Millionaire Bryan Johnson is an open book when it comes to his multimillion-dollar journey to age backwards - but rarely has the biohacker shared anything about his upbringing or life before Project Blueprint.
Johnson, 46, claims he has changed certain biomarkers through his $2 million extreme diet and exercise routine to make himself younger.
He's become infamous in his quest for eternal youth, making headlines for his endeavors which include swapping blood with his 17-year-old son, tracking his erections and recently, attempting to edit his DNA.
In a new video posed to YouTube, Johnson delved into his upbringing, admitting before the six-pack and ultra-healthy diet he was 'quite large' as a teen, which led to years of self-doubt and self-consciousness.
The California tech mogul grew up in Mormon family in rural Utah, which was 'deeply religious.'
Millionaire biohacker Bryan Johnson has opened up his childhood growing up in a Mormon family in rural Utah, which was 'deeply religious'
After growing up being 'really skinny' as a young child, the biohacker said he had growth spurt when he was 12 and he gained a lot of weight.
'I think I added maybe 20 to 30 pounds, or maybe 20 pounds, in one summer and this was before I went to sixth grade, and so I became quite large,' he shared.
'I didn't realize it at the time people at school would start to call me fat and I started becoming self-conscious of my weight,' the anti-aging guru recalled.
In the video, Johnson shared a series of photos from his early life, revealing what was happening in his life when the snaps were taken.
As he grew up in a Mormon town, Johnson said was trying to find ways to express himself - although admitted there was 'little opportunity' to do so in his religious town.
'We had the same ethics, we went to the same church, we believe the same things - and so to be different was really hard,' he explained.
'You could become a stoner or a jock - like small differentiation like that - but it was very hard to be different and so you had to do other things to be distinct and unique.'
Although his mom assured him he was 'husky' and not 'fat,' Johnson started lifting weights when he was still in high school determined to change his body.
Johnson said he gained around '20 to 30 pounds' one summer. He is pictured here just before the sixth grade
'I didn't realize it at the time people at school would start to call me fat and I started becoming self-conscious of my weight,' he recalled
As he grew up in a Mormon town, Johnson said was trying to find ways to express himself - although admitted there was 'little opportunity' to do so in his religious town
'I turned my size into an asset and I became very large and very strong,' he explained.
'With my size I started mapping out what kinds of things I could do and started playing football,' he continued, adding he turned out to be 'pretty good' at football.
'I love football it was just like this opportunity to go out and engage in warfare, like physical warfare by just being tough and rough,' he quipped.
After he finished high school, Johnson went and served a two-year-long mission in Ecuador - which he described as 'one of the most transformative events of my life.'
While there, Johnson was struck down by several illnesses; unable to digest a lot of the food and lost a 'ton of weight.'
'[For] the first few months I was constantly throwing up,' he recalled. 'I had diarrhea all the time I couldn't eat any food, my face broke out into to this rash slash acne - it was just awful.'
He continued: 'I needed really serious medical help but it just wasn't there for me so I had to just fight through it.
'I was so scared of eating the food because it would wreck my face and make me sick that I basically just didn't eat for a couple for the two years.'
The father-of-three said he didn't spent a lot of time with his own father growing up, which made him want to be a better dad after his eldest son, Jefferson, was born when he was 24.
He said he was struck by the huge responsibility of fatherhood and how his way of life would shape his children's.
'[I thought about how] the kind of person they're going to become is largely going to be influenced by how you raised them, and I took fatherhood very seriously,' he shared.
'I was endeavoring to really be the best father.'
After he finished high school, Johnson went and served a two-year-long mission in Ecuador. He is pictured here finding out where he was being sent on his mission
While in Ecuador, Johnson was struck down by several illnesses; unable to digest a lot of the food and lost a 'ton of weight.' He is pictured here during his mission with his sister
The father-of-three said he didn't spent a lot of time with his own father growing up, which made him want to be a better dad after his eldest son, Jefferson, was born when he was 24
'I remember feeling so conflicted of wanting to give my children what they wanted to make them happy, then also wanting what was in their best interests,' he explained
Although Johnson said would do 'anything' for his children; some of the hangovers from his childhood - including having mixed feelings about taking his kids out for fast food as a reward or a treat.
'I remember feeling so conflicted of wanting to give my children what they wanted to make them happy, then also wanting what was in their best interests,' he explained.
Johnson added making conscious healthy decisions was a constant cause of tension between he and his ex-wife, because they didn't see eye-to-eye on nutrition and what a healthy lifestyle looked like.
'You can't really force them to do things and when they come into a culture where eating healthy is just not the norm,' he anguished.
'My partner didn't have great health habits and so she would have things at home that I just didn't like and so it was this really big divide in our home.'
Johnson ended up leaving the Mormon Church when he was 34 in the midst of selling his company Braintree, which he started at 27.
He admitted he was deeply depressed, as well as mentally and physically unwell during this time.
'I had been building that company and being chronically depressed and having challenges with my partner and been trying to [leave] the religion for all that time and I was really at this break point,' he shared.
