Liver King Responds To Steroid Accusations! | E171

1. 0:00 – 1:36

   Intro

   1. LKLiver King0:00

      It was like a living fucking hell. And I got the shit kicked out of me every single day. And all I wanted to do was just be different.

   2. SBSteven Bartlett0:06

      This is Liver King.

   3. LKLiver King0:07

      What up, primals? This is what we evolved with.

   4. SBSteven Bartlett0:09

      Cheap intesticle lungs.

   5. LKLiver King0:11

      You are not replacing these nutrients with fucking vegetables. 70 pound kettlebells in each hand, 70 pounds in a backpack, that's 120 pounds on top of a sled, and you go one mile. Uh, I made my son do it when he turned 15.

   6. SBSteven Bartlett0:23

      That sounds like toxic parenting. That's...

   7. LKLiver King0:25

      You know what? There's nothing toxic about this.

   8. SBSteven Bartlett0:27

      Joe Rogan criticized you, alluded that you're on steroids.

   9. LKLiver King0:30

      The Liver King thing drives me nuts.

   10. SBSteven Bartlett0:31

       (laughs)

   11. LKLiver King0:31

       'Cause that guy's on steroids. All I ask is for the opportunity to have the conversation with him face-to-face. Most people are suffering with something. 50% on prescription medication, 20% can't have babies, 70% overweight. The six tribes that I've gone and visited with, it seems non-existent.

   12. SBSteven Bartlett0:46

       You're making over $100 million a year from your businesses. True or false?

   13. LKLiver King0:50

       True. I own 10 or 12 companies right now, where every single company is based on taking this ancestral message mainstream. The world's really hurting.

   14. SBSteven Bartlett0:59

       What has the hardest moment of your adult life been?

   15. LKLiver King1:04

       The hardest moment was when my, my son, Rad, got sick. We thought we, we thought we were losing him.

   16. SBSteven Bartlett1:11

       Why?

   17. LKLiver King1:11

       Oh, God. Don't make me do this again. Part of the reason why I never wanted to publicly come out as the Liver King is because-

   18. SBSteven Bartlett1:22

       Without further ado, I'm Steven Bartlett, and this is The Diary of a CEO. I hope nobody's listening, but if you are, then please keep this to yourself.

2. 1:36 – 12:17

   Early years

   1. SBSteven Bartlett1:36

      Liver King, I am... I'm gonna start where I always start, but for you, I'm particularly interested in this. Can you tell me the context I would need to know about your earliest years that went into shaping the man that you went on to become?

   2. LKLiver King1:53

      Mm-hmm.

   3. SBSteven Bartlett1:53

      I'm talking before 10 years old. What is that context?

   4. LKLiver King1:57

      Well, before 10 years old? Um, I grew up with a brother and with a mom that was mom and dad. I have no memory of my dad. When I was two or three years old, he died. He was serving in the Air Force, and he, he died. And so, my mom was really tough on us. Really tough on us. What I mean by that is, it, it seemed like, uh, you know, brothers together are always raising hell, getting in trouble. And, uh, she seemed to just beat the shit out of us. (laughs) And it's just normal. It's just normal. And then sometimes she would drop us off at, uh, her parents' house in California, and they would do the same thing. And later on, I realized, my mom got it from her dad. And they're just doing the best, right? They're, they're doing the best that they can. And, uh, and so I'll say my mom was really, really tough on me growing up. Um, she had us enrolled in all the typical sports, all the traditional sports. And, um, my b- I, I just wanted to be just like my brother. He's a year and a half older than me. I just wanted to be exactly like my brother. And here's the thing. We had two friends up the street, best friends, Chris and Aaron. And, um, they were everything. You know, going to play sports, going to hang out with these guys, going skateboarding. It just seemed like every day was full of activity. And every... And you said describe it up to 10. That was about 10. It's interesting that you said describe it up to 10, because I would say just to about 10, life was incredible. It was, like, perfect. Everything. I mean, just, like, every day was full of laughter, no responsibility. You know, falling off the skateboard, getting banged up, you know. And, and back then, you know, you could, you could take your skateboard anywhere. You know, my mom would let us go to the movies, you know, on the, on the skateboard. And so, growing up, um, I just remember things were just, up to about 10, it was just filled with so much joy. Yeah.

   5. SBSteven Bartlett3:44

      And then after 10?

   6. LKLiver King3:45

      Yeah. (laughs) So, it, it's almost like it all switched overnight. So, the friends that we had up the street, they moved to another town. And then I went from middle s- I went from elementary school to middle school. And, um, I would say this is when my first rite of passage really took place. It was like a living fucking hell. Um, I was the only one of my kind in middle school. I was undersized. I was tiny. I was a l- just a little guy. I knew I looked funny, and I got the shit kicked out of me every single day. I remember I would come home and I would look in the mirror. I would look at the clothes that I had. I had absolutely no concept of self-worth. I was totally embarrassed. I was humiliated of this kid that I had become. And, and all I wanted to do was just be different. I was like, "Why couldn't I have been, have been born different? Why couldn't I look like these guys look?" And so, um, I remember coming back from school the first day, tears coming out of my eyes, you know, and, and, and I told my mom, "I'm never going back." And my mom, she, she looked at me with such certainty that she wasn't gonna have any part of this conversation. And it was the first time she really did this. It, it was, um... Uh, I'll say my mom, uh, prior to that, like, we could talk about anything. But the minute I brought this up, she, she was so stern about it, I knew that this was off-limits. And so I never went back to her about any issue I had in middle school. Um, but middle school, think about this, my, my, uh, my friends are gone from up the street. I had no one to talk to about this stuff. I didn't have a dad to mentor me. My brother that's a year and a half older is now hanging out with his older friends. And then he goes off to high school. So, I'm not able to talk to him about it. And it's just, um... Man, I just, I couldn't wait for these years to be over. And I, I remember keeping a list of people that, that... Like, a hit list. I would write down the names. If I could get revenge on these people, the- these are the five or six guys, you know, that every fucking day, they would, they would, they would bully me. They would... I mean, I would be blindsided out of nowhere. You know, sometimes somebody would punch me, and, and I would wake up just with my book bag. The bell had already rang. And going to middle school was, was just a, a living hell. I had to figure out a way out of that hellhole. I had started lifting weights just prior to 10, for no really good reason. One of my mom's boyfriend, Michael, Michael Gleidner. He was a pharmacist. He said, "Hey, I got this old bench in, in my garage. Do you want this bench?" And I was like, "Sure, I'll take it." And I was just drawn to it.You know, I was just drawn to it. And then something happened where I realized, like, this is the only place I could really control the outcomes in my life, and so I was drawn to it more and more and more. And eventually I got strong and I looked strong and I figured out a way out of this hellhole. I figured out how to kind of blend in. I figured out how to get some respect. I'm about 14 at this point, and, um, and at this point I got both my ears pierced twice. I got my hair slicked back. I'm wearing the baggy jeans. I got the bomber jacket on. I'm like, "I'm kind of fitted in a little bit." I kind of figured that out. And, uh, my mom moved me. She moved us because the high school that the middle school fed to was more of the same, actually even worse, even worse. And so she moved me to a predominantly Caucasian place that was more like me, but I had, I had just figured out how to fit in with a different demographic. And I'm thinking, I go to, I go to high school and I'm like, "Oh my God, not, not all over again." You know, everyone's wearing tight pants now. Nobody has their hair slicked back. Nobody has an earring

   7. SBSteven Bartlett7:10

      (laughs)

   8. LKLiver King7:10

      ... in, in their ear. But you know what? Like, I, I had known, I figured this out before, you know, and, and I'll figure this out again. And this time I figured it out a lot faster, and I'd already learned some self-worth. I'd already learned some respect. Um, and, and so that's kind of how my life was, um, my earlier years.

   9. SBSteven Bartlett7:29

      That, that kid between 10 and 14 years old that went through that, what would you say to him? How would you feel about him? What would you say to him if you could speak to him now?

   10. LKLiver King7:39

       I do speak to him now. That's my, those are my boys now, you know. Um, I mean, they're not going through what I went through, but, um, st- stand up for yourself. You, you got something to d- I don't... I, I, I tell my boys this all the time. I'd rather you look stupid, I'd rather you look like an asshole than look like a pussy. You know, you gotta stand up for yourself. I never stood up for myself. Uh, I, I mean, ev- every day something would happen and I never stood up for myself. I never pushed back. I never punched back. And, um, there was this one time in the courtyard, a new kid had come to school, Chuck. He looked like me. Um, he's getting in fights every day, but he's punching back, so once a week he's living, leaving with a bloody face and I'm thinking, "Oh God, I don't wanna look like that. I don't want anything to do with that." Um, eventually I start to make friends with this guy Chuck, but Chuck now gets accepted because Chuck is pushing back and Chuck is fighting back. And meanwhile, in parallel, I'm kind of making friends with him and then somebody tells him something about me, and then he approaches me in the courtyard and he starts pushing me in the courtyard. Now we got a group of, I don't know, 50, 60, 70 people circling around us. He's just pushing me back and pushing me back, and, and I'm just going back, going back, and eventually I trip over a planter. But on- right before that I say, "Hey man, you don't wanna fight me. You don't wanna fight me. I'm a pussy," is what I said to him. You know, and for the longest time I wouldn't tell that story to anybody. I wouldn't tell it to my own kids. I was so embarrassed to tell that story. Um, I'm proud to tell that story now, you know, because what, what, what forged me i- are those days. Right? And, and so if I had the opportunity, what I would have said, um, is, uh, "Push back. Fight." You know? "You, you, you need to stand up for yourself right now and for the rest of your life. This is what you need to do. And everything's gonna be okay." You know? "It's okay to get bloody. It's okay to fight. You need to fight. We evolved fighting." Right? Uh, somewhere along the way, you know, I just, uh, I didn't know that was okay, and I was just scared out of my mind that the kind of fights that I saw every day, you know, w- just there was so much blood. And the teachers would never break up these fights, 'cause if a teacher broke up this fight, that teacher's getting it that day. So, so the, the fights lasted so long it would, they would wait for the gym coaches to come all the way over to the fight to break up those fights. I wanted no part of that. Um, so I wish I had somebody tell me, you know, "I don't give a shit about you getting suspended. I don't care what happens to your face. You gotta stand up for yourself, and you gotta push back and you gotta fight."

