The Impact of Ephedra's Ban on Herbal Ecstasy

This chapter explores the historical significance and current legal status of herbal ecstasy supplements, concentrating on the banned ingredient ephedra. It includes personal reflections on the effects of these substances and the restrictions placed on their use in the United States.

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What is Herbal Ecstasy—and why does it matter? This might be one of the most insane episodes we’ve ever recorded, and we had to bring it back because the story is too wild, too relevant, and too packed with real lessons in biohacking, brain optimization, and supplement hacking to miss.

Host Dave Asprey sits down with Shaahin Cheyene, the renegade teenage entrepreneur who built a billion-dollar supplement empire before he could legally drink. As the creator of Herbal Ecstasy, Shaahin hacked natural compounds into high-performance nootropics that boosted energy, neuroplasticity, and metabolism—long before biohacking was a movement. He faced seven federal investigations, never spent a day in jail, and went on to pioneer the vaporizer industry and dominate Amazon with advanced supplement marketing.

This episode explores how Shaahin reverse-engineered functional medicine principles, used ancient plant medicine to upgrade human performance, and scaled a controversial brand using raw hustle and hacking tactics. You’ll hear how Herbal Ecstasy worked, why it was banned, and what it teaches us about supplements, mitochondrial function, dopamine regulation, and the dark politics behind wellness innovation.

You’ll learn:

• Why Herbal Ecstasy became a billion-dollar underground supplement

• How Shaahin used nootropics and adaptogens to hack energy, focus, and neuroplasticity

• What his clash with the FDA reveals about supplement regulation and functional medicine

• How dopamine, mitochondria, and metabolism drive human performance

• The difference between hacking systems vs conforming to broken ones

• How storytelling, podcasting, and controversial supplements build legacy brands

Whether you’re optimizing your sleep, hacking your brain, experimenting with ketosis or fasting, or upgrading your stack with supplements that actually work—this channel delivers strategies, cautionary tales, and insight you won’t find anywhere else. lt is essential listening for anyone serious about biohacking, brain optimization, supplements, mitochondria, metabolism, functional medicine, nootropics, longevity, dopamine, cold therapy, sleep optimization, emotional regulation, neuroplasticity, fasting, podcasting, RFK-era health freedom, ketosis, entrepreneurship, and building influence smarter not harder—with or without Danger Coffee.

Dave Asprey is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, and the father of biohacking. With over 1,000 interviews and 1 million monthly listeners, The Human Upgrade is the top podcast for people who want to take control of their biology, extend their longevity, and optimize every system in the body and mind. Each episode features cutting-edge insights in health, performance, neuroscience, supplements, nutrition, hacking, emotional intelligence, and conscious living.

Episodes are released every Tuesday and Thursday, where Dave asks the questions no one else dares, and brings you real tools to become more resilient, aware, and high performing.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Resources:

• Shaahin’s Website: https://www.shaahincheyenne.com/

• Dave Asprey’s Website: https://daveasprey.com

• Danger Coffee: https://dangercoffee.com/DAVE15

• Dave Asprey’s BEYOND Conference: https://beyondconference.com

• Dave Asprey’s New Book – Heavily Meditated: https://daveasprey.com/heavily-meditated

• Upgrade Collective: https://www.ourupgradecollective.com

• Upgrade Labs: https://upgradelabs.com

• 40 Years of Zen: https://40yearsofzen.com

Timestamps:

• 0:00 — Trailer