LOS ANGELES – Imagine spending millions of dollars on a public quest to become more youthful, only to face cruel comments about your resulting appearance.
Some people say you now look worse, and a few compare you unfavourably with Chuando Tan, the Singaporean photographer who went viral for his age-defying looks, even though he is a decade older.
This is the reality for Bryan Johnson, the 47-year-old American entrepreneur who, in 2021, embarked on a controversial one-man experiment to extend his longevity and reverse any age-related decline.
But his response to the backlash has been to take the high road, engage with critics and respond graciously to even the most savage detractors.
And he acknowledges that Tan, 58, appears to have found the fountain of youth with a much simpler lifestyle.
Johnson displays this disarming attitude in recent podcast interviews, as well as a new documentary, Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants To Live Forever, now streaming on Netflix.
If sensational headlines such as “Millionaire spends US$2 million a year to live forever” suggest an eccentric vanity project, the film adds nuance and humanises the man, who comes across as earnest, curious and humble enough to admit when some experiments go wrong.
Johnson’s programme, which he calls Blueprint, entails a rigorous diet, exercise and lifestyle regimen, as well as taking dozens of supplements and injections, including a novel gene therapy to boost muscle mass.
The technology entrepreneur, who made millions when his digital payments company was acquired by PayPal for US$800 million (S$1.09 billion) in 2013, was overweight, overworked and severely depressed as he was building his early businesses.
And he did become fitter and healthier after doing the Blueprint programme, but his rapid weight loss and pallor – the by-product of trying to avoid sun damage – attracted numerous negative comments.
In the film and on his YouTube channel, Johnson acknowledges that the haters had a point. Even though he had become healthier overall, he lost facial volume, and with it, the appearance of youthfulness.
Yet, despite a concerted effort to rejuvenate his visage, he is still routinely the target of barbed comments.
On an episode of the popular More Plates More Dates podcast released in December 2024, Johnson is shown a tweet in which SpaceX founder and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, 53, agrees that he looked better before he began his anti-ageing journey.
But Johnson laughs good-naturedly, describes Musk as a friend, and embraces the joke often made about his vampiric complexion.
He is then asked about Tan, whom the podcast host cites as an example of “people who seemingly pay very little attention to what they’re doing and yet look way better than people who are doing everything”.
Johnson reveals that he and Tan, founder of Singapore modelling agency Ave Management, had actually planned to meet. “I was just in Singapore, but didn’t get a chance to meet him,” he says.
Agreeing that Tan looks at least 20 years younger than his age, he adds: “I don’t fault people for being confused.
“They look at that person (Tan), and then they see the headline, ‘This guy is spending US$2 million a year’, and they conclude, ‘This guy should look like that guy in one year’s time.’”
Johnson argues, however, that this is because people do not understand “the biological principles of ageing” and advancements in rejuvenating technologies.
It would be interesting to run the same tests he does on himself on Tan, he adds. “What do his insides look like? Is it as pristine as his appearance?”
Still, the fact that Tan looks as ageless as he does is promising to Johnson.
“To me, that’s really encouraging because biology is capable of the things we’re asking it to be. We’re just trying to sort it out.”
Johnson’s programme measures health and ageing using dozens of biological markers, ranging from established metrics such as bone density and VO2 max – a measure of cardiovascular fitness – to esoteric ones such as DNA methylation “clocks”.
These clocks track chemical processes in DNA to determine “biological age” or if someone is ageing faster or slower than his age in years.
The validity of these clocks is still debated by scientists, but they are one of the main tools Johnson uses to calculate his speed of ageing, and the basis of his 2023 claim to have reversed his biological age by five years after two years on his protocol.
The Netflix documentary details the lengths he goes to daily to adhere to and document this demanding programme.
It includes swallowing 88 pills, eating a calorie-restricted vegan diet that always leaves him hungry, and something called “penis shockwave therapy”, which he hopes will boost his sexual health and performance.
He has also created a community that follows a pared-down version of his protocol and attends his Don’t Die Summits, where attendees get to test their biological age and see the latest longevity-boosting therapies. One was held in Singapore in September 2024.
But equally fascinating is what drives Johnson to do it all – a touching backstory that includes growing up with little money, becoming estranged from his family, then reconnecting with both his father and his 19-year-old son.
Whatever you think of the longevity goal, this is a father making up for lost time – and trying to extend that as much as he can. - The Straits/Asia News Network