   11. SBSteven Bartlett10:06

       If I could give you an eraser and you could apply that eraser to those four years in your life, from 10 to 14, and you could make it different, you could make it rosy and idyllic and picturesque, would you now use the razor and it- erase those four years of your life?

   12. LKLiver King10:21

       You know the answer is no. You know, I mean, I, I couldn't be more grateful, you know, for those four years. Uh, uh, this was my first rite of passage. This, this forged me into the unrelenting evolutionary hunter that I am today. I mean, I, I figured that shit out on my own. You know, this is probably a gift I didn't have a dad. You know, this is probably a gift I didn't have somebody to put their arms ar- 'Cause you figure that shit out on your own, you cross this chasm. Right? I always think about going through these four years and I think, "I would never allow my kids to do this," but my kids need this too. Right? They need the equivalent of this rite of passage. So, um, no, I w- I would never take any... A- and I think everyone, you know, who, who is self-made has, has various rites of passage at different stages and phases of their life. This was my first rite of passage. So, um, uh, I didn't tell you how grateful I am for it. I'm incredibly grave. I figured that shit out. And then I figure out the next one and the next one, and then eventually you're like, "You know what?" Wh- when people tell you, "Hey, you really can't do anything," you start to realize, "Oh my God, I really can do anything."

   13. SBSteven Bartlett11:17

       But what about if I said your son, who I just met, you got two lovely, lovely sons that are upstairs. Um, what if I said your sons had to go through those four years to figure it out? Would you... And there's a button here that you can press. They get bullied, beat up every day for four years, and feel how you felt at 10 years old. Would you press the button and put your two sons through it?

   14. LKLiver King11:36

       I would put them through it. Uh, I, I hesitated because a lot of people didn't make it out of that shit, you know. A lot of people do show up with a gun.

   15. SBSteven Bartlett11:44

       So would you risk it?

   16. LKLiver King11:45

       Um, and my other dad at the same time?

   17. SBSteven Bartlett11:49

       Today. They're gonna go through it for the next week.

   18. LKLiver King11:50

       100%. Uh, uh, especially with my guidance. Absolutely I would. You know, a, a lot of the kids that I went to middle school with did die, you know. A lot of them, you know, are in jail. And, and so this is what I know, a lot of people that are in a similar situation, they, they just don't make it out, you know. Some- something happens to them. Um, with, with a little bit of guidance, I, and I wouldn't give them even a lot of guidance, you know, um, I, I, I think they would kick ass.Um, so absolutely, um, I- I- I would- I want them to go through something similar.

3. 12:17 – 15:02

   Whats your dark side

   1. LKLiver King12:17

   2. SBSteven Bartlett12:17

      Those moments and the moments in my life that were the most difficult are clearly the moments that created my best qualities, and I say best qualities because usually these are best qualities in the eyes of the e- external world. So my success or, you know, all of these things probably came from some kind of hardship, some insecurity, some shit I went through. It's like, you know, I was poked in a really aggressive way and then-

   3. LKLiver King12:39

      Yeah.

   4. SBSteven Bartlett12:40

      ... uh, at the other end, you know, determination comes out, right? I realize that my insecurity created my brilliance.

   5. LKLiver King12:47

      Yeah.

   6. SBSteven Bartlett12:48

      But with that always comes a dark side. When you become an extreme person in any respect there, there, th- there's nearly always a dark side. There's always another cost to that. Everyone claps and goes, "Ah, standout person, outstanding, different." But what's the dark side in your case?

   7. LKLiver King13:06

      I've- I became obsessive about this, uh, about controlling outcomes in my life, you know. I stopped really leaning on other people. Um, you know, I- I- I... Things have changed, you know. Now, uh, I- I would say that, uh, I've really have a truly interdependent and synergistic culture, you know. I'm sure that you know that culture and chemistry is where it's at and you can do anything. People say this all the time, a cliché but it's true, you know. Um, you wanna go fast, go alone. If you wanna go far, go as a team, you know. And it- it took a while to put that stuff together. I- I think that a big part of the dark side is I'm so obsessive about controlling certain outcomes in my life. That's why I spend three or four hours in the gym every day. Every day, you know. And peop- a lot of people are like, "Hey, man, you just... Don't you have other things that you..." And I'm like, "You know what? No, this is what I have to do." I have to do this.

   8. SBSteven Bartlett13:50

      Why do you have to do it?

   9. LKLiver King13:51

      (laughs) Because I do.

   10. SBSteven Bartlett13:52

       Why?

   11. LKLiver King13:52

       You know, it's a- I start with the hardest thing I'm gonna do all day, so I put myself through that. I'm like, "If I can do this now, everything is gonna be a little bit easier." And I've tried taking some time off, you know. A lot of... Usually I'm so over-trained that the brain isn't even thinking right. A- and so when I take a little bit of time off, I- I do a five-day fast once a quarter. Um, when I take... And so I don't work out when I do a five-day fast. And my brain is, like, on another level.

   12. SBSteven Bartlett14:16

       Is there not an element of the fact that the gym is what saved you from the bullies?

   13. LKLiver King14:20

       I'm sure it is.

   14. SBSteven Bartlett14:21

       So y- it's a, it's a surviv- survival mechanism, that place?

   15. LKLiver King14:25

       Uh, I- I'm sure it is and- and so much of my message today is that, that strength is an alpha virtue across time and space. And i- and so the fact that I can get in there and I can control that, and I can get stronger, and I can look stronger, and- and that work... You know, that's not something that you can just buy at the mall at a credit card, right, on a credit card. This is something that you have to forge day in, day out. You know, and it's not just the gym, but I'm sure that- that it has something to do with like, "This is what saved me. This is where, you know, if- if I'm not in the gym, the pain of not being in the gym far exceeds the pain of three or four hours of working out."

4. 15:02 – 16:55

   What made you become Liver King?

   1. LKLiver King15:02

   2. SBSteven Bartlett15:02

      Was there a catalyst moment in terms of you transitioning from being Brian, a name, a person you don't even recognize now, I hear, to being Liver King? Was there a catalyst? I read there was illness and allergies within your- your kids.

   3. LKLiver King15:13

      Right.

   4. SBSteven Bartlett15:14

      But was that the catalyst?

   5. LKLiver King15:16

      It- it happened something- so- sometime around there, um...

   6. SBSteven Bartlett15:19

      'Cause you used to wear T-shirts, you used to be called Brian, and now you don't even really resonate with that.

   7. LKLiver King15:26

      Right. You know, so- so this is the message. I- I think when I've really fully let this barbarian out... So, I- I believe everybody's born a primal, right? Wild and free, undomesticated, right? Before we domesticated ourselves, before we were mindlessly compliant, right, everyone is wild and free. We're this primal version. And then through social norms and being nice and, you know, the- the... Then we start to conform to something other than our primal self. Um, and- and with enough time, I think because of my upbringing, in a fight situation, in a life and death situation, um, this guy comes out of the cage. When you train really, really hard in the gym and you're going for PRs and you're doing a 500-pound back squat, if you screw that up, there's real danger involved. And I th- I believe if that guy comes out enough, every single time he comes out, he gets a taste for it, he gets a little bit stronger. And I- I believe one day, that guy broke out, Liver King. And I always say this, he ate Brian Johnson, he ate his predi- predecessor. That guy's gone. Because whe- when that guy comes out, it's your truest, most authentic form, right? And this is why it's sad to think we're gonna be, you know, dynamic here today. Because if this is about being real and raw, a true primal is the most authentic, truest, you know, to e-... And- and when you can be that uninhibited, it's freeing.

   8. SBSteven Bartlett16:38

      Yeah.

   9. LKLiver King16:38

      It's completely freeing. And I was like, "When- when you can be like that, life's like a party. Um, why would you ever wanna go back?" I call, I called Brian Johnson the- the corporate, you know, Brian. Like, "Why would you ever wanna go back to that?" You know, to being nice and- and to saying things that you don't actually mean. You know, um...

