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How to Be 18 Years Old Again for Only $2M a Year

106 points| deeel | 3 years ago |bloomberg.com

177 comments

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[+] Graziano_M|3 years ago|reply
> Johnson, Zolman and the team are more than a year into their experiments, which they collectively call Project Blueprint. This includes strict guidelines for Johnson’s diet (1,977 vegan calories a day), exercise (an hour a day, high-intensity three times a week) and sleep (at the same time every night, after two hours wearing glasses that block blue light)

So you are like an 18 year old except you can't have any fun. Why would you want to live like this? You can't ever go to a party, have a drink, or go to a restaurant? Thank you, but I'll stick to eating healthy, exercising, and living my life.

[+] jahnu|3 years ago|reply
Old joke time:

Patient: Doctor I want to live to 100!

Dr: First stop smoking

Patient: Ok I can do that

Dr: Next stop eating red meat

Patient: Sure, that too

Dr: No more alcohol

Patient getting uncomfortable: Ok ok fine

Dr: Go to bed early and get 8-9 hours uninterrupted sleep

Patient: hmm

Dr: And finally, cut out sugar, don't eat so much and do a lot more excercise

Patient: Ok ok ok, and will I then live to 100?

Dr: Eh... probably not but, it will feel like it.

[+] _fat_santa|3 years ago|reply
True but TBH that routine sounds like the routine for anyone that's serious about getting in shape. Yeah you can look fantastic and all your friends will envy you at the pool party, but in return you have to be extremely strict with everything including diet, exercise and sleep.
[+] FearlessNebula|3 years ago|reply
Kinda disappointing to see so many people on this post implying that their idea of living life is the only valid approach
[+] gigaflop|3 years ago|reply
Incidentally, I'm about halfway through "Time Enough for Love" from Heinlein.

Lazarus is laughing at this man.

[+] Janicc|3 years ago|reply
He's trying to live long enough to reach "Longevity Escape Velocity" or basically long enough for there to be an easy and real age-reversal method. That becoming a thing is obviously not guaranteed but if it were to happen, especially around the time when he's really old, it might actually pay off.
[+] Double_a_92|3 years ago|reply
Besides that, it just sounds like esoteric nonsense. What's next? Essential oils?
[+] BobbyJo|3 years ago|reply
Sounds like giving up 30-40% of your prime living years to live an extra 20% at the tail end. If you're hobby is trying to live forever, then sounds pretty neat, but if you'd rather do other things, not so much.
[+] sanjayio|3 years ago|reply
It’s wonderful that someone is pushing their diet to the limit and sharing that with the world. Contrary to the other comments, life isn’t just about eating for every individual on the planet. He can derive pleasure from other sources. It doesn’t necessarily mean he fears death either, he could be maximizing time spent with loved ones. He could be passionate about experimentation.
[+] arcturus17|3 years ago|reply
> “What I do may sound extreme, but I’m trying to prove that self-harm and decay are not inevitable”

Taken literally, it seems that he is starting from the conclusion and working backwards, and may be thoroughly disappointed. The question posed in scientific terms would be more akin to "Are self-harm and decay inevitable?"

It's also a little bit pathetic how some of the ultrawealthy seem to have the hardest time confronting their own mortality.

[+] afunctionof|3 years ago|reply
The wealthy are the only people who meaningfully can, and they're the only people who have a reason to. Being poor sucks. There's no point to life; if I was hit by a bus or jumped in front of a car while on break today at my miserable, entry-level job, it'd be okay for the world and I wouldn't feel like it was a loss for me. It'd actually be better. I wouldn't be wasting all daylight hours working a job I can't stand and being too exhausted when I get off of work to even read.

I was only afraid of death when life had hope. Now that I'm pretty much poverty-trapped, at least for the next few years, I'm fine with death.

Death is for the miserable people in the world. If you have the means to avoid it, your life is good enough to justify avoiding it. Life is great when you have time and low stress, so there's no reason not to try and preserve it.

[+] Nevermark|3 years ago|reply
> It's also a little bit pathetic how some of the ultrawealthy seem to have the hardest time confronting their own mortality.

