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I Cooked and Ate My Own Foot

What It Was Like

Fri Oct 17 2025

Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: What It Was Like
Host: Julian Morgans
Episode Title: I Cooked and Ate My Own Foot
Date: October 17, 2025

In this episode, Julian Morgans talks with "Shiny" (a pseudonym), a Texan who experienced a motorcycle accident leading to the surgical amputation of his foot—and then cooked and ate a portion of it with friends. The conversation explores the origins of taboos, the psychology of extreme experience, the value of friendship, and the philosophical curiosity that led Shiny to break one of society’s deepest cultural boundaries. What could have been just a sensational story becomes a surprisingly thoughtful meditation on mortality, transformation, and authenticity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Motorcycle Accident and Its Aftermath

Accident Details: On Memorial Day, Shiny was hit by a car while riding his motorcycle in the mountains, resulting in a catastrophic foot injury ([07:35–09:11]).
- "There was a car stopped in the road... as I got right up to them, they hit the gas and right into the side of the motorcycle... I flipped over and hit a tree on the way through, and that's what caused the injury to my foot." (Shiny, 08:04)
Medical Response and Psychedelic Experience:
- Morphine was ineffective; Shiny was administered ketamine in the medevac helicopter, leading to a vivid, transcendent experience:
  "What I do remember was transcending time and space in a sea of geometric colors and contemplating life and death, which I kind of attribute to my sunny disposition thereafter." (Shiny, 10:11)
Life Pivot: The experience became a wake-up call prompting Shiny to pursue more meaning and intentionality.
- "If I get through this, I'm going to get my shit together and make my life better." (Shiny, 11:56)

2. The Foot—A Curious Proposal

Doctor’s Negotiations & Foot Ownership:
- Shiny insisted on being given his amputated foot, a process which required negotiation with hospital administrators ([15:35–16:36]).
- "I'm getting this thing back, and then my buddy showed up and I was like, hey, man, we should eat some of it... That way it's not really gone. It's still a part of me." (Shiny, 15:35)
Origins of the Cannibal Discussion:
- Years earlier, Shiny and friends had joked about trying "ethical and safe" human meat. The amputation brought the possibility into reality.
- "Everybody says yes because they don't ever think the opportunity is ever going to rise.” (Shiny, 15:19)

3. Organizing an Unforgettable Brunch

Building the Guest List:
- Only friends open-minded enough were invited; Shiny’s family never knew about the plan ([22:09–22:41]).
Retrieving and Prepping the Foot:
- The hospital returned the foot to Shiny in a red bag: "They gave me an amputated foot in a red bag, and that's all it was... I stuff it in a backpack, and I walk out of the hospital." (Shiny, 23:42)
- He cut a muscle from the shin, experienced existential weirdness:
  "I can't tell you the existential weirdness of holding your own leg and going, well, let's chop this chunk of meat off right here." (Shiny, 24:13)
Brunch Setup:
- A chef-friend marinated and cooked the foot, serving it with tortillas, chimichurri, and tapas-style sides amid a beautifully set table.
- "It was lovely. She [the host] is a fantastic party planner... It was this lovely little situation... and the awkwardness was palpable around that table." (Shiny, 25:58–27:01)

4. The Act: Eating the Foot

Experience and Emotional Reaction:
- Each of the 10 friends (plus Shiny) had a small piece (approx. 2 cm square).
- "While it was tasty, it was incredibly, incredibly chewy. People were chewing on me for three, four minutes. I had one friend who had to spit me out. She said, 'I'm so sorry, I can't do it. It's gotten too weird.'" (Shiny, 28:26)
Flavor Profile:
- "People always talk about it... 'It tastes like pig.' But it didn't taste like any pig I've ever had. It was beefy. It was incredibly beefy. It's like bison or wild game... and my God, was it chewy." (Shiny, 29:25)
- Rating: "Flavor, great flavor. 8 out of 10. But the fact that it was so chewy... Unless you’re in a survival situation, it’s terrible." (Shiny, 30:52)
- Cooking tip: "If ever you’re going to eat people, make sure you cook it low and slow. You gotta treat that meat properly." (Shiny, 31:38)
Mood and Aftermath:
- The group shared dark jokes: "That was the time I was inside 10 people at once." (Shiny, 31:57)
- Shiny soon left for a new life in Texas, met his future wife, and saw the incident as a turning point.