5. 16:55 – 26:13

   Accountability

   1. LKLiver King16:55

   2. SBSteven Bartlett16:55

      When you say being nice, what do, what... What's wrong with being nice?

   3. LKLiver King16:58

      Well-

   4. SBSteven Bartlett16:58

      'Cause you're a very nice guy.

   5. LKLiver King17:00

      Tha- thank you for saying so.

   6. SBSteven Bartlett17:01

      (laughs)

   7. LKLiver King17:01

      Um, I- I asked my kids on the way over here, you know, to explain to me how you would describe me. And, uh, and one of them said, um, "Badass." Another said, um, "Like a king because you dominate your environment." And then he said, "Because, uh, sometimes you're also a dick," and I said, "Let's talk about that." Right? Because, um, because public account- accountability is a big deal to me. And- and, uh, again, what we do is far more important than what we say. And if somebody's making excuses in front of my kids, I say, "Hey, man, what you're doing is making excuses. What you need to do is own what you did, because I don't wanna hear excuses." You need to have enough insight, somebody needs to tell you. And the thing is, if I don't do it right now, number one, it's not a good example for my kids. Number two, because of time, I- I might not ever see this person again. And so I take the time to do it, and I'm sure that person thinks I'm a dick. And everyone kinda thinks I'm a dick, you know. I could've done it privately, but if- but if I think like that, it probably would never happen. So, um, thank you for saying that you believe I'm a nice guy. I believe I'm a nice guy too. But... And I believe in accountability, you know. Um, I could give you some- some examples. Um, uh, on the way to the airport... Our- our driver was supposed to be here 15 minutes early, he's supposed to have my car picked up. I got an F450 dually truck. It's supposed to be in the shade, uh, 15 minutes early, um, and, uh, and it's not... He showed up, really, just on time. He showed up just on time. And we get in the car, it's hot as shit, we're s- all sweating, you know. And again, I- I'm good with all that stuff. I'm good with... But you know what? I sweat for four, five hours a day.You know, I'm like, I'm ready to get in the car. I'm ready to be c- right now, I'm ready to be comfortable. And I said, "Hey Adam, um, what happened?" And he said, "Well, I just got back from Mexico. I was driving somebody, you know, in an RV..." Yada, yada, yada. "I gotta let-" and I said, "Adam, all those are excuses. What I want to hear you just say is, 'I showed up late. This is my fault. This won't happen again.'" And so he starts going into all..." and- and I said, "Oh man, don't make me do this, not in front of my kids," right? "Because I can't allow you to do this. I can't allow this to be any..." So I let him have it. I said, "Hey man, I- I just want you to own it. I want you to say that you messed up. Here's how you're going to get better. Here's how you're going to fix it." And he proceeds to still defend... He felt like he needed to defend himself a little bit more. And- and so he, he did apologize. Um, you know, what I ended up saying is, you- you know, primitive culture tribes don't really have a word for "I'm sorry."

   8. SBSteven Bartlett19:15

      Mm-hmm.

   9. LKLiver King19:16

      You know, it's "I'll get better." You know, they first have to have the insight to "Hey, I fucked up and I'm going to get better," and that's all I want to hear. Yeah, so you know, in- in that time I'm sure, and it happens all the time, you know, "Hey, how was your food?" You know? And- and I'm gonna- I'm gonna tell you how... In fact, I'll probably tell you how it was before you asked. You know? And- and I'm very complic- when the food is great, this is the best eating experience I could have. If the food's not great and we missed here, I'm gonna let you know how that happened. So I think because of that, you know, somet- sometimes, uh, um, you know, I can be perceived as- as not being a nice guy.

   10. SBSteven Bartlett19:50

       Why is that responsibility and accountability so important? Why is it so important? What's the, what's the cost to- to ourselves, our lives, our society if we don't take responsibility and we aren't accountable and we resort to blame and excuses?

   11. LKLiver King20:04

       Yeah. You know, so the name is Liver King for a couple of different reasons, but I- I believe everybody has the same primal potential to become anything. And when you can become anything and you realize that, you're a true king, you're a self-made king. Um, and that's all about what I, what I believe I model, teach and preach is- is taking extreme ownership, leadership, responsibility over the life that you shape and create. Right? This is the opposite of the guy sitting on the couch making reaction videos, making excuses for his life, right? You have to have that insight. You have to be held accountable either by someone else and/or to hold yourself accountable to one day move along the continuum from being dependent to finally independent, to interdependent, right? Somewhere along that maturity continuum. I- I believe it's unacceptable for us to allow people to continue to do that.

   12. SBSteven Bartlett20:48

       Have we lost ourselves a little bit there? Have we gone a bit soft? Have we, have we gone a little bit too far in the direction of, uh, lack of accountability, blame and, uh, yeah, lack of personal responsibility?

   13. LKLiver King20:58

       I believe so. I believe 100% we have. You know, um, some things happened where people really watch what they have to say today. You know, we're nice to each other. Um, you know, I- I- I say there's something that's happened where men have become pussies today, you know? And of course there's exceptions to this, right? But, um, I believe hard times make strong men, and there's no requirement for hard times in the modern world. And if you look at our ancestral past, the kind- the kind of things we had to do just for food, right? For shelter, in perpetuity. If you wanted sex, the kind of things you had to do as our early ancestors required real work, hard work, hard times to make strong men. And today there's no requirement for any of that. There's an app for it. You can outsource it. And when you go and you do, you know, the- these types of things, um, let's say you miss, nobody's really holding you accountable to that miss. It- it's become acceptable today. And then I think what a result of this is, you have 80% of people... The world's really suffering, right? The world's really hurting. And there's these modern day conditions that don't exist in modern day primitive culture tribes. You know, so, um, the six tribes that I've gone and visited with, I've- I've tried to assess and figure out is there depression? Is there anxiety? Is there infertility? Are there auto- autoimmune conditions in these tribes? And it seems nonexistent. But today we're really hurting with these things. And so, uh, I think that we have missed something. Uh, I think we have missed, um, and I think that we need to hold each other accountable to a higher standard. I say one way or another, you're gonna suffer. You can actively suffer and put in the work to grow and to get better, or you can passively suffer with these conditions that you have today. Most people are suffering with something passively, and their life could be so much better. So I- I do think that we've missed, I think we've become very soft and- and I think we need more people, um... I think, I think there's something to this. We can be nice and generous. We can be fucking honest and candid with one another. What- what this guy needs over here is not for the next 20 people to say, "Oh, I accept that excuse." You know, what this guy needs is people to say, "Hey man, you're better than this. This is the reality of it. You're in control of these outcomes." And for him to realize, "Oh my God, I am in control. I can shape and create the life that I want to live in." So I do believe that, that we've gotten soft today, and I- I believe there's something we need to do about it.

   14. SBSteven Bartlett23:12

       That suffering, you- you talked about that passive suffering and that mental suffering that, um, society is quite clearly going through. What is the cause of that suffering? Let's just focus on the mental suffering. We're talking about mental ailments, in your view. So anxiety, depression, these kinds of things. Depending on who you ask and depending which research you look at and factoring that there's an increase in awareness, so there's an increase in labeling and diagnosis, what is your view on why these mental health predicaments have become so prevalent in society?

   15. LKLiver King23:48

       I- I believe it's really multifactorial. I believe it's all nine ancestral tenants, every single one of them. I- I'll say them real quickly. It's sleep, eat, move, shield, connect, cold, sun, fight, and bond. All nine of these have an impact on our hormones, on our neurochemistry, every single one of them. Right? You go without sleep a couple of days, how much you want to bet you show up in a horrific mood?

   16. SBSteven Bartlett24:09

       That's why I'm wearing this.

   17. LKLiver King24:10

       You-

   18. SBSteven Bartlett24:10

       I know you probably don't agree with the technology, but for me it's, uh, I actually put it on yesterday, but it's to help my sleep. So I woke up this morning and it says, "You got eight hours' sleep. You got six hours of REM sleep."You did a good job.

   19. LKLiver King24:23

       Yeah.

   20. SBSteven Bartlett24:23

       I'll probably take it off at some point, but I just need to (laughs) get into my-

   21. LKLiver King24:26

       You use it for a while to figure out those things, right?

   22. SBSteven Bartlett24:28

       Yeah, yeah.

   23. LKLiver King24:29

       I, I see people wearing those, those watches and I say sub-primal, right? Because, uh, because the, the fourth ancestral tenet is shield, and these are non-native signals that, that we've never been in contact with before. And we have enough of 'em, right? Most people keep their cellphone next to their dick and balls.

   24. SBSteven Bartlett24:43

       Hmm.

