Man who spends $2M a year to look 18 is swapping blood with his father and son(deccanherald.com)
deccanherald.com
Man who spends $2M a year to look 18 is swapping blood with his father and son
https://www.deccanherald.com/science-and-environment/the-man-who-spends-2-mn-a-year-to-look-18-is-swapping-blood-with-his-father-and-son-1221314.html
41 comments
This guy's content snuck into my youtube algo not long ago. He seems to have a real disorder that stems from age and time, permeating every aspect of his life. I know it sounds a bit judgemental, and everyone should be able to do as they please. Agreed. But if you look into him, he is actually peddling a lot of these gadgets and courses around anti-aging. The media attention he's getting is probably just lining his pockets even further
I enjoy watching his content and the levels and arguments he makes, the only thing I don't like is he believes because he is spending 2m a year, that everything he says is fact, and based on data so it's impossible to be wrong.
That kind of thinking is so odd. He thinks every eating plan is stupid, because it's not his eating plan.
As if eating that many pills and his weird food is the only way to optimize one's self.
That kind of thinking is so odd. He thinks every eating plan is stupid, because it's not his eating plan.
As if eating that many pills and his weird food is the only way to optimize one's self.
I just started following Bryan's journey two weeks ago.
I didn't get the same impression as you. I always thought it's implied he's talking about what's good for him, not all people. He then uses that as a framework for something others could pickup and incorporate in their lives.
I like the iterative nature of his work - he always tries to improve the recipes and supplements he takes.
I always see a lot of negative comments about the guy here on HN, and he's basically hacking his own body and publishes everything for free[0].
[0] https://blueprint.bryanjohnson.co/
I didn't get the same impression as you. I always thought it's implied he's talking about what's good for him, not all people. He then uses that as a framework for something others could pickup and incorporate in their lives.
I like the iterative nature of his work - he always tries to improve the recipes and supplements he takes.
I always see a lot of negative comments about the guy here on HN, and he's basically hacking his own body and publishes everything for free[0].
[0] https://blueprint.bryanjohnson.co/
I don't know, there's a lot of red flags on his site.
"Slowed pace of aging by 31 years": How could one possibly quantify this accurately?
Depending on his body weight, a bench press of 240lbs isn't particularly notable or impressive.
Giving leg press numbers instead of something like deadlift or squat is a bit suspicious. Leg press is easy to cheat by limiting range of motion. Plus full body movements that require more stabilization would be a better measure if one is trying to prove they haven't aged.
Comparing strength numbers to an 18 year old is probably not the best metric, given that strength takes a certain amount of time to build. Not that there are good scientific papers on this but I think general consensus is it peaks mid 20s
"Slowed pace of aging by 31 years": How could one possibly quantify this accurately?
Depending on his body weight, a bench press of 240lbs isn't particularly notable or impressive.
Giving leg press numbers instead of something like deadlift or squat is a bit suspicious. Leg press is easy to cheat by limiting range of motion. Plus full body movements that require more stabilization would be a better measure if one is trying to prove they haven't aged.
Comparing strength numbers to an 18 year old is probably not the best metric, given that strength takes a certain amount of time to build. Not that there are good scientific papers on this but I think general consensus is it peaks mid 20s
I agree that I like many aspects of what he does, and I am not just saying negative comments.
I'm speaking specifically about a recent video where he explicitly says that every other diet is worthless because it's not backed by data, and his is.
I'm speaking specifically about a recent video where he explicitly says that every other diet is worthless because it's not backed by data, and his is.
Also, I try not to judge what people spend their money on, but you can help a lot of people with $2m. Every time I hear stories like this I think of that guy in the UK who saved up for ... hair transplants? I think? and when he'd saved his $20k or whatever it was he decided to give it to some kid who needed money for a non-cosmetic medical treatment. There's a mensch for you.
Yeah I also think he has some form of OCD. Regardless, I think someone trying what he’s trying is a positive for humanity. Learnings about the human body could pop out
He looks his age. He's going to get old and die on a regular human timeframe (if he's lucky) just like the rest of us. He needs to acclimate himself to that fact; we all do.
Time is undefeated, make the best of the time you have.
Time is undefeated, make the best of the time you have.
