Bulletproof Biohacking Conference 2015 Recap

The third annual Bulletproof Biohacking Conference at Pasadena Conference Center was the place to be this last weekend if you are amongst the small class of people who identify themselves as biohackers. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a biohacker is anyone who utilizes technology, supplements, exercise, meditation, and other resources to optimize human performance and increase ability in the realms of cognitive function, athleticism, sleep, sex, and diet. I had the pleasure of attending this years conference on behalf of Gone Green and getting an exclusive look at all that's new and cutting edge in the world of human optimization.

Dave Asprey, founder of Bulletproof and host of the conference has been a pioneer in the field of biohacking for several years now. He has invested over $300,000 and counting in being a human science experiment to optimize his own health and performance and share the data with his followers. Many of the technologies Dave has used in his own personal practice were available to try and buy at the conference. Everything from hyperbaric chambers, adaptive resistance exercise machines, performance tracking applications, cryogenic therapy chambers, and neurofeedback equipment was littered across the tech hall of the conference center. Couple this with industry renowned speakers, and an endless flow of bulletproof coffee, Dave and his team were able to create a three day biohackers paradise.

While at the conference I saw many incredible things and met some outstanding people. I also found a lot of high performance products that we hope to make available soon at GoneGreenStore.com so everyone has access to the tools that can unlock their own potential. I couldn't cover every second of the conference, but here are some of my personal highlights of this years event.

Keynote speaker Brendon Burchard: 5 Traits of High Performers

Brendon Burchard is a #1 New York Times best selling author and motivational speaker, and boy does this guy have energy! He lit up the room with his inspiring story of how he went from a depressed and suicidal teenager to one of the most influential motivators in the world. He talked about the 5 traits of high performers and encouraged everyone to ask themselves regularly "Did I live? Did I love? Did I matter?" Here are the 5 traits as told by Brendon;

#1 Clarity

"Everyone wants the gold, few ask why they want it." High performers have a clear vision of not only what they want, but why they want it.

#2 Energy

Breathe, smile, and exercise. You don't get energy, you have to generate it.

#3 Productive

Start a morning routine! Studies show that people are on average 30% more productive when they don't check email or social media in the first hour of their day. Brendon's advice start with water, stretching, exercise, and listing your intentions for the day. A small change can have a gigantic impact.

#4 Influence

High performers generate influence and challenge others. Don't tell people how to think, teach them how to think. Here is how to think about:

Our CompanyOur MissionOur Products Our Team Our Competitors

#5 Courage

Be courageous with your WHY. Ask yourself "What is worth fighting for? What will I love for?"

For more on Brendon visit his website HERE

Emily Fletcher: The Ultimate Brain Hack: Better Sleep, Better Performance & Better Sex through Meditation

Emily is the founder of Ziva Meditation and has worked with top ranking executives at Google, Viacom, Barclays Bank, as well as Harvard Business School to increase performance through the practice of Vedic meditation. What I like about Emily is that she debunks some common misconceptions about meditation and really empowers her audience to begin their own practice. She says that the number one reason couples don't have as much sex as they would like to is because they are too tired. Adopting a meditation practice can counter the biggest antagonists to sex drive and unhealthy stress levels which are adrenaline and cortisol. My favorite quote of the night from Emily; "Exercise and washing dishes are NOT meditation, that's why they have their own words." 

Find out more about Emily and Ziva Meditation HERE.

Dr. Tami Meraglia: FINE is a Four Letter Word: How to Biohack Your Adrenals

Dr. Tami is the author of "The Hormone Secret" and she talked about something that a room full of avid coffee drinkers probably all needed to hear, the adrenals. Her philosophy is that the absence of disease does not equal wellness and that energy is the number one sign of great health which is all produced in the adrenals. A few of the thing she talked about:

Andrew Weil's 4-7-8 breathing technique

Fire light at night activates melatonin production and unnatural light will hault it completely

The best time to sleep is before 11 pm

30g of protein within 30 minutes of waking up

Using essential oil of lavender at night

Supplementing with C, E, and B vitamins as well as magnesium, calcium, and zinc

Using herbs like ashwaganda, licorice root, Korean ginseng, and ginger

Visit Dr. Tami online Here.

