We’re told constantly not to believe everything that we see on the internet, and yet the desire to be healthier, stronger, and happier often negates our ability to separate fact from fiction. In Netflix’s revealing new documentary, Untold: The Liver King, it’s clear to see that our readiness to go all-in with the guidance of social media gurus has spawned an industry that often promises more than it delivers for both follower and leader. So, what are the real lessons we should take from the rise and fall of The Liver King?
Brian Johnson’s story is a cautionary one, but it’s not without a true love of bodybuilding and a desire to achieve his childhood dreams of emulating fictional heroes. Ultimately, however, that dream of becoming larger than life overshadowed his ability to stay grounded in reality. The absorbing new documentary traces the origins of Johnson, who would later become globally famous as “The Liver King” and we learn that tragically, his father died when the future “guru” was around two years old, leaving his mother and older brother to find their way in life, without the family patriarch.
Understandably, this early loss informed the growing lad’s childhood, leaving Johnson without a male role model and contributing to his feelings of insecurity. It was here that a craving to prove himself through physical transformation began to take hold.
Netflix
In this “tell-all” doc, Johnson says that for him, the gym would become “like the most beautiful f**king playground.” Seeing himself as the “runt” of the family, the weight room would now become his sanctuary and a place of acceptance. “I felt like a part of a club,” he shares.
Still, Untold is not without its fair share of bizarre confessions. In one scene, Johnson says that the first time he ever climaxed was on a bench press, explaining that this led him to realize as a kid going through puberty that he’d been “backed” up. Johnson says he learned love himself a little more after that, if you catch the drift, but his love of muscularity was further reinforced by some classic on-screen heroes.
“The first time I saw Arnold Schwarzenegger, I couldn’t believe it,” he recalls of viewing Conan the Barbarian for the first time, labeling the character as “The most aesthetic, beautiful, perfect thing I’d ever seen.” Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo: First Blood would also pique his interest, and those movies would help to shape the growing bodybuilder’s ambitions. Touchingly, Johnson reflects these fictional characters became “the closest thing” he had to a dad, and they helped him to craft a savage side to his personality… One that eventually became his own brand.
News
These tough guys have stood the test of time.
Read article
Johnson explains his interest in alternative therapies and nutrition, saying that the lifestyle originally stemmed from serious but unidentifiable allergies suffered by his two boys. “I just started reading, and reading, and reading,” he reflects, sharing that this is when he discovered the ‘Ancestral’ way of living. Johnson’s move to an ‘ancestral’ way of living was fully supported by wife, Barbara, who tells the film crew that they threw all other foods out of the house aside from bone broth, liver, and meat.
“The ancestral lifestyle worked,” claims Johnson. Supposedly, this cured his kid’s ailments, but you will have to take their word for that and decide if this was due to their new lifestyle or other factors, or whether it’s another fictional story in the Liver King universe.
Of course, in principle, reducing the intake of processed foods and the various artificial ingredients that are pumped into fast food is lauded by doctors, but to discount the benefits of fruits and vegetables means foregoing fiber, antioxidants, and even anti-cancer related compounds.
There’s also a place for carbs. But even more troubling for health experts was Johnson’s message that much of our animal intake should be consumed raw. The dangers of this are clear, for example, liver is high in vitamin A, and too much can lead to side-effects due to toxicity. Raw meat also poses the threat of bacterial and parasitic illness if not monitored correctly.
Still, with his all or nothing approach to consuming meat, liver, and other organs, Johnson launched a supplement line and began to make a name for his brand via social media. The company then grew to become a multimillion-dollar organization as viewers flocked to see the muscle man eating a menu that included beef heart and testicles.
“In 2017, I started to call myself ‘The Liver King,’” explains Johnson. “I was scared of doing it,” he shares, recalling an intense nervousness in front of the camera at the start of his social media career, revealing that it would often require “100 takes” for him to complete a simple Instagram story. Motivated to gain one million followers however, Johnson plowed on and evolved to become one of the most followed and influential voices on the Internet.
The concept of eating natural foods and reconnecting with nature and family was an appealing one, and with the help of a marketing agency his audience soon skyrocketed further. As The Liver King’s content got more surreal and extreme, including clips purporting to show Johnson eating fish while standing in the water it came from, or blowing various objects to smithereens, ever intrigued audiences shared his preposterous posts, and his platform grew exponentially.
