Aaron Rodgers' Introduction To Ayahuasca Revealed

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers reportedly tried ayahuasca for the first time after being told he wasn't reaching his full potential.

Longtime friend Jordan Russell revealed that he was the person who introduced Rodgers to the Amazonian beverage, which is brewed with psychoactive ingredients, while speaking to author Ian O'Connor for the unauthorized biography OUT OF THE DARKNESS: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers , which was released on Tuesday (August 20). Russell said he initially tried ayahuasca during a trip to the Temple of the Way of Light, a plant-medicine shamanic healing center in Peru, in 2019 and saw a vision of Rodgers.

“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 in the book, which was shared via the New York Post . “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.”

Russell relayed his experience to Rodgers during a golf outing, which inspired the quarterback to travel with his then-girlfriend, racecar driver Danica Patrick , to Peru in early 2020. The four-time NFL MVP reportedly had a life-changing encounter with the drug, though his visit was cut short due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

“I really feel like that experience paved the way for me to have the best season of my career,” Rodgers said on the Aubrey Marcus Podcast while reflecting on his 2020 NFL MVP season with the Green Bay Packers.

“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 added.

Rodgers was acquired by the Jets after last offseason after 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, but limited to just four snaps before suffering a season-ending Achilles injury in his Jets debut last September.

"I feel really good," Rodgers said of his injury status in May via NFL.com . "It's just about the mental part. These practices have been nice the last couple of days. Feel what it's like to be out there, to be moving around, to not be thinking about it and see how I respond the next day. This is the last part.

"The strength is good, the movement is good, just the confidence to do everything."