Bryan Johnson Shrooms Trip: A Livestreamed Spectacle

A Curious Parallel: From Music Festivals to Psychedelic Streams

I recall attending a music festival at age 18, having purchased an inexpensive ticket through a college Facebook group to see Grimes perform. During that sunny afternoon, a man under the influence of drugs repeatedly attempted to ascend a small, delicate tree in pursuit of a superior vantage point.

His efforts were consistently unsuccessful – the tree was simply incapable of supporting his weight – yet I observed with a mixture of fascination and apprehension as he relentlessly pursued an objective that defied the fundamental principles of physics.

The Livestreamed Pursuit of Immortality

More than ten years later, I encountered a strikingly similar scenario. I once again watched Grimes perform, this time preceding another individual exhibiting signs of drug use. However, this occasion involved a public livestream broadcast for Bryan Johnson, an investor and entrepreneur.

Johnson undertook a substantial 5.24 gram dose of psilocybin mushrooms to investigate whether psychedelic substances could contribute to his ambition of achieving immortality.

Bryan Johnson’s Blueprint for Longevity

Bryan Johnson, who amassed his wealth through the sale of his financial technology company, Braintree, harbors a desire to extend his lifespan indefinitely. He openly chronicles each phase of his process on social media platforms.

This includes receiving plasma transfusions from his son, consuming over 100 pills daily, and administering Botox injections to his genitals. Simultaneously, Johnson’s ambitious endeavor to circumvent death serves as a promotional vehicle for Kernel, his neurotechnology firm, and Blueprint, his enterprise specializing in supplements, nut butters, and olive oil.

A Super Bowl-esque Psychedelic Experience

Johnson presented his psilocybin experience as a livestream event, complete with rudimentary graphics reminiscent of the Windows XP operating system. Prior to the trip, Johnson and Kate Tolo, his Blueprint co-founder, playfully suggested they could monetize the stream with commercial breaks, much like the Super Bowl.

What was once a common rite of passage for many college students – enjoying music and experimenting with substances – was being transformed into a highly publicized, yet somewhat unconventional, experiment exploring the limits of human potential.

A Viewership in the Millions and High-Profile Endorsements

The livestream garnered over a million views on X, both in real-time and through replays. As Johnson ingested the mushrooms and utilized Kernel’s technology – a substantial black helmet – to monitor his physiological responses, a group of commentators with a combined net worth exceeding $10 billion joined the broadcast to express their admiration for Johnson’s bold psychedelic journey.

While some perceive Johnson’s methods as an elaborate, vampiric form of performance art, his peers in Silicon Valley view him as a forward-thinking visionary.

Biblical Parallels and the Search for Bridges

Marc Benioff, the founder and CEO of Salesforce, drew parallels between Johnson and the biblical figure of Jacob.

“My Bible study this morning focused on Jacob’s Ladder… Jacob ultimately experiences a profound encounter with God, ascending and descending the ladder, and discovering the land he inhabited as sacred,” Benioff stated during the stream. “We are still striving to discover those connections, and I believe that’s what Bryan is attempting to do… He isn’t pursuing this for recreational purposes, I would venture to say.”

A “One-Man FDA” and the Pursuit of Scientific Advancement

Naval Ravikant, a prominent investor and the founder of AngelList, characterized Johnson as a “one-man FDA,” lamenting the perceived slowness of scientific progress due to regulatory hurdles and bioethical considerations. This sentiment echoes the manifesto published by Marc Andreessen two years prior, which denounced “social responsibility” and “tech ethics” as impediments to innovation.

“Bryan is simply saying, ‘I’ll do it myself,’ legitimizing, popularizing, experimenting, and forging a new path,” Ravikant asserted. “I hope he lives a long life and then shares the cheat codes with us. That’s what we truly desire. There should be thousands of Bryans, tens of thousands, undertaking this endeavor.”

Oblivious to the Acclaim

Johnson, however, remained unaware of this enthusiastic praise, having donned an eye mask and enveloped himself in a weighted blanket, detached from the five-hour livestream he had orchestrated.

“It was somewhat challenging for him to have a microphone and concentrate on articulating his thoughts during a livestream,” explained Ashlee Vance, a journalist documenting Johnson’s quest to overcome death.

Researching Psychedelics and Life Extension

The objective of Johnson’s public, meticulously monitored psilocybin trip is to investigate the potential of psychedelics in extending lifespan – research that is already being conducted by academics in peer-reviewed studies. He is not the first to explore hallucinogens as a therapeutic intervention.

Echoes of the 1960s and the SMI²LE Movement

In the 1960s, Harvard psychologist Timothy Leary played a pivotal role in promoting the adoption of psychedelics as tools for expanding consciousness, sharing an interest in themes that resonate with today’s tech elite: space exploration, intelligence enhancement, and life extension, which Leary summarized as “SMI²LE.”

Leary’s era saw psychedelics at the center of a broader cultural movement focused on expanding the mind for artistic and musical expression. He maintained close relationships with artists and writers such as Allen Ginsberg, Ken Kesey, and the Grateful Dead (originally known as the Warlocks). Kesey, who volunteered for experiments involving LSD and other psychedelic drugs, was a key figure in the psychedelic era, whose experiences were chronicled in Tom Wolfe’s “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.” John Lennon even initially composed “Come Together” as a campaign song for Leary’s political aspirations, though Leary ultimately did not run for office – the song instead became the opening track on “Abbey Road,” a landmark album of the decade.

Longevity Escape Velocity and the Quest for Immortality

Two generations later, Johnson is preparing to consume psilocybin on a livestream as he attempts to articulate a concept he calls “longevity escape velocity,” the point at which human aging would cease.

“Time continues to pass, but your biological age remains constant,” Johnson explained. “This would arguably be humanity’s most significant achievement.”

“In essence, we’re aiming to make Bryan Johnson immortal by 2039,” Tolo clarified, who accompanied Johnson throughout the stream.

“So, we’re sharing this protocol with all of you, free of charge, outlining how we can all achieve this together?” Johnson inquired. “Psilocybin is part of this journey, as we explore therapies that could potentially slow down the aging process and reverse age-related damage?”

A Corporate Zoom Meeting with a Psychedelic Twist

Johnson and Tolo present this psilocybin trip as a groundbreaking moment in the pursuit of immortality. The setting is not a dimly lit, psychedelic-themed room or a university research laboratory, but rather resembles a corporate Zoom meeting, with Johnson comfortably cocooned in a weighted blanket and eye mask, detached from responsibility. Benioff, observing Johnson in his cozy state, remarked, “I believe we’re overlooking a fantastic sponsorship opportunity with a sleep mask company.”

Monitoring Biometrics and the Future of Longevity

Eventually, Johnson is awakened from his cocoon, and Tolo diligently collects his saliva samples before placing a large black helmet on his head to record his brain activity while he gazes at a wall.

This is Johnson’s longevity revolution, unfolding in a beige room furnished with beige furniture, equipped with laptops and tools for monitoring his biometrics, all observed by some of the wealthiest and most influential figures in the tech industry.