“Can We Defy Death? Bryan Johnson’s Bold Experiment in Longevity”

Bryan Johnson, the biohacking centimillionaire who amassed wealth by selling payment applications, is aware of what his most vocal online detractors have claimed ever since he gained notoriety in January 2023. Critics latched onto his unusual routine of consuming sludge mixed with a plethora of vitamins and minerals (over 50 each day) while connected to devices that monitor his heart rate, brain activity, and erections (as these are indicators of good health), and experimenting with unconventional treatments such as blood transfusions from his teenage son, all in pursuit of slowing down the ageing process, extending life, and, as his slogan-turned-brand campaign proclaims, Don’t Die.

“Initially, people viewed me as this ‘quirky, vampire billionaire tech guy drinking his son’s blood’,” Johnson states, during a video call with the Guardian. “I thought, ‘Yes, sure. Additionally, I’m a professional rejuvenation athlete. I’m developing a new sport and a fresh perspective on reality. Death is always unavoidable, but I’m posing the question: are we the first generation that might not die?”

Johnson, the 47-year-old focal point of the new Netflix documentary, Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever, elaborates that he’s achieving gold medals in the health Olympics (if such a concept existed), asserting that he possesses the finest biomarkers (such as VO2 max – peak oxygen uptake – and inflammation levels) globally. He has even established a website, rejuvenationolympics.com, where individuals can sign up for testing kits that assess their ageing rate and compete with others in the “community.” By adhering to a strict diet, exercise, and sleep regimen, Johnson claims to have decreased his ageing rate to 0.64, meaning he only ages seven and a half months each year. He is currently being surpassed on his leaderboard by several subscribers.

Johnson expresses enthusiasm as he joins the video call from his residence in LA. He had just stepped off the elliptical machine ten minutes prior, completing an hour-long 4×4 training session (where one exerts maximum effort followed by four minutes of rest), achieving a new personal record. “Observe those spikes,” he remarks, lifting his phone to display a chart of his performance; and a report indicating that his maximum heart rate of 189 correlates to a biological age of 31, with his muscle oxygen saturation and VO2 max rated as elite for an 18-year-old. Prior to this, Johnson states he underwent 90 minutes of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, where one lies in a large chamber that delivers pure, pressurized oxygen to the body. He also achieved yet another perfect sleep score, a feat most of us living in a state he describes as “addicted to die” could only aspire to.

He is commenting on the indulgences we believe contribute to our happiness: pizza, beer, and late nights that hinder optimal health and accelerate aging; elements he has completely removed from his routine, which often leads the rest of us to question if a prolonged life under those conditions is worth living at all.

“Personally, I’ve never felt more fulfilled,” Johnson states. “In my experience, I’ve never encountered someone who is genuinely healthy saying, ‘You know what, damn it, I’m too healthy. I simply feel awful’ … I think it reflects a significant commentary on the condition of our cultural landscape that I have to defend myself by outlining why health is positive and why others engaging in these life-shortening practices are deemed to be truly living. Essentially, it’s a shift in perspective. A new way to comprehend the world.”

Johnson’s fundamental health objectives are, of course, far more relatable than his tech guru persona may imply. If we discount the untested procedures he has since ceased involving blood transfusions and rapamycin (which has been shown to increase lifespan in rodents), the light and oxygen therapies that only individuals at his level can financially support, the group of medical professionals analyzing his outcomes, and the brain measurement device Kernel that he himself developed, you ultimately find a health and lifestyle influencer who has branded and marketed his personal regimen, which he dubs Blueprint, much like the many you’ll encounter while scrolling through Instagram.

“The majority of the advantages Bryan gains from this pursuit stem from sleep, nutrition, and exercise,” remarks Chris Smith, the director of the documentary. “These are aspects that are accessible to all of us to varying extents.”

Smith began filming in March 2023, shortly after the viral sensation when headlines reported that Johnson was investing $2 million annually to regain his youthful vitality. The director notes that spending time with Johnson has inspired him to adopt a more thoughtful and deliberate approach to his own health since then. “Ultimately, as Brian articulates in the film, he aims to explore the outer limits to discover what might be possible, so that perhaps we can all reap the benefits.”

However, his documentary, which delves into the individual behind the sensational headlines and social media updates showcasing biometric information and nightly erection reports, also retains a healthy amount of skepticism. On one side, Johnson’s radical quest for treatments aimed at defying ageing mirrors numerous others who venture down their personal internet rabbit holes in search of health remedies that conventional medicine has yet to address, whether it’s resolving chronic pain or improving sleep quality. “Our healthcare system only intervenes once we are near death,” Johnson asserts, expressing his distrust of an industry he believes has been overtaken by vested interests. “It’s not preventative in any way. It’s not proactive whatsoever.”

In contrast, medical professionals and researchers featured in Smith’s documentary generally concur that Johnson’s simultaneous experimentation with various treatments and therapies does not constitute solid scientific methodology, as it remains unclear where the advantages originate from.

When I inquire why Johnson doesn’t allocate his wealth towards research that aligns with established scientific methods within the healthcare sector, he hesitates. For him, formulating a new system is more rational than enhancing the existing one.

“It’s flawed,” Johnson insists, stating that he is in communication with politicians such as Robert F Kennedy Jr and the likely deputy secretary of health and human services, Jim O’Neill, to amend regulations that he claims obstruct scientific progress. “It’s not merely about repairing the system. It’s about addressing the zeitgeist.”

At this juncture, we take a broader view of the overarching narrative surrounding Johnson’s Don’t Die philosophy, and how his meticulously planned regimen and conviction that we can extend our lifespans ties back to his role as a tech entrepreneur harnessing AI to analyze and potentially enhance the human body. For Johnson, Don’t Die represents an ideology that amalgamates the inherent human yearning for longevity with scientific breakthroughs, a sci-fi-worthy collaboration that he aspires will be remarkable enough for humanity that it could position him alongside figures like Confucius and Karl Marx.

He claims, “Don’t Die is political; economic; moral; social; ethical; spiritual; and religious.

“Simultaneously, it’s computational. Fundamentally, it’s grounded in physics … It’s a tangible ideology that AI can execute.”