LIVER KING’S BARBARIAN: A MODERN-DAY RITE OF PASSAGE… INITIATION INTO MANHOOD.

Liver King doing the Barbarian Workout with his dogs

When I shake the manicured hand of a modern man and feel how smooth, soft and limp it is... it reveals a core character attribute.

Suffice it to say, if the zombie apocalypse comes, I can’t have this “man” in my tribe.

WHY MODERN-DAY MEN ARE PUSSIES

Modern-day men are submissive, subprimal, and weak.... suffering from low manhood, low virility, and low testosterone. Liver King would know, I was one of them. Then, I did what any self-respecting lion or evolutionary hunter would do… I become a barbarian.

Liver King doing the Barbarian Workout

Even a lion knows… what is right — wins, and what is wrong — dies. His biological imperative is as fundamental as nature, because IT IS his nature. Before higher, or lower, values (good/bad) can be entertained, a man must be a formidable force to claw, bleed, fight, provide and protect.

Without a fight, figurative and literal, he will never carry a load... he won't have self-respect and his peers won't respect him either... he will never rise to be the evolutionary hunter (fighter, provider, protector) he was born to be. Without a fight, he will remain agreeable.

Agreeable men get less money, less girls, and less respect. Money is a proxy for the value that we create in the world, so by default, agreeable men... create less value... express lower status, and are relegated to a subprimal life (did I mention less girls). If you don't build the weaponry to be a formidable force to fight, provide and protect for yourself, why would your peers want you in their tribe... if you show them that you lack self-respect... if you don't see value in yourself, they don't see value in you either. As a consequence, you invite attack upon yourself and the tribe which leads to a life of rejection.

I would know because this was my own life and I fucking hated it… then something happened, it all changed when I got to fucking work... I took extreme ownership, leadership, agency over my life. I learned that what I do is geometrically more important than what I say… I call it “massive fucking action”... “lighting it the fuck up,” to form a formidable force that always strives for MOOOOAR! I got strong, I started pushing back… I fought back and I went on the attack... I uncaged my barbarian (see Liver King Net Worth)

The confused and meek mistakenly label unrelenting assertiveness as “toxic”. Keep reading for more of Liver King’s thoughts on toxic masculinity

MODERN-DAY RITES OF PASSAGE OR LACK THEREOF

Liver King sitting on his weights after doing the Barbarian Workout

Since our inception, the noble cast of our ancestors was the barbarian class. Welcome to the 21st century, where the way of the barbarian still reigns supreme.

In modern-day Kenya territory, the Massai send their young on a lion hunt at 12 years old with only a spear. The Machigengua send theirs’ into Jaguar Jungle for a 3-month test… IF he returns, he’s a new kind of beast with new claims to status, and he’s earned his rightful place in the tribe as a man… it’s called respect.

He did what was required of him to strive… to struggle at depth… to overcome and persevere against the wild forces that forged him into the formidable force that he now is. It was the hardest thing he’s ever done and it sets him up for a life, and one day a wife, to behold — he is harder to kill and worth more to the tribe.

In the modern world, we throw a sweet 16 party, or the notorious grueling bar mitzvah… maybe throw in a car (that he didn’t earn), have some cake, do a dance and affirm him with more hollow worth and fake trophies… it’s called contempt.

Coddling him to the point of supposed adulthood without consideration for the necessity of proving his worth, FORGING his mettle, is a total disregard for what the world will require of him.

He did precisely nothing to test the depth of his character… He never even left the comfort of home… it bears repeating, comfort is not good for the organism and it sets him up for a life of fragility, and he remains easy to hurt, easy to crush, easy to kill.

But as fathers, we love him all the same, don’t we? We protect him, coddle him, attempt to guide him (with higher values), and then one day, as we release him into the wild, fragility and all - we throw him to the wolves… it’s called the real world.

Son, welcome to manhood… a world where the wolves will eat you alive as the helpless wanderer you are.

