Mike Tyson revealed his experience in the afterlife after taking a powerful psychedelic substance.
He is one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time and was known as The Baddest Man on the Planet due to his intimidating fighting style and high knockout percentage.
“I ‘died’ during my first trip,” the 55-year-old former heavyweight world champion boxer told The New York Post at Wonderland, a psychedelic medicine business conference.
The publication says the conference was about “psychedelics, microdosing, and medicine.”
Tyson described ‘dying’ after being poisoned by the toxins of the toad.
“In my trips I’ve seen that death is beautiful. Life and death both have to be beautiful, but death has a bad rep. The toad has taught me that I’m not going to be here forever. There’s an expiration date.”
Mike Tyson is referring to the Colorado River toad, also known as the Sonoran Desert toad.
They inhabit northern Mexico and release toxins from the glands within its skin, known for giving a powerful psychedelic experience.
The substance, which the toad produces, is known as 5-MeO-DMT or toad venom, or DMT.
Tyson experienced ego death
Ego death or ego-loss is a term that refers to losing a sense of self from psychedelic use, according to BuzzFeed.
In addition to the toad venom, LSD and ayahuasca are used for a similar psychoactive encounter.
Numerous celebrities, such as Joe Rogan, Paul McCartney, Seth Rogan, Miley Cyrus, and Chelsea Handler, have touted psychedelics’ health benefits.
The boxer, who was 100 pounds overweight due to alcoholism and cocaine, told the NY Post that his ego death helped him deal with his psychological issues.
“I did it as a dare,” Tyson said about using toad venom, adding:
“I was doing heavy drugs like cocaine, so why not? It’s another dimension. Before I did the toad, I was a wreck. The toughest opponent I ever faced was myself. I had low self-esteem. People with big egos often have low self-esteem. We use our ego to subsidize that. The toad strips the ego.”
Mike Tyson says psychedelics changed his life
After experiencing the toad venom, Tyson said he lost the excess weight in three months and has become an advocate for psychedelics, illegal in the United States.
Tyson returned to boxing in a blockbuster exhibition fight against former world champion Roy Jones Jr. At 55 years of age, he continues to display impressive power and hand-eye coordination as he is set to return to the ring next year.
The boxer, who filed for bankruptcy in 2003 after earning about $300 million in his career, says he has become a better businessman since the psychedelic experience and a more dedicated family man.