If you’re afraid of snakes then look away now. Tim Friede from Wisconsin, USA is certainly not afraid of snakes and has been bitten hundreds of times — often on purpose. Now scientists are studying his blood in the hope of creating a better treatment for snake bites.
Friede has long had a fascination with reptiles and other venomous creatures. He used to milk scorpions’ and spiders’ venom as a hobby and kept dozens of snakes at his Wisconsin home. Hoping to protect himself from snake bites — and out of what he calls “simple curiosity” — he began injecting himself with small doses of snake venom and then slowly increased the amount to try to build up tolerance. Friede explains his method: “I take it out and I basically let it bite my arm. And the reason I do that is for shock value to bring awareness for snakebite.
Nobody wants to see me just inject a lethal dose. That’s boring. So what I did is I intentionally got bit to prove a point and film it, to represent the people that die from snakebites. I wasn’t looking to be a YouTube star or anything like that. It’s all about the science for me, 100%.” It falls under the category of ‘DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME’ and no doctor or emergency medical technician — or anyone, really — would ever suggest this is a good idea, but experts say his unorthodox method tracks how the body works. When the immune system is exposed to the toxins in snake venom, it develops antibodies that can neutralize the poison.
If it’s a small amount of venom the body can react before it’s overwhelmed. And if it’s venom the body has seen before, it can react more quickly and handle larger exposures. Friede has withstood snakebites and injections for nearly two decades and still has a refrigerator full of venom. In videos posted to his YouTube channel, he shows off swollen fang marks on his arms from black mamba, taipan and water cobra bites. But Friede also wants to help. He emailed every scientist he could find, asking them to study his body and the immunity he’d built up. And there is a need: Around 110,000 people die from snakebite every year, according to the World Health Organization. Making antivenom is expensive and difficult. It is often created by injecting large mammals like horses with venom and collecting the antibodies they produce.
These antivenoms typically work for particular snake species alone, and they may occasionally cause adverse effects because of their non-human source material. According to Peter Kwong from Columbia University, “In our research, we’re genuinely enthusiastic about two aspects. Firstly, we potentially have a viable combination therapy that could be refined over the next several years; secondly, it highlights the capabilities of the human immune response.”
In a study published in the journal Cell, Kwong and his team detailed their work using Friede’s exceptional blood sample. They developed an experimental antivenom aimed at potentially treating venomous snakebite victims across various species. “What Tim essentially did was establish a method for recognizing numerous toxins broadly,” explained researchers. This capability provided immunity against snakebites naturally. The aim now is to harness this protective mechanism without requiring extensive immunizations and actual snake encounters; rather, isolating and identifying the most effective antibodies would achieve this goal.
By combining them with tiny molecules, we can produce an antivenom using Tim’s remarkable blood,” explains Kwong. This is quite preliminary work—the antivenom has so far only been tested on mice, and scientists estimate they’re several years off from conducting human trials. Although their experimental therapy demonstrates potential when targeting venomous species such as mambas and cobras, it doesn’t show effectiveness against vipers, including rattlesnakes. ‘I chose the deadliest types globally: black mambas, taipans, cobras, kraits, coral snakes, and rattlesnakes,’ states Friede. ‘There were some snakes I wished to obtain but simply could not acquire. Plus, I prefer not to take anything directly from nature unnecessarily. Therefore, selecting specific specimens required careful consideration.’ Despite this, Friede’s path hasn’t always run smoothly.
He mentioned that following a severe snakebite, he had to amputate a portion of his finger. Additionally, certain venomous cobra bites were so critical they required hospitalization. Friede elaborates on the dangers he encountered: “At the time, I lacked antivenom and medical assistance; I only started working with doctors later. Back then, my belief in my own abilities was unwavering—I never considered stepping back from what I was doing. This experience toughened me and improved my skills since I relied solely on myself.”
And if I failed and I died, then I die, I mean, it was that simple. It became a lifestyle actually.” Friede is now employed by Centivax, which is trying to develop the treatment, and he’s excited that his 18-year odyssey could one day save lives from snakebite. “When I was doing it, I sat back after about a year and just realised that people died from snakebite and I wasn’t dying. So at that point I decided I have to reach out to every scientist on the planet. Which I did, reached out to a lot of them. Can you study me? What can we do to save people from snake bite? And that just escalated like crazy. It just went nuts, for good reasons though. I became the horse. I took the horse out the picture. And that’s how they make anti-venom, in horses. So I used myself,” he says.
However, his advice for anyone considering following in his footsteps is straightforward: “Don’t do it.” Yet, if someday his contributions can help save lives through his blood, he believes it would have been worthwhile. “It’s wonderful to be part of something that alters the course of medical history, herpetology, immunology, and science as a whole,” remarks Friede. Friede might just make history himself.