A proper rite of passage like the Barbarian is the hardest thing most will ever do. It will test him… it will scare the-fucking-shit outta him… It will absolutely crush him… and it will transform him, into the formidable force that he was born to be because he earned self-respect, the respect of his peers, his tribe (his family), status and new rights to achieve.

This rite of passage is an initiation into manhood. He now knows that he is capable of something he never thought possible… he has no limits… he now knows that HE is the wolf… his savage beast, the barbarian double-fisting battle axes running up a mountain to no end. He has earned the code that unlocks the thing… he has now armed himself with the weaponry to a centerpiece six-pack, a fulfilling relationship, and any business endeavor.

Son, welcome to manhood… welcome to the wolfpack.

HOW TO RECLAIM YOUR MASCULINE LEGACY — THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO MANHOOD

Liver King's Barbarian Brotherhood Emblem

Now that we know why... social forces, lack of purpose, and the missing rite of passage, here's how you can do something about it today... to overcome, persevere and take back your masculine legacy.

Summary

  • The masculine ascent
  • The Barbarian... a modern day rite of passage
  • The separation
  • The test
  • The return
  • The initiation into manhood
  • The Way of the Barbarian

I've created a system... 126 Ways to Increase Testosterone, AKA, 126 Ways to restore our masculine gender... to be fucking man... to reclaim our masculine legacy... to always stack the deck, dominate and win at life. Below, you will find one of these ways. It's the biggest goddamn lever that will crush him, destroy him and transform him from man-boy into manhood... it's called The Barbarian — a modern-day rite of passage for men.

The masculine ascent is primarily categorized by three demarcation points:

  1. The Wanderer aka "Man boy":

    He is born helpless, aimless and wandering about life…. He’s the self-proclaimed victim with no direction, no fight, no unite. He's agreeable, stands in line, and follows the rules like a good little boy. He spends his time wandering… toys, video games, porn, social media and blaming others. This often continues through college, and for most Western "men," they remain here from cradle to grave. He has a reputation for being a coward, lazy, dependent, and worth-less to the tribe. Traditionally masculine... no.
  2. The Warrior aka “The Barbarian”:

    He has something to fight for… he will stand firm, push back, attack and destroy if duty calls. He fights, provides and protects for himself, and his respective tribe. He is a barbarian. He expresses the unapologetic celebration of dominant standards... in the wild, and in warmth. He spends his time taking massive fucking action to create, build, and fight for himself, his wife, and his life that’s full of responsibility… a life that he loves. He has a reputation for strength, courage, mastery, honor and loyalty. Traditionally masculine... yes.
  3. The Barbarian-King:

    He possesses all the attributes of the Barbarian but now he unites the warrior class, and other kings (alliances), to fight for an altruistic cause far bigger than oneself. He spends his time modeling, teaching and preaching… leading his people with such vision, worth and potential that one day, they come to see it in themselves. He has a reputation for MOOOAR… to scale and lead with benevolence, and pulling everything in his gravitational pull forward.

WHY LIVER KING INVENTED BARBARIAN…

Liver King's Instagram profile picture
👑 I’ll say it louder for everyone in the back...

“TO ALL YOU DAD’S THAT DON’T LIFT, HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO YOUR WIVES”

Bc real fathers work hard as f*cking hell to provide... family is our WHY in the world.

This weekend we celebrate our forefathers and fathers, fulfilling their respective WHYs... their biological imperative: FIGHTER, PROVIDER, PROTECTOR, FAMILY.

(In loving memory of my own Dad, who passed when I was just 2, I honor you)
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How do we move him along the continuum from the wandering man-boy to the Barbarian that he was born to be... so that they know the depth of challenge, worth and potential so clearly that one day, they come to believe in themselves... so they too take extreme ownership, leadership, and responsibility over the lives they shape and create.

I can’t think of any better way to train, test and transform my boys into men, than to bleed them through the living hell I call "barbarian"... their respective rite of passage.
Make it hard as fucking hell, I like to say! Because I'd rather my boys hate me in the moment, than grow up to hate themselves.

