‘Venom Man’ Claims He Can Become Immune to Deadly Snake Venom

Self-inflicted snake bites in the name of science?

Tim Friede, from Wisconsin, USA, known as the “venom man,” claims he can become immune to snake venom by letting some of the world’s deadliest venomous snakes bite him — constantly. He can shockingly take back-to-back bites from deadly snakes, all for the sake of becoming immune to their venom. Tim has self-inflicted snake bites and has injected himself with snake venom for the last 16 years. The more exposure Friede’s body gets to the snake venom, the more antibodies Friede’s body generates against the venom. This is ultimately his goal: to create a human vaccine for snake bites.

SEE ALSO: Snake Venom Could Lead to Safer Surgeries

Despite the controversial nature of Friede’s experimentation with snake venom, he has some support from the scientific community. He recently paired up with Dr Brian Hanley, PhD Microbiologist from the University of California, to test how his body reacts to all of the snake venom. The test suggested that Friede has twice the number of antibodies against snake venom than the average person.

The results of the test inspired Friede to start his own company named Butterfly Sciences. He hopes to find investors who will one day help him create a human vaccine against snake venom.