How “Liver King” Turned Raw Liver & Testicles Into a $100,000,000 per Year Business Empire
From chopped liver, to raw liver, to liver royalty.
Liver King is one of the internet’s most unique entrepreneurs.
A leathery-skinned modern-day barbarian brandishing a granite six-pack and referring to himself (in the 3rd person) as “Liver King.”
But even more unique than his look, are his philosophies on health, fitness, and nutrition.
He eats raw liver, testicles, and waxes poetic about 9 primitive habits known as the “Ancestral Tenets”.
The key to unlocking your truest, most primal self.
After exploding onto the health and fitness scene with shocking videos of organ meat and feats of strength, Liver King was initially looked at as a gimmick.
But, after the public caught wind of his multi-million dollar business empire before ever using social media, the entrepreneurial world took notice. And began looking for answers.
Here’s how Liver King went from chopped liver to raw liver, to building a diverse business portfolio that rakes in $100 million per year.
All with the help of his business and life partner… Liver Queen.
Who is Liver King?
The spear-wielding primal you see in the image above is really just a simple pharmacist turned entrepreneur from San Antonio, Texas.
Before blowing the doors off of Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube through irresistibly odd and entertaining videos, Brian was the founder of the nutritional supplement company, “Ancestral Supplements.”
And before that, he was an awkward pre-teen who was bullied incessantly for his small stature.
Here’s a brief history of Brian Johnson — before he went primal.
Brian’s father passed away when he was a baby. As a result, he had no stable father figure in his life to guide his path.
Growing up, Brian, his mother, and older brother moved around a lot. Brian sought out companionship from other kids his age, but was shy, and found it hard to make friends.
He was also undersized, making him an easy target for bullying. He shared on “The Diary Of A CEO” podcast:
“I was tiny… I knew I looked different and I got the sh*t kicked out of me every single day… I was terrified.”
As a pre-teen, Brian’s stepfather gifted him a bench press. He began working out and quickly found it gave him the sense of control he was desperately missing.
Hard work and persistence became Brian’s superpowers.
By age 16, he developed an impressive physique and the kids at school began to accept him. In fact, they envied him. He recounts the day one of the kids at school said he looked like “Marky Mark”. Saying,
“It probably changed my life.”
With a newfound sense of self-worth, Brian navigated high school, eventually graduating from Texas Tech University with a degree in biochemistry.
It was this early childhood adversity and a thesis on supplemental nutrition that would pave the way for Brian’s future $100 million per year supplement empire.
Or should I say, Liver King’s.
Apparently, Liver King isn’t a character.
When asked about his “real” identity, Liver King always responds the same way:
“Liver King ate Brian Johnson.”
Most people look at Liver King’s lifestyle and think it’s a marketing gimmick. And to be fair, everything Liver King does, screams gimmick.
But, according to Liver King, he’s not playing a character. He’s acting now as his most authentic self, after taking extreme ownership of his life.
Liver King is the representation of Brian’s truest, most primal self.
And he believes anyone with the willingness to take massive action can too unlock their inner primal — through 9 Ancestral Tenets:
1. Sleep
2. Eat
3. Move
4. Shield
5. Connect
6. Cold
7. Sun
8. Fight
9. Bond
I feel as though love should be on this list as well, as it’s played perhaps the biggest role in Liver King’s story. More on that later.
I must admit, it’s hard not to agree with these core philosophies at face value. But, it’s Liver King’s hyperbolic personality that loses me. And causes most people to see him as a gimmick.
Apparently, he’s been living as a primal for years, but resisted sharing his lifestyle on social media. That is, until his youngest son, Rad, was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder called “PANDAS”.
After seeing his son suffer and ultimately be cured by a simple change in diet, he felt moved to share his knowledge with the world. He found his fight — to help others in similar situations.
So, in mid-2020, Liver King hired a social media team to help him deliver his message to the world. After a rocky start, they eventually pinpointed how to make his content go viral.
The answer: more meat and more strength.
Thus, Liver King’s crazy kettlebell-swinging, sled-pulling, meat-feasting lifestyle was catapulted onto the home screens of millions across the world.
In his first year on social media, Liver King amassed 6 million new followers. And is rapidly becoming a mainstay of popular culture.
Liver King was once chopped liver.
Until he met “Liver Queen.”
Liver King is now a confident 45-year-old family man with decades of business experience under his belt, and millions in the bank. But, this didn’t happen overnight.
In fact, one of the reasons why Liver King resisted social media for so long was because of a crippling fear of public speaking.
