In a Netflix documentary launched in January, Bryan Johnson, a tech entrepreneur turned longevity guru, walked folks by means of his morning routine. After monitoring his sleep, he would get up early to conduct audio remedy and hair remedy, do an hour of train and take 54 completely different drugs with a drink referred to as “the inexperienced large,” he mentioned.
Mr. Johnson additionally talked about his long-life start-up, Blueprint, which sells well being dietary supplements, blood-testing gear and different merchandise tied to his private food regimen and proposals.
“By doing Blueprint, one of many key aims is to realize the bottom attainable organic age,” he declared. He added that his well being routine had “reversed my organic age 5.1 years.”
The Netflix characteristic was a breakout second in Mr. Johnson’s five-year marketing campaign to change into the face of one in all Silicon Valley’s most oddball fascinations: the pursuit of eternal youth. The 47-year-old former Mormon missionary has change into recognized for experimenting on his personal physique to defy growing old, fascinating the media and his almost 4 million social media followers by receiving the blood plasma of his then-17-year-old son and repeatedly surprising his penis to extend his erections.
His fame has additionally appeared to catapult Blueprint to success. In January, Mr. Johnson hailed his start-up as “one of many fastest-growing corporations on the planet, fueled by phrase of mouth.”
However away from the cameras, his rigorously curated profile and Blueprint’s enterprise are beginning to present cracks — particularly with a brewing battle over Mr. Johnson’s use of a authorized doc: confidentiality agreements.
For almost a decade, Mr. Johnson has wielded confidentiality agreements to manage his picture and the businesses he constructed atop that picture. His staff, sexual companions, distributors and contract employees have all needed to signal the paperwork, typically in alternate for settlements, severance or continued employment at his corporations, in response to folks near him and his start-ups, inside paperwork and courtroom information.
Now these agreements, which had been supposed to maintain folks silent on Mr. Johnson’s private life and companies, are backfiring as a few of his employees band collectively to problem them.
At the least three of Mr. Johnson’s former staff — together with a former fiancée who labored for him — have not too long ago filed complaints with the Nationwide Labor Relations Board, a federal watchdog company, about his confidentiality agreements. They mentioned the phrases they signed had been “overbroad” and accused Mr. Johnson of violating federal legal guidelines that defend employees who wish to talk about their office circumstances, in response to copies of two of the complaints and 6 folks with data of them.
Individuals near Mr. Johnson and Blueprint have more and more chafed on the agreements because the start-up has confronted mounting monetary and product-quality questions that some thought needs to be made public, former staff and others with data of the corporate mentioned.
Oliver Zolman, Mr. Johnson’s longtime longevity physician, who was featured within the Netflix documentary, quietly left Blueprint final 12 months after having considerations about a few of its well being dietary supplements, the folks mentioned. Final fall, Mr. Johnson additionally advised Blueprint executives that the corporate was operating out of cash.
Mr. Johnson’s aim was “to make use of these contractual agreements to maintain everybody quiet,” and that effort “type of was a home of playing cards,” mentioned Matt Bruenig, the lawyer for the previous staff who filed the N.L.R.B complaints.
Jamie Contento, who was Mr. Johnson’s private assistant and who filed one of many N.L.R.B. complaints, mentioned she “undoubtedly felt coerced into signing the agreements” as a result of she thought she would lose her job if she didn’t accomplish that.
The New York Occasions interviewed 30 folks near Mr. Johnson and his start-ups, together with present and former staff. Many spoke on the situation of anonymity as a result of they had been certain by the confidentiality phrases and feared retaliation from Mr. Johnson. The Occasions additionally reviewed copies of the agreements, courtroom information, inside paperwork, images and the N.L.R.B. complaints.
Mr. Johnson declined to reply many questions from The Occasions. In a put up on X earlier than this text was printed, he mentioned confidentiality agreements “attempt to create clear boundaries and expectations, in order that belief isn’t left to probability.”
After The Occasions contacted Mr. Johnson, he privately pushed folks in his orbit to abide by the agreements, folks aware of his outreach mentioned. One authorized letter despatched final month reminded a former worker that they had been “strictly prohibited from utilizing, disclosing or misappropriating any confidential, proprietary or commerce secret data belonging to the corporate or Bryan R. Johnson,” in response to a replica.
Publicly, Mr. Johnson centered on different issues. This month, he introduced his personal faith, which is known as after his longevity slogan, “Don’t Die.” It will save the human race, he mentioned.
Everlasting life
Mr. Johnson based the funds firm Braintree in 2007 and have become a multimillionaire when PayPal bought the start-up in 2013. He quickly shed his Mormon roots and started a section of exploration.
