Steve Jobs’ BFF flashes back to their groovy acid trips

By

This guy did LSD with Steve Jobs in college. Photo: CNNMoney
This guy did LSD with Steve Jobs in college. Photo: CNNMoney

What would it be like to drop acid with Steve Jobs?

Daniel Kottke was one of Apple’s first employees, but he knew Jobs from even earlier days at Reed College. The two bonded over their love for meditation and eastern spirituality at Reed. They also did a lot of LSD.

“We were … in a meditative space,” Kottke told CNNMoney in an interview. “But that’s partly because we were reading books about chakras and psychic energy and the chi and the Kundalini serpent that was going to rise up our spine.”

It gets weirder.

When asked about the first time he dropped acid with Jobs, Kottke kinda went off the rails. “I think we camped out on the beach… I can’t really remember building a campfire… I don’t remember what we did when it got dark.”

A few years ago, the FBI’s file on Jobs surfaced. In the documented interviews conducted with the late CEO, Jobs admitted to experimenting with marijuana, hashish and LSD in the early 70s.

Kottke went to India with Jobs when he was working at Atari, a trip well documented in Walter Isaacson’s biography and other places.

Kottke volunteered to help test circuit boards in the garage where Jobs and Steve Wozniak began Apple. Woz was never interested in tripping, and Jobs quickly shifted his attention to Apple.

“Once Apple started, Steve was really focused with all of his energy on making Apple successful.” Kottke said. “And he didn’t need psychedelics for that.”

Source: CNNMoney

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.