Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to one of the strangest episodes of I Tell
You What You Will ever hear. Tim Freed is a
guy from Wisconsin who goes out looking for venomous snakes
like all of the world and gets bit by them
on purpose. Dude, where are you right now in my bedroom? Oh?
Very what are you doing?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Well? You know, Sam, Sam, I'm at two Rivers, Wisconsin.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Okay, dude, can I just say we are fascinated by you,
We really are.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
We heard your story and read about you and all
the things that you do, and we just need to
know why. Yeah. Now you are a guy that gets bit.
You get bit by snakes on purpose. Yes, poisonous snakes
on purpose.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Not poisonous.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Well, okay, sorry, I'm just all that's interesting because we
don't know the difference. So it's poisonous and venomous.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Poisonous you absorb it is given to you by a
thing or like a scorpion, a stinger.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Oh okay, that's far more badly, that's a little bit.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Yeah, the delivery system is different in venomous.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Gotcha, I didn't know that. It's I never thought of that. So,
but you purposely get bit by venomous snakes. Yeah, that
can typically kill people.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Oh yeah, real faster. Yeah, but you minutes. Yeah, most
of the stuff I used can kill you within fifteen
twenty minutes, like black mamba, taipe An Colbra's creates.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
And you're doing this to build an immunity. But like
for the world or for you, Like I'm just wondering.
And by the way, nothing nothing's accusatory. We're just wondering, like,
are you doing this for your benefit? Like to you
could because in Wisconsin, you don't really have a lot
of black mambas moving around down there, do you.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Unfortunately, no, I wish we get We only have two
venomous snakes, the timber rattlesnake in Massissauga by the Mississippi. Okay,
other than that, just you know, guarter snakes basically in
milk snakes and fox snakes. But the reason I do
it number one was for me so I don't die.
I didn't want to use the antivenom, although I had it,
(02:10):
it's expensive. I didn't want to miss a finger. I
didn't want to miss work. I didn't want to lose money.
In the whole nine yards, there was a logical decision
that ill replaced the horse and become the horse. They
make anivenom with horses, equines am sheep, so I figured
if they'd do it with them as a primate, as
a Homo sapien, I cann't do it to myself and
cut it out of the picture.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
When would you need it, Tim, When would you need
the like? Because in Wisconsin I don't. I've got a
lot of family there, and I've never known one to
ever even come across a rattlesnake or a venomous snake
or a black mom or anything. But you seem to
is it because you feel this may happen to you
someday or no?
Speaker 2 (02:48):
No, no, I represent people from the old world, roughly
eight thousand miles away from me. But I know I'm
not going to die if I go outside and get
bit by a snake. But those people, when they go outside,
they can get bit by a snake and die. They
do all the time. Over three hundred and forty people
a day die by snake bite.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
You are doing this for other people.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Absolutely. I don't do it for myself. I mean there's
you know. I don't do it for money. I don't
do it for fame. I do it for people. You know,
for the one hundred and twenty five thousand people a
year that die from snake but five million people are
bitting and over four hundred thousand amputation and disfigurements. So
I completely do it for other people. I don't do
it for myself for any.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Reasoned you to do this? Being a guy from Wisconsin
without a lot of kobs around and stuff.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Well what inspired me is I realized In nineteen ninety nine,
I met the pioneer of what I do, Bill Host,
in Florida, and I was milking venom from spiders and
scorpions and centipede just as a hobby for the fun
of it. And I realized, oh man, I always knew
people die from snake bite, but I didn't realize how
bad it was. And when I became immune and went
(03:56):
through the process that I had to keep myself, I'm like, right,
this is great immune, I'm not dead, But how do
I get it out to the world. I'm only one person,
only one voice, and I only have so much blood.
