Iron Mike may have met his match in the Sonoran Desert Toad, and he wants the world to know it's changed his life.
Speaking at Miami conference dedicated to psychedelics, Mike Tyson said he has tripped off the toad venom 53 times in his life. But nothing came close to the experience of his first "trip."
"I 'died' during my first trip," Tyson told The New York Post. "... I did it as a dare 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."
The Sonoran Desert Toad spends seven months a year living underground, but its venom can be smoked to produce a psychedelic trip. According to The New York Post, Tyson has a nursery of Sonoran desert toads at his ranch in southern California.
The former undisputed world heavyweight champion said he discovered the traditional healing ritual four years ago and lost 100 pounds, reconnected with his family and started boxing once again.
"People see the difference [in me]," he said. "It speaks for itself. If you knew me in 1989 you knew a different person. My mind isn’t sophisticated enough to fathom what happened, but life has improved. The toad’s whole purpose is to reach your highest potential. I look at the world differently. We’re all the same. Everything is love."
