For the past couple of years, I’ve been on a bit of a strange journey. I’ve been trailing a group of people who have a pretty radical idea: they believe that death is humanity’s single biggest problem. Not just a sad fact of life, but a problem to be solved.
They even argue that it's morally wrong for people to die.
This isn't just a thought experiment. They’ve built an entire philosophy and movement around it called Vitalism. Think of it as a gathering place for the most hardcore longevity enthusiasts out there. These folks aren’t just waiting for science to catch up; they’re actively trying to push it forward. They're working to convince powerful people to back their cause and change laws to get experimental anti-aging drugs into our hands faster.
And here’s the thing that might surprise you: it’s starting to work.
A Journey Into the Heart of Immortality
My deep dive into this world really kicked off back in 2022, and it’s taken me to some pretty unexpected places. I’ve found myself in Switzerland, Honduras, and even a compound in Berkeley, California, surrounded by people who dream of a world without death.
It all sort of crystallized for me in 2023 at a place called Zuzalu. It was a pop-up city in Montenegro for people obsessed with life extension and other future-forward tech. That’s where I first saw one of Vitalism’s founders, Nathan Cheng, speak. He and his co-founder, Adam Gries, officially launched their movement there, and you could feel the energy in the air. These people were serious.
But let me tell you, this journey has been more than just conferences and philosophical debates. It's been weird. Genuinely, at times, surreal.
You Wouldn't Believe Some of the Stories
I wish I could say it was all high-minded science, but you get a lot of strangeness when you’re on the fringes of human ambition. I've heard biohacking stories that literally ended with someone's legs smoking. I’m not kidding.
I’ve had conversations about a man planning to cryopreserve himself and his multiple wives from throughout his life, with the hope of being reanimated together one day. People have looked me straight in the eye and identified as eugenicists, arguing that parents should be able to select IVF embryos based on their genetic odds for a long life.
Imagine being at a fancy dinner in an upscale hotel, and the person next to you casually draws their own blood at the table to test their "biological age." I've seen that. I've listened to wild plans to upload human consciousness into machines. I’ve even heard about a plan to inject an experimental gene therapy into men's penises to cure erectile dysfunction—all in the name of achieving "radical longevity."
It hasn't always been friendly, either. I’ve been yelled at and threatened with lawsuits. On the flip side, I've received barefoot hugs. One person I interviewed told me I needed Botox.
It’s been a ride.
From Barefoot Hugs to the Halls of Power
So, you might be thinking this all sounds like a niche corner of the internet, a mix of wellness influencers and sci-fi dreamers. And for a while, maybe it was. But my reporting has shown me something else is happening.
This interest in living longer is going mainstream, and more importantly, it's getting political.
You see it everywhere. Longevity clinics are popping up in major cities. There’s a flood of new documentaries about extending life, or even living forever. But the real shift is happening behind the scenes. Powerful people—the kind who influence state laws, control massive federal budgets, and shape national health policy—are now making the search for anti-aging treatments a priority.
Last year, I found myself in Washington, D.C., watching supporters of this movement make their case directly to politicians. The longevity community was ecstatic when Jim O’Neill, a longtime supporter, was appointed as a deputy secretary of Health and Human Services. Other figures in the political sphere, like Mehmet Oz, who now leads the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, have also been vocal about longevity.
As Vitalism co-founder Adam Gries told me, "It seems that now there is the most pro-longevity administration in American history." He might be right.
The Government Is Getting on Board
This isn't just talk. The money and focus are starting to follow.
I recently had a chance to speak with Alicia Jackson, the new director of ARPA-H. If you haven't heard of it, ARPA-H is a big deal. It was set up in 2022 under the Biden administration to fund "breakthrough" biomedical research—the kind of high-risk, high-reward science that could change everything.
And it looks like longevity is a new key focus. Before taking this job, Jackson founded Evernow, a company focused on "health and longevity for every woman." She knows this space well.
During our Zoom call, she was pretty clear about the direction things are heading. "There’s a lot of interesting technologies, but they all kind of come back to the same thing: Could we extend life years?" she told me.
She also mentioned that her agency had "incredible support" coming from "the very top of HHS." I had to ask if she was talking about Jim O’Neill.
"Yeah," she said, though she didn't get into specifics.
When the head of a major federal research agency is openly talking about extending life and acknowledging support from the highest levels of government, you know a real shift has occurred. This isn't just a fringe movement anymore. It has a seat at the table.
And that’s what makes this whole thing so fascinating to cover. Despite all the weirdness, the smoking legs, and the barefoot hugs, the core ideas of this movement are gaining traction in places that matter. The field might just be on the verge of a breakthrough, and it’s happening right in front of us.