   25. LKLiver King24:44

       Thi- this is unacceptable, right? Um, you don't have to have it there. So it's, it's a ... So, so if you sleep like shit, you're gonna show up not the way that you wanna show up. Um, if you eat horrifically, this is the same thing. If you don't move, if you don't exercise, it's a ... It's all nine ancestral tenets. The last one is bond. You, you know the importance. So all of 'em shape, you know, how we look, feel, function, what we express epigenetically, from a hormonal standpoint, from an endocrine standpoint, from a neurochemistry standpoint. All of them matter, and, and so it kinda depends on where you're at, what you're doing. Um, but I'll tell you, I've, I, I rarely meet somebody who's doin' all nine of these right and has a shitty life, right? Because people are really hurting and hating and suffering and struggling with modern-day conditions like depression, anxiety, autoimmune, low energy, low libido and low ambition in life. Like, there's a better life to fuckin' live. You, you got a great taste of this. So many people are living this kinda lifestyle, that that's why I believe it's my job to model, teach and preach this way so that our people no longer have to suffer, so that we can express our highest and most dominant form, because this is a simple, elegant solution. Right? It's not like I came up with this way of living, right? This is, this, this is your message. This is the, the message of our ancestors. When people start to hate on this message, you know, and maybe we'll get talkative about some of the critics, I'm like, "D- can you really hate on our species this much?" Right? Can you hate on your ancestors? Uh, this is not a message that I've invented. This is what our early ancestors have done, this is what modern-day primitive cultures do, and they're happy as fuck. They're kicking our ass at life, and they have nothing.

6. 26:13 – 31:09

   The benefits of the 9 ancestral tenets

   1. LKLiver King26:13

   2. SBSteven Bartlett26:13

      You've been in and seen tribes that live very closely to all of these nine ancestral tenets. Tell me about what you've learnt. Give me an example of tribes that you've visited where you saw them doing these things and you saw some kind of, I guess, objective evidence that you gained that it's working for them.

   3. LKLiver King26:31

      Yeah. You know, um, as soon as you start to meet with them, you feel it. You feel how happy, you feel how fulfilled they are. They're laughing, they're smiling. Um, you know, a lot of these things, i- it's just really clear. They don't have shoes, right? So, uh, one of the ancestral tenets is connect. They're connected to the Earth 24/7, 365, right? Because of modern-day shoes, elevated bed, buildings and stuff like that, we hardly ever come into contact with the actual Earth anymore.

   4. SBSteven Bartlett26:58

      I'd like to point out that I'm mine.

   5. LKLiver King26:59

      Yes. Yes.

   6. SBSteven Bartlett27:01

      (laughs)

   7. LKLiver King27:01

      The ... You're probably not officially grounding right now, okay?

   8. SBSteven Bartlett27:03

      No, I know, but-

   9. LKLiver King27:04

      But, but, uh, but let me ask you this. When's the last time you had your bare feet connected to the Earth?

   10. SBSteven Bartlett27:08

       When m- so my girlfriend's been living in Bali, so she will often tell me to take my shoes off so that I ground myself.

   11. LKLiver King27:14

       Perfect. A- and-

   12. SBSteven Bartlett27:15

       Yeah. (laughs)

   13. LKLiver King27:16

       Um, and a lot of people will say, "Last time I was on the beach."

   14. SBSteven Bartlett27:18

       Yeah, yeah, yeah. It doesn't happen. Of course it doesn't happen. It's a ... If you, if I walked down the street with my shoes off, people would probably call emergency services and have me sectioned or something, so-

   15. LKLiver King27:28

       Yeah.

   16. SBSteven Bartlett27:28

       (laughs)

   17. LKLiver King27:29

       And, and then so someone was like, "Hey, last time I was at the beach." And I was like, "What were you doing?" They're like, "Oh, yeah, I was, I was with my wife. We were holding hands. We were walking on the beach under the sun." I'm like, "How'd it make you feel?" "Oh, it was one of the best memories." And, and you know, um, the Earth has a slightly negative charge. We're electrophysical beings, right? Every single cell is electrical in nature. Um, and so just by default you see all of the primitive culture tribes connecting with the Earth almost 24/7, 365. This is one of 'em, right? And, uh, so it's sleep, eat, move, shield, connect, cold, sun, fight and bond, right? Th- they're under the sun, you know, most of the day they're under the sun. They're hardly wearing any clothing, they're getting plenty of sun. Bonding is, is required in this culture. Everybody knows the purpose, everybody knows what their job is. When we go on a hunt, everybody knows who the, who the lead hunter is. You know, they don't have to say anything. And, and again, the way that they organize ... Um, there was this time I tell this story every once in a while because, uh, it ... I, I just love telling the story. We were on a hunt, uh, looking for baboons, and, and one of the chiefs, uh, took a shot with an arrow almost straight up in the air. And I'm thinking, "Oh my God," like, "you took ... What if that comes down near us?" Anyways, it came down right next to my son and me, ends up actually striking my cameraman, the broad side of the arrow i- in the torso. It doesn't pierce him but it hits him, like really close call. They think it's the most hilarious thing they've ever seen. They're laughing so hard at th- ... What are you gonna do? Right? No- no one's yelling at anybody, you know? And he just said, "We're not doing that again." You know? (laughs) Um, and these guys laugh so hard, you know? And when they go on a hunt it's ... This is a matter of life and death. If they're not successful in the hunt they don't eat, right? And they don't bring anything back to the rest of the tribe. Um, the way that they sleep, this is just ... So I always say some of the easy things you can do to sleep better is finish your last meal three to four hours before bed, get early morning sun at the same time every day. This helps to set your biocircadian rhythm, right? So your body knows when to be alert and awake versus sleepy and sleeping. So most people don't realize this, if you really wanna set up your sleep, it starts first thing in the morning. Get early morning sun through the eyes, on the face, on the skin, first thing in the morning. So get early morning sun, finish your last meal three to four hours before bed, take in the sunset as a final environmen- environmental cue that the day is winding down, and then try and block these artificial lights, you know, with blue light blocking glasses or just have firelight, candlelight, stuff like that in the house. Um, by default they do all these things. They already do all these things, right? The way that they eat. There's no processed food, there's no vegetable seed, seed oils, right? Um, there's no liquid calories. They eat the whole animal nose to tail, right? Um, there, there's usually th- th- ... there can be some foraging foods as well, but, but this is what I see, you know, when I've gone and visited with the Machiguenga. With the Maasai what they eat is blood, milk and meat.That's all they eat. The Maasai only eat blood, milk, and meat. And wha- if you s- could see their jawline and their teeth and their smiles, you're thinking, "How do I get what they have?" Again, their disposition, you know, is incredible. The way that everyone's required to move just to go get water and then to carry the water back. You know, the way that, um, every primitive culture tribe has shielded or protected themselves. Um, you know, we, we no longer have to run away from lions, but now we're bombarded with all these non-Native signals, with all these non-Native chemicals. So I always tell people, "Get your cell phone out of your pocket. Put it in airplane mode if you're not using it." At least when you're sleeping, you don't need your phone on when you're sleeping, right? Put that in airplane mode. Turn your wifi router off when you're sleeping. There's some really basic things we can do. Stop wearing petrochemical clothing. Stop wearing xenoestrogen-laden perfumes. Like, all these foreign substances wreak havoc on our in- endocrine system. So all nine ancestral tenets, this is s- sort of an example, you asked me for an example of, of visiting with the tribes, by default, they do all of these things, they do all nine ancestral tenets.

7. 31:09 – 36:05

   The way you sleep

   1. LKLiver King31:09

   2. SBSteven Bartlett31:09

      On these ancestral tenets, the first one is sleep, right? A- and I read that you sleep on a wooden board. And I've seen your house. I call it a house, that's a lie. (laughs) It's a estate? A mansion? What would you call it?

   3. LKLiver King31:25

      I call it my cave.

   4. SBSteven Bartlett31:26

      Your cave, okay. Well, I- (laughs) cave is slightly underselling it. But, um, you sleep on a piece of wood. Why?

   5. LKLiver King31:33

      You know, first thing that I'll say is a lot of people think that I actually don't do it. I have a video that shows my bed. And any- anyone who comes over, I'm like, "You wanna check out my bed? I sleep on wooden planks. Check it out." I got this tiny, thin wool mat. It's- it's- it's about that thick, it's just made out of wool. Um, before we used to just sleep on wood. And my- my little queen is hardcore, she's like, "We're just gonna sleep on wood." And I said, "Fine, let's just sleep on wood." After about a year of having bone bruises on the hip and shoulders, like, "Listen, I don't think my body's adapting." And we went to visit with primitive culture tribes, and they all have a little bit of cushion. Either some natural ground or some- some- some leaves, some little cushion. And I said, "You know what? I'm gonna do that too. I'm gonna do that too." And I slept much better. Um, the answers are, our bodies were never really meant to be in this kind of cast, to be in something so... Think about it, you go up to modern-day beds and it's a perfect height, right? You just barely fall into it. You know? And- and so there's a few things, o- one is that, like, I- I gotta get down to get into my bed. Same wi- so your mobi- the mobility requirements are greater. You meet with these 80 and 90-year-olds of these primitive culture tribes, they have no trouble sitting in a full squat position for hours on end. Every single day, they're getting down here and they're getting up and down. How many people just in their 40s and 50s can't do that? If you never stop doing it, you never lose that mobility. So, that's one reason. Another reason is modern-day mattresses, most of 'em are off-gassing, right? So you've got your head, you're taking in this sort of toxic stuff like, uh, o- off-gassing of non-Native materials while you're sleeping. Uh, a lot of these also have springs in 'em, these metal springs that condonk- conduct ambient EMF electricity. Right? So, you need to be in the deepest parasympathetic sleep environment when you're sleeping to restore and recover and reload for the next day. Sleep is, I think, one of the most complicated ones, so I try and make it simple, here's a few things you can do. People aren't gonna start sleeping on the ground.