He often talks about not being able to sleep before podcast appearances due to anxiety. And when he was young, talking to women was one of the scariest things in the world.
But, just like his muscular physique, Liver King developed his communication skills through repetition. He treated dating like anything else in his life, learning through hard work and taking massive action.
But everything changed once he laid eyes on Liver Queen.
On “The Iced Coffee Hour” podcast, Liver King recounts the day he met his now wife of 18 years, Barbara Johnson.
At the time, Liver King was working as a pharmaceutical sales rep, making between $100K — $125K per year. Liver Queen was a sought-after dental specialist, with a worldwide client list paying upwards of $80K — $90K for procedures.
The two met on a ski slope, while Liver Queen was briefly separated from her tribe. Looking for another dating repetition, Liver King offered to show her around the mountain. But, like a scene from a movie, the moment he looked into her eyes, he was smitten.
They got engaged just a few months later.
From there, the power couple combined forces, splitting a $500K investment to start their first million-dollar business. A boutique dental practice called “Dentique Dentistry”.
Liver King accredits the success of the business to what he calls vertical integration.
After seeing how convoluted the process was for patients needing dental surgeries (having to go to multiple specialists for tests, x-rays, etc.) they decided to build an all-in-one office, with everything in-house.
“We took a practice that was doing $400K per year… within a year it was doing $1.2 million… within 3 years it was doing $5.2 million.”
I’m always fascinated by how seemingly unrelated skills can compile and become the secret ingredient to future success. For Liver King, although pharmaceutical sales wasn’t his calling, it became one of his greatest attributes when launching the Liver King brand.
On “The Iced Coffee Hour” podcast he shared,
“It’s why I repeat everything 3 times. ‘Liver King, here… Liver King is eating [blank]… Liver King, out’… that’s where I got that [from pharmaceutical sales].”
And, Liver Queen’s expertise in the dental field proved to be the catalyst for their next business venture. What Liver King considers the dynamic duo’s fight — their life’s purpose.
The tip of the iceberg for everything the Liver King brand represents.
Liver King’s $100,000,000 business empire.
Liver King didn’t become a millionaire overnight. In fact, he claims that his social media presence has made very little impact on his net worth.
Prior to becoming known for social media, Liver King founded many companies. These 3 make up the majority of his $100 million per year portfolio:
All of which now fall under the umbrella of Liver King, who accredits much of his business success to what he calls first-principle thinking:
“I take such massive action that all these guys that are 10X smarter than me, they’re still coming up with strategies. All I’m doing is taking massive action and course-correcting along the way.”
This is expressed in everything he does. From his workouts, social media presence, to how he communicates with others.
And most recently, with a company he and Liver Queen have been quietly launching. One that will act as the duo’s masterpiece — the culmination of their life’s work, passions, and unique skillsets.
The Kings’ raison d’être (reason for being).
From the moment I was introduced to Liver King, one thing always stood out — the fact that he doesn’t brush his teeth.
“Our early ancestors didn’t brush, didn’t floss, and didn’t get cavities.”
Instead, he prefers to nourish his teeth from the inside out through diet, lifestyle, and mechanical loading (strengthening your jaw). In this video, he even suggests chewing on sticks found in the woods to develop stronger teeth.
This became even more interesting to me when I learned about Liver Queen’s extensive background in dentistry. And how Liver King claims he has no issues with his teeth, despite regular checkups from Liver Queen.
It’s this concept that has acted as the catalyst for the Kings’ newest business — “Strong Jaw”.
An all-encompassing holistic health company, allowing the Kings to fight their fight — and help as many people as they can, starting with oral health.
All through the 9 Ancestral Tenets.
Final thoughts: what you can learn from Liver King’s journey.
I must admit, the more I’m exposed to Liver King, the more I like him. No, I won’t be eating raw liver or testicles any time soon.
But, I’m a big proponent of following your own path — even if it may seem a little crazy to others. He also emphasizes the importance of accountability, family, connection, and personal growth — all things I believe contribute to a fulfilling life.
Here are 5 main takeaways from Liver King’s entrepreneurial journey:
- Work damn hard
- Take massive action
- Embrace extreme ownership
- Find your purpose (your fight)
- How you do anything is how you do everything
Most importantly, that an overnight success is built over a lifetime. Every misstep you take now is compiling into your masterpiece.
Whatever it may be for you.
Hi, I’m Hudson. I write about living healthier, happier, and more mindfully… and sometimes marketing. To have stories sent directly to you, subscribe to my newsletter. 👇