Bryan Johnson is arguably the most prominent public figure in the global anti-aging movement. He carries a growing list of labels: Silicon Valley’s longevity entrepreneur, immortality-obsessed technophile, “vampire,” and “human guinea pig.” These nicknames have followed him as he turns himself into a self-directed experiment.
Among the many tech elites pursuing longer lifespans, Johnson may not be the biggest spender, but he is likely the most extreme in his approach. To resist aging, he follows an ascetic lifestyle. He goes to bed at 8:30 p.m, wakes at 4:30 a.m, limits his daily intake to under 2,000 calories, and stops eating after noon. He works out every day and takes dozens of supplements, including experimental treatments that fall outside mainstream medical approval such as blood plasma transfusions, stem cell injections, and gene therapies.
Since launching his program in 2021, the 47-year-old claims to spend USD 2 million annually in pursuit of biological rejuvenation. According to Johnson, he has reversed his biological age by 5.1 years and slowed his aging rate to 0.48, meaning his body only ages six months for every year that passes. He has published troves of biomarker data, including a resting heart rate of 44 beats per minute before sleep, more than three hours of nightly nocturnal erections, and a 110-kilogram bench press.
Today, “Don’t Die” and “reverse aging” are no longer just personal goals. They appear to define Johnson’s entire life mission.
In the context of business or technology, such focus might be viewed as impressive discipline. But when applied to one’s own body, it can come across as extreme. Online, observers following Johnson’s ongoing self-experiment often speculate, half in jest, on how he might eventually die, joking about the irony if he were to succumb to a mundane illness or choke on food.
Still, beyond the mockery, Johnson has cultivated a dedicated global following. Many are individuals seeking to live longer, stay stronger, and who are open to adopting his stringent protocol. Among them is a wealthy heir from China, who is now working with Johnson to open two longevity clinics: one in Beijing, the other in Chongqing.
So what drives a Silicon Valley entrepreneur to devote his life to avoiding death? If Johnson fears dying, why take such experimental risks? 36Kr spoke with him to understand what lies behind the ambitions of this self-declared “Don’t Die” pioneer.
The following transcript has been edited and consolidated for brevity and clarity.
Rewinding the clock
Yang Xuan (YX): You’ve been labeled everything from a “vampire” to a “human guinea pig.” What do you personally identify as?
Bryan Johnson (BJ): I’m an anti-aging “athlete.” I’m one of the first humans to enter an age where immortality will be possible. And I am a father.
YX: You’ve said the “Don’t Die” project ties back to your early experiences with depression and even suicidal thoughts after founding your company. But you sold your company to PayPal in 2013. Your longevity project didn’t launch until eight years later. What happened in between?
BJ: When I was 21 years old, I had just returned from Ecuador where I lived for two years amid extreme poverty. And I came back to the US, and I felt fortunate that we had sufficient food, we had a home, we had medical care, and that we had life basics that the people in Ecuador did not. I was living among people who were there with dirt floors and mud huts.
When I came back to the US, I felt an overwhelming desire to try to spend my life in a way that would be useful to other people: to give other people opportunities in life, since they weren’t as fortunate as I was to be born into a place where basic needs were met. But at the time, I didn’t know what exactly I should do.
So I decided I would become an entrepreneur and make a bunch of money by the time I was 30. And then, with that money, I would figure out what to do next. I ended up selling my company when I was 34 for around USD 100 million. I had achieved the goal I set when I was 20.
Then came the real question: now that I finally have the money, what do I do?
And I did two things.
First, I believed the future of humanity depended on our ability to engineer biology and the physical world. But I didn’t have a background in science, so I wanted to learn as much as I could about biology, materials science, chemistry, physics, and all the hard sciences. I invested USD 100 million into companies working on synthetic biology, genomics, nanotechnology, and computational therapeutics. I spent years in the trenches with many PhD founders, and that gave me a valuable education in science.
Second, around 2015, I started thinking about human evolution, specifically how we might evolve ourselves using artificial intelligence to enhance our intellect and awareness. That led me to start a brain-computer interface company. We developed a wearable fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) brain interface, one of the most advanced in the world. I now use it every day. It can measure the brain’s biological age, detect early cognitive decline, and even help predict responses to treatments like antidepressants.
Through this work, I learned a great deal about science, the brain, and measurement.