   6. SBSteven Bartlett33:21

      Yeah.

   7. LKLiver King33:21

      Right? What- what I said earlier is get early morning sun, finish your last meal three to four hours before bed, take in the sunset, and then after the sunset you need to shield yourself from some of the blue lights. You can either wear the UVEX glasses or put some candle lights up. How much you wanna bet that's gonna improve your sleep so much? And then if you wanna go overboard and be obsessive, probably like you are and- and like I am, um, there's- there's about six or seven other things you can do, um, that will drastically improve your sleep. And- and sleeping closer to the ground, sleeping with a much stiffer environment is gonna help you out.

   8. SBSteven Bartlett33:51

      You know, it's, um, the reason why I- I told you this before we started recording, but the reason why, um, I was really, really keen to have this conversation with you is because I've seen in culture over the last 10 years, having, you know, I'm- I'm a social media native, so I've seen how conversation around mental health and mental wellbeing has evolved over the last 10, 15 years, and the- the emergence of the- the conversation, the very sort of prolific conversation around mental health. And the- the cures for much of these sort of mental, um, ailments or our wellbeing crises that I- that has emerged tend to be really, really complicated, and they tend- and I think in part they're complicated so that we can sell people stuff. Like, if it's simple, if it's as simple as you're kinda saying it is, I can't actually sell you that. Me telling you to sleep is not something that I can necessarily sell you. But I could sell you, you know, some 17-step course to better sleep with some contraption that goes ri-

   9. LKLiver King34:43

      Oh, yeah.

   10. SBSteven Bartlett34:43

       ... you know? So, um-

   11. LKLiver King34:45

       That's what I love about my message is, you- you know, um, e- early the- m- all my companies, it's the exact same message, it's all nine ancestral tenets. Somebody who comes to us with a neurocognitive condition, we start talking about getting cold, getting really fucking cold, have some egg yolks, connect with the Earth, and they start asking, "Where do, where do I buy this?"

   12. SBSteven Bartlett35:03

       Mm-hmm.

   13. LKLiver King35:03

       We're not selling that, right? Or you could say we're selling it, but we're not, there's- there's no financial exchange here.

   14. SBSteven Bartlett35:08

       And this is it, I- I think that humans took a wrong turn in our development. We, as you said, and I wrote about this in my book in the chapter called The Journey Back to Being Human, um, we live in four white walls, we- we live, we're lonelier than ever before-

   15. LKLiver King35:23

       Yeah.

   16. SBSteven Bartlett35:24

       ... we order our food using glass screens, we connect using glass screens, we- we- we, um... If, yeah, like if I'm hungry, like I don't even have to move these days, someone will bring it to me in a- in a tin can and come to my door and knock it and hand me my taco-

   17. LKLiver King35:36

       Yeah.

   18. SBSteven Bartlett35:37

       ... or my Coca-Cola. You know what I mean?

   19. LKLiver King35:38

       Yeah.

   20. SBSteven Bartlett35:38

       So (laughs) so, um, it- it appears to me when- when you think about the things that are really helping us, like, when you look at the data around being out in nature and exercise and breathing properly-

   21. LKLiver King35:48

       Mm-hmm.

   22. SBSteven Bartlett35:48

       ... and cold water, all things that our ancestors did, that's why I was so compelled by you because I do think we've overcomplicated it, and I think the simple approach of just figuring out how to be human again, turning back down that path and going back towards our ancestors is- is one to be listened to. So,

8. 36:05 – 38:36

   Food - What are we doing wrong

   1. SBSteven Bartlett36:05

      the second ancestral tenet is about food. When you look at how we're eating these days, what do you think we're doing wrong?

   2. LKLiver King36:14

      I think we've really abandoned the ways of our ancestors, really. I mean, uh, all primitive culture tribes, they put the animal at the center of the diet and they eat nose to tail. We no longer do that, right? Um, instead, we eat some muscle meat that falls off the bone, but we're eating processed foods and we're no longer eating the organs, right? Um, almost all primitive culture tribes go for the liver and the bone marrow first. The Maasai went for the kidney first, right? But they're all going for the organs and they leave the muscle meats for the dogs and the birds, right? They know that the value is in the organs. So I think where we've gone wrong is really just for convenience and somebody has sold us something and we're buying it, right? We're buying processed food, we're buying convenience, and we're buying it to our detriment, um, because we don't feel good and we're not doing good, right? And we know that we're meant for more and we know that we wanna feel better, um, but there's a lack of information out there and, and you see, like I said, how happy these people are. Or this is where we started with, with my own kids. My o- my own kids were sick, you know? My own kids were taking ambulance rides to the hospital. They couldn't breathe. They needed an EpiPen. They wouldn't be released from the hospital because they couldn't fucking br- they didn't recover their breathing. And so, you know, um, at some point, you say, "Enough is enough." And so, uh, we took matters into our h- own hands. We started researching. Every doctor just gave more EpiPen, more Benadryl, stuff like that, and for me, the easiest thing to do was to implement a, a, a, a diet change. We threw out all the processed food, the seed oils, the liquid calories. We brought in nose to tail, wild caught, organic foods, cheaply nose to tail stuff like liver and bone marrow and bone soups. Within about a week, our kids did a 180. I mean, they're, they're no longer having the... I mean, they, they just couldn't even sit here and have a conversation without wheezing. They couldn't breathe, right? We take this for granted, breathing. They couldn't even breathe, right? With that kind of freedom. And so when we did this, it's like the light bulb came on. The personalities, their true personalities came through. I don't, I don't know what would've happened if we sort of subsisted like that for 15, 20 years. Like, what kind of humans would they evolve to become? And within the space of almost a week, this is what happened. So I think what's, what's, what's, um, gone wrong is, you know, out of convenience, because you can get cheap food, right? You're, you're still gonna pay for this, right? Some other way 'cause you feel like shit, your joints hurt, you know, you're, you're, you're not able to do nearly a fraction, express your, your potential. So that's where I think we went wrong is, uh, we're, we're eating stuff out of convenience and, and because the price point is so low today.

9. 38:36 – 42:40

   Bonding and connection

   1. LKLiver King38:36

   2. SBSteven Bartlett38:36

      You're the first guest I've ever had on this show that's actually brought their family with them. And your family, I got to meet them, lovely family, before we started recording. Um, one of your tenants, number... I guess you could say number nine, but also I guess number five is a little bit more about the earth, but number nine about bonding. When I, when I was writing, um, and looking at the topic of loneliness, one of the stats that was really alarming to me was that the medium answer to the question for Americans these days, "How many people have you got that you could turn to in a time of crisis?" has dropped over the last decade from three people they could turn to, to, to zero.

   3. LKLiver King39:08

      Mm.

   4. SBSteven Bartlett39:09

      And in the UK, Theresa May was the first prime minister to appoint a loneliness czar, someone in charge of loneliness because it's reached pandemic levels. Why is it so important and what have we done wrong in terms of that ninth tenant, which is bonding? Because I've, I thought it was really awesome that your family are here and that you travel with them, um, but we are getting lonelier-

   5. LKLiver King39:32

      Yeah.

   6. SBSteven Bartlett39:32

      ... and there's a cost to that.

   7. LKLiver King39:33

      Thank you for saying so. Uh, like I shared with you, I don't go anywhere without them, you know. I, I take them everywhere I go. Um, I need them, you know, and, and I need them to, to feel fulfilled. Um, you know, my most important job is a- as a dad and, um, you know, so, uh, what, where, where I think we went wrong is, um, you know, people are, are on this thing today that we call a phone and they're on there nonstop. They're on there on some kind of screen. You know, uh, when... I've talked to enough people, most people that I talk to, they hate their jobs, they come home to a life that they don't love, and they sedate themselves enough with screen time, with Netflix, with the phone, with medication to feel better, to get hard, call it a day, call it a week, call it their lives. And, and they're sedating themselves just enough on this thing and we've allowed this to happen, right? My kids get 40 minutes a day on the screen time if they earn it, right? And here's what happens when you put down that damn phone and you have these kind of conversations and you get in a little group, you know, of people doing the same thing, again, you, you get this electricity, the chemistry, the culture that can only happen, these intangible things happen when you connect, when you look someone in, in the eye and you feel them heart to heart, right? When you're that authentic, when you're true, when you're primal, you know? The, th- this is, um, you see this with every primitive culture tr- They don't have phones. They don't have any screens. (laughs)

   8. SBSteven Bartlett40:45

      (laughs)

