“Are Your Powers Strong Enough To Fight Spider-Man Yet?”

January 30, 2013 in Excerpts, Science/Tech, Urban Studies | Permalink

Are you a British man who’s been injecting himself with deadly snake venom for 20 years because you believe it has healthy, youth-preserving properties? No? Well, just such a person, Steve Ludwin, did an Ask Me Anything on Reddit. And apart from the rotting leg and heart attack, he does look fairly good. He describes his exploits thusly:

“Despite a stint in intensive care after an overdose from three separate venoms, a suspected heart attack brought on by cobra venom and a temporarily rotting leg, nothing thus far has put me off my passion for studying this highly evolved reptilian saliva.” You know, A-Rod is gonna start doing this shit. A few exchanges follow.

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Question:

Why?

Answer:

I started because I listened to a voice of inspiration that blasted into my head one cold night in Connecticut where I am from(20 mins from Newtown) I knew that night which venoms I was going to use and everything. I had a strong feeling that something good would come of it. Felt like Richard Dreyfuss in Close Encounters or something.

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Question:

Have you ever tasted it? if so, what did it taste like?

Answer:

Hemotoxic venoms taste ok and sweetish but the neurotoxins taste vile and bitter. Go figure.

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Question:

What is your injection schedule like? You seem to have a pretty strong tremor in your video. Do you always have this, or just after injecting venom? If its constant, did it only start after you injected venom for the first time?

Answer:

I inject every couple weeks. Although sometimes there are periods of time where I “push it” and do it more regularly.

The shaking in the video I’ve had a lot of questions about, but in reality it was just that I was nervous. It was early in the morning, we had to have paramedics present and an ambulance team outside, in case anything went wrong, and I had two camera guys in the room with me… Oh and a big light so the room was lit up. None of which I’m used to when I’m doing this on my own!

Oh and a late night of partying the night before with my gf, Mary Jane, didn’t help. I shake when I am extremely nervous and I am also camera shy like Fred Flintstone. I never shake when I am alone and milking snakes. Everyone who thinks I have done neuro damage is wrong. I also was partying the night before.

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Question:

You had a ROTTING LEG and continued to do this?? Wtf. Did it stink?? 

Answer:

I had three of the most horrible decomposing stinkholes on my leg. It stank like death. Flies were coming to it.

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Question:

I read in an article that you don’t sterilize the venom before injecting it. Why don’t you sterilize it? And, do you have trouble walking with those enormous balls of yours?

Answer:

Yeah, I used to just use fresh raw venom until some herpetologist Dr. pointed the stupidity of that! I am now much more careful but still never had any real problems the old way. And my balls are not enormous by any means. Matter of fact I think all the venom has seriously shrunken them like raisins.

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Question:

Are your powers strong enough to fight Spider-Man yet?

Answer:

No, but hopefully Bear Grylls.•

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