But I wasn’t sure if this was the best way to use my time. So I created a thought experiment: imagine standing in the year 2500 and looking back at the early 21st century. How would that era be defined?
A century is typically remembered by just a few events, and I thought two things would mark ours: when humans created superintelligent AI, and when death was redefined as a technical challenge, not something inevitable.
This doesn’t necessarily mean immortality. It means a clear technological path to extending life expectancy beyond 70 or 100, toward 150, 180, or even 250 years.
So I decided to try to be the first human to not die in this new AI-driven world. I wanted to show the world that “Don’t Die” could be a scientific, reproducible process, that it was not just myth or fantasy.
YX: So is your longevity project a personal quest, or was it intended from the outset to be a public experiment?
BJ: I was trying to communicate this bigger idea that we’re at a really special moment as a species. But I knew people wouldn’t understand that unless the message was more direct.
So I did two things. I made myself the explorer. I built a medical team, reviewed scientific literature, and implemented what evidence shows to be the best diet, nutrition, and exercise protocols for longevity—on myself.
I also shared all the results: what worked, what didn’t. All of it, for free.
There’s a personal reason behind this. During my startup years, no one ever told me to sleep well, exercise, and eat healthy. The culture celebrates overwork and burnout. So now, I try to be the person I once needed, the one who reminds others to do the basics right.
YX: If you could start a company again, would you prioritize sleep more?
BJ: Yes. If I started Braintree again, I would make sleep my number one priority. I believe I would have been more successful. The idea that less sleep equals more success is flat out wrong. Science shows we need high-quality sleep to function well.
YX: Silicon Valley is full of longevity pursuits. Google’s founders have launched an anti-aging company. Jeff Bezos poured USD 3 billion into cell regeneration, and Sam Altman backs a biotech firm. But you’ve taken a very different approach by putting your body front and center and quantifying your progress. Why?
BJ: To me, the problem was obvious: there’s no hard metric for health. We know who the 100-meter sprint champion is. We know who the richest person is. But when it comes to health, it’s all anecdotes and hearsay.
So I wondered: can health be measured like speed?
That’s why I shared over 60 biomarkers tied to all-cause mortality and released 12 months of lab data. The goal was never to be the healthiest per se, but to show how a measurement-based, science-backed protocol can lead to elite health.
YX: Was that inspired by Silicon Valley’s obsession with data, like how smartphones are compared based on benchmark scores and AI models are ranked on leaderboards?
BJ: Exactly. Humans are most motivated when outcomes are measurable. Think of social media where followers and views are status badges. But in health, when progress can’t be tracked, people lose motivation.
So I created a leaderboard for health. When you know improving your biomarkers boosts your “rank,” the system becomes self-motivating.
Hai Ruojing (HR): Has the longevity field reached a consensus on what makes a valid evaluation system? Do experts accept the biomarkers you’re tracking?
BJ: That’s the very problem I set out to fix. When I launched the “Don’t Die” project in 2020 and 2021, I saw that experts disagreed on everything. If someone wanted to get healthy, they would find ten contradictory answers just by reading books or listening to podcasts.
So I said: let’s skip the opinions and just follow the data.
Here’s a basic example. Put a 90-year-old next to a 2-year-old, and anyone can tell who’s older. That means aging is observable. It can be quantified via skin, mobility, and other metrics.
So when experts argue, I just say: “What’s your blood glucose level?” That’s a proven mortality indicator. Let’s speak in the same language: data.
Of course, many people disagree with my approach. My answer is: great, show your biomarkers. Do your protocol, publish your numbers. Then we can compare.
Mapping the journey
YX: People most often ask you how to “not die.” You’ve said the most important things are sleep, diet, and exercise, plus eliminating bad habits like smoking and drinking. You’ve also said these fundamentals account for 80% of results. Can you explain?
BJ: Probably 80%. And for people who want something even more actionable, I’d say focus on one metric: your resting heart rate before bed.
Check it with a wearable or just count your pulse manually for six seconds and multiply by ten. Let’s say it’s 60 beats per minute. Then try to bring it down to 55 bpm.
Three things help:
- Eat your last meal early. If you sleep at 10 p.m, finish dinner by 6 p.m. I stop eating eight hours before bed. That keeps my bedtime heart rate around 44 bpm. If I eat an hour before bed, it jumps to 60 bpm.
