The “Liver King,” who has almost 3 million followers on Instagram, is known for his fitness content and extolling a “barbarian” lifestyle. Credit: Instagram / @liverking

A fitness influencer who calls himself the “Liver King” has been arrested for challenging podcaster, comedian and fellow meathead Joe Rogan to a fight.

The influencer, whose real name is Brian Johnson, was arrested by Austin police at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday for making “terroristic threats” and booked into Travis County Jail, inmate search results show.

Authorities told TMZ the arrest occurred without incident at a Four Seasons Hotel in Austin. The arrest was captured on video for the Liver King’s Instagram account, which has almost 3 million followers, compared to Rogan’s 19.2 million.

The 47-year-old influencer is being held on a $20,000 bond for a Class B misdemeanor.

Johnson, a Texas resident, allegedly threatened the former Fear Factor host in a series of unhinged, nonsensical videos. The clips show the Liver King rambling with dilated pupils and scratch marks on his face.

“Man to man, I’m picking a fight with you,” Johnson said in a clip posted Monday. “I have no training in jiu-jitsu, you’re a black belt, you should dismantle me. But I’m picking a fight with you. Your rules … I’ll come to you, whenever you’re ready.”

Rogan, who hosts The Joe Rogan Experience from the Texas capital and resides by Lake Austin, told TMZ he’s “never had any interaction with Johnson and considered the posts to be threatening.” Known for eating raw liver and calling his fans “primals,” Johnson extolls a barbarian aesthetic and lifestyle, often going shirtless and shoeless — even to formal occasions such as weddings. However, leaked emails from 2022 suggested Johnson, who made a fortune peddling supplements much like Rogan, at least partially owed his physique to human growth hormones and steroids, according to a Time magazine report.

Color us surprised.

Though this story is just unfolding, a fight sadly doesn’t look to be on the table for the two titans of testosterone — at least for now. Stay tuned, primals.

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This article appears in Jun 12-25, 2025.

Stephanie Koithan is the Digital Content Editor of the San Antonio Current. In her role, she writes about politics, music, art, culture and food. Send her a tip at skoithan@sacurrent.com.