Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson had a thrilling 11-year NFL career where he was able to stay on the field and put up numbers. On a recent podcast, Johnson revealed the magic behind his ability to remain healthy despite playing a brutal sport such as football.
We know NBA star LeBron James spends over $1.5M per year on maintaining his body and health at the age of 39. A formula of strict dieting, massage therapists, state-of-the-art equipment and personal trainers has made him a standard for longevity in pro sports.
Ocho wasn’t into all of those things, but he never played less than 13 games in any season after playing 12 in his rookie campaign with the Cincinnati Bengals. Eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Johnson posted some brilliant career numbers as one of the NFL’s most charismatic and talented pass-snatchers; 766 catches, 11,059 yards and 67 touchdowns.
Chad Johnson Tells Carmelo Anthony He Soaked In Bucket Of Teammates’ Urine To Prevent Ankle Injuries
Johnson, who has several podcasts he’s involved with, appeared on “7PM in Brooklyn,” with Carmelo Anthony, The Kid Mero and former NBA player Rudy Gay, where the hosts played a throwback clip of Johnson discussing how he used to “collect warm urine from my teammates, heat it up and put my ankle in it for 30 minutes” to prevent ankle sprains.
Some fans have heard this strange story already, as Johnson originally revealed his unique and stomach-turning methods of body care in 2016. It apparently wasn’t just one of his shock jock comments, because in 2024, he still swears by the technique and the tale.
“Yeah, that worked,” he said during the podcast.
“There’s a reason I never been injured — home remedies. … I’m sitting here living proof,” he said.
Chad Johnson’s Grandmother Told Him To Soak Feet In Teammates’ Pee To Prevent Ankle Injuries
Johnson says his teammates were more than willing to help and described the process.
“It’s a good thing,” he said. “This is how I was able to collect it all at one time, right? You got team meetings in the morning, right? Everybody. ‘Hey y’all, boy, do me a favor, boy. My ankle kind of f–ked up, I need you to all y’all to drink water at one time.
“So, when we break meeting, if y’all pee it’s a bucket in the bathroom.’ Boom. Y’all all peeing that bucket for me.”
It seemed to work. Maybe it was mind over matter or maybe the recipe has some substance to it. Baseball legend Moises Alou and Jorge Posada admitted that they did urinate on their hands as a method of keeping the bat grip firm and strengthening hand muscles. Posada also mentioned that as a catcher he gets cuts, callouses, and blisters and the urine allegedly helps with that as well.
Alou played in MLB for 17 season and retired at the age of 41 with a .303 career batting average with 2,134 hits and 332 homers. He finished in the top 25 of MVP voting seven times.
Posada also played an uncharacteristic 17 seasons as a catcher, winning four World Series and five Silver Slugger awards with the New York Yankees. Both players were the epitome of durability throughout their careers and just maybe, the pee was the key.
