For as long as Liver King (real name: Brain Johnson) has been in the public spotlight, there have been suspicions of steroid abuse from anyone with a working set of eyes.
This week, after endless denial, the 45-year-old “fitness charlatan” has been forced to face the music. A YouTube video titled ‘The Liver King Lie’ posted by Derek from More Plates More Dates (see: below) revealed the sheer extent of his deception, complete with an email exchange/confession detailing his steroid consumption.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the ongoing drama.
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Who the hell is Liver King?
With an impressive 1.7 million followers on Instagram and and even heftier total of 3.5 million followers on TikTok, Liver King is a US-based bodybuilder slash controversial fitness influencer, who built a following preaching an “ancestral” and “primal” lifestyle.
What the hell is “ancestral living”?
Essentially, Liver King has been preaching a steady organic diet of raw liver and testicles with a strict workout regime, all of which apparently emulates how our ancient ancestors lived (side note: cap).
This is marketed as “ancestral living” to anyone gullible enough to believe it’ll yield astonishing results a la Liver King himself; believe Liver King is natty (natural); as well as throw money at Liver King’s online business Ancestral Supplements.
The “pillars vital for a health and happy life” are as follows:
- Sleep
- Eat
- Move
- Shield
- Connect
- Cold
- Sun
- Fight
- Bond
Liver King’s Leaked Email
Here’s a transcription of the headline-making leaked email:
From: Brian Johnson (Liver King) <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, June 29, 2021 at 9:05 AM
Subject: RE: Confidentiality… [REDACTED]
Sooo stoked. Thank you!
What’s a good day & time for you to have our consultation?
I live in the Republic of Texas (Houston) so I am CST/CDT (I believe that’s 12 hours behind you). This is an absolute priority for me so I will cancel almost anything planned to make this happen with you. My preferred times are 7 AM, 8 AM, or 9 AM on Wednesday CST but could easily do 6 PM or 7 PM almost any evening. In your time, I believe that’s 7 PM, 8 PM, or 9 PM on Thursday or 6 AM or 7 AM almost any morning of the week. Please check my math on that. Since that’s outside of your regular hours, I’m happy to compensate for the trouble.
So let’s dig right in…
As it relates to my goals, I’m the face of several brands, including Ancestral Supplements, and I’ve just hired a team to build the Liver King brand with the goal of 1 million followers by March 2022 – I’m pouring ridiculous resources into making this happen including hosting a video guy, that will be living at my guest house, and a film crew that will be filming 7 days a month… stated, I have to stay in great fucking shape year-round (maybe take 1-2 months off/year). Here’s a clip of where I’m at currently:
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I’ve been working out for 35 years. I know how to eat, train, rest, and recover (I even have a hardshell hyperbaric chamber at my house)… but… as I’ve reached my mid-forties, it’s getting harder and the back fat fucking kills me. To support these exhaustive efforts, I’ve recently started taking Omnitrope… the 5.8 mg vials from Empower Pharmacy (US$11,000 / AU$16,000 per month for my new dose which is 4 vials/week – 16 vials/month). I don’t know if this shit is grossly underdosed or what but I have been taking 2 vials per week and my IGF-I is only at 139 (see recent labs below). My doctor told me that I could double it in an effort to get to the upper 200s/low 300s. She thinks I could be a hyper non-responder??? I’m wondering if taking a fuckload of other peptides could be confounding the results and possibly interfering with efficacy. For instance, here’s what I’m currently taking…
- IGF-1 LR – been taking this for a year
- CJC w/ Imap – been taking this for a year
- Ibutamoren – been taking this for 2 months
- Omnitrope – been taking this for 6 weeks
- Test cyp 0.6cc per week (cruise dose)
- Decca 0.6cc per week – been taking this for 3 weeks
- Winstrol 50mg/day (just started this) – been taking this for 3 weeks
My blood sugar (every morning it’s around 74) and insulin are great because I’m metabolically fit as fuck, or so I think… some docs think my insulin is too low but I think it’s because I’m very insulin sensitive because I work out like a fucking maniac, i.e. I train twice a day, 6 days a week, and walk 10 to 12 miles on my rest day. Can you help me dial in the PED and growth hormone protocol to maximize results?
Deny ’till you die: Liver King’s response to the allegations
In the past, Liver King’s denial has been playfully tongue-in-cheek. For example, during his appearance on the Pardon My Take podcast, he sidestepped the accusation by saying: “I’ll be honest, I take PEDs – I Prioritise, Execute, and Dominate every fucking morning.”
Now that there’s hard evidence which might cause damage quantifiable by dollars and cents, Liver King has been forced to respond in less glib fashion.”
“In a weird way, I’m grateful for the recent events that have shed light on this complicated-as-fuck-topic,” said Liver King of his steroid abuse.
Still, we’ve yet to receive a substantial answer addressing everything that’s gone down over the past few days. Stand by for updates.
