Steve Jobs made no secret of the fact he experimented with LSD while in college. The late Apple cofounder said taking the psychedelic drug was a profound experience, and "one of the two or three most important things I have done in my life." But we've now got a new window into the legendary tech visionary's drug use.
CNN spoke to Daniel Kottke, an old friend of Jobs' and early Apple employee, about his and Jobs' psychedelic experiences together. Kottke says he "was uncomfortable discussing these experience while Jobs was alive," but is now finally willing to talk on the record.
So what is it like to take powerful mind-altering substances with the man who would become responsible for the world's most valuable company?
"We weren't really talking much," Kottke reminisces. "We were more of in a meditative space." The two would go hiking and camp out on the beach, brought together by a shared interest in consciousness and spirituality.
"We would take psychedelics and whole new vistas opened up."
"Steve and I developed a friendship when we figured out we had both read this amazing book called 'Be Here Now,'" Kottke told CNN, "which is about psychedelics and spirituality." (The New York Times has described the text as a "countercultural bible.")
The two were also "reading books about chakras and psychic energy and the chi and the Kundalini serpent that was going to rise up our spine." Jobs also paid for the pair to travel around India — Kottke says they were "monk-wannabes," shaving their heads and acting like hippies.
Jobs' experiments with LSD stopped once he launched Apple, however. "Once Apple started, Steve was really focused with all of his energy on making Apple successful... and he didn't need psychedelics for that."
Watch the full CNN interview below:
