There are dudes who half-heartedly attempt the paleo lifestyle to get in touch with their “primal” selves. And then there’s Brian Johnson, AKA “Liver King,” who guzzles raw meat and snacks on animal testicles like most of us snack on Cheez-Its.
Liver King is the closest thing you’ll find to a caveman in 21st century America. He embarks on simulated hunts through rural Texas, drags around weights with his teeth, and subsists on organ meat. He even looks the part with his wooly beard and wild mane.
The only thing that separates Liver King from his ancient ancestors is his social media presence.
Since joining creating accounts back in August 2021, Liver King has racked up 1.5 million followers on Instagram and nearly three million followers on TikTok (he calls his followers “Primals”).
Liver King has tons of loyal fans, but he’s got plenty of haters too, including podcast titan Joe Rogan. But before we unpack the controversy there, let’s take a step back: Who the hell is the Liver King?
Who Is Liver King?
Brian Johnson, known as Liver King, is an internet personality, entrepreneur, health coach, and popularizer of “ancestral living.” Basically, he’s a caveman influencer with a ton of cash.
Prior to his current role as the self-proclaimed “CEO of the ancestral lifestyle,” Liver King earned a degree in biochemistry, although it’s not clear where from. He dropped out of medical school during orientation and landed a job with a pharmaceutical company.
Shortly after that, he met a dentist named Barbara who became his wife. They opened a dental practice together, but eventually pivoted to selling nutritional supplements through their brand Ancestral Supplements.
Up until last summer, Brian Johnson didn’t have a digital footprint and the username “Liver King” was nowhere to be found. But today, Liver King is commanding attention from stars like YouTuber Logan Paul, MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes, and Succession’s Nicholas Braun who inquired about buying animal blood after Liver King ripped 51 shots of the stuff on Instagram.
Liver King is the self-proclaimed “CEO of the ancestral lifestyle,” a job that involves sharing daily videos documenting his meals, workouts, ice baths, and podcast appearances. Whatever Liver King is up to, you can bet it revolves around his 9 Ancestral Tenets:
- Sleep
- Eat
- Move
- Shield
- Connect
- Cold
- Sun
- Fight
- Bond
Liver King maintains that his goal is to simply spread awareness about the ancestral lifestyle. But let’s be honest, he’s trying to stack his bread like the rest of us. Actually, that euphemism doesn’t work since he doesn’t eat refined carbs.
You get the point: Liver King is all about making money.
Say what you want about his dubious medical claims and sketchy products like tubs of grass-fed beef brain capsules. He’s pulling in more than $100 million per year, according to GQ, and he’s not slowing down anytime soon.
What Does Liver King Eat?
Liver King doesn’t count calories or macros. His diet is guided by his primal intuition. The staple of Liver King’s diet is—you guessed it—a pound of raw liver every day. But there’s no animal organ that’s off limits when it comes to mealtime.
“We became the baddest mammalian predators that ever f*cking lived because we devoured the whole Beast,” he wrote on Instagram. “Nose-to-Tail, Bones and Blood, Horns-to-Hooves.”
Liver King has been known to eat bone marrow, beef tongue, raw eggs, protein shakes made from a smorgasbord of animal guts, and even raw animal testicles.
@liverking Family dinner
♬ original sound - Liver King
“Why eat vegetables when you can eat testicles?”
Touché, Liver King.
Liver King’s Workout Routine
Liver King works out every day. “What you do with your body is just as important as what you put into it,” he says. “Even on a rest day, if you're not moving, you're dying.”
You won’t find Liver King cruising on an elliptical or stairmaster, though. He prefers pushing, pulling, carrying, and throwing extremely heavy objects.
“The overly polished gym is just a man-made construct,” he says. “If you dominate your environment, you can use everything and anything to create blood-boiling work.”
Liver King’s most famous workout is “The Barbarian,” which seems like it should be part of a NAVY SEAL training regimen. Here’s how it works:
- Hold a 70-pound kettlebell in each hand
- Strap 20-pound ankle weights on each leg
- Put on a 70-pound backpack
- Hook yourself up to a 120-pound sled
- Drag everything (370 total pounds) for a full mile
Liver King documented himself doing the Barbarian in New York City, hauling his steel luggage across the Brooklyn Bridge and past the Met.
View this post on Instagram
Where Does Liver King Live?
Liver King resides in an 8,300-square foot Texas compound with his “Liver Queen” wife Barbara and two sons, the “Savage Liver Boys.”
They may live in a stunning estate, but the Liver Family steers clear of the creature comforts.
They turned their jacuzzi into a 36-degree ice bath and converted their living room into a sparring ring. And after long days of lifting weight and trekking through the Texas heat, they go to sleep on hard wooden slats to replicate the sleeping conditions of their cave-dwelling ancestors.
If you thought about invading Liver King’s compound, think again. He’s got a security guard, a pack of Dobermans, and “enough guns and ammunition to arm the military of a smaller nation,” according to the GQ writer who visited.
Liver King’s Beef with Joe Rogan
When you cultivate a following around beef liver consumption, you’re asking for haters. But one of Liver King’s critics happens to be the biggest podcaster in the world: Joe Rogan.
Although these two Lone Star State residents seem to be aligned on the concepts of healthy eating and intense exercise, Rogan dismissed Liver King’s ancestral lifestyle as a “gimmick” and suggested his bulging biceps and eight-pack abs are the byproduct of juicing.
“He’s got an ass filled with steroids is what he got. That’s not a natural body. That guy is shooting all kinds of shit into his system to achieve that kind of physique.”
Liver King seemed to be unfazed by the juicing allegations. “I don’t touch the stuff,” he told GQ, referring to ‘roids. He also added that he’s “grateful to Joe Rogan for bringing me into his ecosystem.”
It’s unclear whether Liver King will be invited onto the Joe Rogan Experience anytime soon. All we know is that Liver King definitely has the meat sweats, nasty protein farts, and colossal poops.
Liver King, if you’re reading this, we’re happy to stock your compound with all the DUDE Wipes you’ll ever need.