5. Friendship, Taboo, and Going Public

Value of Community:
- "It was really emotional and heartwarming... that many friends who are close enough to me and awkwardly weird enough to share in that experience... Now I'm a part of them in a very real way." (Shiny, 27:54)
Coming Out—Kind Of:
- Shiny only told a select group; the story eventually went viral after he posted it on Reddit.
- On dating, he revealed the story to his (now) wife on their first date:
  - "'I’m not going to tell you the weirdest thing I've ever eaten, but I'll give you the second weirdest.' ...She’s like, 'No, I want to know.' ...She said, 'You're bullshitting me. You’re a liar. But I like where this is going.'" (Shiny, 36:51)
Society’s Reaction:
- Some negative responses: "People said it was demonic and against God and that I'm obviously insane and should seek help. I got a bunch of referrals off Reddit to anti-suicide lines..." (Shiny, 39:21)
- Others were more open-minded: "If people are wrapped up in their own cultural issues, they're the ones who get hung up on it... It's not like a bunch of devil worshipers... There was no violence in this. It was just a nice, chill brunch." (Shiny, 39:53–41:58)

6. Taboos, Health, and Legality

Risk & Research:
- Shiny investigated both health and legal aspects:
  - "Obvious one is prion disease... [but] extremely low risk if you’re just eating one bite of meat... It’s not really illegal [in the US], except in Idaho and Alaska." (Shiny, 42:16–44:10)

7. Reflections and Takeaways

On Anonymity and Identity:
- Shiny opted not to use his real name: “If you get notoriety for one thing, that is what you are for the rest of your life as far as the Internet’s concerned… and there’s a lot more to me than just that.” (Shiny, 44:24)
What He Learned:
- "Life is fragile and fleeting and you need to appreciate it and do what you can to make the most out of it. And I've learned how to make good friends... invest in them... be open and be yourself completely with people—which is horribly, horribly nerve wracking to do... but you're gonna find people who, despite all your flaws, will enjoy you..." (Shiny, 45:43–48:04)
Host's Reflection:
- "I came to this story thinking it was going to be this bizarre thing. And we've ended with this really beautiful rumination about the nature of friendship or the value of authenticity." (Julian Morgans, 48:17)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

"I can’t tell you the existential weirdness of holding your own leg and going, well, let’s chop this chunk of meat off right here." — Shiny ([24:13])
"Now I'm a part of them in a very real way." — Shiny ([27:23])
"It was kind of like putting a pin in it and having a... wake for the foot is what it was." — Shiny ([27:54])
"If ever you’re going to eat people, make sure you cook it low and slow." — Shiny ([31:38])
"People chew on their nails all the time... All I did was take advantage of the meat part of it. And I think the icky part for people is... you don’t hear about that sort of cannibalism outside of... horror or violence. There was no violence in this." — Shiny ([40:11])

Timestamps for Key Segments

Motorcycle Accident & Hospital Experience: [07:35–12:32]
Origin of the Ethical Cannibalism Idea: [13:23–17:01], [15:16–16:56]
Foot Retrieval & Preparation: [22:52–25:07]
The Foot Brunch: Cooking and Eating: [25:58–31:43]
Cultural Reactions / Reddit Story: [35:42–41:58]
Health & Legal Risks: [42:16–44:10]
Reflections on Identity and Friendship: [44:24–48:17]

Tone & Language

Shiny: Deadpan, darkly humorous, self-aware, philosophical; often deflects with jokes but reveals vulnerability and depth.
Julian Morgans: Curious, sometimes incredulous, but empathetic and affirming; guides the conversation toward bigger life lessons.

Final Takeaway

Through a story that begins on the farthest outskirts of social convention, "I Cooked and Ate My Own Foot" becomes an exploration of what happens when you cross a taboo, but also how trauma and radical honesty can lead to community, transformation, and a richer appreciation for being alive. The episode challenges listeners to rethink their own taboos—and to cherish those rare, weird, and wonderful friends willing to sit at your table, no matter what is being served.

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Transcript

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Shiny (1:42)

Subaru we all took our bites. Everybody got a nice little chunk there. While it was tasty, it was incredibly, incredibly chewy. People were chewing on me for three, four minutes. I had one friend who had to spit me out. I swear she got nothing but tendon. And she was just chewing on that thing forever. And she said, I'm so sorry, I can't do it. It's. Got it. It's gotten too weird because she got in her head about it, but she just sit there like gnawing on my flesh for minutes.