   9. LKLiver King40:45

      You know, they wanna have fun, (laughs) they're, they're sitting around a fire and they're just talking, they're laughing, you know? Um, and so t- today, it's just so pervasive and no one's saying anything about it. No one's doing anything about it, right? And so, uh, I, I do think a lot more awareness needs to come here. Um, and again, it's all nine ancestral tenants, but, but this one bonding, you know, we've always needed each other and we still do, right? There's nothing more primal than purpose itself. Like, we used to know that our role was to protect the perimeter, right? We used to know that, that building and, and shelter making and wise traditions, um, this concept of bonding, we needed each other to do these things, to pass down the information so that we could survive and thrive. And somewhere along the way, we, we've, we've started buying screen time, these distractions, and it's to our detriment. You know, once again, like you, you talk to people, um, very few people love what they do for a living and then come home to a life that they love too. And, and I can't tell you how many people that I talk to, I'm out there in the street and I'm talking with people, "How much TV do you watch?" And almost everyone is, is watching hours of TV and/or on their phone ho- hours at a time. So yeah, there, there, there's something going on there. And, and what we really need to do is put down that goddamn phone, you know, and have some conversations. When I was in New York City, I was, uh, in the subway. Every single person, every single one of them, you know, and you go and you talk to someone and they almost can't believe, "What are you doing?" You know, I have my kids approach people, you know. I, I'm sh- trying to show them how to pick up girls and I'm also trying to show them just to have... how to have... And so many people are freaked out.... my kids are going up to them saying, "Hey, how's it going? What's your name? What are you doing here?" They're like, "Whoa. What's goin' on?" You know, "Is there an ulterior motive?" We've lost that touch just to have a conversation, right? We, we need to bring that back. So, um, so ag- I feel like this is my job to model, teach, and preach this. Right? I'm gonna, I'm gonna do as much of this stuff as I can on social media, 'cause I know when somebody puts down the phone and they have this kinda conversation, y- you end up, it fill, it fills you

10. 42:40 – 43:55

    Are you optimistic in this digital world?

    1. LKLiver King42:40

       up. Yeah.

    2. SBSteven Bartlett42:40

       Are you optimistic?

    3. LKLiver King42:42

       I, I would say I'm optimistic.

    4. SBSteven Bartlett42:43

       You look at the world, you know that we're, we're, we're heading in w- one direction. If you look at the last 10 years of our trajectory towards living in the metaverse and digitalization and social media usage, where the world is flying in that direction. So are you optimistic that we're gonna be able to go back to a more ancestral way of living?

    5. LKLiver King43:02

       That's my job. Th- that, that's 100% my job. You know, it's, it's to take this message mainstream so that, that, uh, what I know is people know that they're missing something and that they're meant for more, and they don't wanna suffer like this. And so I, I, I gotta look you in the eye and tell you not only am I optimistic about ... this is my job. Right? And I just got on social media recently, and if you look at the followership that we have, like, I've strucken a chord, I've strucken a nerve with people, again, because they know that there's been a problem, and people that have started implementing so- just some basic things. The name is Liver King 'cause I want everyone to start with liver. If you start eating liver, this is the easiest lever to a trajectory to a better life. And I could get into some of the background why, but, but I just say, "Hey, start doing this. Go to a farmer's market, go to your butcher, go get some liver. Start eating a little bit of liver every single day." And you know how many people start feeling profoundly better. Right? And so, uh, so am I optimistic about it? Um, hell yeah, I'm optimistic about it. Uh, we've gotta make this happen.

11. 43:55 – 47:25

    Liver Kings brand

    1. LKLiver King43:55

    2. SBSteven Bartlett43:55

       Your success on social media, you touched on it there, how many followers you got? Something, 6 million I saw just-

    3. LKLiver King44:00

       (laughs)

    4. SBSteven Bartlett44:00

       ... looking at two channels? I probably missed a couple of them. How many followers does he got? Do you know?

    5. LKLiver King44:06

       1.6 on Instagram.

    6. SBSteven Bartlett44:08

       3.-

    7. LKLiver King44:08

       2.5 on TikTok. Something like that. He doesn't know.

    8. SBSteven Bartlett44:12

       He doesn't know.

    9. LKLiver King44:12

       (laughs)

    10. SBSteven Bartlett44:12

        Let's just call it five. Okay. Five million followers. If you h- if I had your message, um, and I was a scientist-looking guy with a shirt on and a tie on, and I was, had old gray hair and I was kinda monotone, you know I'd have three followers-

    11. LKLiver King44:28

        (laughs)

    12. SBSteven Bartlett44:28

        ... with the exact same message. So you must understand the role that your presentation is playing in that message, right? You understand there's a brand there.

    13. LKLiver King44:37

        What I know is, uh, I never had an intention on going to doing social media. People would come over to my house and say, "Liver King, you gotta get on social media. The way that you guys live, what y- you don't even have to change anything about your life. Do what you do, put that ... all you gotta do is record what you do every day." And, and I was really reluctant to this because prior to social media, I was rich and anonymous. And now I'm still rich, but I'm no longer anonymous. And there's a lot of stuff (claps hands) that comes with not being anonymous that are not favorable things.

    14. SBSteven Bartlett45:06

        Right.

    15. LKLiver King45:07

        Oh, like anytime I'm out with my kids and people wanna talk to Liver King, and now th- there's a line of people that wanna talk and, and, and, and, and take pictures, and my kids are right here. Right? And I'm here to hang out with my kids and Liver Queen. Right? And now, and, and I want them to know, hey, here's how we're gonna interact. We're gonna talk. I wanna try to get you guys involved too. Um, but a lot of, I mean, we're, we got to the hotel, the first thing that th- the driver did is he wanted to take a picture before we unloaded, before we did anything, you know. Of course we're gonna take a picture. You know, um, to me, this is validation that the message is getting out. Um, but, um, about social media and, and, and doing this thing, I didn't wear a shirt before social media. I didn't shave before social media. I don't brush my teeth before social ... I still don't. Right? And so it, it wasn't like, "Hey, let's develop this personal brand for social media." It's, man, you know what? I love my life so much. I love the roles and goals that I have. I believe that I figured out how to achieve. I figured out how to do this in harmony with the true art of fulfillment. Um, and it's almost effortless when you do these nine ancestral tenets. You know, like I said, the hardest thing I do every day is a workout. Right? And then the, then the, the tough conversations that you have with people, this is easy. You know, everything else is easy. I love the food that I get to eat. I love the relationships, the bonds that I have. My most important meeting of the day is my CEO meeting with my family. I call that the board meeting. I prepare for that the most, you know, to have these conversations w- with my kids. So prior to social media, this is how I lived. After social media, this is how ... And I said, "Fuck it. We'll do it." Look, we'll, we'll, we'll put myself out there. We'll do this thing. We'll see how the world responds to it. And, I mean, every day, the kinda messages that we get, you know, blow me away. You know, messages from kiddos, um, that say, "I wish you were my dad. Right? Because I've grown up to hate myself, and I would rather hate my dad than hate myself because my dad made me do hard shit." You know, because, because I get endless hours of video games. The, the kind of messages I get from kids, you know, the kind of messages I get from moms, it's like, well, this is why we do this every single day. And so I'm gonna try my best. You know, it's like, okay, I di- I didn't, I didn't sign up for this, but any time that you take on more responsibility in life, you know, I, I feel like this leads to progress, and I feel like progress and happiness are really one and the same. So this is, this has been a, a challenge to get out and, and, and to conne- and to do some of these things. But, um, I want y- this is my fight. This is what I exist for now.

12. 47:25 – 51:29

    Criticism

    1. LKLiver King47:26

    2. SBSteven Bartlett47:26

       With that also comes criticism. You alluded to some of it earlier on. You said that there's a lot of critiques and stuff like that-

    3. LKLiver King47:32

       Yeah.

    4. SBSteven Bartlett47:32

       ... and people that are, you know, resisting the message. And everybody's got their own agendas when they're resisting messages and their own skepticism, and we can all understand that, I guess. Um, Joe Rogan criticized you, which you, which I know you know about 'cause y- I've heard you talk about that before.

    5. LKLiver King47:46

       Mm-hmm.

    6. SBSteven Bartlett47:46

       Joe Rogan's a big person.

    7. LKLiver King47:47

       Yeah.

    8. SBSteven Bartlett47:47

       In terms of his platform, big.

    9. LKLiver King47:49

       Yeah.

    10. SBSteven Bartlett47:49

        How did that feel when he said, he alluded that you're on steroids or something like that?

    11. LKLiver King47:53

        Yeah.

    12. SBSteven Bartlett47:54

        How did, how did that feel?

    13. LKLiver King47:55

        Oh, cloud nine.

    14. SBSteven Bartlett47:56

        Really?

    15. LKLiver King47:56

        I mean, I've entered his ecosystem. Joe Rogan is talking about Liver King. You know, you know how obscure I was to most of his audience before he's talking about me. You know? And so I love it. You know? And now I have the opportunity to engage deeper with this idea. I think it's dangerous when somebody points the finger and has a self-limiting belief about themselves-

    16. SBSteven Bartlett48:17

        Mm-hmm.