THE BARBARIAN... THE RITE OF PASSAGE AND INITIATION INTO MANHOOD — THE THREE ELEMENTS

Liver King doing the Barbarian Workout in Houston
Welcome to Barbarian… a modern-day rite of passage and initiation that forges man-boy into barbarian... barbarian into King... cave into fucking Kingdom... a place where the social forces and depression fall away, purpose, and hard-fucking-work becomes crystal-fucking-clear. Not just another workout... it's a methodology to scale and lead at life.
It must be the hardest thing he’s ever done in his life… if Barbarian isn't, I can assure you that Super Barbarian will do the job… more below.
Liver King's Barbarian - The Separation logo

RITE OF PASSAGE... PART 1: THE SEPARATION

Must include a symbolic act of separation from self. Liver King tribe takes a machete to the head (c’mon, it’s just hair) as the fire ceremony ensues. Before him, his gentle and fragile self set adrift into the heavenly winds.

Must include the act of separation from tribe... he is sent off alone, into the wild unassisted, thrown to the fucking wolves… this is an individual endeavor, or else it doesn’t count.

Liver King doing the Barbarian Workout in the UKLiver King doing the Barbarian Workout in another country
Liver King's Barbarian - The Ultimate Test logo

RITE OF PASSAGE... PART 2: THE ULTIMATE TEST

Must call upon the alpha-masculine tactical virtues across history: strength, courage, mastery, honor and loyalty… this is THE ULTIMATE test of his force of will (the body, heart, mind and spirit) with such depth, he becomes something else on the other side.

Must call upon his strength: his ability to generate force, dominate an opponent (self, nature, or another man) in contrast to being dominated, and to stand fast, firm and immovable when pushed.

Must call upon his courage: his ability to outwardly express indifference to risk, pain, and physical danger. Without the element of danger, it doesn’t count. He must have a serious possibility of not being able to complete the journey. It is measured in steps… sometimes a single step. It will put him on his back and bring him to his fucking knees. It will be hard as fuck but he already knows hard AF because he has trained and tested for this day. The active suffering, active struggling, discipline, focus, and unrelenting effort to achieve… It will be hell, and it will be earned. He must not be rescued by an outside force… it is he alone who must destroy himself (symbolic of death) out there, and it is he who must rescue and rebuild himself… piecing himself back together with his bare fucking hands.

Must call upon his mastery: his ability to express skills and adeptness to further his interest, save his own life, and to further the interest of his tribe. Always be ready… to carry your own fucking weight. Always be ready… to carry someone else's weight… train for the unknowable… Have contingencies… what does he do when his grip rips, dripping with sweat and blood… when he’s dehydrated… when something breaks… when his soul breaks... when the heart wants to quit… when the mind has nothing left… when he has emptied himself into the journey… But he has fucking trained for this… it’s called mastery… once he uncages his barbarian, it is forever!

Must call upon his ancestral honor: his ability to scale and lead his reputation for strength, courage, and mastery — in the eyes of other men.

NOTE: Men of ancestral honor actually give a shit about being a barbarian… there’s an acute understanding that his barbarian brothers’ proficiencies in these alpha virtues elevate the strength and reputation of the tribe, deters and mitigates attack from the outside, and ensures the bloodline. The dishonorable man, the one that says this is toxic (maybe even child abuse when young Primals like my own boys do it), expresses indifference, even contempt for these alpha ways and virtues. He weakens the tribe and invites attack. To be clear, ancestral honor is not the same as integrity.

He must experience novelty, new territory across his being… unfamiliar territory to learn, solve and navigate so he can scale and lead more of the same. Running a mile as fast as he can ain’t cutting it… not even close. Once again, the path to paradise is paved in fucking hell… so make it fucking hell.

Liver King doing the Barbarian Workout in New YorkLiver King doing the Barbarian Workout at the beach
Liver King's Barbarian - The Ultimate Test logo

RITE OF PASSAGE... PART 3: THE RETURN

IF he returns unassisted, he is a savage beast… a self-made barbarian, and he is welcomed into the brotherhood of barbarians with a new name and new claim in status with new rights.