Julian Morgans (2:23)

Hey, I'm Julian Morgans, and you're listening to what It Was like, the show that asks people who have lived through big dramatic events what it was like. Hello? What it was like. Listeners. You know, sometimes we do stories that are connected to something in the news, but. But other times it's just whatever strange rabbit hole I happen to have fallen down. And this week we're doing one of Those stories. So I've been thinking about cannibalism and how bizarre it is that throughout history humans have occasionally eaten one another, but also equally how strange it is that we as a species actually find it disturbing at all. And I say that because most animals don't seem to care. I think as someone who's owned chickens a few times throughout my life, I can tell you that chickens will gladly eat their own eggs if you don't collect them fast enough. Or if you happen to throw a chicken a little bit of chicken, it will happily eat that. Also, how many times have you seen birds eating other dead birds by the side of the road? Or dogs eating, you know, their own vomit or another dog's poo? Or just, I mean, I don't know. I've never seen a dog eating a dog, but I'm sure they would. Anyway, my point is, I was thinking about the non fussiness of animals, which led me down this Google wormhole about cannibalism. And I came across two stories that I want to share with you on the podcast today. So one of them is our main episode, this one. And the other is for our what It Was like subscribers. Also, a quick reminder, if you haven't subscribed, you should, because we'd love it and hopefully you will too. But today's story on this episode is about a man who crashed his motorbike and he had to have his foot amputated. And then he convinced the surgeons to let him keep his foot. And then he invited 10 friends over for brunch and they all ate a piece of his foot. Now, the original post appeared on Reddit and we reached out. My guest today has asked that we preserve his anonymity. So we're going to call him Shiny, which is also his handle on Reddit. But I can tell you that Shiny is originally from Texas. He grew up on the New Mexico border. He studied physics before he moved into fine arts and now, and now he works in construction. So he paints, he sculpts, and he also builds things. He's one of those rare people with a bit of a scientific and a creative brain. And as you'll hear, he's also got one foot. Yes, pun very much intended in the world of philosophy, because I think on the surface this might sound like a sensational story. You know, man eats his own foot. How sensational. But underneath, it's really about taboos and why they exist. I think most taboos feel like they're part of the natural order. You know, it just feels like that's the way things should be according to nature, that they're some way a piece of evolutionary programming designed to keep us alive and to prevent us from having sex with our cousins. But upon closer examination, I think a lot of taboos are. They're purely cultural. You know, they're just a construct. And Shiny was happy to not just poke at this very particular construct, but to take a big flying leap at it. So this is a great conversation about his learnings, about taboos. Plus, I got to ask a question that I've always just privately wondered, which is what does human taste like? So I hope you enjoy my conversation with. With the man who ate his own foot. Hey, Shiny. Welcome to the show.

Shiny (39:21)

Oh, definitely. There was a bunch of people saying that it was demonic and against God and against nature and that I'm obviously insane and should seek help. And I got a bunch of referrals off of Reddit to anti suicide lines and stuff like that, as people like to do. And only once in real life does someone like, say, oh, no, don't do that. One of the friends of my brother, I told him, he's like, oh, don't ever tell anybody that. That's messed up. You should have never done that. That's a terrible, terrible thing. I was like, man, you go to sex clubs and do meth and heroin and have sex in front of people, but you're telling me this little nice moment with my friends is a messed up thing? Like, come on. And so I think people who get wrapped up in their own, who are wrapped up in their own cultural issues are the ones who are going to not listen to the full breadth of the story and get hung up on it. Because, like, people chew on their nails all the time. It's not a taboo for a woman to go and freeze dry her placenta and put it in a milkshake later. I mean, that's not too much different from what I'm doing. And that's like, you know, all I did was take advantage of the meat part of it. And I think the icky part about that for people is the fact that you don't hear about that sort of cannibalism or auto cannibalism outside of some sort of horrific tragedy or violence. And there was no violence in this, I think, on Wikipedia, on instance of cannibalism. Mine is the only one that wasn't from a tragedy or violence. There was nothing associated with it. The only violent act was, you know, I was involved in a car accident. And outside of that, it was a super nice little thing and trying to tell people that this was a collection of people coming together and it was a really nice event. And, you know, people showing up and supporting me and being is all out of kindness and love. It's not like a bunch of devil worshipers getting together and having a sacrifice and eating the flesh of a man. There's no, no negative connotations thereof. It was just kind of a nice chill brunch.