He looks older than me (I'm 50 in a few months), if I shaved my beard off.
He doesn't look 18. He looks like someone in his mid-to-late 40s.
If you want to look younger than that at 50, follow my diet and healthcare regime - go for a walk out in the fresh air every so often, eat pies, drink full-cream milk, avoid sugar-free or low-fat things, and - crucially - stop fucking stressing about how old you look.
He doesn't look 18. He looks like someone in his mid-to-late 40s.
If you want to look younger than that at 50, follow my diet and healthcare regime - go for a walk out in the fresh air every so often, eat pies, drink full-cream milk, avoid sugar-free or low-fat things, and - crucially - stop fucking stressing about how old you look.
> stop stressing
… about anything and everything. It helps.
But yes, also 50 here and looking younger than this guy. I have some fat and it makes that I don’t have any wrinkles in my face at all.
… about anything and everything. It helps.
But yes, also 50 here and looking younger than this guy. I have some fat and it makes that I don’t have any wrinkles in my face at all.
Sally Mcrae just ran a 250 mile race and didn't feel sore afterwards. Her condition and physical state is what I'm interested in.
Yep. But this article is about a guy that wants to look 18. And he doesn’t, at all.
I don’t know. His preoccupation with looks seems rather immature to me ;)
You forgot the wear a full beard to naturally shield much of your face from harmful UV.
Shave it off when you want to look young.
Shave it off when you want to look young.
Wonder why this is being trotted out again, doesn't seem to be anything new since January[0] discussion: 106pts, 177 comments[1]
[0]: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-01-25/anti-agin... [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34518175
[0]: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-01-25/anti-agin... [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34518175
I asked my wife, and she said he doesn't look any younger than any other person who has a good skin care routine.
the guy looks like a ghoul, his health metrics might be good but he looks way older than his age.
You can easily tell by the sunk or deflated skin on the face. Compare the kid’s face and the dad’s face.
I wonder if there is a term for the subcutaneous fat or whatever that goes away as you age.
I wonder if there is a term for the subcutaneous fat or whatever that goes away as you age.
In a video with Will Tennyson he mentioned that he keeps his body fat at 5%. Such low numbers will naturally give you a sunken look.
There is: aging
The photo on the Tweet looks incredibly disturbing. His face and head seem like they have been planted on someone else's body; even the colors are different.
If he actually publishes any well done research - I don’t think this is such a bad thing. I suspect it’ll suffer from not having enough participants to really make great claims about what is most effective for everyone but maybe it’ll be a more effective starting point for more broad trials among the general population.
Right now though, I do worry that he’s just spending money ineffectively and no one but some grifters gets anything out of this.
Right now though, I do worry that he’s just spending money ineffectively and no one but some grifters gets anything out of this.
I wanted to make a similar comment. Anti-aging for oneself is seen as gauche or elitist, but when you think about anti-aging treatments affordable enough for all your loved ones, friends, and neighbours to use it's a lot more sympathetic. A few obsessed rich people might pave the way for the average grandparents to stay in their own home months or years longer.
Aside from anything else it's also pretty cool that he's 45 and has a VO2 max above 50 along with lifting reasonably heavy weights, regardless of how old he looks. I get the feeling from looking at his website that he cares as much about the numbers as his appearance, if not more.
Aside from anything else it's also pretty cool that he's 45 and has a VO2 max above 50 along with lifting reasonably heavy weights, regardless of how old he looks. I get the feeling from looking at his website that he cares as much about the numbers as his appearance, if not more.
I mean.... i have read all the responses so far, and i'm pausing here to write this, because, i don't think anyone else has:
Article: THIS MAN IS HARVESTING HIS OWN SON.
HN: look at his VO2!, i wonder what he benches?
insert principle skinner 'the kids who are wrong".jpeg here - but seriously HN? this isn't peak 'Weird AF' to anyone else?
Article: THIS MAN IS HARVESTING HIS OWN SON.
HN: look at his VO2!, i wonder what he benches?
insert principle skinner 'the kids who are wrong".jpeg here - but seriously HN? this isn't peak 'Weird AF' to anyone else?
I wish I could upvote this more than once. The young aren't a new commodity for nouveau riche narcissists upset about entropy.