The ritual/celebration that follows is a primal feast and he is awarded the barbarian crown… a token that represents his initiation and journey ahead to self-made king… to wield the battle axe and continue running up the mountain to no end. He has earned himself respect… self-respect, the respect of his brotherhood (the ones that have done the same), and the respect of the tribe.

His return earns him a new name: he is Stryker “The Barbarian”

His return earns him new status and a symbol: The Barbarian Crown and he carries himself as such.

His return earns him new rights: he will fight, provide and protect, and enjoy new freedoms… earned!

His return earns him new life: he is now wielding the weaponry to create and shape all outcomes in his life, and one day, he will become a self-made king, a Barbarian-King.

Must call upon his loyalty: his devotion and reverence to the rite of passage and tribe. Ancestral (tribal) loyalty is thought of as an adaptive mechanism, a bond above to further the interests of the tribe.

LIVER KING'S BARBARIAN... THE WORKOUT… THE RITE OF PASSAGE… THE INITIATION INTO MANHOOD

Liver King's Weights for the Barbarian Workout

The sacred rite of passage AKA the Liver King Barbarian March, is every man's birthright. It’s my unequivocal favorite workout and the greatest gift that I can give to another brother that strives.

I train Barbarian just about every Saturday (I've clocked 117 of them as of this writing 7/23/23), it's my renewal, and it’s the hardest thing I do all week so that everything else can be performed with relative ease. Train the barbarian, test your barbarian, uncage your mother-fucking-barbarian.

  • 70 lbs kettlebells in each hand
  • 70 lbs pack
  • 120 lbs on top of a sled (w/ shoulder straps)
  • 20 lbs ankle weights
  • 1 mile

Every step is unsteady, off balance as if trekking through shin-deep mud and carrying a fallen comrade back from battle. Shoulders and upper back remain lit up; never get a rest. Grip, grit and absolute resolve are measured in steps.

It's a time that reminds me that there’s really nothing harder in life. It reminds me that our barbaric ancestors performed this kind of back-breaking work on the regular. It reminds me that this is my barbaric lineage… we are descendants of the sole surviving species of genus Homo - the baddest, most barbaric mammalian predators that ever lived.

When he is a barbarian he carries a progressively heavier load (literally and figuratively)... he carries his own weight… he carries someone else's weight, and even his words carry weight… it’s called gravitas and it commands respect, success, and status beyond measure because the way of the barbarian is how he walks, talks, trains, looks, eats, moves, manners, thinks, breathes, enjoys and destroys anything in his way.

He has earned the code that unlocks the thing… he has armed himself with the weaponry to dominate, to a centerpiece six-pack, to a fulfilling relationship, and to any business endeavor.

A barbarian disposition is commanding and monstrous... he has the capacity for catastrophe, to inflict monstrosity where he stands as his blades grow sharper by the day and ready to strike but remain sheathed until it's time to stand firm, push back, attack and destroy when duty calls. He is a more complete beast precisely because he is a savage Barbarian (people, especially bullies, don't want to fuck with a superpower) tempered by his moral animal... before he takes his blade, he takes aim as a provider, protector, and doer of good. This kind of feared and formidable force is made possible by the noble balance of his blades... as a doer of right and good in the world. See the dedicated page on The Way of the Barbarian... the history, the brotherhood and access to the entire system.

THE WAY OF THE BARBARIAN OVERVIEW AND HIS 4 SWORDS

  • He sharpens his physical sword: he always lifts a load... then make it progressively heavier and harder (literally and figuratively)
  • He sharpens his social/emotional sword: he talks to strangers... talks to the girl... he's the first to reach for her hand... then he scales and leads a family, tribe and team
  • He sharpens his mental/intellectual sword: he gets from point A to B without technology. He reads books... he teaches... he writes books
  • He sharpens his spiritual sword: he goes deep... he contemplates his inner kingdom... he always go deeper into the journey of why we're on this grand adventure

THE BARBARIAN BROTHERHOOD...