'I didn't know if I could carry on another step.'
During this transition period of reinventing himself, Johnson hiked Mount Kilimanjaro attempting to 'work through his depression' and reinvent himself - especially after he and his wife divorced, and he found himself dating for the 'first time.'
'I'd never had a girlfriend in high school, I have a girlfriend in my early 20s so basically like I married without a whole lot of dating experience,' he explained.
'After I got a divorce I was dating for the first time in my life.
Johnson ended up leaving the Mormon Church when he was 34 in the midst of selling his company Braintree, which he started at 27
During this transition period of reinventing himself post-divorce, Johnson hiked Mount Kilimanjaro attempting to 'work through his depression' and reinvent himself
Johnson revealed he was still incredibly self-conscious during this time, and despite being featured in many publications after he sold Braintree, he was still camera shy.
'I'd had this insecurity my entire life and here I'm trying to look my best and I'm wondering, you know, is there a possibility that [I] can find somebody that would want to date me,' the tech mogul sadly admitted.
No longer wanting to feel trapped inside his body and lifestyle, Johnson made the decision to change his lifestyle, which led him to his 'scientific experimentation' on his body and quest for health and youth: Project Blueprint.
Starting off with 'trendy' therapies or treatments, like using cryo tanks, Johnson recalled feeling a lot more comfortable within his own body and about his health.
His journey into health kickstarted Johnson's Blueprint, which he said got 'increasingly rigorous' as he and his team worked out what worked best for them.
In one phase, he only ate one meal with 1,977 calories a day and used a 10,000 lux light lamp every morning before stretching - reminiscing over a photo at the time saying it was 'one of the happier moments of my life.'
Johnson also turned his father - whom he had a fraught relationship with growing up - onto the Blueprint protocol, proudly reporting he lost 40 pounds from following it.
Showing his body during various stages of Project Blueprint; Johnson said it was always the aim to be completely transparent with his treatments and how his body looks.
'I just made everything public and I didn't care if I looked awful,' he said.
'We were very transparent which was different than what anyone had ever done before - they had really tried to curate their image.'
Johnson acknowledged that one drawback from losing so much fat was losing it in his face, which he says made him look older.
'There's really a big trade-off when you're working on health and wellness there's not one thing you do that's universally good there's a trade-off space and so we're really trying to explore the frontiers of science and we're just following the data,' he explained.
He added: 'Face fat is important. If you eliminate it it's very hard to get it back.'
The millionaire said that finally having freedom from his religion, as well as being free from the corporate world, led him to experimenting with his hair and clothing.
As his therapies and treatments were thrust more into the public eye, Johnson said he knew people were thinking he was 'weird',' which he put down to not being able to 'make sense of the entire situation.'
Johnson (pictured with his father and son) has a team who routinely measure his blood, heart, liver, kidneys, brain, blood vessels and sexual health
He has revealed his plans to found a new 'Don't Die' nation state. He is pictured above wearing his Kernel helmet, which aimed to unlock the brain's secrets
As Johnson dove deeper into his health journey, he proudly shared his status of becoming the 'most measured person in human history.' He then opened up about one of the infamous Blueprint photos - the image of himself, his son, Talmage, and his father undergoing a blood transfusion.
'It's one of the more famous representations of Blueprint, it was really special. I think it was one of the best things I've done in my entire life,' he gushed.
'It's endlessly disgusted and controversial, but for my son and my dad and I, we had a great time.'
He also spoke of the decision to bring Talmage, his then 17-year-old son, into Project Blueprint - admitting it could have been a 'terrible idea.'
'[I said to my son] you're going to be recognized publicly and you're going to be associated with me and this project that could be a terrible idea,' he recalled.
'It could backfire and you could hate me for it like you may grow up and be like that involving me at this young age was terrible,' he listed, saying they had a 'long conversation' about it before Talmage ultimately decided he wanted to do it.
The doting dad said embarking on Blueprint with his son was the most fulfilling relationship he'd ever had in his life.
'It was especially rewarding because you know because I invested so hard on my children and then I kind of was blocked out of their lives for a while after the divorce,' he shared.
'So for Talmage to be back into my life and for us to have this relationship was just like peak life.'
Johnson then spoke of his 'Don't Die' movement - which is essentially a collective of people eager to live life in the healthiest way they can.
When looking at his journey from childhood to now, Johnson says he's been in some 'bad spots' throughout his life - and he's grateful for where he is now.
'When I say that I've never been happier in my entire life you can see where that's coming from,' he said earnestly.
'I sincerely mean it, I'm not trying to cover up, I'm not being dishonest.'
The tech mogul has made headlines over his controversial and unrelenting attempt to live forever and reverse his age, dubbing it: 'Project Blueprint.'
After spending $6 million in total to reverse his physical age, Johnson claims to have turned back the clocks by five years, as well as improved his sperm count and reversed his skin age.
Johnson now claims he has the heart of a 37-year-old, the skin of a 28-year-old, and the fitness of an 18-year-old after adopting the highly-regimented program in 2020.
