Aaron Rodgers' Friend Reveals Why QB Used Ayahuasca With Danica Patrick

Aaron Rodgers' stoner trip down the ayahuasca psychedelic hole all started because he gave into peer pressure.

In a new book by New York Post sports columnist Ian O' Connor, "Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers," the author writes that the New York Jets quarterback's psychedelic journey began when a former high school football teammate told Aaron that he had a vision of him and his potential greatness. 

Of course, this awakening came while teammate Jordan Russell had taken a Peruvian trip to, well, trip on ayahuasca.

AARON RODGERS FORMER TEAMMATE TOLD HIM ABOUT AYAHUASCA

"I saw into who Aaron is, and I saw the reason that his potential was not being met, because his potential is not who he is on the football field. That is what has given him the platform and profile to give his gift, is the way I see it," Russell told O’Connor. 

"I saw him for exactly who he is and it brought me to tears. I stand in awe of him as a man, and in so many ways he’s trapped inside of his own archetype, trapped inside this shell, this ego of a famous football player, when really what he is, is a warrior of a man who has an absolutely gigantic heart and who just wants to love and be loved."

Upon returning to the states, Russell told Rodgers about his vision while the two were playing golf in what I imagine being like what the D.A.R.E teachers warned you about when someone offers you a hit of a joint for the first time. 

But rather than Aaron "Just Saying No", he and then-girlfriend Danica Patrick decided to test out the psychedelic drug for themselves with the star couple flying down to Peru and delving into the psychoactive beverage that brings all sorts of visual experiences.

RODGERS CREDITS HIS MVP SEASON TO THE PSYCHEDELIC DRUG

Just as we were warned about through countless school assemblies, sometimes all it takes is just one hit, and you can become sucked into the drug world, which Rodgers has been ever since that 2020 trip, largely in part because he credits ayahuasca for helping him have one of his best NFL seasons and winning the MVP.

"I really feel like that experience paved the way for me to have the best season of my career. I had a magical experience with the sensation of feeling 100 different hands on my body imparting a blessing of love and forgiveness for myself and gratitude for this life from what seemed to be my ancestors," Rodgers told the Aubrey Marcus Podcast at the time. 

According to O'Connor's conversations with Russell, the two longtime friends have gone on six ‘ceremonies’ together with the drug, including one that was dedicated to "healing the trauma" that Rodgers has had with his personal relationships. 

"There’s a lot of overall happiness that exists when you have a deeper love for yourself. It actually allows you, I feel, to give and receive love better and interact with people with less judgment and less projection," Rodgers explained in an interview with Men's Health last year.

This past season, Rodgers' new team, the New York Jets, have given their star quarterback plenty of leeway for him to go on ayahuasca retreats, random trips to Egypt and miss training camp sessions, all hoping that they themselves don't look like they were on drugs by agreeing to sign the former Packers quarterback to a three-year, $112.5 million contract. 
 

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Mike “Gunz” Gunzelman has been involved in the sports and media industry for over a decade. He’s also a risk taker - the first time he ever had sushi was from a Duane Reade in Penn Station in NYC.