Plenty of very exciting anti-aging research going on right now without subjecting your child to plasmapheresis.
For context I donate plasma twice a week. It's a 16-gauge needle and for a healthy young person like myself it takes 40 minutes or so each time. You eventually scar as your skin can't heal that quickly. People have asked me if I use heroin because of those two scars, one in each inner elbow. To think people would use something that literally already saves lives to maybe prolong their lives based on mouse trials where the mice were literally stitched together to share circulatory systems is plain evil.
Please consider donating plasma if you are healthy. It does remove some PFAS from your blood if you need an incentive besides the money. It takes multiple donations to make enough medicine for one patient.
"You are quite right, I changed my mind and do no longer speak of “radical evil.” … It is indeed my opinion now that evil is never “radical,” that it is only extreme, and that it possesses neither depth nor any demonic dimension. It can overgrow and lay waste the whole world precisely because it spreads like a fungus on the surface. It is “thought-defying,” as I said, because thought tries to reach some depth, to go to the roots, and the moment it concerns itself with evil, it is frustrated because there is nothing. That is its “banality.” Only the good has depth that can be radical." - Hannah Arendt
Plenty of very exciting anti-aging research going on right now without subjecting your child to plasmapheresis.
For context I donate plasma twice a week. It's a 16-gauge needle and for a healthy young person like myself it takes 40 minutes or so each time. You eventually scar as your skin can't heal that quickly. People have asked me if I use heroin because of those two scars, one in each inner elbow. To think people would use something that literally already saves lives to maybe prolong their lives based on mouse trials where the mice were literally stitched together to share circulatory systems is plain evil.
Please consider donating plasma if you are healthy. It does remove some PFAS from your blood if you need an incentive besides the money. It takes multiple donations to make enough medicine for one patient.
"You are quite right, I changed my mind and do no longer speak of “radical evil.” … It is indeed my opinion now that evil is never “radical,” that it is only extreme, and that it possesses neither depth nor any demonic dimension. It can overgrow and lay waste the whole world precisely because it spreads like a fungus on the surface. It is “thought-defying,” as I said, because thought tries to reach some depth, to go to the roots, and the moment it concerns itself with evil, it is frustrated because there is nothing. That is its “banality.” Only the good has depth that can be radical." - Hannah Arendt
The stitching of the mice together is by far worse than anything else I've read in this thread.
One of the worst things I've read in a while, in fact.
One of the worst things I've read in a while, in fact.
He literally puts his bench on his website: it's 240lb. I know what he benches because he told me. Neither you nor I have to wonder about anything.
The plasma cycle thing is odd and I have concerns about coercion. However, I think most people are critical of him because he's richer and/or fitter than they are or because he's unusual, not making a principled moral stand. They're missing out: his self-experimentation is fascinating. 90% of it is probably bullshit or only gives a tiny incremental gain, but I just think it's neat that he keeps an unhinged geocities-tier[0] page detailing why he eats hummus with un-dutched dark chocolate from low heavy metal plantations. It's even neater that it's actually working for him in some empirical sense.
[0] https://blueprint.bryanjohnson.co
The plasma cycle thing is odd and I have concerns about coercion. However, I think most people are critical of him because he's richer and/or fitter than they are or because he's unusual, not making a principled moral stand. They're missing out: his self-experimentation is fascinating. 90% of it is probably bullshit or only gives a tiny incremental gain, but I just think it's neat that he keeps an unhinged geocities-tier[0] page detailing why he eats hummus with un-dutched dark chocolate from low heavy metal plantations. It's even neater that it's actually working for him in some empirical sense.
[0] https://blueprint.bryanjohnson.co
> I think most people are critical of him because he's richer and/or fitter than they are
> hey're missing out: his self-experimentation is fascinating.
Sorry, I have to ask again, did you miss the bit where HE IS HARVESTING HIS OWN SON?
> hey're missing out: his self-experimentation is fascinating.
Sorry, I have to ask again, did you miss the bit where HE IS HARVESTING HIS OWN SON?
This specific case seems like there's not a strong enough need and too high a potential for coercion, but would you really complain about how my father was "HARVESTING HIS OWN SON" if his kidneys failed and I donated one of mine?
