A rattlesnake or tree viper's venom will turn a person into a corpse in about 30 minutes. A bite from a cobra can kill a man in half that time. Which is why most people stay as far away from snakes as they can their entire lives. It's also why when we found out that Steve Ludwin, 46, had been sat injecting himself with fatal amounts of the stuff in his London flat for 20 years, it would be worth going to meet him.
Turns out that as long as you don't die or have to have any limbs amputated, mainlining cobra, rattlesnake and viper venom could actually be pretty good for people. The basic principle – laid out by pioneer herpetologist, Bill Haast, who died last year at the age of 100 – is that regular exposure to the venom results in the body developing an immunity. Steve claims to not only never get ill, but that cobra venom is the ultimate pick me up, with effects lasting a days after injecting, making Steve stronger, faster and more resilient.
Although, we still wouldn't recommend jacking this shit up just yet – maybe wait to see if they start prescribing it down the health clinic first.
Wanna meet a few more weirdos?
WATCH – Getting High on Hallucinogenic Frogs
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