This means Johnson ages biologically less than two-thirds of a year for every chronological year, so, he quips: “I now celebrate my birthday every 19 months.”
For months, he has been documenting and sharing on social media and beyond a series of data-driven experiments he has had performed on himself, some successful, some less so, that he calls Project Blueprint.
Many appear extreme, such as swapping blood through transfusions with his 18-year-old son Talmage and 71-year-old father, Richard, which he later stopped as he said they resulted in “no benefits”.
Three-times weekly shock wave therapy to his genitals – a wand-like device delivers mild shock waves that promote the growth of new blood vessels – also made headlines, but did seem to work.
“Yes, it’s quite painful in truth,” the 46-year-old admits to the Post on a call through Zoom.
If we did this on the heart or lungs, people would be like meh, whatever. Then you do the penis, and people are like, wait, what?!
Shock wave therapy helps stimulate blood circulation, collagen production, and cellular regeneration, aiding healing. It is used for treating tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis, injured hamstrings, and to break down kidney stones.
More recently, it has been used to treat erectile dysfunction – although Johnson stresses that was not the reason he had it.
“It increased my nighttime erections from being an average for a 45-year-old, which is 132 minutes, to 179 minutes, which is better than the average 18-year-old.”
Botox, widely used in cosmetic and medical procedures, helps to improve blood flow, and is also used to help men with erectile dysfunction.
I am now accumulating ageing damage slower than 99 per cent of 20-year-olds
“Gene therapies have the potential to help break through the barrier [of human lifespan],” he said in an Instagram post. Follistatin gene therapy, he claims, has increased the lifespan of mice by 30 per cent.
Critics point out that the gene therapy injections are unproven; Johnson calls them “pioneering”. He said they caused his ageing to drop to a personal best, his muscle mass to increase by 7 per cent and his follistatin levels to rise 160 per cent.
“I am now accumulating ageing damage slower than 99 per cent of 20-year-olds,” he says.
Two months ago, Johnson got a firm dose of humanity, though, after fracturing an ankle at a music festival when he started dancing upon hearing the start of a favourite song.
It turned into an experiment in healing, with Johnson’s doctor trying several different approaches including peptides TB4 and BPC-157, which may promote bone repair and healing, shock wave therapy (again, in a new location), and other forms of non-invasive healing including magnetic and laser therapies.
“My doctors are stunned at how fast I’ve been healing. We really tried to figure out how to accelerate it and it is a very quick recovery,” he says, then laughs at himself.
“The irony was I was wearing a ‘Don’t Die’ hat, I’d just warned my crew to watch their step. A music set dropped that I loved, I got excited, I started dancing and my foot hit a hole and it turned. Irony hunts me, and I’m here for the fight.”
“People call me a vampire and assume my pale skin is unhealthy. It’s true, I avoid the sun,” he says, to prevent accelerated skin ageing and cancer.
Johnson and his team recently launched BluePrint Stack, a DIY longevity kit that costs US$361 (HK$2,820) for a 30-day supply of olive oil, supplements and protein-rich meal replacements.
Reviews on the website from early adopters claim it has helped them get better sleep, lose weight, focus more clearly, heal from injuries and more.
“It’s an open science project, so we share everything, the measurements, protocols, in the hope that it will be helpful to anyone interested in wellness.”
He adds that even though his is a strict regimen and there is never a “cheat day”, he is happy. “I love this more than anything else I’ve ever done.”
His parting advice: “A reminder that your bedtime is your most important appointment today. Respect yourself and be on time.”
A viewpoint from the medical world on Johnson’s anti-ageing efforts
“I do think Bryan has decent intentions about tracking and learning about physiology and making that data somewhat usable to for a large population group,” Lewis says.
His whole life is de-ageing. Arguably many of these biohackers are not really living
“What he is doing is highly risky; some of the interventions he is doing are not even proven on mice,” she adds. “As doctors the first thing we are taught is, do no harm. Many people I know are on his protocols, and [while] they might be appropriate for him, they might not necessarily be right for them.”
One could argue he isn’t living a fulfilling life, she says.
“Every aspect of his life, his whole life is de-ageing. Arguably many of these biohackers are not really living. Human physiology and human flourishing are far more complicated than he is making out.
“I know that people who follow protocols like this can suffer the consequences of obsessional compulsive activities, and perceived stress is one of the biggest detriments to health we know. Social, community and emotional health is also a big part of living longer.
“My concern is that he is driving a message that in order to de-age you need to go to bed at 8pm wearing a red light helmet and monitoring your erections. Ageing is not just what we put into our body but how we relate to the outside environment.”