During an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Mike Tyson spoke about one of the darkest chapters of his childhood, revealing that his mother introduced him to alc**ol and dr*gs when he was barely old enough to understand what he was being given.
When the conversation turned to how early Tyson began using dr**s, he did not hesitate. “Since I was like 10 years old,” he told Rogan. What he said next drew a surprised reaction from his host.
“When you’re a kid, your mother gives you liq*or and ma**juana to make you think you’re gonna go to sleep or something,” Tyson explained.
Rogan, reacting with clear disbelief, noted that nothing like that ever happened in his own home.
Tyson confirmed his mother had a serious problem with al**hol. “My mother was an al**holic and stuff,” he said.
Rogan summed it up bluntly: “That’s harsh. Liq*or and m**ijuana, see if you go to sleep.”
The discussion also covered just how far back his first experiences with dr*gs stretched. When Rogan asked when he first tried anything at all, Tyson replied, “Ten years old, nine years old.”
Starting with smoking and drinking at that age, things progressed quickly as he got a little older. “I got older, I tried acid. Probably 11,” he said.
Tyson also touched on his introduction to harder dr**s, saying, “I was still living in Brownsville, Brooklyn, when I first did co**ine,” adding, “I got involved with d**gs early in life.”
Despite the weight of those early years, Tyson did not speak with resentment. He has spent considerable time reflecting on his past with an honesty that many people who went through far less never manage to reach.
He was also clear about what he wants for his own children: “I would never let them live the life that I lived. I would hate that. I would always work so hard there wouldn’t be an environment that I grew up in.”
Rogan noted the value in Tyson speaking so openly, telling him: “You made mistakes people can learn from them. These are beneficial. Watching someone like you talk about your life is beneficial for people.”