Putting one's resources to best use isn't "pathetic".

If you do anything to maintain your health and longevity, proportional to your resources, then you are doing the same as a rich person with a private doctor.

I expect natural biological death won't be so inevitable long before the end of the century. Sometimes rich people are like everyone else, but living just a little further into the future.

[+] rom-antics|3 years ago|reply
I think a certain proportion of the rich and poor alike fear death. But only the rich have the means to (try in vain to) do anything about it. And of course only the rich pay news outlets to write puff pieces about themselves.
[+] owlglass|3 years ago|reply
While I do agree that this much fear of mortality likely warrants mental rather than anti-aging therapy, commercial applications like these are likely to motivate more research that generates actionable insights for your average person.
[+] DoingIsLearning|3 years ago|reply
> It's also a little bit pathetic how some of the ultrawealthy seem to have the hardest time confronting their own mortality.

The man has the money and the time to do this and believes in open-sourcing his 'recipe', good for him.

Also on mortality you can accept that your time is finite and still wish to have a disease and pain free old age, the two are not contradictory.

[+] finnh|3 years ago|reply
Not that he wrote the headline, but: he certainly doesn't have the face of an 18 year old. I'd actually peg it > 40.

One of the distinct pleasures I remember from the ages of 18 - 25 is _hanging out with other people that age_. They're not going to fall for it, you'll just be a creepy old guy with a ripped body.

[+] runjake|3 years ago|reply
There are a lot of HN comments crapping all over Bryan.

As stated in the article and on his site, this is a personal hobby of his.

If it's not your thing, don't crap on him, just move onto the next story.

It may be hard for you to believe, but other people enjoy doing things you might not enjoy.

They are having fun.

This is their idea of having fun.

Whenever it comes up that I run really long races, I always hear "Oooh, I could never do that."

All I am thinking is "Yeah. That's probably why you're not doing that. You don't enjoy it. duh."

[+] suby|3 years ago|reply
Whenever I hear stories like this, I can't help but think that there must be a risk of suffering liver damage from taking excessive supplements. Even obsessively getting colonoscopies as he does carries a small risk that something will go wrong such as a perforated intestine.
[+] Beaver117|3 years ago|reply
Yes but if your liver can't handle some supplements you probably weren't going to live to 100 anyway
[+] gadders|3 years ago|reply
"The dude is way beyond ripped. His body fat hovers between 5% and 6%,"

Not in the photo in the article, he isn't. Pro bodybuilders get to that for a hours/days during a competition and feel like absolute shit the whole time. He looks about 10%-ish in the photo.

[+] rom-antics|3 years ago|reply
> Each month, he also endures dozens of medical procedures, some quite extreme and painful, then measures their results with additional blood tests, MRIs, ultrasounds and colonoscopies.

Ah yes, nothing keeps the body young like performing frequent invasive experimental medical procedures.

[+] throwaway589275|3 years ago|reply
He doesn't look 18 in the photo. Also there's nothing remarkable in the article, just the usual cosmetic procedures and diet/exercise crap. It's funny, these people must think they're the first person to do whatever their preferred diet/exercise combo is, since they never seem to stop to think, if this actually worked, and someone else tried it, why didn't they live to 120 (or longer)?
[+] havblue|3 years ago|reply
There was an episode of Tales From the Crypt with this plot. To seduce a young attractive woman, an old rich man gives more and more money to trade his old features with those of a good looking bodybuilder. Of course, it ends with him being good looking and poor and her marrying the guy he swapped places with while everyone laughs at him.
[+] CyberDildonics|3 years ago|reply
Why do people put up with titles like this? This is a rich tech person doing typical diet, exercise and sleep routines combined with experimental unproven therapies like pressure chambers and supplements that tom brady endorses. No one is getting their body "rebooted", no one is 'becoming 18 again', it's just nonsense.
[+] bad_good_guy|3 years ago|reply
> His body fat hovers between 5% and 6%

Either the journalist hasn't a clue, or they were given false information by the person the story is about

Body fat at 5-6% for an extended period of time is decidedly _not_ healthy.

