1 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:18,840 Speaker 1: As I am the fastest man in the world, but 2 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 1: you've never heard of me. I've broken you sain Bolt's 3 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:28,720 Speaker 1: one hundred meter record, but I can't show you my face. 4 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:32,760 Speaker 2: In the summer of twenty twenty three, this video started 5 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:37,160 Speaker 2: making the rounds online. An incredibly fit built runner taking 6 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:40,599 Speaker 2: his place on a track starting line. The race starts 7 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 2: and he sprints off. The whole time, you can't see 8 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:44,200 Speaker 2: his face. 9 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:50,240 Speaker 1: I am a proud enchance to athlete. The Olympics hate me. 10 00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 1: I need your help to come out. 11 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 2: It's an advertisement for a new event that's attracted a 12 00:00:57,480 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 2: ton of controversy. 13 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: Come join me at the first Enhanced Games and see 14 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: me break the world record in public. 15 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:13,760 Speaker 2: The Enhanced Games, or the steroid Olympics, as lots of 16 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:16,319 Speaker 2: people keep calling it. I first heard about the idea 17 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:19,600 Speaker 2: when tech entrepreneur Aaron Desue's a one on Joe Rogan's 18 00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 2: podcast Check it out the Joe Rogan Experience. 19 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 3: Well, the Olympics is kind of a scam because it 20 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:32,800 Speaker 3: generates billions of dollars in revenue, and the people that 21 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 3: are there to perform make almost none of that. 22 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 4: That's correct, It gets wasted building stadiums, it gets wasted 23 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:40,720 Speaker 4: paying officials. 24 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:44,960 Speaker 2: Aaron says the Games are his Protestant revolution, and this video, 25 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 2: plus the press release that went out with it, they're 26 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 2: his version of Martin Luther's ninety five THESS. Whatever is 27 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:54,280 Speaker 2: corrupt about the Olympics, Aaron says, he has the fix. 28 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:57,560 Speaker 4: I've been studying the Olympics my entire life. You know, 29 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 4: forty four percent of Olympians admit to using band performance 30 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:02,360 Speaker 4: enhancing drugs within the last year. 31 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 3: And the other you know, probably lying. 32 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 2: Aaron sees it this way, it's not the athlete's fault. 33 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:13,600 Speaker 2: Some teams play by the rules, others put pressure on 34 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 2: their athletes to cheat. 35 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:17,680 Speaker 4: And then I learned that the average American Olympian only 36 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 4: earned thirty thousand dollars a year, and I thought to myself, 37 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:23,680 Speaker 4: there's something really wrong in the system. And instead of, 38 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 4: you know, trying to reform it, let's take a blankly 39 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 4: slight of paper and invent the Third Olympiad from scratch. 40 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 2: The idea for the Enhanced Games was pretty straightforward. What 41 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:39,120 Speaker 2: if we take the world's best athletes, Olympians, let's say, 42 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:42,440 Speaker 2: and let them take whatever performance enhancing drugs that they 43 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:46,720 Speaker 2: want to take, Stuff like steroids, stimulants, and peptides. 44 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 3: We all know that the Olympics are dirty. We all 45 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 3: know that funded, state sponsored programs have existed forever and 46 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 3: they've just been doing weasley things to try to avoid detection. 47 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,519 Speaker 3: They're taking things, everyone's taking things. They're all hiding things. 48 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 4: Right, and so instead of doing it underground in secret, 49 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:08,919 Speaker 4: let's do it out in the open with clinical supervision 50 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:10,800 Speaker 4: and safety. 51 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:14,960 Speaker 2: In other words, if people are going to dope anyway, 52 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:18,919 Speaker 2: why shouldn't we try and safely facilitate the biggest, strongest 53 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:23,360 Speaker 2: and fastest humans in the world getting bigger, stronger, and faster. 54 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 2: And why shouldn't we pay them to do it? Besides, 55 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 2: Aaron says, nobody has to dope. 56 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:33,639 Speaker 4: You don't have to take enhancements to be at the 57 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 4: enhanced game. 58 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 3: So just be a regular person, can be a regular genes. 59 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 4: Yeah, I could say, hey, I'm I'm I won the 60 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 4: genetic lottery, right, and I think I can beat all 61 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 4: the enhanced athletes and make great television. 