Brian Johnson, known as the Liver King, gained fame through extreme eating habits and fitness challenges, amassing millions of followers and launching a successful supplement brand. His claim of being '100% natural' was undermined in late 2022 when leaked emails revealed he was using steroids and HGH. Despite the scandal, Johnson's narrative continues with a new Netflix documentary chronicling his rise and seeking redemption. Director Joe Pearlman describes Johnson as a marketing genius, adept at understanding audience desires and selling his persona to fans.
Yanking organs out of bloodied animal carcasses and tearing them apart with his teeth; gnawing bull testes around the dinner table with his family as if sharing a pot roast: Brian Johnson's online stunts quickly made him a viral sensation. In 2021 Johnson, the self-titled Liver King, amassed 6 million followers and launched a supplements brand with a $100 million annual turnover all thanks to his promises that with just a few pills, raw organ consumption, and intense fitness challenges, anyone could achieve his ultra-ripped physique.
But in a world where health misinformation can make its purveyors into starsâand wealthy ones, at thatâretribution is often brief. Now, the Liver King is the subject of an installment of Untold, Netflix's ongoing sports documentary anthology, streaming beginning May 13: 70 unadulterated minutes of his self-proclaimed underdog story, and path to redemption.
I think he's a marketing genius, I really do, says director Joe Pearlman, whose previous film subjects include Robbie Williams, Lewis Capaldi, and the cast of Harry Potter. The guy just knows what an audience wants and how to sell stuff to an audience in every sense.
Johnson, who at 48 is almost 200 lbs. of Texan sun-beaten muscle and sinew, says in the documentary that he spent his childhood feeling like a runt. Following the death of his father when he was a toddler, he grew up idolizing Rambo and Conan the Barbarian, realizing in his teens that working out would give him an instant community.
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