Biohacker who spends $2million a year trying to stay young says one Australia trip aged him 13 years

Published: 03:57, 9 June 2026 | Updated: 04:24, 9 June 2026 Multimillionaire biohacker Bryan Johnson claims a trip to Australia to meet his girlfriend's parents aged him by 13 years after he broke some of his strictest anti-ageing rules. The 48-year-old American, who spends millions of dollars each year trying to slow the ageing process, travelled from Los Angeles to Brisbane last month to meet the family of his partner, Kate Tolo, for the first time. The California tech entrepreneur has attracted global attention for his controversial quest to extend his lifespan, reportedly spending about $2 million a year on treatments, testing and lifestyle interventions aimed at slowing, and even reversing biological ageing. Among his most headline-grabbing experiments was a three-generation longevity trial in which he received blood plasma from his teenage son before donating his own plasma to his elderly father. But Johnson said his trip to Australia undid some of his anti-ageing work, with the return journey across seven time zones, combined with abandoning his strict vegan diet and daily routine, amounting to a 'biological insult' that took weeks for his body to recover from. The couple, who have an 18-year age gap, have been together for more than three years after meeting when Ms Tolo joined Mr Johnson's Blueprint anti-ageing venture as chief marketing officer. He said the trip forced him to abandon many of the habits he relies on to maintain his health and longevity. 'I decided to live in her mum’s world. I ate everything she prepared, including meat, bread, and pasta, and embraced the discomfort of being an introvert in a week-long marathon social interaction with the entire extended family,' Johnson said. Multimillionaire biohacker Bryan Johnson flew to Australia with his girlfriend Kate Tolo to meet her parents Mr Johnson said the trip was a 'nail biter' with him forced to abandon his strict vegan diet and be in the sun despite his worries about aging and sun exposure  The couple travelled to Mackay in Queensland to attend Ms Tolo's brother's wedding 'We spent time in her garden and she fed me stevia leaves, peppers, celery, chives, peanut berry, grapefruit, and starfruit.' Johnson described the experience as a 'nail biter', admitting he wasn't sure whether Ms Tolo's parents would approve of his lifestyle and strict routine. 'I experienced a huge spike in food noise when in Australia,' he said. 'The desire to eat continuously even though I wasn't hungry, and even full. 'The seven time zone shift shocked my circadian rhythm which then altered my hunger hormones. 'Leptin stopped signalling that I had enough stored energy. 'Ghrelin ran elevated all day instead of only before meals. Blood glucose spikes from bread and carbs, that I ate to be in family ritual, triggered emergency hunger signals in my brain. 'Sleep deprivation weakened my prefrontal cortex's ability to override the urge, making me feel helpless and controlled by impulse. 'That noise has been absent for years as I've dialled in habits of sleep, nutrition and exercise.' Ahead of the trip, Johnson predicted the travel would take a toll on his body. After returning home, he said it took two weeks to restore his sleep quality, nine days to normalise his cortisol levels and five days to recover his grip strength. 'It takes your body over two weeks to fully recover. It's a big price tag. One international trip per quarter is a reasonable balance,' he said. 'The body understands time zone changes as trauma. 'If you’re budgeting your international trips: I’d suggest no more than once every three months. Evidence shows you need one day per time zone to re-entrain, and east is worse than west.' A photo from the trip shows Johnson cowering under an umbrella from the Australian sun. Johnson said he is now testing new protocols to accelerate recovery from jet lag, including taking slow-release caffeine in the morning to 'anchor the body' and melatonin before bed to bring the 'sleep phase earlier'. The trip came weeks after he posted a photo of Ms Tolo undergoing an internal ultrasound Johnson's rigorous biohacking regimen has radically transformed his appearance The California tech guru says a long-haul flight to Australia aged him 13 years  The trip came weeks after he posted a photo of Ms Tolo undergoing an internal ultrasound. Johnson's rigorous biohacking regimen has radically transformed his appearance. The trip came weeks after Johnson posted a photo of Ms Tolo undergoing an internal ultrasound while he stood at the foot of the hospital bed watching the examination. The photo showed Ms Tolo being examined for suspected endometriosis – an incurable chronic condition Johnson has vowed to conduct more research into. It came just weeks after Johnson revealed Ms Tolo has one of the 'top one per cent of vaginas' after sharing details of her vaginal microbiome report online. 'The lab found nothing bad to report (no gardnerella, Candida, STIs, opportunistic pathogens, aerobic vaginitis markers). This is linked to lower risk of (bacterial vaginosis), UTIs, yeast infections, HPV persistence ... preterm birth and improved IVF outcomes,' he said. 'A vaginal microbiome is downstream of everything: sleep, glucose control, stress, gut health, sexual health, immune function, what you eat, and what you put in it.' The couple publicly confirmed their relationship in December through a lengthy social media post and YouTube video. Johnson said they had known each other for five years but chose to keep their romance private while determining whether the relationship would last. 'We needed time to stabilise, mature, and assess whether this was short or long term. It took time to bridge our worlds,' he said. Johnson is worth an estimated $300 million to $400 million. He amassed most of his fortune after founding the mobile and digital payments company Braintree, which was sold to PayPal for $800 million in 2013. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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