- Wind down before sleep. Don’t expect to close your laptop and fall asleep the next minute. Write down your worries, breathe deeply, relax your mind.
- Avoid alcohol. It spikes your heart rate.
This single metric governs your whole system. A high heart rate ruins sleep, which ruins exercise, which leads to junk food cravings. Control it, and you install a self-discipline engine.
YX: But many people feel overwhelmed, especially those who are barely holding life together. How can ordinary people apply your methods?
BJ: Actually, I have four full-time jobs. I’m the CEO of three companies. I work the moment I wake up. I’ve never had more stress.
So the key is to build systems.
Say you work 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Then aim to sleep by 11 p.m, get eight hours of sleep, wake up at 7 a.m, exercise, then head to work. Structure your life. Make habits, not daily decisions.
And culture matters. The “996” work system is cultural. We imitate each other. So let’s make going to bed at 11 p.m. cool.
Defying expectations
YX: You’ve said before that in modern life, we think we’re making choices but we’re really being programmed by the ads we’re surrounded with—the marketing and algorithms. People scroll late at night, can’t sleep, and lose willpower. Is there a solution?
BJ: I’ve created support groups. In one, a group of friends struggles with sugar addiction. They binge when stressed, especially at night.
So we made a game: if someone eats sugar, they have to post a picture in the group. Whether that’s two cookies or ten, it has to go in the chat.
It adds accountability, community, and emotional safety. When people are struggling, they can share it.
Making good decisions is hard. But it’s easier when you’re not alone.
YX: So humans need community support. But when you say “Don’t Die,” is it the same thing as anti-aging?
BJ: A lot of people criticize “Don’t Die” as too negative, questioning why not to focus on living well instead.
But “Don’t Die” reflects something deeper: when AI is advancing faster than we can comprehend, staying alive becomes a global, cross-cultural value. Chinese people don’t want to die today. Neither do Americans.
I’m not promoting immortality. People disagree on what living well means. But everyone agrees that it’s better off not dying today. That’s the baseline for cooperation.
YX: So it’s a phrase that is universal among people.
BJ: Exactly. Everyone defines living well differently. When people disagree, they fight. Sometimes they even go to war.
“Don’t Die” has only one meaning: to keep living. It’s meant to reduce human conflict by finding common ground.
YX: In medicine, it’s said that a long lifespan can be unlocked by beating cardiovascular disease, brain disease, and cancer. But your method seems different. You focus on slowing aging itself.
BJ: That view makes sense. My approach is to slow down the aging clock directly.
Everyone has an epigenetic clock, like a speedometer for aging. Mine started at 1.00, and now I’ve lowered it to 0.54. The slower you age, the less damage your organs take. That’s why I created the Rejuvenation Olympics: because we don’t just want to reach 100 years of age, we want to have the body of a 50-year-old when we get there.
Pushing boundaries
HR: In clinical research, trials typically isolate one variable. But you’re doing dozens of things at once: supplements, therapies, protocols. How do you know what actually works?
BJ: We’ve designed controlled experiments. A good example is our hyperbaric oxygen therapy test.
We first reviewed the literature and selected key biomarkers to track, like VEGF (for blood vessel growth), gut microbiome changes, and inflammatory markers like high-sensitivity CRP. Then we ran more than 60 sessions at two atmospheres for 90 minutes with 100% oxygen. Before and after, we measured all markers.
The changes in my body mirrored the outcomes reported in scientific studies. It wasn’t a randomized controlled trial, but it was replicable, grounded in data, and useful.
What I’m trying to introduce to the public is this: measuring biomarkers is the fastest way to make informed health decisions. It’s better than just listening to stories.
Some scientists misunderstand this. They think I’m running clinical trials. I’m not. I’m trying to shift how people think about health.
I want people to see sleep, good food, and exercise as cool, measurable achievements.
YX: You used to take over 100 supplements daily, now you’re down to about 50. Are they all necessary? Which ones work?
BJ: I’ve cut it further, down to about 35 now. I’ll trim more.
No diet alone gives the body everything it needs. Supplements are essential, especially for deficiencies.
Start with a basic blood test. For example, if your vitamin D is low, you can supplement or get more sun.
But most people don’t need what I do. If you just sleep well, eat right, exercise, and drop bad habits, you’ll get 80% of the benefit.
