely and isolating. I have noticed a significant decrease in interactions between strangers over the past decade and to be quite honest, I miss them! It is one of my favorite parts about being a human.

You didn’t let your own busyness prevent you from helping a stranger at Hobby Lobby that day. The fact that you went above and beyond to assist a perfect stranger had more of a positive effect that you realize.

You overheard a customer expressing to an employee that his straps ripped off his motorcycle’s saddlebag. He needed to sew them on and was looking for the materials to do so. It was then you emerged, seemingly from the heavens.

You work with leathers and walked this guy around the store and told him exactly what he would need. The employee sat this one out at you seemed to have it handled!

The friendship blossomed beyond the Hobby Lobby aisles, a Facebook friendship was born. Website services were traded for leather work, a true New Hampshire transaction. And Mr. Broken Saddlebag’s straps are totally reattached the proper way (something called a saddle stitch) and the bike is ready for his wife’s “carry-on,” stuff again just in time for Fall.

It was one of those wholesome moments that couldn’t have happened if everyone was consumed with their phones that day. Sometimes you just have to look up at the human being standing right in front of you.

Thanks for making an effort in this age of convenience and reconnecting us all to our humanity. You are a real one!

Sincerely,

The woman wandering the aisles in pursuit of Fall tchotchkes.