    17. LKLiver King48:17

        ... or somebody else-... or, or any- anything for that matter. Like, it was impossible to sell a podcast for $200 million until you did it, right? It's impossible to defend the world champion title five times until you do it. You know, and I guarantee you, nobody has done what I've done for this many decades on end, this kind of work, this kind of depth, this kind of suffer. You know, nobody lives the way that I live. And so, what, what I want is the opportunity to correct that. I want the opportunity to go on his show, talk to him face-to-face. Um, you know, at the end of the day, um, there is a lot of hate and, and there's a lot of criticism, but when I say a lot, it's probably about 5% of the vocal minority. And, and I tell my kids this all the time, you know, when we talk to each other, right? Th- these are just words, right? And these words are vibrations that go into our ears, right? And then our brain assigns meaning to it. So nobody can really offend you, right? You're assigning meaning to whatever they're saying. And so when Joe Rogan's talking about me, what I'm saying is, "Fuck y-" ... I mean, I c- I, I, I, I went and ran to my wife and I told her, "Oh my God, can you believe this? Joe Rogan is talking about me." You know, and, uh, he's done it more than once. And so all I ask is for the opportunity to have the conversation with him face-to-face, because all nine ancestral tenets allow us to express something that was otherwise impossible, right? We all have the same potential. It's not just this physical potential, right? And, and I always say at the end of the day, cheating doesn't scale. It's not sustainable and it doesn't scale, right? And what I've achieved from a financial standpoint, from a family standpoint, you know, from a true fulfillment standpoint, you know, I say how you do anything is how you do everything, right? This, this is not just, you know, my, my physical, you know, expression. Um, uh, I, I think that when you really get to know me, what I hope at the end of the day you say, "Your physique is the least impressive thing about you." You know, because, uh, at the end of the day, th- this is not what I'm about. I've never told anybody, "Start eating liver and you're gonna look like Liver King," right? What, what I do is I say, "If you start doing these things, start every day by getting early morning sun. Put your bare feet connected, anchored, grounded into the earth," right? I show what I'm eating for dinner every day. It's usually liver ... raw liver, raw bone marrow, and I'm being nourished in the most profound way because my family is around me. It's these simple things that you do, each of them shape how we look, feel, and function, and so, um, when I enter someone's ecosystem, like Joe Rogan, uh, I couldn't be more excited about it. And, and I just want to have the opportunity to have a face-to-face conversation with him about it, because I think at the end of the day, if you say, "He, he's got an ass full of steroids," I think what you're t- ... I- invariably some people wanna look like Liver King. They wanna look like me. And what you're saying is you gotta do that if you wanna look like him. And number one, I don't do it, and number two, what I want you to say is, "You know what? I don't know. I don't know." I mean, that guy, in fact, he did say he's into .000001% of genetics if he does it naturally. But, uh, I'm, I'm here to tell you, if you do all nine ancestral tenets, you're gonna look, feel, and function at your best. You're gonna express y- ... Will you ever look like me? You know, if you wanna look like me, you've already lost, right? What you need to do is look like the best version of yourself. And, and barely ... well, so many of us are really scratching the potential of our being. And so that's what I want. I w- I want the opportunity to talk about that self-limiting belief mindset. I wanna encourage people, get out there and do these things, and you're gonna see how much more you can become.

13. 51:29 – 59:20

    The hardest moment of your adult life

    1. LKLiver King51:29

    2. SBSteven Bartlett51:29

       Hardship is part of, um, being a human. It's almost unavoidable. It'll come out of anywhere. It could be disease or loss or grief, whatever it might be. You t- you told me about the hardship you underwent between 10 and 14 years old. What is the hardest moment of your adult life been?

    3. LKLiver King51:50

       The hardest moment was when my, my son, Rad, got sick. And, uh, we thought w- we thought we were losing him. He lost his mind. You know, uh, there's something called PANDAS. It stands for, uh, pediatric autoimmune neur- neurological disorder, something like that, and, um, it basically is, like, the manifestation of, like, these, uh, obsessive thoughts and you can't stop thinking about these obsessive thoughts. It just takes over you. And, uh, and one day, he asked if, um, if a bad guy spits on the ground and if you see that spit, does that make you a bad person? And we just thought, this is the strangest question, right? Uh, of course not. But then immediately, it was like the same question but a slight variation. If you touch the spit. You know, um, if you spit on the ground. And it, it was, uh, it consumed him. And, and it was him asking those que- ... and then, um, one day he said, "Oh, God. I, I already asked that question, didn't I?" And then he realized, and it was nonstop. It was nonstop and, um, I remember, uh, you know, my wife and I just, uh, we, uh, we, we were crying on each other because we thought we lost him. Um, and when you learn about, more about what PANDAS is and, um, you know, kids are kind of relegated to, like, a chemical straightjacket. They're sedated enough to where they're not in such torment, because it's either him constantly asking these questions or he's screaming out of the top, you know, o- o- out of just top of his lungs, he's screaming. And one day he said, um, "I wish I had a baseball bat, 'cause I would rather hit my brain and do damage to this brain than to live with this brain." And, uh, and so I would say, you know, we've ... th- this is probably the last rite of passage that I've been through. Like, to, to go through this with my family, um, and, and to figure it out, you know, with him, and, uh, and we figured it out. And, you know, we, we had already been living this lifestyle. The only thing that we really needed to fix, I don't know if you've heard of Paul Saladino. He's the Carnivore MD. He's, uh, an incredible friend and, and I said, "Hey, man. What's going on? What's going on here?" And he said, "Oh my God. You guys are still eating 100% cacao chocolate and raw honey every day. Take that out of his diet. Take that out." And that's the only thing he really wanted to eat. So we took it out and he didn't really wanna eat for a couple of days. And then he got better in, like, three or four days. So this is incredible to me, um, you know, when, when you think that you've lost your kid ... I mean, th- th- this is ... whe- when they've lost their mind like this, you know, when you read about the prognosis with, with kiddos with, with PANDAS, um, it's not good. You know? And again, it's like the best you could do is give them enough medication to sedate them e- enough to take that edge off. Um, and it took a while to figure this out.... I, I bet it took, I don't know, six weeks or so, maybe eight weeks or so to do it. But we did it, and again, like, by, by default, he didn't wanna eat anything 'cause this was like the only thing he was (laughs) wanting to eat at the time. He would eat a little of, of the other stuff 'cause we forced him to. But, um, you know, he, he, by default, he pretty much fasted for a couple of days, and then he would eat what w- 'cause y- he got hungry enough, so he was eating the food that we would give him, you know, his, his, uh, nose to tail meets and stuff, and he got better. And I think this is an important thing to share. Uh, my wife and I talked about this for a long time, that we wouldn't share this publicly. I don't even know why. Maybe to protect him, you know? But I can just imagine how many kids out there that have the same thing, you know, and the parents have lost hope, and there are so many things that can be done, you know. Um, you just need to continue to fight, and, and, um, I don't know if, if he was allergic to something in the chocolate or the honey, but taking those things out, uh, and doing a strict keto carnivore diet, you know, may- maybe just doing a strict keto diet, you know, is so antiinflammatory with the brain, you know, may- may- maybe that... I, I don't know. But all I know is he got better, and we got him back. And what we realized is he had been suffering with, um, lighter symptoms for the last couple of years, and we looked back at some of the pictures, and it's like, it's almost like his personality had been taken away slowly and slow- and then it led up to this point, and then we got him better. And, and so, um, thi- this is, for sure, the hardest thing that I, that I've had to deal with over the last couple of years.

    4. SBSteven Bartlett56:03

       One of your tenets is, is about shielding, number four, about shielding your family, protection. I can't, I mean, I can't imagine what it's like to have a ch- um, to, uh, the feeling of helplessness.

    5. LKLiver King56:17

       Mm-hmm.

    6. SBSteven Bartlett56:18

       'Cause I've heard about that disease before. I think I've spoken to someone on this podcast who has a son that's g- that was going through that. What is that like in a moment where you, when you read that prognosis and you see that happening to your son, and you're a man, you wanna shield and protect your family. How, how, how, how does that feel?

    7. LKLiver King56:37

       Yeah, yeah, there's, uh, so many different feelings. Of course, you feel totally helpless. At the same time, I always say that your woman and you as a man, you need to know that, that you can protect in a dark alley. And I mean it literally, but really figuratively, right? Like, you got the strength and courage to do that. If that time comes, she needs to know you're gonna do it. You need to know that you're capable of it. Um, because the financial crisis is gonna come too. She needs to know that you're gonna be able to protect, um, and, and fight in that financial crisis. The health crisis is gonna come too. And so, uh, I think that we've been through enough together that I knew that I would never stop fighting for this until we figured this out. So on one hand, there's a totally helpless feeling. On the other hand, it's like, you just keep fighting, you know? You just keep fighting, and you keep having conversations, and you keep looking and, and, you know, there's, there's no limit, there's no end, you know, that, that I would've gone to until we sorted this out. So yeah, it's, it's like a helpless feeling, but of course, you're, you're never gonna stop. You're gonna figure it out.

    8. SBSteven Bartlett57:35

       As a parent, do you, do you, do you fall into the temptation of guilt because that's your child and you... And like, I remember one time when my dog got sick.

    9. LKLiver King57:43

       Mm-hmm.

    10. SBSteven Bartlett57:43

        My dog's upstairs. I remember my dog being sick and me running through all the things I'd just, I'd just done and thinking, "Maybe I didn't walk my dog enough, or maybe I shouldn't have given him this, or maybe I shouldn't have done this." And then I remember, it was actually a couple of weeks ago, I'm laying there on my back, and my dog is, like, throwing up, um, like, repeatedly, and, and feeling that feeling of guilt, which was consuming me 'cause, you know, I don't have children, but I, my dog Pablo is basically my child. So...