YX: You also take newer supplements including NMN (nicotinamide mononucleotide), immunosuppressants, and ashwagandha. What’s your verdict on these compounds?
BJ: We selected each supplement based on the strongest scientific evidence and general population benefit.
Take NMN, for example. It supports cellular NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) levels, which decline with age. That’s a universal need.
We use only what’s backed by robust data and relevant for most people.
Trials, access, and cost
YX: You emphasize testing. Should ordinary people test like you? Or are basic checkups enough?
BJ: Basic tests are great. A simple blood panel is one of the best ways to assess your health. Advanced testing is useful too, but even an annual blood draw is a huge step forward.
YX: Let’s talk about some of the more advanced things you’ve done, like blood transfusions, stem cell therapy, and especially gene therapy, which experts have said is risky. What were those experiences like?
BJ: First, some clarity: the gene therapy I received wasn’t editing my DNA. It simply increased the expression of a protein called follistatin in my blood. It barely qualifies as gene therapy by most standards.
Everything I’ve done has been safe. For example, plasma transfusions are incredibly common. Millions happen every day in the US.
We always consult scientific literature, consider side effects, and thoroughly measure biomarkers. We don’t take unnecessary risks.
YX: Have any of your experiments ever gone wrong, or was there anything that felt unsafe or made you reconsider?
BJ: Nothing dramatic. But there was a surprise with rapamycin.
It’s an immunosuppressant often used for organ transplants, but some studies suggested it could extend life. I took it for several years, carefully monitored blood levels to ensure the right dose. Then I stopped. My glucose and lipid levels were off, and I developed soft tissue infections.
One month after I stopped, Yale University published a study showing rapamycin actually accelerated aging across 16 epigenetic clocks. It was ironic: the guy trying not to die was unknowingly speeding up his own aging. But we were transparent about it and published everything. That was probably the biggest hiccup so far.
YX: Some therapies you pursue are either unapproved by the US Food and Drug Administration or considered cutting-edge. What drives you to explore these options?
BJ: I’m trying to set a model for how to experiment safely. We do deep research, track all possible side effects, and measure the body beforehand and afterward. That’s how we know what changed and why.
People say I’m reckless. Then I ask: when was your last fast food meal? Most would reply that it was yesterday. And I tell them: you’re taking way more risk than I am.
Unhealthy food, poor sleep, and no exercise constitutes a dangerous combination. We’re actually taking fewer risks, because our process is scientific.
HR: You’ve explored mesenchymal stem cells and gene expression therapy. Are there any even newer anti-aging technologies you’re currently testing?
BJ: Yes, we recently began using trophoblast exosomes, which are derived from early-stage embryonic cells that go on to form the placenta. I’ve been undergoing this therapy for a few weeks now. The early evidence is promising, and we believe it’s safe.
HR: Have any therapies produced effects you could feel immediately?
BJ: Not really. For me, the subjective effects are minimal because my health is already highly optimized. But for my father, who’s over 70, the effects have been dramatic. He feels more alert, has more energy, and less pain. So a person’s baseline really matters. The less optimized your health, the more you feel the gains.
Turning longevity into a business
YX: On the business side, how did this whole operation get off the ground? Did it start with recruiting a team? Or did you just pay top dollar for the right talent?
BJ: It definitely started with the team. There are many doctors who want to work in longevity medicine. What’s missing isn’t talent, but opportunities to practice real longevity science in a structured way.
YX: You’ve said your longevity program costs USD 2 million per year. Is that a set budget or just the actual spend?
BJ: That number has dropped significantly. Early on, it was expensive as we were doing foundational scientific work and building new ways to measure everything. I’ve become the most measured human in history, and that was costly.
But now that our processes are stable and we’ve mastered measurement, costs are much lower. People see the USD 2 million figure and assume it’s the cost to follow my protocol. It’s not. That figure includes the science, research, and validation. The actual lifestyle part costs very little, sometimes nothing.
YX: How does this “startup” compare to your previous ones?
BJ: Great question. In a way, I see myself as a product.
Back when I was building software for finance, we constantly improved it with each version. But my own life wasn’t like that. After a stressful workday, I’d binge on cookies, sleep poorly. I was inconsistent.
Why couldn’t I build myself like I built software: reliable and upgradeable?
That’s when I started engineering life habits. Now, I feel consistent and self-sustaining.
