Somewhere right now, a tech millionaire is sleeping under a WiFi-blocking canopy, his last meal a distant memory from before noon, while algorithms monitor his DNA methylation levels like a pit crew watching tire pressure.
That millionaire is Bryan Johnson. He sold Braintree (parent of Venmo) to PayPal for roughly $800 million, then poured an estimated $2 million a year into not dying. His project, Blueprint, recently raised $60 million from investors including Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton. This stopped being a rich guy’s hobby. It’s a business.
Aging as a Leaderboard Sport
The Rejuvenation Olympics ranks biohackers by how slowly they age — and entry alone costs $1,500.
Johnson co-created the Rejuvenation Olympics, an online leaderboard scoring participants by “ageing pace” using epigenetic tests that estimate biological age from DNA methylation data. Entry requires three tests through providers like TruDiagnostic, costing around $1,500 just to qualify. Johnson reportedly scores an ageing pace suggesting he ages roughly eight months per chronological year — figures that are self-reported, with independent verification of methodology remaining limited. Think Strava, but for billionaires who fear the grave.
A typical competitor’s routine looks like this:
- Over 100 daily supplements, including off-label drugs like candesartan and Jardiance
- Eating window closes before midday; no food for hours before sleep
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy in pressurized chambers — human lifespan benefits remain unproven
- Red-light therapy and PEMF mats for recovery — clinical longevity evidence is thin
- WiFi-blocking bedroom canopies to reduce “electrosmog” — no mainstream evidence these extend life
Johnson has also tried blood plasma transfusions from his teenage son — no clear evidence of safety or benefit in humans — and took rapamycin daily until side effects outweighed perceived gains. Biochemist Charles Brenner was direct: “There’s nothing in Bryan Johnson’s protocol that would change his maximal lifespan,” according to The Guardian.
What the Scientists Actually Think
Longevity researchers say the real breakthroughs look nothing like oxygen tanks and WiFi canopies.
Andrew Steele, longevity scientist and author of Ageless, argues per Nature that no current intervention has been proven to extend human maximum lifespan by directly targeting aging. Stacking 100-plus supplements without trial data is like debugging code by changing every variable at once — you’ll never isolate what actually worked.
Mainstream longevity research targets senescent “zombie” cells — cells that linger and damage surrounding tissue. Scientists are also studying nutrient-sensing pathways using cheap, off-patent drugs like those explored alongside research into frozen brain tissue preservation. Many cost pennies, which is precisely why pharmaceutical companies won’t fund the trials, and why Steele calls for government-backed clinical research.
The boring science might save more lives than the spectacle ever will.
Johnson’s approach has, genuinely, pushed aging-as-modifiable into mainstream conversation. Better sleep, less processed food, consistent exercise — researchers universally endorse these. But the people who need longevity science most still can’t afford a $1,500 leaderboard entry fee.