He is the bond above… he is the Barbarian Brotherhood and he renews, scales and leads his rites of passage through life with MOOOAR hell to pay:

  1. Barbarian — a modern-day rite of passage for men
  2. Super Barbarian — the next rite of passage... there's always another hell beneath this one
  3. Hell on Earth — the next rite of passage... from dusk to dawn there will be blood
  4. Apocalypto — the final rite of passage... point of no return
Liver King laying on the ground after doing the Barbarian Workout

Join the Barbarian brotherhood

Free and paid versions w/ one-on-one guided support...
How to scale for all abilities... rite of passage rituals, symbols and the entire
THE WAY OF THE BARBARIAN system.
SIGN UP

THE WAY OF THE BARBARIAN (126 WAYS)

Liver King leaning on his weights after doing the Barbarian Workout

When he is a barbarian he carries a load (literally and figuratively)... he carries his own weight… he carries someone else's weight, and even his words carry weight… it’s called gravitas and it commands respect, success, and status beyond measure because the way of the barbarian is how he walks, talks, trains, looks, eats, moves, manners, thinks, breathes, enjoys and destroys anything in his way.

He has earned the code that unlocks the thing… he has armed himself with the weaponry to dominate, to a centerpiece six-pack, to a fulfilling relationship, and to any business endeavor.

A barbarian trains anywhere and everywhere… I do barbarian in the driveway, dirt, heat, sand, snow and streets. The harder, the better! My boys do barbarian. My professional tribes do barbarian (voluntarily, of course). Liver King's wife does barbarian… Even my Dobermans do barbarian. One word… MOOOOAR! Which is why I invented Liver King's Super Barbarian.

A barbarian disposition is commanding. It signals "CHAMPION" to self and the outside world. We all know that the mind changes the body, but there's also evidence that the body changes the mind (neurochemistry), biochemistry and testosterone, in as little as 2 minutes a day. FACTS!

Who do you want to party and win with... a winner with the disposition of a barbarian/warrior or a beta with the disposition of the dead. Ever see a "man" cover his mouth with a limp wrist while eating, cross his arms while standing, or the unequivocal worst, cross his legs as if there's no package on board... this is the same type of man that pulls his knees up to his chest (the fetal position) and sits down to take a piss. Any position other than that of power leaves you vulnerable and invites attack on you and your tribe.

A STRONG disposition increases testosterone and alpha behaviors which leads to wealth, health, the hot wife, and kickass life full of adventure and excitement!

A WEAK disposition decreases testosterone and invites attacks which leads to struggle, suffering, and pain, in perpetuity -- this is no life to live

The way that you carry your body is the first impression that you create... it literally says whether you're strong or weak before you utter your first words... so walk like a barbarian — chin up, chest out, firm steps, slight smile because the quality of your life, fucking depends on it!

A barbarian doesn’t eat… he feeds and feasts. He won’t take a fork and eat – before he takes a spear and aims... it's called "push ups before dinner." The way of the barbarian is redefining luxury with one’s bare fucking hands... so tear into bone-in steaks, a leg of lamb, raw meat or anything primal AF (e.g. Liver King SupplementsLiver King Protein, Liver King Bar)... leave the chicken breast and egg whites for the vegans.

A barbarian expresses commanding mannerisms...  Fart, belch, blow, and hawk like you fucking mean it! There's nothing worse than a subprimal that holds his fart like his life depends on it, but isn't even man enough to do that, so it invariably escapes and then he says some submissive shit like "excuse me" or even worse, he pretends it wasn't him when every-fucking-body knows it was. Own the fuck outta the way you move through time and space (especially when it's "gross")... let it fucking rip like a goddamn King, and say, yep, that was all me!

How you do anything, is how you do everything so follow this system to learn how to rip one like a savage, belch like a bear, blow like a barbarian and hawk a loogie like a goddamn KING. Here's how I do it!

A barbarian thinks commanding thoughts and he develops authentic philosophy, always advancing, always creating, always building, and leads to a playbook of principles that demonstrate "My weapon of choice is my mind."

