When 25-year-old Joe Collinson first laced up his running shoes last May, he could barely make it through a 5K without stopping. Fast forward one year, and he’s just completed his first ultra marathon.
He's also gone a bit viral on Instagram for something that sounds almost unbelievable: running long distances on magic mushrooms.
Known online for eating shroom-infused chocolate while running marathons, Joe has built a community of thousands who tune in to watch him train, talk, and transform his mind and body with a little help from psilocybin.
But behind the laughs, clips, and “trippy runs,” there’s a deeply human story about mental health, growth, and finding flow through nature.
Burnout to Breakthrough
Just a year ago, Joe describes himself as “a bit of a bum”, stuck in old habits, smoking every day, caught between anxiety and depression. Like many young men in the UK, he’d lost direction after school.
Then came running, and mushrooms.
“last summer I started me and me pal started doing like hikes on them and you literally used to just fly like and it was just so effortless like you just wouldn't even feel like on your legs or nothing,” Joe told The Two Diddies Podcast.
What started as an experiment quickly became a mission. Joe signed up for an ultra marathon, started filming his runs, and posted them online. One video - made after a brand sent him some mushroom chocolates - went viral, racking up nearly a million views.
The Mushrooms and the Miles
Joe doesn’t take mushrooms every run - he’s mindful not to build tolerance - but he swears by their ability to unlock a new kind of focus and endurance.
“With mushrooms with it, you can run for days. Like I'm telling you,
when I'm on the mushrooms... I just flow so much,” he says.
The neuroscience actually backs him up: psilocybin has been shown in studies to increase connectivity between brain regions, reduce the “ego” chatter that causes fatigue, and promote a deep sense of presence - perfect for long-distance endurance.
But Joe’s message isn’t about tripping for fun. It’s about healing, focus, and authenticity.
“I would never tell anyone to do that. I'm trying to... spread positivity and stuff. And also like influence other people into like fitness..”
Running for a Cause
Joe’s first ultra - the 100k Glasgow to Edinburgh ultra marathon - was about more than pushing his limits. He ran to raise funds for If U Care Share Foundation, a North East charity focused on suicide prevention and support for families affected by loss.
"When I was 19, I lost like one of my best mates… through suicide… and then most recently about a month ago, I lost another one of the boys… Again, through suicide. I just kind of want to like help other people to prevent that from happening,” Joe says.
For him, running has become a form of therapy, a ritual that combines discipline, endurance, and connection to something deeper. And it's fitting that his exploits also promote the potential of magic mushrooms in mental health treatment.
Psilocybin - the active compound in “magic mushrooms” - has been used for healing for thousands of years. And we now have lots of scientific studies showing that psilocybin can significantly reduce depressive symptoms with fewer side effects than traditional antidepressants like SSRIs.
While large-scale trials are still refining treatment protocols, the evidence so far suggests psilocybin offere a safe, effective, and more natural treatment for metal health conditions including depression, PTSD, addiction, eating disorders and more.
Many - including us here at Mushies - believe that psilocybin has the potential to transform mental health treatment in the years to come.
The Rise of the Mushies Movement
What started as a hobby has become a movement. Joe’s Instagram is now full of comments from people around the world - from Australia to LA - saying he’s inspired them to start running, to microdose, or just to get outside again.
He’s since launched Runner’s High Club, a growing community that blends fitness, mental health, and the natural benefits of psychedleic fungi.
And while he jokes about one day getting cancelled for promoting a class A drug, the truth is that his story is exactly what society needs. It's a reminder that healing often begin with reconnecting to nature, even if that means breaking some rules on the way.
Mushies Says 🍄
At Mushies, we love seeing people like Joe embody what we stand for - natural energy, mental clarity, and connection to life through nature’s intelligence.
Whether it’s through a scoop of Mushrooom Coffee, a Cordyceps workout, or a run in the woods while on shrooms, this movement is about using tools like mushrooms to reconnect with nature .
Follow Joe’s journey:
📸 @joeecollinson
🎥 YouTube:
Donate to Joes fundraiser: If U Care Share Foundation
Try the Mushies blend that fuels flow: Mushies Super Nootropic Coffee
