We recently connected with Dave Asprey and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Dave thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Taking stupid risks is stupid. Taking calculated risks that are worth it is what makes your life worth living. In my 20s I set out to do every single thing that scared me. Not things that were dangerous, things that were scary. And maybe a little dangerous when it was worth it. One of the risks I took was investing millions of dollars into upgrading my biology. When I was overweight and sick my doctor told me to “just lose weight.” If I had followed his advice to continue exercising 90 minutes per day, 6 times a week and eating a low-calorie diet, I’d probably still be fat and sick today. Instead, I experimented. Some things worked. Others didn’t. But if I hadn’t taken those risks, I would never have discovered the Bulletproof Diet or Bulletproof Coffee, which has helped millions of people lose pounds of fat and inflammation.

Dave , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Dave Asprey, also known as the “Father of biohacking.”

Yes, I am the guy that made putting butter into coffee famous.

In the 90s I was the first person to ever sell a product online – it was a t-shirt with a caffeine molecule on it. It earned me a profile in Entrepreneur Magazine. I then co-founded a company that invented data centers, became an early internet technology journalist, a successful cyber security expert, and helped grow a startup, Exodus Communications, into an original internet service provider to dot com businesses.

By the time I was in my mid 20s I was successful professionally, but my health was not in the best place. I was 300 lbs, had debilitating brain fog, pre-diabetes and was at high risk of having a heart attack according to my doctor. As a computer hacker, I learned early on how to take over a computer by changing the inputs to its operating system. Later I realized that just as you can hack a computer system, you can also hack your biology to get a desired result (hence the term biohacking). I used the principles of biohacking to lose over 100 pounds, reverse my biological age, increase my IQ by over 12 points, and get in the best physical and mental shape of my life. “Biohacking” is now an official word in the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

A big part of my quest to upgrade my brain and body was discovering Bulletproof coffee. I was in the middle of a high-altitude trekking journey near Mt. Kailash when a tiny Tibetan woman offered me a warm cup of Yak butter tea. The tea instantly revived me despite the –10°F chill and 18,300-foot elevations. When I got home from that trip I realized I had to create my own version. I swapped Yak butter for grass-fed butter and swapped tea for my specially sourced mold-free coffee beans (most coffee is contaminated with mold toxins which cause you to feel bad). I also added MCT oil, which is brain-boosting and energy-enhancing. The results were amazing and gave me an even better energy boost than I had felt in Tibet after drinking Yak butter tea. I knew I had to share this with the world. That was the beginning of my brand, Bulletproof. I am no longer with Bulletproof and now have my own brand of re-mineralized, mycotoxin-free coffee called Danger Coffee.

I am the creator of The Bulletproof Diet, an anti-inflammatory, low-toxin diet that has helped millions of people lose fat and inflammation. I’ve written four New York Times bestsellers and I have a new book coming out in May called Heavily Meditated. I’m the CEO of Upgrade Labs, and host of an award-winning top 100 podcast, The Human Upgrade (formerly Bulletproof Radio). I also founded 40 Years of Zen, an intensive 5-day master program for unlocking and upgrading your brain.

Using science-backed methods, my mission is to help people upgrade their minds to a happier, more conscious state, and their bodies to achieve peak personal performance, one cell at a time.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

1. Become untriggerable. Your job, whether you’re a manager, CEO, coach, or any other kind of leader is to be untriggerable. This means working on past traumas, so they no longer hold you back from reaching your full potential. It means becoming emotionally and spiritually resilient. It’s your job to hold an energy space for your company. How you show up will affect how everyone shows up. In order to become untriggerable, you have to do personal development work whether that’s meditation, breathwork, or neurofeedback.

2. Get healthy. You also have to make sure you take care of your biology if you want to perform at your best. Eat a high-quality diet. Prioritize sleep. Get stronger with exercise. Recover like a pro athlete. If you’re in chaos either biologically or emotionally, your company will be in chaos too. When you become resilient both physically and emotionally, your company will become resilient as well. This improves morale for everyone.

3. Build your community. CEOs and leaders tend to be lonely. Find a community of people who want you to win no matter what. This isn’t your close friends, family, or employees. It has to be other CEOs and leaders that know what you’re dealing with

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Building my reputation came from a deep commitment to evidence-based approaches and real-world results. I focus on being at the forefront of cutting-edge research while maintaining authenticity and transparency in sharing both my successes and failures in my own biohacking journey.

I was a 300 lb guy with arthritis, brain fog, and a high risk of having a heart attack according to my doctor. Now I’m hovering around 4.8% body fat and my brain works better than it did in my 20s. I achieved this through years of experimentation. I share everything I did in my books as well as on my podcast because I don’t want others to suffer the way I did. Along my journey I started several companies and developed three unique billion-dollar consumer markets: MCT oil, collagen protein, and functional coffee.

I also partner with and learn from various experts in the field of human performance and longevity. This allows me to build a comprehensive understanding of how and why biohacking works and also helps me learn about the newest advancements.

Most importantly, I’ve built trust by consistently helping people achieve tangible improvements in their health and performance. Whether it’s helping someone overcome chronic pain through cutting-edge interventions or improving someone’s physical performance through precise biohacking protocols, the results speak for themselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://daveasprey.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dave.asprey/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Daveaspreyofficial/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asprey/
• Twitter: https://x.com/daveasprey
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DaveAspreyBPR
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@daveaspreyofficial

Image Credits

Credit: Dave Asprey