In what some health experts are calling the most controversial biohacking scandal since Lance Armstrong’s performance enhancement revelations, tech millionaire Bryan Johnson is facing scrutiny over his transparency regarding erectile enhancement medications while promoting his anti-aging results.
Johnson, the 47-year-old wellness entrepreneur who has invested millions in his quest for immortality, recently clarified statements about his “erection protocol” after social media users questioned the authenticity of his reported improvements in nighttime erections.
“I thought your erections were natural,” one commenter noted, prompting Johnson to issue a detailed explanation on social media platform X.
“I didn’t do a great job on that last post. Now this topic is trending… let me try again,” Johnson wrote, before explaining that while he takes daily Tadalafil (commonly known by the brand name Cialis), his nighttime erections improved by 34% independently of the medication.
The controversy centers around Johnson’s promotion of his penis rejuvenation results while taking low-dose erectile dysfunction medication—a fact that some critics say wasn’t prominently disclosed during his initial announcements about improved erectile function.
Johnson, who shares his strict health regimen with his 19-year-old son Talmage, has been transparent about other unusual treatments, including injecting Botox into his penis to increase length and improve erectile function. “It increases penis length by 1 cm,” Johnson shared in January, detailing a procedure that involved injecting 100 units of Botox distributed among four points along the shaft.
The anti-aging guru’s daily regimen includes waking at 5 a.m., consuming his last meal by noon, and going to bed at 8:30 p.m. He credits this strict routine with achieving “perfect sleep” and maintaining a resting heart rate between 47-49 beats per minute.
Johnson defends his use of Tadalafil as a “longevity intervention,” citing research that it reduces all-cause mortality risk by 34%, major heart disease risk by 27%, stroke risk by 34%, and dementia risk by 32%.
“Men, if you’re not performing how you’d like, there are many paths to improvement,” Johnson stated. “There’s no shame in this and in fact will make you more of a man to address it head on.”
Health experts remain divided on Johnson’s approach. Some praise his openness about men’s health issues that often carry stigma, while others question whether his claims about the independent benefits of his treatments are scientifically sound when concurrent medications are involved.
Johnson and his son made headlines in 2023 when they underwent what they described as “the world’s first multi-generational plasma exchange” with Johnson’s 71-year-old father in their quest to remain forever young.
The Netflix documentary “Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever” features Johnson’s extreme health journey, including his relationship with his son Talmage, whom Johnson describes as viewing him as “his future self.”
A former capoeira instructor turned biohacking enthusiast, Gio spent his early years bouncing between São Paulo and Miami before settling in Austin. With a master’s in sports physiology and a penchant for experimenting with traditional Brazilian herbs, he’s become Rude Vulture’s go-to expert on movement optimization and plant-based performance enhancement. When not writing about the intersection of martial arts and ancestral living, he runs an underground fight gym where participants are required to follow strict circadian rhythm protocols.