People say that I live like AI and question if that’s even human. But I’ve never been happier. Good sleep, exercise, and diet feel amazing. The joy from real health beats any junk food or hangover.
Pitching the idea
YX: You used to be a top credit card salesman and had this tactic of walking into a store and offering someone USD 100 for one minute of their time. Most laughed and let you pitch. Do you have similar tricks to promote your new venture?
BJ: Yes. I often invite people to try one thing for a week: lower their resting heart rate before bed.
Eat your last meal earlier. Don’t snack before sleeping. Wind down for at least an hour: meditate, breathe, or call a friend.
Avoid caffeine late in the day.
After a week, I ask them: did it make you happier or sadder to live this way?
YX: You’re arguably the most prominent face of anti-aging globally. Your story gets a lot of attention. One of your most viewed YouTube videos is about your ex-fiancee suing you. You’ve posted semi-nude photos and shared data on your sexual function. Don’t you feel that’s too much? Why be so public?
BJ: The things that happen to me happen to others, too. But they stay quiet out of fear, and that creates isolation.
My ex tried to extort USD 9 million from me, threatening to release damaging stories unless I paid up. That happens to powerful people everywhere. Most stay silent and pay.
That creates a toxic culture where threats and lies become profitable. Lawyers and bad actors learn from it.
Since I shared my story, I’ve had three to four wealthy or influential people reach out weekly saying the same thing is happening to them. I want to expose this. We need a culture of honesty, not silence. Even if it hurts my reputation, someone has to speak up.
Same goes for nocturnal erections. It’s taboo, but it’s also an important health marker. If a man stops having them, he’s 70% more likely to die within five years. Sleep deprivation kills this function. Yet people brag about sleeping four hours a night, thinking they are tough. Only a tiny fraction, maybe one in a million, can thrive on that. Everyone else suffers.
I talk about it because people need to understand: your cardiovascular, psychological, and sexual health depend on sleep.
If we don’t talk about these things, they stay hidden, and we suffer silently.
Faith, culture, and community
YX: You were raised in a Mormon household and spent two years as a missionary. Do you see similarities between that experience and your current role?
BJ: Definitely. I’m grateful for my upbringing. Mormonism taught me to value character, honesty, hard work, and community. To draw strength from shared beliefs is one of humanity’s greatest forces.
Where I differ is the idea of an afterlife. Mormonism says that if you follow God’s commandments, you’ll go to heaven.
But I don’t know if heaven exists. Maybe it does, and that would be wonderful. But what I do know is that I love being alive right now. Even people who believe in heaven or reincarnation aren’t rushing to die. Everyone wants to live to see tomorrow. That’s what “Don’t Die” is really about: finding common ground, no matter your religion, nationality, or worldview.
Building community is in my DNA. So is thinking about life on long timescales.
YX: What role does community play in your longevity work? Do you believe group gatherings are the best way to change human behavior at scale?
BJ: Yes, I do. Think ahead to 2035. With AI advancing so quickly, life may be unrecognizable. By then, people might look back at 2025 in disbelief at the everyday habits that raised our risk of death, like smoking, drinking, or consistently staying up late.
Just like how we now look back on slavery with disbelief, future generations might view our health habits the same way.
So when we come together as a community today, we’re announcing the start of a new era of being human.
For thousands of years, society defined achievement by wealth, power, or fame. Now, we’re proposing something new: that existence itself is the highest virtue.
Health isn’t just a tool to get somewhere else. Life itself is the prize.
YX: Your anti-aging project is now a system. You have a community, supplement kits, and now you’re opening clinics in Beijing. Can you share your commercial roadmap?
BJ: Our first longevity clinics will be in Beijing and Chongqing. We chose these cities because our Chinese partner, Huapeng Group, has deep expertise in healthcare. They already have medical infrastructure and teams in place.
Next, we’ll expand to more cities across China and Europe.
YX: If instead of USD 300 million, you had USD 3 billion, which anti-aging fields would you invest in? What areas seem most promising?
BJ: There are many exciting therapies in development. I’m friends with the founders of Google, Sam Altman, and Jeff Bezos. What they are building is incredible, but it’s also a huge responsibility. As those therapies mature, we’ll introduce more options and of course, in full compliance with Chinese laws.
Our value is being at the frontiers: bringing the best, most effective longevity protocols to the public.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by Yang Xuan and Hai Ruojing for 36Kr.