Anyway, the blood plasma stuff isn't the only thing that's fascinating, everything else is too. Go read his website. It's unhinged: as noted by you, he harvests his son for himself, and himself for his father; he writes shit like "My mind is demoted, Self is elevated"; he pays $11/serve for what's basically broccoli, cauliflower, and lentils; he pays for pretty much every single measurement it's possible to take. It's interesting: all the hard-to-fake biomarkers for performance look good, from heart rate to VO2 to bench; he was having so much blood drawn that he got an ultrasound of his veins to see what damage he'd done; he posts gifs of a capsule camera going down his gastrointestinal tract.
He's an insane person who posts his life on the internet and I find him fascinating. The HARVESTING of HIS OWN SON is really, genuinely interesting, and it doesn't stop being interesting just because it's weird and unlikely to do much.
Anyway, the blood plasma stuff isn't the only thing that's fascinating, everything else is too. Go read his website. It's unhinged: as noted by you, he harvests his son for himself, and himself for his father; he writes shit like "My mind is demoted, Self is elevated"; he pays $11/serve for what's basically broccoli, cauliflower, and lentils; he pays for pretty much every single measurement it's possible to take. It's interesting: all the hard-to-fake biomarkers for performance look good, from heart rate to VO2 to bench; he was having so much blood drawn that he got an ultrasound of his veins to see what damage he'd done; he posts gifs of a capsule camera going down his gastrointestinal tract.
He's an insane person who posts his life on the internet and I find him fascinating. The HARVESTING of HIS OWN SON is really, genuinely interesting, and it doesn't stop being interesting just because it's weird and unlikely to do much.
The problem is that the procedure described in the article is not useful for research. You effectively have a sample size of 1 or 2, which is damn near useless. All of the people being related doesn't help, either.
This particular procedure just seems like a stunt.
This particular procedure just seems like a stunt.
A study with sample size 1 is called a 'Case Study' and is used all the time in various hard sciences.
Larger scale studies are of course stronger. But case studies have depth and are often the source of good hypothesis or the inspiration of other tests.
------
That being said, this dude looks like a quack to me. But the alchemists we're all quacks but still laid the foundation of modern chemistry. So it ended up all being worthwhile.
Larger scale studies are of course stronger. But case studies have depth and are often the source of good hypothesis or the inspiration of other tests.
------
That being said, this dude looks like a quack to me. But the alchemists we're all quacks but still laid the foundation of modern chemistry. So it ended up all being worthwhile.
This isn't a case study. He is self reporting. With the amount of measurements he takes on himself he is bound to find something "statistically significant" by chance. p=.05 is still a 1 in 20 it's bullshit. Measure 20 variables and you'll probably find something "significant" just by chance.
This dude should be called out not for being a quack or for wasting so much money. He should be called out for using his son in this way. Hundreds of thousands of Americans need plasma transfusions every year. He's doing it for fun. And objectifying his son in the process.
There's a lot of exciting science happening in the anti-aging field. There's a reason researchers in the field think this is not only pointless but reckless. I've been hematoma'd. It's not fun. I would never speak to my father again if I got a hematoma or some other complication because he's afraid of his own mortality.
This dude should be called out not for being a quack or for wasting so much money. He should be called out for using his son in this way. Hundreds of thousands of Americans need plasma transfusions every year. He's doing it for fun. And objectifying his son in the process.
There's a lot of exciting science happening in the anti-aging field. There's a reason researchers in the field think this is not only pointless but reckless. I've been hematoma'd. It's not fun. I would never speak to my father again if I got a hematoma or some other complication because he's afraid of his own mortality.
I have 50-yo+ friends that look younger than this guy. You can't game genetics.
The age old (no pun intended) rich people trying to cheat the reaper. There’s a trade in endangered animals for this same snake oil (also no pun intended).
They might look younger because they have more body fat. He almost certainly has better skin than them
For anyone interested (and a Bloomberg subscriber), the version of the article published on Bloomberg has some additional photos: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-22/bryan-joh...
So, the vampire routine doesn't work either...
(cancelling dentist appointment right now)
(cancelling dentist appointment right now)
more like 30, def not 18