A native of Los Angeles, Rick Strassman obtained his undergraduate degree in biological sciences from Stanford University and his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. He trained in general psychiatry at the UC Davis Medical Center and took a clinical psychopharmacology research fellowship at UC San Diego. At the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, his clinical research team discovered the first known function of melatonin in humans. Between 1990 and 1995, he performed the first new US clinical research with psychedelic drugs in a generation. From 1995 to 2008, Strassman practiced general psychiatry in community mental health and the private sector. He has authored or coauthored nearly fifty peer-reviewed papers, served as guest editor and reviewer for numerous scientific journals, and consulted various government, nonprofit, and for-profit entities. His book DMT: The Spirit Molecule (2001) has been translated into fourteen languages and is the basis of a successful independent documentary of the same name. Strassman coauthored Inner Paths to Outer Space and is the author of the novel Joseph Levy Escapes Death .

He is currently clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the UNM School of Medicine and lives in Gallup, New Mexico. Keyo Trabini was born in 1978 in Málaga, Spain, and spent part of his childhood in London, England and Cardiff, Wales. He studied Economics at the University of Málaga and worked as an accountant for more than ten years. Years later, for personal and work-related reasons, he fell victim to depression. After about two years of treatment, he was recommended to try the psychedelic DMT to achieve a different perspective. At that time, Trabini was first introduced to the work of Dr. Rick Strassman and his book, DMT: The Spirit Molecule . Fascinated by this new world and after a miraculous recovery of his health, Keyo focused on the study and divulgation of the psychedelic DMT, writing and translating articles on neuroscience, philosophy and theology, until finally writing his first book, DMT: De tu Mente al Todo, in 2019.

From that moment on, Keyo's divulgation activity increased enormously, giving talks in bookshops, private centres, music festivals and other events related to psychedelics. In 2022 the English version of the book was released under the name How DMT Changed My Life, now available on Amazon. Keyo is currently studying pharmacy in the city of Granada and is specializing in the master formulation of medicines. He is also preparing his second book on the same subject, entitled DMT: De Vuelta a Casa (DMT: Back Home).