For five seasons, the Netflix documentary series Untold has been exploring athletes and events that have shaken up the world of physical performance. For this second episode of the fifth season, we are treated to a spotlight on the Liver King, a man who made a name for himself by popularizing a primitive life of muscle and a raw meat diet. A divisive profile that achieved solid popularity before a scandal tarnished his image.
And if the documentary The Other Side of Sport – The Raw Truth About the Liver King, as its title suggests, aims to paint an honest portrait of the man, we cannot deny that it also introduces a certain unease, in particular, because the line between the first and second degree is sometimes too thin.
Who is the Liver King?
If you have never had the "luck" to come across his videos during your explorations of social networks, here is a brief summary of the gentleman.
Brian Johnson is a puny kid who discovered a passion for the gym at a very young age, in order to be more like his brother, whom he sees as a role model in the absence of a father who died in his early childhood. He lives a fairly normal life, surrounded by his wife and his two sons who are in fragile health. Until, on the cusp of his 40th birthday, he read a book promoting ancestral lifestyles. From then on, he embraced this philosophy and built a daily life based on nine principles.
Renamed The Liver King in 2017, he made his fortune on social media and through the sale of food products based on his example: a diet composed almost entirely of raw meat, including liver. An existence and an excessively muscular physique that would encourage quite a few young teenagers. However, in November 2022, it was revealed that Johnson was allegedly consuming large quantities of growth hormones and steroids on a daily basis, undermining his empire.
The Liver King or Donald Trump's Fantasy America
"Our only chance of getting there is to go all out", then the flamethrower is brought out. From the opening of the documentary, The Other Side of Sport - The Raw Truth About the Liver King sets the tone: the man is exaggeration personified. Long, shaggy beard, Civil War hat, veiny muscles running throughout a body that refuses a simple t-shirt, and a home overflowing with firearms, from the headboard to the shape of the lamps. We're in Texas, baby!
"Before, I didn't give a damn about life, now I'm loaded." The project seems to invite us to take everything with a pinch of salt, as the toxic masculinity of the show's star oozes through his pores. Narcissism, rejection of the weak, passion for Conan and Rambo, even going so far as to nickname one of his kids "Stryker the Barbarian"... We're in a cheesy atmosphere as possible with real caricatures, like when his associates openly talk about "monetizing the public's attention" or the financial interest of being "divisive".
Strength, power, money and a devoted family that almost sees in the man a kind of God that must not be questioned... Indeed, there is something primitive about the Liver King, but it's not so much the lifestyle as the image of a virility from another age. Except that. Except that it's 2025 and Donald Trump has taken over the United States with a retrograde will of which Brian Johnson is a kind of showcase.
This is where the documentary is most disturbing. Because there is a form of complacency in this portrait, including during the fall. The coverage of the scandal doesn't even take up half the screen time and those who accuse the Liver King the most are figures described a little earlier as opportunists. On the contrary, the moment of confession is quickly swept under the rug to immediately adopt the image of redemption, that of a man who recognizes his mistakes and uses them to improve himself.
Here again, how can we not see the sordid idea that scandals can make us stronger, as long as we have the love of our loved ones, eat vegetables, and shit in the garden. Oh, and let's not forget the cleansing ritual. This Harsh Truth isn't afraid to show the ridiculous, but who is more ridiculous? The modern man who will judge all this through the prism of his own comfort, or this strong family leader who has principles and good values? We are being ironic, but how many will take this message at face value?
This The Other Side of Sport looks more like a promotional campaign than a real documentary, led from start to finish by the directives of the master of the house. The other participants are limited to children idolizing their fathers and evil capitalists. “I often get asked why I don’t organize a retreat… but we’re going to do 302”, Business is business and at the end, Make Liver King Great Again.
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