Mark Zuckerberg has revealed the ‘rawdog’ morning routine that has helped him go from computer nerd to billionaire tech mogul. 

The Meta boss, 40, said on a podcast this week that he steers clear of coffee and doesn’t ‘like any kind of chemicals.’ 

And while other tech giants like Elon Musk and Bill Gates have admitted to using substances like cannabis, acid or ketamine, Zuckerberg sticks to creatine and vitamin D supplements.

He also drinks ‘a very large amount of protein’ in the morning rather than coffee or tea, though it’s unclear exactly how much. 

Instead of coffee, he starts his morning off by ‘fighting people,’ or getting in a two-hour session of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a type of mixed martial arts.

‘I wake up in the morning and I fight people,’ he said.  

Zuckerberg added the jolt of energy in the morning helps him ‘re-center’ himself and tackle the work day ahead. 

He also called the jiu-jitsu ‘the greatest sport’ that is far more ‘thrilling’ than running around the block.  

Mark Zuckerberg, pictured here earlier this year at  UFC match, revealed on a podcast this week that he doesn’t drink coffee and starts his morning with Brazilian jiu-jitsu

In the above image, Zuckerberg trains with Australian martial artist Craig Jones, 

‘I’m rawdogging reality,’ Zuckerberg said on the This Past Weekend podcast.

Zuckerberg’s reveal comes amid a recent public image revamp that involved him moving away from an awkward and robotic persona and gradually becoming more relaxed.

In 2023, he started competing in jiu-jitsu tournaments, even winning gold and silver medals in his first competition.

He’s now a blue belt in the sport. 

He has also completed the grueling ‘Murph Challenge‘ workout, which involves completing 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats, and a one-mile run. 

In 2023, he placed in the top 200 out of tens of thousands who participated.

Zuckerberg said he avoids drinking coffee with a rare exception for vacations. ‘Sometimes on vacation I’ll drink it recreationally. I don’t like any chemicals or anything like that.’ 

While standard coffee just contains coffee beans and water, flavored concoctions in coffee shops could contain sweeteners and sugary syrups.

Too many sweet additives like these could raise the risk of conditions like obesity and diabetes. 

Black coffee, however, has been linked to a lower risk of heart disease death because coffee beans are high in essential nutrients like B vitamins, which support the formation of healthy red blood cells and blood vessels. 

Zuckerberg’s workout of choice, jiu-jitsu, can burn anywhere from 500 to 1,000 calories every hour, so by the time his morning is over, he has already burned up to 2,000 calories.

Zuckerberg is pictured here in 2019 during a House Financial Services Committee hearing. He has recently undergone a public image revamp from computer nerd to athlete

Zuckerberg is pictured here alongside UFC champions Israel Adesanya (left) and Alex Volkanovski in 2023

This is the same amount of calories most Americans are supposed to eat in a day, though the exact number depends on sex, size and how active a person is.   

Zuckerberg said starting his day off with jiu-jitsu helps clear his mind and wake him up well enough to deal with emails and other tasks. 

He said: ‘I wake up in the morning and I fight people. I go fight for two hours, recenter myself, and it’s like now I can go deal with [work].

‘I think [jiu-jitsu] is the greatest sport. It’s neurologically stimulating, it’s good cardio, good strength. I used to run around the neighborhood, but it’s not as thrilling as jiujitsu.

‘It’s better than caffeine for me.’

Zuckerberg’s supplements of choice are creatine and vitamin D. 

Derived from amino acids, creatine is a naturally occurring substance made in the liver, kidneys and pancreas. 

Creatine supplements are usually taken by high-intensity athletes to increase energy production in the muscles. 

Vitamin D, meanwhile, helps improve muscle function, helping build muscles faster and repair them after injuries.

Zuckerberg said these supplements are the closest he gets to performance-enhancing drugs.

He said: ‘DARE really worked on me when I was in third grade. It really scared me.’