Surprise Guest: Iceman Wim Hof  

This was perhaps the highlight of the entire weekend when record producer Rick Rubin crashed the party with Wim Hof. I somehow got lucky enough to sit next to Rick while the Iceman made an appearance on stage and had us all doing a breathing exercise. This was definitely one

of the few times in my life where I was truly star struck, sitting next to a music legend and having a real life superhero lead me in a breathing exercise. For anyone unfamiliar with Wim, he holds 21 Guinness World Records and hiked Mt. Everest in nothing but shorts! Along with a whole lot of other crazy stuff.

Check out more of Wim Hof here

Bulletproof For the Holidays: Cooking Demo with The JingSlingers Joy Coelho & Jay Denman

What I've always loved about the JingSlingers is that they show people the potential of Superfoods and Tonic Herbs. Their presentation this year was no different when they put a JingSlinger twist on some holiday classics. 

More about the JingSlingers and their recipes HERE

Daniel Vitalis: Human Zoology; The 'Missing Link' in Lifestyle Design

Leave it to Rewilding pioneer and founder of SurThrival, Daniel Vitalis to shake things up and deliver the most controversial and edgy talk of the weekend. He upset more than a few biohackers when he dismissed the idea of using technology to optimize human performance and told us to instead channel our inner animals and get back to our ancestral roots. He compared modern society to a factory farm where humans are bred for productivity and to pay taxes. Daniel holds a vision to, "Turn this moth****cker into a zoo!" where at least an animal's wild instincts are encouraged. It was the most raw and honest moment of the weekend and for the most part very well received. On a side note the guys at SurThrival know how to throw a party! We all got a little wild and in touch with our animal instincts after the conference at their Airbnb.

Check out more on Daniel and Rewilding here

High Performance Panel Moderated by Dave Asprey Featuring: Brandon Routh, Crosby Wehr, and Daniel Eisenman

This was a really unique and interesting panel of high performers. We had the guy who played Superman, a guy who bakes cookies (in Crosby's defense he's also a personal trainer and chef to the stars), and self proclaimed "recovering vegan" Danimal from the Rawbrahs.

The panel talked about morning rituals, pre-workout regiments, stress management, inducing creativity, and cold plunging. Daniel Eisenman was the standout on the stage in my opinion and I'm excited for his upcoming solo project F-Uncomfortable. Brandon Routh although a very high performing guy sounded like a paid celebrity plug for Bulletproof. Crosby did offer a hack to upgrade bulletproof coffee that I'll share with you:

In addition to grass fed butter and brain octane blend cordyceps, rehmannia, lion's mane, and chaga into your coffee for a pre-workout boost.

Tai Lopez: How to Live the Good Life

You would probably recognize Tai Lopez as the guy filming himself in his garage with a Lamborghini behind him on Youtube. I used to get annoyed by his videos too, but this guy is a monster! He's an investor and advisor to over twenty multi-million dollar companies, he reads a book a day, and has over 1 billion Youtube views. If you're an entrepreneur or high performer then he is definitely someone you want to follow. Also, he's not ashamed of putting a price on happiness. Biggest takeaways from his talk:

Always ask, "What's the reward?" And lead with that, especially when naming your product or company. Business will be ineffective until it's built around the reward.

Good entrepreneurs catch trends, but don't be a "Nudist Buddhist" meaning don't be too cutting edge and ahead of the curve. It's okay to be a nudist and it's okay to be a buddhist, but you're weird if you're a nudist buddhist.

The price of happiness is $72,000 a year, after that it has nothing to do with money.

The formula for the Good Life: Health, Wealth, Love, Happiness (in that order)

Use KSE:

Knowledge- Read A LOT 

Strategy- Think multiple moves ahead like chess 

Execute- When you're 38% sure of something it's the optimal time to execute 

Visit Tai Lopez online HERE

In Closing

The Third Annual Bulletproof Conference in Pasadena was a huge success and it was exciting to be there. What the massive amount of unorthodox (and often times conflicting) information showed me though was that there is no "one size fits all" approach to health, wealth and happiness. We all have to be hackers of our own biology, whether that means hooking up to a biofeedback machine or getting outside in the sunshine without ANY technology at all. It's all about what optimizes our own performance and makes us healthier and happier as individuals. There are a lot of great resources and teachers out there, but when we get too dogmatic about our approach it is almost always going to be counterproductive.

I didn't get a chance to cover every speaker and workshop so for more info on the event and it's speakers click HERE