I spoke with Bryan Johson for Business Insider's Long Play event. He had a lot to say about Silicon Valley's celibacy stigma.

Bryan Johnson speaking onstage at Business Insider's The Long Play event in San Francisco. Tammy Horton/Nikki Ritcher 2026-04-19T10:41:01.228Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. This post originally appeared in the BI Today newsletter. You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here. Longevity secrets with Bryan JohnsonThirty seconds into my conversation with Bryan Johnson on Tuesday night, the longevity influencer suggested Business Insider was trying to kill the audience. Loading audio narration... We had an open bar in San Francisco's Exploratorium for our first Long Play event, and booze is a big no-no if you want to live forever like him."The idea that alcohol is a relaxant that makes your life better is a myth," he said. The much healthier option would have been serving psychedelic mushrooms, he added. Stay tuned for our menu at our next Long Play event in October. Another way to live longer, Johnson, 48, told the audience, is to have more sex. He has been sharing long, lurid posts on X about his sex life with his girlfriend and cofounder, Kate Tolo, 30 (who sat in the front row), and told me he does this because he's writing "an instructional manual on how to have sex," which he says too many people need today.San Francisco is known for its celibacy — as founders go "monk mode" and "no dating until Series B" has become a mantra — and Johnson took a moment to compel the audience to put themselves out there more. "What founders don't realize is when you don't take care of your health, you are shitty code," he said. Our conversation grew more animated from there. I haven't confirmed this, but I'm fairly certain this marked the first time in conference history where defense tech, AI-accelerated income inequality, cervical tenting, and clitoral erections were discussed on the same panel. Watch our entire chat here, and please don't tell Bryan that after our talk, I had a glass of pinot with a very strong pour.