[+] _fat_santa|3 years ago|reply
Looking at his pictures I would estimate him at around 12-14% BF. Go on google and search "5% body fat", the difference between what he looks like and what 5%-6% BF would look like is stark. People often get BF % very wrong so I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case.
[+] thegjp210|3 years ago|reply
Moreover, while achieving a sub-10% body fat is achievable (see bodybuilding weigh-ins), it KILLS libido, energy, and general vitality / well-being.
[+] blippitybleep|3 years ago|reply
It all made me feel a little sad. This person’s fear of death stops them living. It’s like buying a Porsche and never driving it for fear of damaging it.
[+] swyx|3 years ago|reply
i mean, your definition of living doesnt have to equal his. he's a retired centimillionaire, he's spending say 10-15 hours a week doing this stuff (ok the penis-measurement-during-sleep thing is weird af) and the rest of it is still his own time to do whatever he wants.

thats still more "living" than the rest of us working class. and perhaps no stranger a hobby than some of us have.

[+] mythrwy|3 years ago|reply
I wouldn't do it, but find the experiment worthwhile. Will look for the results in 20 years time.

What do other wealthy people spend their money on? Big houses and boats and hookers and blow or simply getting more money they don't actually need at the expense of others? Or "saving the world" which often actually causes more problems?

This seems as valid a use of time and wealth as anything. It wouldn't be for me, but I don't find it the least bit sad.

[+] Hellmitioksldf|3 years ago|reply
Im thinking about my health and lifestyle and how i really really want to live too.

For me its more like a mix of my sourrundings and a sustainable life style with more work (physical) and also complementary sport to simulate more like a japanese lifestyle of working for a long time but 'work' will be formed by myself.

Basically having enough money to actually spend my life on myself and not for someone else and this life then should be sustainable.

Extending my skillset through playing (games, lego etc.), art (drawing, sculptering etc.), learning (math, refining english etc.), music & playing an instrument.

And the work part will be a peace of land which allows me to always have a project which has a physical representation. Like it makes a mental difference if i create a 3d character or a game or a program vs. i'm planting a plant and enjoying the fruit.

I'm pretty sure for him and his money is easy to do it like he does and i'm pretty sure the project is unique enough to keep him busy, i'm just not sure though how he is earthing himself and if he doesn't just throw money at something which might not give him the mental enlightment he might search.

Fortunate for me, as soon as i have enough money together to buy a broken down castle/chateue/farm and starting my journey, i will already be at a very natural and hopefully mental positive environment.

[+] cptaj|3 years ago|reply
So he's dieting, exercising regularly and getting a full night's sleep.

This, they measure, is beneficial.

Not exactly shocking here. The only big change in "biological age" is the lung capacity, but obviously anyone who exercises daily and does high intensity workouts is going to have drastically better lung capacity than the average joe on which "biological age" is based.

They seem to have no real results beyond the obvious healthy living techniques humans have known for millennia.

[+] thisisnico|3 years ago|reply
There is data that shows that exercise can reverse-aging, I forget the mechanism. Calorie-restriction can do the same, through a different mechanism. It's reversed up to a limit of course, the sands of time continue on.
[+] sremani|3 years ago|reply
Lindyman on twitter has covered this topic - the Payoff space (people whose income is decoupled from time) want to live forever and the 4HL (salaried people) want to go into retirement and sunset.

Any man with $10 million in the bank is looking for ways to extend their life and if possible experience youth while at it.

This is where the money is folks.. the tech era has formally ended it will walk a decade but slowly.. the life extension era is in full swing.

Welcome to Elysium!

[+] bloaf|3 years ago|reply
One thing I've wondered about if someone were to actually succeed at making themselves look and feel 18 is how our legal system would react.

Imagine trying to buy a house when your face says 18 and your ID says 78.

Getting a drink at a bar? Showing ID to vote? Withdraw money from that 78 year old's account? Collect social security?

You're going to get denied at best, and likely accused of identity theft/fraud.