The “Ancestral Tenants” of The Liver King were not so much formulated around a campfire, or in the kitchen with the family, but rather in the marketing agency’s office, designed as an accessible way to digest Johnson’s erratic messaging. No doubt, telling people to get better quality sleep and avoid processed foods is one thing, but instructions to eat raw, wild, organs and workout like the World’s Strongest Man was becoming a health and safety concern to many observers.
Still, his social media following continued to increase, as did The Liver King’s influence on people searching to find the best versions of themselves. As such, Johnson was soon appearing on, or being discussed on, the world’s biggest podcasts. But at 45 years of age, people were starting to doubt his claims of having a natural physique that didn’t rely on steroids. This chatter only served to build more curiosity however, and his audience still grew—just like his bulging biceps. The Liver King became a household name, inspiring fans everywhere to adopt his lifestyle in order to look just like him, and so Brian Johnson had achieved the movie star status that he had craved as a kid, racking up millions of views for his over-the-top stunts.
Let’s be clear: Plenty of people praised Johnson for pointing them in the direction of an animal-based diet, accrediting his information with helping them to relieve their own allergies, pain, and other ailments. But while giving up processed foods and opting for more natural ingredients is a great way to boost health, the more extreme Liver King lessons were often decried as being reckless by health experts.
Netflix
When asked point blank on various podcasts, Johnson denied the use of PED’s many times. More morally bankrupt than that, he said that his Ancestral Tenet’s authenticity was further bolstered by the fact that he had gotten so jacked without taking drugs. But this dishonesty that would finally prove to implode The Liver King brand.
In November 2022, leaked emails and blood test results revealed that Johnson had indeed become jacked as a result of drugs, relying on substances such as human growth hormone. In the documentary, Johnson admits that his initial reaction was to get some sleep and simply deny it all once again the next morning. But the proof would be irrefutable, and it showed that The Liver King’s own lifestyle didn’t align with his teachings. The backlash inevitably began, and the very platforms that had given exposure to The Liver King’s ethos were now distancing themselves as far as possible from Brian Johnson, many marketing execs and podcast hosts felt just as let down as his fan base did.
“I knew I had to do something, and I didn’t know what it was,” says Johnson in the film. Eventually, he decided on make an apology video, coming clean on his lies, but many people felt that he was instead searching for sympathy by casting himself as a victim. “When I talk about the 85% of the population that suffers from self-esteem issues, that’s me,” he told both fervent followers and scathing sceptics alike. “I just dreamt to be somebody else,” he further reflected in the documentary. Still, millions of people felt that they’d been hoodwinked and that The Liver King’s apology was more about damage limitation than bearing his soul.
In the documentary, Johnson reveals that his proclivity for fraudulent behavior began when he faked receipts to return health supplements for cash. “The things that I continued to do, they got bigger,” he admits, adding that he printed money and made drugs, “Because I knew how to,” he concludes. Johnson attributes his readiness to lie about the use of PED’s as being a result of the fact he’d never been caught in the past. Still, the downturn in business and social media engagement following his steroid scandal meant that the messenger had killed his own message.
For many, PED’s were not the problem, it was the dishonesty that derailed him. But the story of The Liver King is not without its positives. One of the biggest plus points that Johnson achieved was encouraging people to move more and make whatever time they can for exercise. Living off the land and avoiding fast food is no bad concept either, but his extreme execution could lead to the risk of serious illness say experts. This is where The Liver King story becomes a cautionary one for himself and his followers. When does a healthy interest become an unhealthy obsession? Unhealthy obsession is something that The Liver King leader, Brian Johnson now admits to, upon reflection.
Looking sympathetically, Johnson attributes his use of PED’s to that early seeking of acceptance he experienced as a self-professed “runt.” It’s true that issues around negative self-esteem often prove to be a motivating force for wellness influencers, but when the message that these coaches construct are wrapped in deception, we all suffer in the end. In an incredibly about turn, The Liver King took off his own crown in Untold, admitting
that he now felt he was wrong to stick to a carnivore only diet. “I’m convinced now that I was starving myself,” he says. “I guess I want the world to know I was wrong,” he added. “An extreme approach to anything probably ain’t f**ing working out. That’s probably the cautionary tale.” Finally, a lesson that we can put our trust in. Untold: The Liver King is now streaming on Netflix.
Continue reading...