62 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:47,680 Speaker 2: Yeah that's fun too, right, Personally, I'd be so down 63 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 2: to watch that. Putn't you from Kaleidoscope and iHeart podcasts? 64 00:03:54,320 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 2: This is superhuman? I'm your host? Chris Gayamali, the world 65 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 2: Anti doping industry, and the International Olympic Committee were quick 66 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:08,760 Speaker 2: to announce the Enhanced Games, calling it a travesty, a 67 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 2: mockery of fairness and safety in sport. Should the Enhanced 68 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:14,400 Speaker 2: Games be allowed to go. 69 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:16,839 Speaker 1: You're an athlete who's competing in the Sabina, You're risking 70 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 1: your career and you'll rip you tit not. 71 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 5: The Enhanced Games is counter to. 72 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 6: See which cheater comes down on top. 73 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,920 Speaker 2: But by that point Aaron had real buy in hundreds 74 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:30,280 Speaker 2: of news outlets covering his games, new and eager investors, 75 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 2: which included billionaires some of the world's most notorious investors 76 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 2: like Peter Teel and Donald Trump Junior. 77 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 7: Imagine an Olympics where everyone is on performance enhancing drugs. 78 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 8: What might be any anti doping regulator's nightmare is some 79 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 8: millionaire's dream. 80 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 2: All told, the Enhanced Games have entered twenty twenty six, 81 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:52,200 Speaker 2: with hundreds of millions of dollars behind them, and they're 82 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:55,760 Speaker 2: happening soon at the end of this month in Las Vegas. 83 00:04:57,120 --> 00:04:59,120 Speaker 2: In the lead up to the Games, the athletes are 84 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 2: all living together at a cushy hotel on the other 85 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 2: side of the world. They train, eat lunch, do wellness, 86 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 2: check ins, recovery everything. And while the Enhanced Games get 87 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 2: compared to the Olympics, they're not much like the Olympics 88 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:15,720 Speaker 2: at all. The Olympics corrupt, though they may be, are 89 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:19,120 Speaker 2: owned and governed by the IOC, an independent Swiss nonprofit. 90 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:23,279 Speaker 2: To the extent that there is a product, it's literally 91 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:28,000 Speaker 2: the Olympics and international event where different countries compete for gold. 92 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:32,040 Speaker 2: The Enhanced Games are a privately funded, for profit event. 93 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:35,599 Speaker 2: The entire enterprise is valued at one point two billion. 94 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:39,720 Speaker 2: Their intention is to go public and they've raised another 95 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 2: forty million to do that. They've got a lot more planned. 96 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 9: Enhance Games we hope will be a crystallization factor. 97 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:50,440 Speaker 2: Christian Angermeyer is one of Aaron's co founders. 98 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 9: That Enhanced for a whole societal change on how we 99 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:58,040 Speaker 9: look at body autonomy, how we give how we give 100 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:01,680 Speaker 9: the decision that to people what they want to be 101 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 9: with the body, with the mind, and all of that. 102 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:07,360 Speaker 2: When it comes to Enhanced there's one thing that everyone 103 00:06:07,839 --> 00:06:12,240 Speaker 2: funders founders, they all have in common, broadly speaking, it's 104 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 2: a vested interest in human optimization, improving our bodies and 105 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 2: brains to maximize one's potential and well being. It all 106 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 2: fits into the larger bucket of longevity or anti aging, 107 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:28,360 Speaker 2: the idea that we humans can effectively reverse age our 108 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:32,400 Speaker 2: own bodies. Christian and Aaron, they're so bought in on this, 109 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:33,920 Speaker 2: they're already enhancing. 110 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,320 Speaker 4: I have, yes, but I'm not as enhance as some 111 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:39,159 Speaker 4: of my colleagues. If you want to talk about enhancement, 112 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:40,280 Speaker 4: talked to Christian. 113 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:42,719 Speaker 9: I can tell you I started the whole process. So 114 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:45,920 Speaker 9: I'm going through the enhancement process of an athlete myself, 115 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:50,360 Speaker 9: and it's unbelievable, Like you feel twenty years younger in 116 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:54,320 Speaker 9: like recovery. I can train every day, I wake up 117 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:56,320 Speaker 9: in the morning and don't feel stiff anymore. I'm like, 118 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 9: oh shit, this is how it felt when I was 119 00:06:58,040 --> 00:06:59,159 Speaker 9: in my twenties. 