Mr. Johnson divorced his spouse, with whom he has three kids, and left the Mormon Church. He employed prostitutes, in response to buddies, former staff and courtroom paperwork, and took medication together with acid, Ibogaine and DMT.
Mr. Johnson has not publicly addressed his use of acid, however is a proponent of psychedelics like DMT and has the form of its chemical construction tattooed on his arm.
He additionally began utilizing confidentiality agreements. The phrases mandated that folks couldn’t converse publicly about his escapades, or speak to their buddies or household about him.
In 2016, Mr. Johnson based Kernel, a mind know-how start-up. He had turned down the possibility to ascertain the same firm with Elon Musk, who created his personal such agency, Neuralink.
Mr. Johnson more and more fixated on his repute, in response to former buddies and staff, and questioned why he was not getting as a lot publicity as Mr. Musk. He turned extra to confidentiality agreements. In 2020, he required a date to signal one earlier than the 2 used acid collectively, two former buddies mentioned. She signed however left early, incensed by the settlement.
The confidentiality phrases had been usually connected to broader employment agreements at Mr. Johnson’s enterprise. On the time, a Kernel worker settlement with confidentiality clauses was 4 and a half pages lengthy, with few specifics about what employees couldn’t discuss.
However as Mr. Johnson transitioned into the longevity business and centered on his well being, shedding greater than 50 kilos, the phrases mushroomed. The change was pushed partly by the founding of Blueprint, a start-up at Mr. Johnson’s Los Angeles dwelling, in 2021 to promote well being merchandise to his legions of death-averse followers. (He stepped down from Kernel in 2023 however stays on the board.)
Blueprint’s model is tied to Mr. Johnson’s picture, with pop-ups of his face selling the Netflix documentary and dietary supplements referred to as “Bryan’s favorites” listed on the market on the web site. “He’s the healthiest individual on the planet,” Blueprint’s website claims.
By final 12 months, a Blueprint employment settlement with confidentiality phrases was 20 pages lengthy and listed dozens of restrictions.
Amongst them: Employees should preserve confidential “any nonpublic data relating to Bryan’s dwelling, workplace, private results in his dwelling or workplace, any areas rented or owned by Bryan, any autos/planes/cars/boats/different strategies of transportation that aren’t publicly accessible, or areas of his dwelling or such area that aren’t publicly accessible,” in response to a replica.
In his X put up, Mr. Johnson mentioned the agreements “have advanced, similar to all the things else I iterate & enhance upon.” He added, “The aim is precision.”
Workers at Blueprint, which has a employees of about 30, typically needed to signal as many as three separate agreements. That’s atypical for worker agreements, in response to authorized specialists.
One was an uncommon “opt-in” doc, which isn’t a confidentiality contract however goals to guard the corporate from potential lawsuits over what staff may witness within the office.
Underneath that settlement, staff needed to attest that they had been OK with Mr. Johnson’s carrying “little and typically no clothes/no underwear” and with listening to “discussions of sexual actions, together with erections,” in response to a replica. Additionally they needed to agree that Mr. Johnson’s conduct was not “unwelcome, offensive, humiliating, hostile, triggering, unprofessional or abusive.”
The opt-in settlement was “truthful to all involved and is in everybody’s greatest curiosity,” Mr. Johnson posted on X.
Many rich people and corporations use confidentiality agreements. However Cliff Palefsky, an employment lawyer in San Francisco, mentioned some points of Mr. Johnson’s agreements had been overly broad and unenforceable.
Mr. Johnson and his firm are “relying on folks being afraid and never violating it as a result of they’re afraid,” mentioned Mr. Palefsky, who reviewed the paperwork for The Occasions.
Longevity combine
By early final 12 months, some Blueprint staff had been rising pissed off with the confidentiality agreements as the corporate skilled issues, individuals who have labored there mentioned.
Amongst them had been questions on Blueprint’s well being dietary supplements. The corporate sells a few dozen completely different proprietary dietary supplements, together with a $49 “longevity combine,” in response to its web site. Dietary supplements are topic to lighter regulation than medicines.
On the time, Mr. Johnson and his management crew, together with Dr. Zolman, requested for volunteers to hitch a research of the dietary supplements and meals referred to as “The Blueprint Stack.” The aim was to look at the results of the merchandise on folks’s well being, in response to the folks and inside paperwork considered by The Occasions.
Some executives, together with Dr. Zolman, wished to observe normal scientific testing procedures for the research and select customers to check at random, the folks mentioned. However Mr. Johnson had prospects pay greater than $2,100 to take part, they mentioned. He promised them he would launch the outcomes by the summer time of 2024.