Brian Johnson’s story is a cautionary one, but it’s not without a true love of bodybuilding and a desire to achieve his childhood dreams of emulating fictional heroes. Ultimately, however, that dream of becoming larger than life overshadowed his ability to stay grounded in reality. The absorbing new documentary traces the origins of Johnson, who would later become globally famous as “The Liver King” and we learn that tragically, his father died when the future “guru” was around two years old, leaving his mother and older brother to find their way in life, without the family patriarch.
Understandably, this early loss informed the growing lad’s childhood, leaving Johnson without a male role model and contributing to his feelings of insecurity. It was here that a craving to prove himself through physical transformation began to take hold.
Netflix
The Liver King is a Throwback To 80’s Action Heroes
In this “tell-all” doc, Johnson says that for him, the gym would become “like the most beautiful f**king playground.” Seeing himself as the “runt” of the family, the weight room would now become his sanctuary and a place of acceptance. “I felt like a part of a club,” he shares.
Still, Untold is not without its fair share of bizarre confessions. In one scene, Johnson says that the first time he ever climaxed was on a bench press, explaining that this led him to realize as a kid going through puberty that he’d been “backed” up. Johnson says he learned love himself a little more after that, if you catch the drift, but his love of muscularity was further reinforced by some classic on-screen heroes.
“The first time I saw Arnold Schwarzenegger, I couldn’t believe it,” he recalls of viewing Conan the Barbarian for the first time, labeling the character as “The most aesthetic, beautiful, perfect thing I’d ever seen.” Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo: First Blood would also pique his interest, and those movies would help to shape the growing bodybuilder’s ambitions. Touchingly, Johnson reflects these fictional characters became “the closest thing” he had to a dad, and they helped him to craft a savage side to his personality… One that eventually became his own brand.
News
'80s Action Heroes: Then and Now
These tough guys have stood the test of time.
Read article
The Liver King Fuels Debate Over the Positives and Negatives of ‘Ancestral’ Living
Johnson explains his interest in alternative therapies and nutrition, saying that the lifestyle originally stemmed from serious but unidentifiable allergies suffered by his two boys. “I just started reading, and reading, and reading,” he reflects, sharing that this is when he discovered the ‘Ancestral’ way of living. Johnson’s move to an ‘ancestral’ way of living was fully supported by wife, Barbara, who tells the film crew that they threw all other foods out of the house aside from bone broth, liver, and meat.
“The ancestral lifestyle worked,” claims Johnson. Supposedly, this cured his kid’s ailments, but you will have to take their word for that and decide if this was due to their new lifestyle or other factors, or whether it’s another fictional story in the Liver King universe.
Of course, in principle, reducing the intake of processed foods and the various artificial ingredients that are pumped into fast food is lauded by doctors, but to discount the benefits of fruits and vegetables means foregoing fiber, antioxidants, and even anti-cancer related compounds.
There’s also a place for carbs. But even more troubling for health experts was Johnson’s message that much of our animal intake should be consumed raw. The dangers of this are clear, for example, liver is high in vitamin A, and too much can lead to side-effects due to toxicity. Raw meat also poses the threat of bacterial and parasitic illness if not monitored correctly.
Still, with his all or nothing approach to consuming meat, liver, and other organs, Johnson launched a supplement line and began to make a name for his brand via social media. The company then grew to become a multimillion-dollar organization as viewers flocked to see the muscle man eating a menu that included beef heart and testicles.
The Liver King Was a Corporate Project that Didn’t Just Appear from The Wilderness
“In 2017, I started to call myself ‘The Liver King,’” explains Johnson. “I was scared of doing it,” he shares, recalling an intense nervousness in front of the camera at the start of his social media career, revealing that it would often require “100 takes” for him to complete a simple Instagram story. Motivated to gain one million followers however, Johnson plowed on and evolved to become one of the most followed and influential voices on the Internet.
The concept of eating natural foods and reconnecting with nature and family was an appealing one, and with the help of a marketing agency his audience soon skyrocketed further. As The Liver King’s content got more surreal and extreme, including clips purporting to show Johnson eating fish while standing in the water it came from, or blowing various objects to smithereens, ever intrigued audiences shared his preposterous posts, and his platform grew exponentially.
