VIDEO – NICE GENES –
Aug. 27, 2025 – Austin Shepard is sharing the struggles he faced before his time in the villa. “When I was 22, to get clean from opiates, I did this psychedelic stuff called Ibogaine,” the 26-year-old explained on the Aug. 26, describing his 18-hour experience with the substance as “super intense.” “In it, I lived until I was 64 years old as an addict, day in and day out,” he recalled. “Had two kids, a wife, kids got taken away. And then I came out of my trip 18 hours later, and I was like, ‘Holy s–t, I need to get my life figured out.’”
Ibogaine has historically been used in parts of West Africa as part of healing ceremonies, as well as to reduce opioid withdrawal symptoms and temporarily reduce cravings, according to the Partnership to End Addiction.