Liver King doing the Barbarian Workout in LondonLiver King doing the Barbarian Workout on a bridge

Take yourself out of Zombie mode... your current state of predictability, routine and safety... and immerse yourself in novelty, a completely new experience.. you see new things, taste new things, feel new things, think new things... you learn new information, right... so that's cognitive in nature but that isn't all that happens... what happens is that new genes turn on within you and code for the production of new proteins, and that happens neurologically... new parts of you turn on, so the idea is that when you take massive fucking action, move out into the world, create real resistance (physically, socially, emotionally, mentally, spiritually), and push yourself out against a maximum array of challenges like barbarian, more and more of you turn on. Then the question becomes... what the fuck would you be, could you be, if all of you that could be turned on, was turned on — it's called a barbarian!

Forged by the barbarian workout

He forged himself from man-boy into barbarian... barbarian into King... cave into fucking Kingdom. Brian Johnson, the agreeable man, did this... I uncaged my barbarian... I forged barbarian into King... cave into my Liver fucking Kingdom.

Liver King golden belongings
A FEW OF MY FAVORITE "THINGS"... EARNED & PRIMAL AF
BARBARIAN CROWN (EARNED)
LEGACY AP.
FOR STRYKER
(WHEN I DIE)
MASCULINE INDULGENCE
(EARNED)

LIVER KING AND TOXIC MASCULINITY

Liver King leaning on the ground after doing the Barbarian WorkoutClose up of Liver King doing the Barbarian Workout

"Toxic masculinity" is a walking talking paradox and anyone who parrots it is likely like Liver King's predecessor, Brian Johnson - a weak, sick and submissive beta attempting to intellectualize and justify that he is "enough”. Masculinity is neither good nor bad… a man must be WHAT HE IS (his savage beast, his barbarian) before he can be WHO HE IS (his moral animal).

Unconcerned with abstract moral questions of universal right or wrong, the masculine legacy of the lion, wolf, man or machine is never good nor bad… it is amoral (NOT immoral)… it is what he is… it is his biological imperative.

His biological imperative is as fundamental as nature, because IT IS his nature. Before higher, or lower, values (good/bad) can be entertained, a man must be a formidable force to claw, bleed, fight, provide and protect… Of course being a “good man” is born out of good intentions. It absolutely has utility (more on the moral quandary later).

Men And Women are not created equal…

That's why a man is called a man, and a woman is called something different.

We have complementary and opposite strengths...

Men are purpose-built for physical strength to fight, provide and protect for their complementary opposite and their respective tribes.

Women are purpose-built for social and emotional strength to nurture, nourish, care take and compassion-make for their complementary opposite and their respective tribes.

We are intellectual, and spiritual equals but require each other (hence complementary opposites) for holistic strength, to express our highest and most dominant form.

Before higher values that deal with morality (good or bad) can be entertained, we have to set the framework of what we are (amoral animals) before we can be who we are (benevolent beings).

For a man, these are amoral virtues, PRIMAL VIRTUES, tactical virtues… not values per se.
Liver King sitting on his weights after doing the Barbarian Workout

Uncage your barbarian

Free and paid versions w/ one-on-one guided support...
How to scale for all abilities... rite of passage rituals, symbols and the entire
THE WAY OF THE BARBARIAN system.
SIGN UP

Liver King ramblings you might like:

Final notes: Liver King calls it barbarian... it's an upper body push, lower body pull, wearable weight, metabolic conditioning combined with the most badass methodology that scales and leads to the successful hunt.

He feeds and feasts on raw liver, bone marrow, and raw meat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (sometimes twice a day), to support muscle hypertrophy.

What's next... only a super barbarian talks about super barbarian. If metabolic conditioning is on point, barbarian-kings do barbarian thins.

Do things that are difficult. It’s very important to struggle. You don’t get to know yourself without struggle. You don’t know who you are until you get tested.” – Joe Rogan, Living Legend

LIVER KING,

Out!

Liver King Out!