Mike Stratton was on a “hell ride,” unable to move, as visions laid bare buried thoughts, resentments and destructive habits that had eroded his quality of life.
asserted
that → move → life
This was the 34-year-old’s first encounter with ibogaine, a compound extracted from plants native to Africa that is sometimes called the “Mount Everest” of psychedelics.
asserted
that → extract → psychedelics
“I remember being stuck in that loop for what felt like months or years,” Stratton, the co-founder of Marek Health, told The Post.
asserted
Stratton → remember → Post
Gerber — who did his treatment at Beōnd Ibogaine in Cancún, Mexico — said it helped him face “what I had been running from, and somewhere in all of it, I started finding my way back to myself.
asserted
I → do → myself
But a growing number of people are seeking out ibogaine not to ease addiction or trauma, but to transform lives that already look successful from the outside.
asserted
that → grow → outside
“We’re starting to see leaders, whereas before, people were coming to us because it was life or death,” said Talia Eisenberg, co-founder of Beōnd Ibogaine.
asserted
Eisenberg → start → Ibogaine
“The fastest-growing segment is health and optimization.”
asserted
segment → grow → ?
Ibogaine is a Schedule I controlled substance in the US and is not approved for medical use, but it is permitted in Mexico, making the country a destination for Americans seeking treatment.
asserted
country → control → treatment
Burned-out professionals, celebrities, biohackers, empty nesters searching for purpose and retirees contemplating their next chapter are among those traveling to clinics south of the border.
For Stratton, the pursuit of optimization opened the door to something deeper.
asserted
pursuit → burn → something
“I came for performance and I ended up leaving with peace,” he said.
asserted
he → come → peace
‘Running from hell’
Stratton built a career around optimizing the human body.
asserted
Stratton → run → body
But while he was building a company dedicated to improving other people’s health, his own was “in shambles.”
asserted
own → build → shambles
He was barely exercising, eating poorly and working constantly, relying on coffee, nicotine pouches and prescription ADHD medication to power through the day.
asserted
He → exercise → day
His relationships and self-esteem suffered.
asserted
relationships → suffer → ?
“I was searching for a magical reset button where I didn’t have to take time off and it would take care of all of my misbehavior and all of my poor choices would be erased and I would feel anew again,” Stratton, who lives in Palm City, Florida, said.
asserted
who → search → City
Ibogaine, he thought, might be just that.
uncertain
he → think → ?
Part of what makes it unusual is what happens after the trip.
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what → make → trip
The body converts it into noribogaine, which remains in the bloodstream much longer than the drug itself, potentially extending its effects.
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which → convert → effects
Scientists are also investigating whether ibogaine can promote neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change and form new connections in response to experiences.
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ibogaine → investigate → experiences
A 2026 study found success in mice.
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study → find → mice
While human research is preliminary, a recent brain-imaging study of military veterans found changes in brain activity and connectivity after treatment.
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study → image → treatment
“The deepest evidence today is still in addiction and trauma populations,” said Dr. Eduardo Ramirez, Beōnd’s clinical director.
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Ramirez → say → populations
“But the most active new research … is in healthy people using ibogaine for optimization, resilience and longevity.”
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research → use → optimization
Into the Beōnd — and the ‘hell ride’ of a flood dose
A stay at Beōnd costs between $12,500 and $20,000.
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stay → cost → 12,500
Health and optimization clients — who have included “Wolf of Wall Street” Jordan Belfort and Function Health founder Mark Hyman — typically stay for 10 days.
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who → include → days
Before arrival, the clinic reviews clients’ health histories, medications and substance use.
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clinic → review → histories
They often also conduct cardiac testing, because ibogaine can interfere with the heart’s electrical system, potentially triggering dangerous abnormal rhythms.
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ibogaine → conduct → rhythms
“Ibogaine is not a recreational psychedelic,” Ramirez warned.
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Ramirez → warn → ?
“People shouldn’t take it outside of a medical setting.”
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People → take → setting
Clients work with coaches to identify goals and prepare for the experience.
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Clients → work → experience
Onsite, they do group sessions, yoga, breathwork, massage and meditation, which Eisenberg said help “make the most of the actual ibogaine.”
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Eisenberg → do → ibogaine
Stratton went in for his “flood dose” — a larger amount intended to induce the full psychedelic experience — with an open mind.
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Stratton → go → mind
Then he panicked.
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he → panic → ?
“I made a mistake.
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I → make → mistake
How do I get out of this?” he remembered asking a nurse.
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he → get → nurse
Blindfolded in a hospital bed, he felt restless and paralyzed as vivid memories raced through his mind.
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memories → blindfold → mind
Ramirez explained that while psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD ) “tend to be more sensory and dreamlike, ibogaine is often described as a structured, waking-dream life review with more effort and less euphoria.”
asserted
ibogaine → explain → effort
“All these mental tapes of what my inner narrative was around the person I am, my perspective of reality, the built-up, unresolved and unprocessed thoughts I’d been carrying and not even aware of — it all came bursting out of my head at once,” Stratton said.
asserted
Stratton → build → head
An intimate conversation with your ‘higher self’
Melissa Pruett, a 37-year-old small-business owner, expected her flood dose to feel like she was “strapped to a rocket.”
asserted
she → expect → rocket
She arrived at Beōnd after the birth of her first biological child shook her lifelong confidence.
asserted
birth → arrive → confidence
…and 38 more, not listed.
The Aporia