120 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:07,880 Speaker 2: And you know what, I want that too. I'm forty 121 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:10,000 Speaker 2: one and have a young kid, and I wake up 122 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,320 Speaker 2: most mornings feeling my age. So I'm pretty much in 123 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:18,840 Speaker 2: the bullseye of whatever enhanced is selling. I am also 124 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 2: a journalist based in New York City. I worked at 125 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:23,680 Speaker 2: chiqu as an editor for almost a decade, and my 126 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:26,600 Speaker 2: day job right now is in fashion. But outside of 127 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 2: all of that. My journalism is mostly about the human body, 128 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 2: all the things it can and can't do. I've written 129 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:37,840 Speaker 2: about men who break their bones to become taller. I've 130 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:41,120 Speaker 2: spent a lot of time profiling UFC stars, and I've 131 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 2: tried to figure out why the business of protein is 132 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:47,559 Speaker 2: suddenly booming. I also work out a lot practice muy Thai, 133 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 2: like five times a week, and I run this health 134 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 2: and wellness newsletter called Heavies. But it's not really sports 135 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:58,360 Speaker 2: that I care about. I'm mostly interested in human augmentation, 136 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 2: how we can make ourselves feel better and more powerful. 137 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:06,680 Speaker 2: Who do you see being like the enhanced customer? 138 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:08,080 Speaker 3: Anyone? 139 00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:12,040 Speaker 10: Yeah, if you have a body, enhancements can help you 140 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:15,920 Speaker 10: become closer to achieving your goals. I'm like, better at 141 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 10: what you want to do than without. 142 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:21,640 Speaker 2: Okay, So have you got this crazy idea to let 143 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 2: world class athletes let it rip and just go ahead 144 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:27,480 Speaker 2: and use whatever drugs they want. And it's got some legs. 145 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 2: It's pretty marketable. People want to see what's going to happen. 146 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 2: You have all these Olympic athletes across three initial sports swimming, 147 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:41,480 Speaker 2: track and weightlifting, basically turning themselves into the Avengers. It 148 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 2: proves on some level that humans are capable of doing 149 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:47,680 Speaker 2: impossible things. Some people are calling it cheating, but whether 150 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:50,000 Speaker 2: you think it's cheating or not, you might still want 151 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:53,520 Speaker 2: to watch. But before any of that can happen, what 152 00:08:53,559 --> 00:08:57,880 Speaker 2: does enhance need. It needs athletes, athletes willing to dope, 153 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:01,600 Speaker 2: which is a hard sell. To take drugs would jeopardize 154 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:05,120 Speaker 2: the reputations understandably, not to mention a shot at the 155 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:10,040 Speaker 2: actual Olympics from go. A key question is who would 156 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:11,320 Speaker 2: ever say yes to that? 157 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:14,560 Speaker 5: As a thirty four year old, I'm actually really excited 158 00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:19,320 Speaker 5: about that prospect because having been an athlete, my whole 159 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:23,840 Speaker 5: identity was linked to being the fastest, or the strongest, 160 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:28,800 Speaker 5: or you know, things that are linked essentially with being young. 161 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,920 Speaker 2: James Magnuson is a three time Olympic medalist six foot six, 162 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 2: super handsome dude Captain America except he's Australian and his 163 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:43,720 Speaker 2: nickname is the Missile. He's one heaps of championships and 164 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:45,840 Speaker 2: at one point he was one of like the five 165 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:47,160 Speaker 2: fastest swimmers in the world. 166 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:50,959 Speaker 5: And as I got into my thirties and well into 167 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:54,280 Speaker 5: my thirties now I'm like, as I get older. What 168 00:09:54,640 --> 00:09:58,559 Speaker 5: is my identity if I'm no longer that young, fast 169 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:03,520 Speaker 5: fit guy, And that's that's a daunting prospect for someone 170 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:07,160 Speaker 5: whose identity has been linked purely to their physicality. 171 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:10,400 Speaker 2: James is in his mid thirties now, which in the 172 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 2: rude time continuum of professional sports means he's old, he's washed, 173 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:19,320 Speaker 2: which also makes him exactly what Enhans is looking for. 174 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:23,040 Speaker 2: Not that James needs much convincing here. He is on 175 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:26,199 Speaker 2: a sports podcast back in twenty twenty four, before in 176 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:27,680 Speaker 2: Hands had even been in touch. 