Can you imagine being forever young? It sounds like the premise of a mad genius from a science fiction novel, but it’s entirely real, and Bryan Johnson is living proof. In pursuit of this desire, he has invested millions of dollars to manipulate his biological clock and maintain his body as if he were an 18-year-old.

What’s even more intriguing is that he is not alone in this obsession, as it has become a trend among various tech moguls.

Bryan Johnson and Youthfulness

Bryan Johnson has a team of 30 doctors who constantly monitor the functioning of his body. While Johnson claims his goal is to help humanity regain its youth, not everyone can afford the $2 million he spends annually on his quest for eternal youth.

Johnson’s quest aligns with a growing trend driven by tech industry leaders:

• PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel has invested a fortune in the SENS Research Foundation, which aims to create a future “free from age-related diseases.”
• Altos Labs, launched in 2022 with a $3 billion investment from backers including Jeff Bezos and Breakthrough Prize founder Yuri Milner, is working on methods to rejuvenate cells.
• Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are directing their wealth to Calico Labs, whose scientists focus on understanding how our biological systems control aging and lifespan.

Who Is Bryan Johnson?

Over a decade ago, Bryan Johnson founded Braintree Payment Solutions, a company that left him stressed, overweight, and mentally exhausted, according to a Bloomberg News report. In 2013, he sold the company to eBay for $800 million and embarked on a total physical transformation.

One of his first steps was to found a new company in 2016. Known as Kernel, this company manufactures helmets that analyze brain activity, including assessing the effects of meditation and hallucinogens on physical health.

Under the guidance of a 29-year-old doctor named Oliver Zolman, Johnson serves as a guinea pig for numerous experiments. After building a medical wing at his residence in Venice, California, the team set out to provide him with “the brain, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, tendons, teeth, skin, hair, bladder, penis, and rectum of an 18-year-old,” according to the report.

The team has been on what they call the “Blueprint Project” for a year now, which includes a daily intake of 1,977 vegan calories, one hour of high-intensity training three times a week, and a structured sleep regimen involving blue light-blocking glasses. Additionally, Johnson undergoes dozens of medical procedures each month, some of which are extremely painful, and assesses their results through additional blood tests, MRI scans, ultrasounds, and colonoscopies, according to the report.

The Road to 18

If you aspire to follow in Johnson’s footsteps, you will need more than money; it requires superhuman discipline. A meticulous routine not suitable for fitness enthusiasts:

Johnson wakes up every day at 5 a.m. and takes a wide range of supplements and medications, including “lycopene for artery and skin health, and metformin to prevent intestinal polyps.” After a meticulously prepared meal, he follows a rigorous oral hygiene routine, using tea tree oil mouthwash and applying an antioxidant gel. He has even gone as far as injecting his son’s blood.

To illustrate the extent of his dedication, Bryan Johnson has taken “33,537 images of his intestines, found that his eyelashes are shorter than average, and measured the thickness of his carotid artery. He uses electromagnetic stimulation on his pelvic floor to improve muscle tone in hard-to-reach areas and has a device that records the number of his nocturnal erections.”

What Is the Purpose of the Blueprint Project?

In an effort to generate interest in his experiment, Bryan Johnson has created a website where he shares details of the past two years of his “Blueprint Project.” Among the messages he shares with readers is the idea that “Entropy = aging and deterioration. The alignment of objectives through his autonomous self aims to combat entropy and preserve youth. Minimize the aging process and reverse its effects as much as possible.”

More recently, he has launched a new website specifically designed to encourage others to join his cause, perhaps in a less extreme or costly manner. This site is called the “Rejuvenation Olympics” and allows those interested in slowing down the aging process to upload their epigenetic data to the platform for analysis and inclusion in a leaderboard.

Bryan Johnson’s treatment and vision have sparked controversy worldwide. Some argue that it is morally wrong, while others claim it goes against nature itself. What is certain is that his dedication and investment have yielded results that, at least for the time being, support his project.