    11. LKLiver King58:07

        Yeah. I don't know how much, um, I would identify with the guilt. Sure, I'm, I'm sure there's... But, you know, more than anything, it was like, "How the fuck do we fix this?" You know, is there, um, something toxic in the house? You know, we have all the walls shielded with, uh, wi- with shielding paint to make sure non-native e- emfs and signals don't come in, you know. Could there be something toxic in that? Um, is he interacting with something in the house that's tox... Do we have mo- we, like, got everything tested again and again and again. We went to different environments to see if he still, you know, for extended periods of time, did he still exhibit those symptoms in different environments? The answer was yes, you know. So I, I feel like, uh, obviously, there, there, there's a sense of that. But more than anything, I'm like, "I'm so goddamn driven that we're just gonna take massive action, and we're gonna course correct and course correct and course correct, and we're gonna try whatever we need to try-"

    12. SBSteven Bartlett58:55

        Mm-hmm.

    13. LKLiver King58:55

        "... until we figure out this thing." So guilt was definitely a part of it, but more than anything, it was like, uh, "Okay, y- you know, we're done crying, and now we just gotta get back to work and figure this out." I mean, no- nothing in life means anything. You know, it's like my companies, you know, um, didn't mean anything to me when, when this was happening. This is, this is the only thing that mattered. And, uh, so it's, it's, yeah, this was everything and just gotta figure it out, which we did.

14. 59:20 – 1:03:52

    Depression & Anxiety

    1. LKLiver King59:20

    2. SBSteven Bartlett59:20

       Have you, as a, as a adult, ever experienced your own, had your own experiences with these mental health ailments of anxiety and depression and lows and things like that?

    3. LKLiver King59:30

       Well, so I would identify that I, I, I've, have these feelings that resonate with me, that tell me something, that say, "You better fucking get to work. You better fix this shit." Right? And so, um, I, I, so I'll say, like, if, if I have really low energy, uh, if my motivation, you know, is kinda gone, you know, I'm like, "Okay, I gotta fi- life's too short. I gotta fix this." I do a five-day water-only fast. I'll, I'll take some kinda massive action to be like, "This is not okay. I gotta fix this." Um, if I feel anxious about something, it's like, "Okay, I gotta take massive..." I, I don't sleep until I fix it. Or if I get up at 1:00 and I'm thinking about this thing, I'm like, "I gotta do this right now." So, um, I've never experienced any of, uh, uh, depression or anxiety long-term like that. But what I would say is I, I think that I've had some of the symptoms, and, and I've really kinda used that as a signal, like, "I better get to fucking work. I better do something because I, I can't exi- th- there's, there's too many important roles and goals that I have in life to allow this to consume me."

    4. SBSteven Bartlett1:00:28

       What about an- anxiety? You know, what it is, I, I thought I was immune to everything.... growing up, especially when I was like 18, 19, 20. I kind of abandoned what it is to be a human and made myself really lonely in the pursuit of money. I got there, I made it, but there was a sacrifice. And one of the sacrifices for me was your number nine in your- your list of tenets, which was bonding.

    5. LKLiver King1:00:46

       Mm.

    6. SBSteven Bartlett1:00:46

       I kinda made myself so lonely that I think I- I started to exhibit some of the symptoms of, like, loners. I wouldn't say it was depression. I... Lo- But then I also, I've- I also thought I was immune from anxiety, and then when my business had real crunch moments, cash flow problems, whatever, you've got thous- you know, a thousand employees around the world, then anxiety showed up for the first time in my life. So-

    7. LKLiver King1:01:06

       Mm.

    8. SBSteven Bartlett1:01:07

       ... I'm wondering if- if you've ever had a moment of anxiety, even a day where you- you just struggle to shake it?

    9. LKLiver King1:01:14

       Now that you say some of those examples, um, I mean, there's about a decade that my wife and I struggled in business, and- and that was another rite of passage that we went through, and, uh, this was really never our fight. And- and we fought, you know, for about a decade. And I'm sure you probably know as a business owner, you get paid last, you know, everybody else gets paid and-

    10. SBSteven Bartlett1:01:32

        If you're lucky. (laughs)

    11. LKLiver King1:01:33

        Uh-huh, yeah, and everyone's driving nice cars and you're down to one.

    12. SBSteven Bartlett1:01:37

        Yeah. (laughs)

    13. LKLiver King1:01:37

        And, um... And so when you don't know how you're gonna make payroll, you know, um, and y- you start to, you know... This hap- this happens so many times and- and I don't think that it ever gets any easier. You're freaking out. You know, they need to get paid, you know, so that they can provide for their own family. People are really depending on this level of success. So, um, you know, I'd never considered that anxiety before. Maybe that is anxiety, you know. Um, but- but I've definitely has lo- have lost my shit, you know, trying to figure that out, and then going and asking anyone and everyone for help. I remember one time I asked, uh, Ben, our- our lab technician if he- if he had any money he could loan me to help make payroll for the whole company, for 23 people. You know? (laughs) Like, you go and you ask everybody. You know, at- at some point, um, you know, everybody says no, and you still gotta figure it out.

    14. SBSteven Bartlett1:02:22

        (laughs) Yeah.

    15. LKLiver King1:02:22

        You know? So, um, I- I would say that there- there's probably a lot of mixed emotions, um, in- in that timeframe, over that decade. I'm sure there was a lot of that in there, a lot of worrying how we're gonna make p- payroll, a lot of losing my shit on that. Um, and I would- I would say more than anything, it just... It drove me. It drove me to, "You gotta figure this out. All these people, all their families are counting on you, are depending on you." And so you just sacrifice your sleep, you sacrifice everything you need to sacrifice in order to make it happen. (paper rustles)

    16. SBSteven Bartlett1:02:49

        Quick one. We have a brand new sponsor on this podcast, which I'm very excited to tell you about. They're a brand called BlueJeans by Verizon, and they are a video conferencing and collaboration tool that has changed the game for our team. So I'm so glad to be working with them because, as you know, one of the most important things for me is when we have a sponsor, it is part of my world, it is part of my life, it is part of my company's. As someone who's on calls pretty much 80% of the day building my businesses and speaking to my teams all over the world, it's the guaranteed security that differentiates BlueJeans from all of the other options that are out there in terms of video conferencing. Their enterprise-grade security means you can protect your organization from malicious attacks and establish real trust with everyone that joins your meeting. And that is something. There are so many things that make sense and- and make BlueJeans, um, a better option than the sort of competitors out there. And I'll be talking about all of those aspects, those features, and the reasons why I use BlueJeans in the coming episodes. If you wanna check it out, you can head to www.bluejeans.com

15. 1:03:52 – 1:13:22

    Your business portfolio

    1. SBSteven Bartlett1:03:52

       to learn more. (paper rustles) Business. People don't talk about your business portfolio, your business success as much as they talk about other things. You know, you said that you were... Earlier on in the conversation you said, "I was rich before I became, in the public perception, joined social media and became Liver King." What was that business?

    2. LKLiver King1:04:11

       So I- I own a c- I would say 10 or 12 companies right now. They're all ancestral re- related. Uh, well, we do have some real estate stuff from- from back in the day. Um, but some of the companies are, um, dietary supplement companies, like Ancestral Supplements, Strong Jaw, there's The Fittest. Um, so there's a whole bunch of them, including Heart & Soil. Um, th- these are all companies. I wanna have a hundred of these in every different category, right? And just remember, every single company is based on- on taking this ancestral message mainstream. So if somebody has, um, a dental issue, recurrent or chronic decay, they can't figure it out, they're brushing, they're flossing. I always say, our early ancestors didn't brush, didn't floss, didn't get cavities, right? But today we say, "Hey, go brush, go floss." This- this hygiene hypothesis. I- I haven't brushed in a- in a decade.

    3. SBSteven Bartlett1:04:54

       Wow.

    4. LKLiver King1:04:54

       Uh, a- and if I needed a dentist, I wouldn't have to go far 'cause my wife i- is a- is a retired dentist. Uh, every once in a while I'm like, "Hey, just take a look. I just wanna know."

    5. SBSteven Bartlett1:05:02

       (laughs)

    6. LKLiver King1:05:02

       "I just wanna know." (laughs) And so she'll take a look and she's like, "Yeah, you got some plaque in there, but everything looks great. Everything looks great." Um, and- and so if somebody has a dental issue, they're going to the respective expert that they believe is a dentist looking for help, right? And so- so what we try to do is create a- a- a company in every category to still spread this message, right? You still need sunlight, you still need to bond. If you're not sleeping, you're not gonna heal anything, right? It's all nine ancestral tenets. It's this kind of nourishment, um, from the inside out that's gonna get us healthy. And so I always say that, um, that an evolutionary hunter leaves the comfort of the cave, right? To do something different for the- for the betterment of humanity. So all my companies are based on getting out this ancestral message, so that it goes mainstream. A lot of the companies are dietary supplement companies, and then, uh, I'm involved also with the- the supply chain, upstream and downstream.

    7. SBSteven Bartlett1:05:49

       A little birdie told me these companies are doing very well.

Episode duration: 1:44:20