177 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:30,720 Speaker 11: I'll give you an exclusive here on the show. They've 178 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:33,920 Speaker 11: said they've got a billion dollar, billion dollar person backing them. 179 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 11: If they put up a million dollars for the fifty 180 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:39,719 Speaker 11: three style world record, I'll come on board as their 181 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:42,440 Speaker 11: first athlete. I'll juice to the gills and I'll break 182 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 11: it within six months. 183 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:49,040 Speaker 2: Enhance actually did make James the exact offer that he 184 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:52,520 Speaker 2: asked for one million dollars in an attempt to drum 185 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:55,800 Speaker 2: up more media attention. In exchange, he need to break 186 00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:58,959 Speaker 2: the world record in the fifty meter freestyle, a zippy 187 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:03,560 Speaker 2: single lap across Olympic pool. That record was twenty point 188 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:06,560 Speaker 2: nine to one seconds. That was the number that James 189 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 2: needed to be. He said yes, this was twenty twenty four. 190 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:15,080 Speaker 2: He moved across the world to Irvine. This extremely steppard 191 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:18,160 Speaker 2: as suburban in southern California, where he trained in secret 192 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:21,760 Speaker 2: with a swim coach. Enhance had recruited Brett Hawk, also 193 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:25,480 Speaker 2: a former Olympian. The local indoor poo wouldn't let him 194 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:28,880 Speaker 2: train there on account of the doping, so we practiced 195 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:32,400 Speaker 2: for hours a day at an outdoor community pool. People 196 00:11:32,400 --> 00:11:35,880 Speaker 2: out walking their dogs would stop to watch him. At 197 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:39,400 Speaker 2: this point, James was already doping, or what Enhance calls 198 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:44,160 Speaker 2: the protocol. Their system is doctors work with athletes, presenting 199 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:46,360 Speaker 2: them with a menu of doping options and then help 200 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:49,679 Speaker 2: them decide. And all the while James was training his 201 00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:50,240 Speaker 2: butt off. 202 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:52,560 Speaker 5: The first seven weeks I was here in America, I 203 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:55,640 Speaker 5: trained seven days a week, twice a day for forty 204 00:11:55,720 --> 00:12:00,760 Speaker 5: nine days straight, so seven weeks straight without any recovery days. 205 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:04,040 Speaker 2: It prescribed to stosterone to boost his muscle mass and 206 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:07,920 Speaker 2: improve bone density. He also got on peptides, which maybe 207 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:10,559 Speaker 2: you've been hearing about. There are a lot of different 208 00:12:10,679 --> 00:12:12,960 Speaker 2: kinds that are said to do a lot of different things. 209 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:16,640 Speaker 2: There's TV five hundred, which is supposed to help the 210 00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:19,760 Speaker 2: body create new blood vessels, or maybe you've seen pt 211 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:22,600 Speaker 2: one four one, which is said to make your skin ten. 212 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:25,160 Speaker 2: There are a lot of different kinds of peptides said 213 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:27,440 Speaker 2: to do a lot of different things. Think of them 214 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:30,240 Speaker 2: as chunks of protein or rather the building blocks of 215 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 2: proteins amino acids that signal to your body to take action, 216 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:39,080 Speaker 2: to say, rebuild itself, to aid in recovery. From what 217 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:43,120 Speaker 2: we know, Magnesen's peptide protocol included the Wolverine stack to 218 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:46,520 Speaker 2: help him heal really fast, plus other peptides that boost 219 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:48,360 Speaker 2: his natural production of growth hormone. 220 00:12:48,559 --> 00:12:51,160 Speaker 5: Because I'd white copy in the morning, I feel fresh, 221 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:53,640 Speaker 5: I'd feel strong, I'd feel fit, and I'd say, let's 222 00:12:53,679 --> 00:12:55,400 Speaker 5: go again, Let's go again, let's go again. 223 00:12:56,160 --> 00:13:00,000 Speaker 2: Right, he felt awesome. Every day James woke up, chomp 224 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:02,160 Speaker 2: at the bit, he go to get back in the pool. 225 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:04,960 Speaker 2: At one point he was even training twice a day, 226 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:07,400 Speaker 2: seven days a week. It was a lot. 227 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:11,280 Speaker 5: What I didn't realize is my central nervous system was 228 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:13,840 Speaker 5: just getting beat down. My muscles were fine, they were 229 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:16,760 Speaker 5: bouncing back. I had no muscle soreness for five months, 230 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:21,040 Speaker 5: but neurologically, I was being torn down by just having 231 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:23,400 Speaker 5: to swim fast every day and those part. 232 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 2: He claims he gained nearly forty pounds in muscle mass 233 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:29,680 Speaker 2: in just a few weeks, which is almost unbelievable. His 234 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:33,360 Speaker 2: racing suit no longer fit. They'd sometimes bust open when 235 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:37,480 