Of the roughly 1,700 individuals within the research, about 60 p.c skilled no less than one facet impact, in response to inside emails, spreadsheets and different paperwork. Blood checks revealed that individuals noticed their testosterone ranges drop and have become prediabetic after following Mr. Johnson’s food regimen plan. It’s unclear how extreme the uncomfortable side effects had been.
“Longevity combine: A number of feedback about hating this as it’s making them sick, vomit, have heartburn, and so on.,” one Blueprint worker wrote to a colleague in February 2024.
Allulose, an ingredient within the longevity combine and a sugar various that Mr. Johnson has pitched to his social media followers, additionally prompted points. “TONS of individuals saying it’s inflicting nausea, bloating,” wrote an worker.
In an e-mail to The Occasions, Mr. Johnson mentioned the outcomes confirmed “frequent uncomfortable side effects with any meals, beverage or complement.” Blueprint merchandise are all the time improved, he mentioned, and are examined for security. He added that it was typical in a self-experimentation research to not cowl individuals’ prices.
Workers felt they may not share the findings due to the confidentiality agreements, in response to the emails and textual content messages.
Final summer time, Dr. Zolman left Blueprint after elevating considerations concerning the research’s outcomes, folks aware of his departure mentioned. He had signed a nondisclosure settlement, however Mr. Johnson wished him to signal one other one in return for a month of severance, they mentioned. Dr. Zolman declined due to the stringent phrases.
Mr. Johnson didn’t publish the research’s outcomes by the summer time of 2024, as he had advised prospects he would. In January, he released some knowledge for about 300 individuals, displaying optimistic outcomes. The dietary supplements proceed to be bought.
In an e-mail to The Occasions, Mr. Johnson mentioned metrics about Blueprint’s dietary supplements “transitioned to or stayed within the regular vary all through the whole lot of the research.” He added that Dr. Zolman had resigned “to hunt skilled assist for his critical psychological well being considerations,” with out offering proof. Dr. Zolman didn’t depart for these causes, folks with data of his departure mentioned.
On the similar time, Blueprint bumped into monetary challenges. Whereas income elevated final 12 months to about $40 million and the corporate has about 40,000 prospects, it was falling beneath its break-even level by no less than $1 million a month, folks with data of the enterprise mentioned. Mr. Johnson, who had put in $25 million as Blueprint’s sole investor, warned executives that the corporate was operating out of cash. Its present funds are unclear.
This 12 months, a recruiting e-mail described Blueprint as “already worthwhile,” in response to a replica of the message.
Mr. Johnson has additionally typically cherry-picked the rosiest metrics for his personal well being experiments, former staff and others mentioned, notably to highlight his “organic age,” which refers to how nicely his organs and different physique components are functioning.
Within the Netflix documentary, which was largely filmed in 2023, Mr. Johnson mentioned his organic age had reversed 5.1 years. However the outcomes of a spread of inside research of his well being between January 2022 and February 2024 confirmed it had elevated by as a lot as 10 years, in response to charts of the blood take a look at outcomes. It’s unclear what his present checks present.
In an e-mail, Mr. Johnson mentioned that the “determination to focus on the 5.1 12 months discount was made completely by the documentary’s manufacturing crew” and that the statistic got here from an experiment performed in early 2023. He mentioned “organic age measurements fluctuate” relying on the take a look at and different elements.
‘Simply didn’t really feel proper’
Worker considerations flared final spring when Blueprint despatched the opt-in settlement, requiring employees to say they had been OK with many office behaviors. It landed in e-mail inboxes with directions to signal as a traditional course of enterprise.
Many staff signed, however their considerations mounted. With Blueprint run from Mr. Johnson’s dwelling, the road between his private life and enterprise typically was hazy, former staff and others near Mr. Johnson mentioned.
Throughout workdays, Mr. Johnson ceaselessly walked round with little clothes on, and typically flirted with Blueprint’s largely feminine employees, they mentioned. However due to the opt-in settlement, nobody felt capable of may complain.
Ms. Contento, who had additionally labored at Kernel, mentioned she had been at Blueprint for a 12 months when she was requested to signal the opt-in settlement. She agreed as a result of she didn’t wish to lose her job, she mentioned, however “the doc simply didn’t really feel proper.”
Final fall, Ms. Contento left Blueprint. On the time, she emailed human assets to boost considerations concerning the work surroundings, which she mentioned “started to alter in ways in which made me really feel uncomfortable,” in response to a replica of her message.