So to make a human anivenom, you know, I thought
that'd be cool, But back in the day, I wasn't
you know, A breast on biotechnology and what they can
(04:17):
do and how they can take my b cells and
clone my good antibodies, my IgG and reproduce them into
millions and millions, and that's that. And that's exactly what
they did, is they took me, took my blood as
a human experiment, and they turned it into the human
antivenom because they're antibody engineers at the very highest level,
(04:39):
PhD level. And it is cool because I don't have
a degree, so I'm fortunate enough to work with people
I have, you know, PhDs masters. I don't even think
the company has a bachelor's I'm nearly guy at the
company with no degrees. So it's kind of a trip.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
But do these researchers must love you.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
So it's fun when I go out there.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Now, what do they take something with what you're producing
with your body and give it getting it to the
people one thousand miles away that you're talking about? Or
is this are they is it something that everybody has
to do go through what you're going through over there
to make this work.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Well, that's a good question. There's two things. There's a vaccine,
which I do so I don't have to use the
id venom. But with five million people bit in the air.
To immunize all those people is going to be a cask.
I'll never see. They tried it twice and failed. It's
it's it's for me. It's a lifestyle. I mean, you
really have to get into it and live it. It
would be nice to have a vaccine, but you're always
going to have to have the end venom too, because
(05:38):
you can't immunize everybody, and we need to replace the
current anavenum now, which is all over the board. Fifty
different companies make it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't
because venom is very variable. There's no two snakes the
same type n venoms, different black mamavin cobra venoms, different
type en venom and black mama.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Are you immune to all of these? Now?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
I'm immune to a lot. I'm actually immune to stuff
I've never used. An example in the paper and self
pressed that came out last month, I'm immune to king
colverra venom. Now here's the cool thing. I've never used
King Colver venom in my life. I've never even had one.
But my antibody's neutralize it, and they neutralize it because
of in the paper. If you read the paper, it's
(06:22):
called D nine. Now that antibody neutralizes toxins at the
neuromuscular junction peripheral nervous system. I won't get into that
potetious The truth and what happens is that recognized snakes
I don't even use because that antibody is so powerful
it can cross react with other snakes I've never used. Now,
that's just one antibody
Welcome to one of the strangest episodes of I Tell
You What You Will ever hear. Tim Freed is a
guy from Wisconsin who goes out looking for venomous snakes
like all of the world and gets bit by them
on purpose. Dude, where are you right now in my bedroom? Oh?
Very what are you doing?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Well? You know, Sam, Sam, I'm at two Rivers, Wisconsin.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Okay, dude, can I just say we are fascinated by you,
We really are.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
We heard your story and read about you and all
the things that you do, and we just need to
know why. Yeah. Now you are a guy that gets bit.
You get bit by snakes on purpose. Yes, poisonous snakes
on purpose.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Not poisonous.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Well, okay, sorry, I'm just all that's interesting because we
don't know the difference. So it's poisonous and venomous.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Poisonous you absorb it is given to you by a
thing or like a scorpion, a stinger.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Oh okay, that's far more badly, that's a little bit.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Yeah, the delivery system is different in venomous.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Gotcha, I didn't know that. It's I never thought of that. So,
but you purposely get bit by venomous snakes. Yeah, that
can typically kill people.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Oh yeah, real faster. Yeah, but you minutes. Yeah, most
of the stuff I used can kill you within fifteen
twenty minutes, like black mamba, taipe An Colbra's creates.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
And you're doing this to build an immunity. But like
for the world or for you, Like I'm just wondering.
And by the way, nothing nothing's accusatory. We're just wondering, like,
are you doing this for your benefit? Like to you
could because in Wisconsin, you don't really have a lot
of black mambas moving around down there, do you.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Unfortunately, no, I wish we get We only have two
venomous snakes, the timber rattlesnake in Massissauga by the Mississippi. Okay,
other than that, just you know, guarter snakes basically in
milk snakes and fox snakes. But the reason I do
it number one was for me so I don't die.
I didn't want to use the antivenom, although I had it,
(02:10):
it's expensive. I didn't want to miss a finger. I
didn't want to miss work. I didn't want to lose money.
