For many young men, masculinity is sold as an obsession with protein, and a personality that answers the question “What if WWE was real, and all the time?” Which brings us to Netflix’s explosive new documentary. Untold: The Liver King (out Tuesday 13 May), real name Brian Johnson, is a fitness influencer who promotes “ancestral living” as the solution to enervating modernity. This includes a great deal of hollering and extreme workouts, saying the word “alpha” a lot, plus eating a carnivorous diet of raw animal organs, including an unfeasible amount of genitals.
Liver King angry that people addicted to phones. Works with marketing agency to pump out stunt videos specifically designed for them. Opening shot shows Liver King pulling truck on chain. Famous caveman activity. Meanwhile, other men push truck from behind. Liver King knows not everyone can go full primal, so sells range of nutritional supplements that help bring in an annual income north of $100m. You’d think he would exclusively trade in shiny rocks, and in a sense he does.
