For athletes with traumatic brain injury, when the cheering stops, the damage does not.

On this episode of Ibogaine Uncovered, host Talia Eisenberg is joined by former pro rugby player Chris Simpson-Daniel, bare knuckle champion Mark “The Shark” Irwin, and retired MMA veteran Mike “The Joker” Guymon. They speak about traumatic brain injury, early cognitive decline, depression, and the absence of viable medical treatment. The conversation traces their careers in rugby, MMA, and bare knuckle fighting, the slow accumulation of head trauma, and the neurological symptoms that followed. They discuss systemic failures within sport, the psychological toll of identity loss, and the lack of long-term care. The episode then turns to their shared experience undergoing ibogaine treatment at Beond, exploring neurological symptoms, emotional processing, physical recovery, and the emerging evidence that ibogaine may offer meaningful intervention for TBI when conventional medicine does not.

Chris Simpson-Daniel is a former professional rugby player in the UK, involved in the class action lawsuit addressing long-term brain injury in rugby and founder of Tempest Group Villages, a supportive living initiative for athletes. Mark Irwin, known as Mark The Shark, is a bare knuckle champion and co-founder of Athletes Journey Home, supporting fighters with TBI through psychedelic therapy and research. Mike Guymon, known as The Joker, is a retired professional MMA fighter who has spoken publicly about the neurological and psychological toll of repeated head trauma.

Timestamps

• (03:00) Why they entered their sports and the meaning of brotherhood
• (11:00) Rugby head trauma and the UK class action lawsuit
• (14:30) Early TBI warning signs and pressure to keep competing
• (18:00) Mike’s accumulated TBIs, tremors, balance issues, and daily impairment
• (24:45) Medical dead ends, CTE, and being written off by doctors
• (30:00) Why ibogaine, the Stanford TBI study, and this cohort’s purpose
• (35:00) Deciding to try Beond, skepticism, fear, and hope
• (37:00) Inside the ibogaine sessions and individual experiences
• (45:00) Early outcomes, tremors stopping, mood shifts, and mobility returning
• (50:00) Beond’s medical model, coaching, and community support

Links

• Mark Choinski (@mark___the___shark)
• Michael Guymon (@jokerguymon)
• The Tempus Group (@tempus.villages)
• Athletes Journey Home – Psychedelics for Traumatic Brain Injury
• Athletes Journey Home (@athletesjourneyhome)
  

What happens when a world class chemist studies a molecule for twenty years and then finally takes it himself? In this episode of Ibogaine Uncovered, host Talia Eisenberg speaks with Dr. Dalibor Sames about the science of ibogaine, its unique pharmacology, and what it reveals about the future of mental health treatment.

Dr. Sames explains why ibogaine does not fit into traditional pharmacology models and introduces his matrix pharmacology theory, describing how the molecule interacts with many systems at once rather than a single receptor. The conversation covers synaptic repair, neurotrophic factors like GDNF, antidepressant effects, and why ibogaine shows efficacy across addiction, depression, PTSD, and TBI. In the second half, Dr. Sames describes his time at Beond as both participant and observer, including vivid visual phenomena, an unexpected moment where he felt he could “see” molecular structures, and the takeaway he emphasizes after watching clients transform in real time: this is powerful technology and scaling it demands responsibility.

Dr. Dalibor Sames is Professor of Chemistry at Columbia University, where his group combines molecular design, organic synthesis, and pharmacology to develop CNS therapeutics that induce restorative neuroplasticity, as well as tools for imaging synaptic function. He is also a cofounder of Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals and Kures, Inc., translating discoveries from his lab into clinical development.

Timestamps

• (00:05:00) GDNF and neurorestoration: why synapses became the entry point

• (00:08:00) Skepticism vs the clinical reports: breakthrough medicine or snake oil

• (00:10:00) The “empty screen” problem: why standard receptor panels did not explain it

• (00:12:00) Matrix pharmacology: the Manhattan traffic grid analogy for how it works

• (00:15:00) Why analogs: cardiac risk, access, and the ethics of redesigning nature

• (00:20:00) Serotonin transporter and pharmaco chaperoning: unusual protein folding effects

• (00:22:00) “Meets you where you are”: individuality of experience and doing science on subjectivity

• (00:25:00) Why take it now: what changes when the scientist becomes the participant

• (00:33:00) Pre Beond phenomena: the African face vision and possible explanations

• (00:40:00) The Beond journey: projections, maintaining baseline awareness, and asking for molecules

• (00:47:00) Beond as living lab: observing client transformations and the responsibility to scale safely

• (00:54:00) Closing thesis: duty, antibiotics analogy, and what comes next

What happens when one of the world’s leading voices on detoxification and the gut brain connection experiences Ibogaine? On this episode, Talia Eisenberg sits down with Dr. Alejandro Junger to explore the scientific mechanisms behind Ibogaine and its potential to reset the entire nervous system.

Dr. Junger explains how Ibogaine interacts with neurotransmitters, neuroplasticity, and the enteric nervous system. He describes why the gut contains more neurons than the brain in the skull, how noribogaine may influence inflammation and mood, and why repairing the intestinal wall is central to long term mental health. The conversation focuses on the biology of depression, the critical role of the microbiome, and the risks and safety protocols around Ibogaine. Dr. Junger also shares how Ibogaine shifted his own depressive physiology.

Dr. Alejandro Junger is a triple board certified physician in internal medicine, cardiology, and functional medicine. He is the bestselling author of Clean, Clean Gut, Clean Eats, and Clean Seven.

Links

• Dr. Alejandro Junger's 21-Day Cleanse Program
• Alejandro Junger: books, biography, latest update
• Alejandro Junger MD (@dralejandrojunger)

Timestamps

• (00:00); Intro, Alejandro’s background and visit to Beond
• (10:00); Divorce, survival mode, anger and the slide into depression
• (16:00); Early Ibogaine work in Mexico and his first non visionary Ibogaine session
• (21:00); Avoiding antidepressants, choosing Ibogaine, and the intention to forgive
• (25:00); Open heart surgery, cardiac risk, and ibogaine vs noribogaine explanation
• (30:00); Supplemental dose, sudden emotional shift, and relief of depressive heaviness
• (35:00); Three brains model – head, gut, heart and the gut as an intuitive brain
• (41:00); Leaky gut, microbiome, chronic inflammation and modern chronic disease
• (48:00); Ibogaine for personal growth vs crisis and witnessing veteran transformations at Beond
• (58:00); Combining Clean gut repair protocols with Ibogaine before, during, and after treatment
• (01:10:00); Future of centers, human connection, and where to find Dr. Junger’s work