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If you’re one of the more than 300 million people who still use Snapchat, you almost certainly know who the Liver King is. He’s the unnaturally ripped 50-something-year-old guy on your Snapchat Discover who’s screaming at you about eating testicles. Born Brian Johnson, the man who would become known as the Liver King was helping to support his wife’s dental practice before he started his social media brand. A few years later, he’s getting millions upon millions of views on videos of himself doing squats in his home gym, consuming bull testicles raw, and preaching about ancestral living.
And it’s not hard to understand why the Liver King has become as rich and famous as he is. Fitness influencers have long been some of the largest figures on social media, and the Liver King is definitely in shape. The guy looks like if you cross-bred Crocodile Dundee, the Nordic god Thor, and Hulk Hogan. And one of his main messages is that, by following his diet and workout regimen, you can look like that too. But that’s only one aspect of his brand.
The other aspect of the Liver King’s messaging that attracts fans is the idea that he can show you the way to becoming more confident, more dominant, and more in control of your life and the world around you. And that’s powerful stuff, especially in a world of so much uncertainty and so much change.
However, the Liver King is the idol we need, and he isn’t who you should turn to for guidance; ultimately, he’s just another guy trying to move money from your pocket into his own. And, honestly, some of the tactics he employs to do so are pretty nefarious. So, if you know who the Liver King is and you think he’s pretty cool, here are seven reasons why you should definitely not idolize him.
1. The Guy’s on Steroids
While the Liver King claimed for years that his body was entirely natural and the result of his caveman-like diet and rigorous exercise, in 2022, he finally admitted that that was all a lie. In a video that he posted to his YouTube channel, he confessed to using anabolic steroids for years to achieve his physique (and then he made a half-baked attempt to connect the issue to the current mental health crisis in the United States).
In the video, the Liver King also claimed that he would never use anabolic steroids again. However, it’s been a few months since the Liver King “swore off the stuff,” and he doesn’t seem to have lost any muscle, implying that he’s probably still lying to his fans and probably still on steroids.
2. You Don’t Have to Look Like the Liver King
Baked into the Liver King’s entire branding scheme is the idea that, in order to have control over your life, to be respected, and to get women to take interest in you, you have to look like an action figure. You don’t. A large portion of the world’s most successful people have very average physiques. And, believe me, spending all day at the gym and then gobbling up raw testicles and cow tongues isn’t going to make you sexy.
If you want to be more attractive, put your energy into improving your self-confidence. Yes, being healthy is important, and being in shape will make you more appealing to some people. But you don’t need to look like every muscle in your body is about to pop.
3. Eating Raw Meat Is Super F***ing Dangerous
One of the biggest things that the Liver King promotes is a diet chock full of raw meat. Raw testicles. Bone marrow. Raw tongue. And, of course, raw liver. But it’s a well-documented fact that eating raw meat can be very dangerous, and, honestly, the Liver King is setting you up to get extremely sick by encouraging you to eat raw meat.
Raw meat is known to carry harmful bacteria such as Salmonella, Listeria, Campylobacter, and E. coli. These bacteria can cause severe food poisoning and can even be fatal in some cases. By all means, eat meat if you want to. But, if you don’t want to get multi-day diarrhea, please cook it first.
4. Gender Roles Are Lame
A major underlying message in Liver King’s brand is that men are dominant and that a man who isn’t dominant and strong isn’t a man at all. And, while that idea may have garnered nods of approval back in the 1800s, this is the 21st century, and men can be gentle, kind, emotional, and timid and still be just as much as a man as a macho gym-bro like the Liver King.
Just because you were born with male genitalia doesn’t mean that you have to be dominant and strong. If you’re in a heterosexual relationship, it’s perfectly alright for the female to be the stronger one. This whole idea of male dominance that the Liver King is promoting just reeks of gender norms, and it’s time we leave those in the past.
5. He Just Wants Your Money
While the Liver King may claim that he’s trying to breed a generation of strong men who are independent and strong, the reality is that he’s just trying to get you to buy his products. Why else would he promote his protein shakes and protein bars in every single video that he’s ever posted? A line that he routinely uses is, “If you’re not man enough, get yourself a bottle of King.”
Essentially, this is the Liver King shaming his own viewers into buying his product, which is pretty despicable if you think about it. He’s really leveraging the power of body shaming to sell his product. Don’t let his nefarious tactics work on you. Regular exercise and a balanced diet will give you a body that you can be happy with. You don’t have to line the Liver King’s pockets to feel good about yourself.
6. You Need Fruits and Vegetables
Two things that are noticeably absent from the Liver King’s diet are fruits and vegetables. Yes, eating enough protein is very, very important, especially if you exercise rigorously. However, eating massive plates full of meat with no fruits or vegetables is definitely not ideal. You need fruits and vegetables to get the essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants you need to stay healthy.
The health benefits of fruits and vegetables are nearly endless, including lower blood pressure, lower risk of diabetes, decreased inflammation, reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer, improved bone health, improved gut biome health, and so much more. Plus, fruits and vegetables are delicious. Personally, I could eat brussel sprouts every day of the week, especially if you coat them in chili oil and parmesan.
7. There Are More Important Things Than Being Strong
While a lot of popular media, the Liver King included, glorifies being strong and muscular, these aren’t the traits we should be striving for. Instead, we should be idolizing people who are kind, compassionate, wise, intelligent, innovative, and authentic.
Instead of idolizing a guy on your phone yelling about weightlifting and eating raw meat, look to people within your home or within your community for guidance. Risking your life as a volunteer firefighter, giving up your time to work at a soup kitchen, and treating each and every person that you meet with kindness; these are acts that show true strength and wisdom, not consuming huge portions of raw meat and looking like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.