In the whole nine yards, there was a logical decision
that ill replaced the horse and become the horse. They
make anivenom with horses, equines am sheep, so I figured
if they'd do it with them as a primate, as
a Homo sapien, I cann't do it to myself and
cut it out of the picture.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
When would you need it, Tim, When would you need
the like? Because in Wisconsin I don't. I've got a
lot of family there, and I've never known one to
ever even come across a rattlesnake or a venomous snake
or a black mom or anything. But you seem to
is it because you feel this may happen to you
someday or no?
Speaker 2 (02:48):
No, no, I represent people from the old world, roughly
eight thousand miles away from me. But I know I'm
not going to die if I go outside and get
bit by a snake. But those people, when they go outside,
they can get bit by a snake and die. They
do all the time. Over three hundred and forty people
a day die by snake bite.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
You are doing this for other people.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
Absolutely. I don't do it for myself. I mean there's
you know. I don't do it for money. I don't
do it for fame. I do it for people. You know,
for the one hundred and twenty five thousand people a
year that die from snake but five million people are
bitting and over four hundred thousand amputation and disfigurements. So
I completely do it for other people. I don't do
it for myself for any.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Reasoned you to do this? Being a guy from Wisconsin
without a lot of kobs around and stuff.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Well what inspired me is I realized In nineteen ninety nine,
I met the pioneer of what I do, Bill Host,
in Florida, and I was milking venom from spiders and
scorpions and centipede just as a hobby for the fun
of it. And I realized, oh man, I always knew
people die from snake bite, but I didn't realize how
bad it was. And when I became immune and went
(03:56):
through the process that I had to keep myself, I'm like, right,
this is great immune, I'm not dead, But how do
I get it out to the world. I'm only one person,
only one voice, and I only have so much blood.
So to make a human anivenom, you know, I thought
that'd be cool, But back in the day, I wasn't
you know, A breast on biotechnology and what they can
(04:17):
do and how they can take my b cells and
clone my good antibodies, my IgG and reproduce them into
millions and millions, and that's that. And that's exactly what
they did, is they took me, took my blood as
a human experiment, and they turned it into the human
antivenom because they're antibody engineers at the very highest level,
(04:39):
PhD level. And it is cool because I don't have
a degree, so I'm fortunate enough to work with people
I have, you know, PhDs masters. I don't even think
the company has a bachelor's I'm nearly guy at the
company with no degrees. So it's kind of a trip.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
But do these researchers must love you.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
So it's fun when I go out there.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Now, what do they take something with what you're producing
with your body and give it getting it to the
people one thousand miles away that you're talking about? Or
is this are they is it something that everybody has
to do go through what you're going through over there
to make this work.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Well, that's a good question. There's two things. There's a vaccine,
which I do so I don't have to use the
id venom. But with five million people bit in the air.
To immunize all those people is going to be a cask.
I'll never see. They tried it twice and failed. It's
it's it's for me. It's a lifestyle. I mean, you
really have to get into it and live it. It
would be nice to have a vaccine, but you're always
going to have to have the end venom too, because
(05:38):
you can't immunize everybody, and we need to replace the
current anavenum now, which is all over the board. Fifty
different companies make it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't
because venom is very variable. There's no two snakes the
same type n venoms, different black mamavin cobra venoms, different
type en venom and black mama.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Are you immune to all of these? Now?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
I'm immune to a lot. I'm actually immune to stuff
I've never used. An example in the paper and self
pressed that came out last month, I'm immune to king
colverra venom. Now here's the cool thing. I've never used
King Colver venom in my life. I've never even had one.
But my antibody's neutralize it, and they neutralize it because
of in the paper. If you read the paper, it's
(06:22):
called D nine. Now that antibody neutralizes toxins at the
neuromuscular junction peripheral nervous system. I won't get into that
potetious The truth and what happens is that recognized snakes
I don't even use because that antibody is so powerful
it can cross react with other snakes I've never used. Now,
that's just one antibody
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