The “Ancestral Tenants” of The Liver King were not so much formulated around a campfire, or in the kitchen with the family, but rather in the marketing agency’s office, designed as an accessible way to digest Johnson’s erratic messaging. No doubt, telling people to get better quality sleep and avoid processed foods is one thing, but instructions to eat raw, wild, organs and workout like the World’s Strongest Man was becoming a health and safety concern to many observers.
Still, his social media following continued to increase, as did The Liver King’s influence on people searching to find the best versions of themselves. As such, Johnson was soon appearing on, or being discussed on, the world’s biggest podcasts. But at 45 years of age, people were starting to doubt his claims of having a natural physique that didn’t rely on steroids. This chatter only served to build more curiosity however, and his audience still grew—just like his bulging biceps. The Liver King became a household name, inspiring fans everywhere to adopt his lifestyle in order to look just like him, and so Brian Johnson had achieved the movie star status that he had craved as a kid, racking up millions of views for his over-the-top stunts.
Let’s be clear: Plenty of people praised Johnson for pointing them in the direction of an animal-based diet, accrediting his information with helping them to relieve their own allergies, pain, and other ailments. But while giving up processed foods and opting for more natural ingredients is a great way to boost health, the more extreme Liver King lessons were often decried as being reckless by health experts.
Netflix
The Liver King Lied to Both His Follower’s and Business Partner’s Faces
When asked point blank on various podcasts, Johnson denied the use of PED’s many times. More morally bankrupt than that, he said that his Ancestral Tenet’s authenticity was further bolstered by the fact that he had gotten so jacked without taking drugs. But this dishonesty that would finally prove to implode The Liver King brand.
In November 2022, leaked emails and blood test results revealed that Johnson had indeed become jacked as a result of drugs, relying on substances such as human growth hormone. In the documentary, Johnson admits that his initial reaction was to get some sleep and simply deny it all once again the next morning. But the proof would be irrefutable, and it showed that The Liver King’s own lifestyle didn’t align with his teachings. The backlash inevitably began, and the very platforms that had given exposure to The Liver King’s ethos were now distancing themselves as far as possible from Brian Johnson, many marketing execs and podcast hosts felt just as let down as his fan base did.
“I knew I had to do something, and I didn’t know what it was,” says Johnson in the film. Eventually, he decided on make an apology video, coming clean on his lies, but many people felt that he was instead searching for sympathy by casting himself as a victim. “When I talk about the 85% of the population that suffers from self-esteem issues, that’s me,” he told both fervent followers and scathing sceptics alike. “I just dreamt to be somebody else,” he further reflected in the documentary. Still, millions of people felt that they’d been hoodwinked and that The Liver King’s apology was more about damage limitation than bearing his soul.
Our Acceptance of The Liver King Is a Lesson for Both Follower and Leader
In the documentary, Johnson reveals that his proclivity for fraudulent behavior began when he faked receipts to return health supplements for cash. “The things that I continued to do, they got bigger,” he admits, adding that he printed money and made drugs, “Because I knew how to,” he concludes. Johnson attributes his readiness to lie about the use of PED’s as being a result of the fact he’d never been caught in the past. Still, the downturn in business and social media engagement following his steroid scandal meant that the messenger had killed his own message.
For many, PED’s were not the problem, it was the dishonesty that derailed him. But the story of The Liver King is not without its positives. One of the biggest plus points that Johnson achieved was encouraging people to move more and make whatever time they can for exercise. Living off the land and avoiding fast food is no bad concept either, but his extreme execution could lead to the risk of serious illness say experts. This is where The Liver King story becomes a cautionary one for himself and his followers. When does a healthy interest become an unhealthy obsession? Unhealthy obsession is something that The Liver King leader, Brian Johnson now admits to, upon reflection.
Looking sympathetically, Johnson attributes his use of PED’s to that early seeking of acceptance he experienced as a self-professed “runt.” It’s true that issues around negative self-esteem often prove to be a motivating force for wellness influencers, but when the message that these coaches construct are wrapped in deception, we all suffer in the end. In an incredibly about turn, The Liver King took off his own crown in Untold, admitting
that he now felt he was wrong to stick to a carnivore only diet. “I’m convinced now that I was starving myself,” he says. “I guess I want the world to know I was wrong,” he added. “An extreme approach to anything probably ain’t f**ing working out. That’s probably the cautionary tale.” Finally, a lesson that we can put our trust in. Untold: The Liver King is now streaming on Netflix.
Continue reading...
