Bryan Johnson, who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, detailed his rigorous, and some might say bizarre, regime for Bloomberg Businessweek. Photo / Twitter/Bryan Johnson
Bryan Johnson, who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, detailed his rigorous, and some might say bizarre, regime for Bloomberg Businessweek. Photo / Twitter/Bryan Johnson
What would you give to have the body of a teenager again?
Bryan Johnson, a Silicon Valley tech mogul, thinks it can be done for about $2 million ($3 million) a year.
Johnson, 45, is at the forefront of a new war on ageing in which billionaires and celebrities aretrying to turn back time.
However, he has taken it to another level, employing an army of 30 doctors and experts in what he calls “Operation Blueprint”.
The ultimate goal is to reverse biology and make each of his 78 organs - including his brain, heart, lungs and kidneys - medically 18 years old.
Johnson, who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, detailed his rigorous, and some might say bizarre, regime for Bloomberg Businessweek.
It includes putting on goggles to block out blue light two hours before bed, which is at the same time every night.
He wakes up at 5 am and conducts an hour-long workout with 25 exercises, takes dozens of supplements including creatine, and rinses his teeth with tea tree oil.
On a vegan diet he eats 1,977 calories per day, including almond milk, walnuts, flaxseed, berries, and lots of blended vegetables.
He recaptures his youthful skin with seven types of cream, along with acid peels and laser therapy, and has “fat scaffolding” injected into his face.
2 yrs of Blueprint: .5.1 yrs epigenetic age reversal (world record) .slowed my pace of aging by 24% .perfect muscle & fat (MRI) .50+ perfect biomarkers .100+ markers < chronological age .fitness tests = 18yr old .Body runs 3F° cooler
It all appears to be working and he now claims to have the fitness level and lung capacity of an 18-year-old, and the skin of a man aged 28.
His gums have responded particularly well, and are equivalent to those of a 17-year-old.
His heart, although lagging a bit behind, is doing well and is currently aged 37.
On his website, where he chronicles his quest for eternal youth, Johnson alleged his overall pace of ageing has slowed by 24 per cent, and claimed his “5.1 years epigenetic age reversal” as a world record.
He has also launched the Rejuvenation Olympics, which 1,750 youth-seekers have signed up for.
Using medical tests, the percentage that participants have managed to reduce their chronological age by is measured.
Critics have compared his extreme approach to exercise and skincare to that of the narcissistic character Patrick Bateman in Bret Easton Ellis’s novel American Psycho. The character was portrayed on screen by Christian Bale.
Johnson explained, on his website, that his mission began after he sold his payments processing company for $800 million ($NZ1.2 billion).
Suddenly, he felt “helpless to stop myself from overeating to soothe the pains of life,” he wrote.
Despite his success “when 7pm rolled around, there was nothing I could do to stop myself from engaging in this self-destructive behaviour.”
“Now, I feel happier, more alive and fulfilled than any time of my life. I am nicer to those around me, no longer irritable and my mind is clear.”
Johnson’s body fat is down to 5 per cent, and his jaw is now chiselled.
At his home in Venice, California, he is subjected to a daily litany of blood tests and colonoscopies. The medical team is led by Oliver Zolman, 29, a doctor researching ageing therapies in Cambridge, Britain.
On his website, Dr Zolman said he wanted to prove that patients have reached “longevity-escape-velocity, by reversing ageing and age-related diseases in all 78 organs”.
“By 2030 we aim to have strong evidence we have rejuvenated all 78 organs in healthy 80-year-olds to age 60.”
Bryan Johnson in 2017. Photo / Getty Images
Johnson’s quest comes as the number of people living beyond 100 is set to continue rising.
There are currently 593,000 people aged over 100 in the world and that is expected to rise to 3.7 million by 2050, according to the United Nations.
Experts claim that some people “win the genetic lottery” at birth and those with long-lived parents are more likely to reach ripe old ages.
Offspring of centenarians are “about 10 years healthier,” according to the Institute for Aging Research in New York.
Scientists hope to use AI to identify “longevity genes” and develop drugs that will help everyone live longer.