“There have been sure skilled boundaries that, from my perspective, appeared to blur over time,” she wrote.
It’s unclear if Blueprint investigated Ms. Contento’s considerations. She didn’t signal one other of Mr. Johnson’s confidentiality agreements upon exiting the corporate.
Mr. Johnson mentioned in an e-mail that Ms. Contento had “raised no materials complaints or considerations relating to the work surroundings or her function to my data” whereas at Blueprint.
A name for motion
Whilst considerations grew over what Mr. Johnson was saying publicly versus privately, many staff had been afraid to problem him and his confidentiality agreements.
They’d a cautionary story: Taryn Southern.
Ms. Southern, 38, was Mr. Johnson’s former fiancée and an worker of his brain-technology start-up, Kernel. In February 2020, Mr. Johnson fired Ms. Southern from the corporate after breaking apart along with her whereas she had Stage 3 breast most cancers, in response to a 2021 lawsuit she filed in opposition to him.
Mr. Johnson had pressured her to signal an employment separation settlement with confidentiality phrases, the lawsuit mentioned. One model of the confidentiality phrases included a $500,000 penalty every time she broke the foundations.
“It’s all he appeared to care about, that settlement,” Ms. Southern mentioned in her first interview concerning the expertise.
Many Blueprint staff adopted the developments in Ms. Southern’s lawsuit, through which she contended that Mr. Johnson had breached a promise to pay her $150,000 in alternate for hire and transferring out of their dwelling after their breakup.
Mr. Johnson efficiently moved the lawsuit to arbitration. In 2023, an arbitrator dominated that Ms. Southern should adhere to her employment separation settlement, which included phrases that mentioned she couldn’t sue Mr. Johnson.
He then countersued for his authorized charges, with Ms. Southern ordered to pay greater than $584,000 to him.
Mr. Johnson took the authorized battle public. In 2023, he posted a 16-minute YouTube video saying he was a sufferer of “the darkish underground accusation economic system.” He adopted on Valentine’s Day 2024 with a 2,400-word put up on X naming Ms. Southern, saying that he feared she would attempt to kill him with a pair of scissors and that his well being routine had saved her from most cancers. It acquired greater than 500,000 views.
Ms. Southern felt she couldn’t reply due to the confidentiality phrases. (4 folks near the couple mentioned that that they had by no means heard Ms. Southern threaten to kill Mr. Johnson and that his well being routine didn’t save her from most cancers.) Her social media accounts and e-mail inbox crammed with assaults from Mr. Johnson’s followers.
“Most cancers therapy and my termination and all the things I needed to undergo — that was all terrible,” mentioned Ms. Southern, whose most cancers is in remission. “However what felt worse was not with the ability to share the reality once I was being publicly attacked.”
Mr. Johnson has not paid Ms. Southern the $150,000. In his YouTube video, he mentioned he would arrange a belief so funds from “his accuser” for his authorized charges would go towards her medical bills. Emails considered by The Occasions confirmed he opened the belief final 12 months, then closed it with out placing cash into it.
Final summer time, Ms. Southern filed a criticism in opposition to Kernel and Mr. Johnson to the N.L.R.B., saying the confidentiality phrases violated a provision of labor legislation that protects staff who wish to talk about office circumstances.
Whereas Ms. Southern continues to be certain by the settlement’s phrases, she mentioned she selected to talk to The Occasions about her working circumstances to characterize Mr. Johnson’s staff.
Different staff heard about Ms. Southern’s authorized technique. In February, Ms. Contento, the previous assistant to Mr. Johnson, filed the same criticism to the N.L.R.B. by means of the identical lawyer, Mr. Bruenig. Ms. Southern mentioned Ms. Contento had realized about him by means of her criticism. A 3rd former worker of Mr. Johnson’s quickly filed a criticism much like the opposite two.
As a result of the workers filed in a concerted effort in opposition to Mr. Johnson, federal legislation protects their capacity to talk about office circumstances, Mr. Bruenig mentioned. He added that the N.L.R.B. was investigating Ms. Southern’s criticism.
The N.L.R.B. didn’t return requests for remark. Ryan Discipline, Kernel’s chief govt, mentioned the corporate was cooperating with the investigation. Mr. Johnson has introduced in David Broderdorf, an employment lawyer at Morgan Lewis, in response to filings with the N.L.R.B.
A few of Mr. Johnson’s present and former staff at the moment are usually chatting with each other about their experiences at his corporations, Ms. Southern mentioned.
“We hope to carry some type of optimistic ending for different staff,” she mentioned.
Kirsten Noyes contributed analysis.