Speaker 2: he tried putting them on in the mornings. After seven 236 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:39,640 Speaker 2: weeks in California, it was time to go to North 237 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:43,360 Speaker 2: Carolina to Greensboro, where Enhance was staging a sort of 238 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:46,439 Speaker 2: publicity stunt. James was going to try winning the million 239 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:48,960 Speaker 2: dollars by breaking the twenty point nine to one second 240 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:50,960 Speaker 2: world record for the fifty meter free. 241 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:53,640 Speaker 5: By the time I got to Greensborough, it was almost 242 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:56,400 Speaker 5: like we're limping towards the finish line because I'd absolutely 243 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:59,199 Speaker 5: cooked myself from training so hard for so long. 244 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:02,560 Speaker 2: In spite of how on the protocol made James feel 245 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:07,119 Speaker 2: those past few weeks, something was wrong. He wasn't registering 246 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:10,600 Speaker 2: any pain, but that didn't mean his body wasn't experiencing it. 247 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:14,840 Speaker 5: I wasn't respecting the fact that my brain was working 248 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:17,880 Speaker 5: so hard every day as well to fuel my muscles 249 00:14:18,160 --> 00:14:20,880 Speaker 5: to tell them what to do. Those pathways from my 250 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:24,240 Speaker 5: brain to my muscles were slowly getting fried over that 251 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:25,200 Speaker 5: seven week period. 252 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:28,360 Speaker 2: The day of the fifty meter race, James squeezed into 253 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:33,040 Speaker 2: his speedsuit, his traps spilled out, his muscles couldn't be contained, 254 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:35,400 Speaker 2: like he was trying to fit a twin size sheet 255 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:56,720 Speaker 2: over a king sized mattress. And then Brett was running 256 00:14:56,720 --> 00:15:00,680 Speaker 2: alongside the poor, clapping and cheering him on his fiance. 257 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:04,480 Speaker 2: For swimmers as good as James, a single second might 258 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:07,760 Speaker 2: as well spend an entire year. He got nowhere close 259 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:12,480 Speaker 2: to beating the record. He tried twice. His best of 260 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:15,000 Speaker 2: the two came in at twenty two point seven to two, 261 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:17,560 Speaker 2: nearly two seconds slower than he needed. 262 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:21,040 Speaker 5: I'm really disappointed with the time on the board. 263 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:25,160 Speaker 2: Because I don't think it's a true reflection. 264 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:29,360 Speaker 5: Of my preparation and the sacrifices I've made. 265 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:32,720 Speaker 2: I wasn't in North Carolina back when this race happened, 266 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:35,920 Speaker 2: but Enhance did have their own documentary crew on site. 267 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:40,200 Speaker 2: That's where this tape comes from. Watching all of this 268 00:15:40,280 --> 00:15:43,320 Speaker 2: on YouTube a few months later, this guy had worked 269 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:47,480 Speaker 2: really hard, put himself in this isolating situation, injected himself 270 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:49,960 Speaker 2: every morning with a bunch of weird shit and got 271 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,960 Speaker 2: really big, only for the enhancements to make him a 272 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:56,440 Speaker 2: lot slower. But this was just a test run and 273 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:59,840 Speaker 2: James was effectively a guinea pig. He's going to adjustice 274 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:02,640 Speaker 2: to call with doctors and try again at the Games 275 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:03,880 Speaker 2: in just a few short weeks. 276 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:14,840 Speaker 6: In Las Vegas, at five am on February twenty fourth, 277 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:19,720 Speaker 6: twenty twenty two, Vladimir Putin ordered his army to invade Ukraine. 278 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:24,320 Speaker 2: He launched business and sent attack helicopters when the war started. 279 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:25,840 Speaker 2: What were you doing at the time. 280 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 10: I've been in a training camp in Germany and my 281 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:34,720 Speaker 10: family been visiting me before, and actually my family left 282 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:39,960 Speaker 10: two days before the war started. Taked everything and goal. 283 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:43,560 Speaker 2: World record swimmer Andre Govov is from the don Bas region, 284 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:45,840 Speaker 2: a part of Ukraine that's been at the epicenter of 285 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:50,120 Speaker 2: the Russian invasion for about four years now. For months, 286 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:53,640 Speaker 2: Andre's family couldn't even get back home from Germany. They 287 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:56,480 Speaker 2: went to Poland and then to Austria, where a friend 288 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:59,800 Speaker 2: of his had an apartment that they could use. So far, 289 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:04,240 Speaker 2: the war's cost Andrea a lot. Like first starters, his job, 290 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:07,800 Speaker 2: a business he was running to support himself and his family. 291 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:12,560 Speaker 2: When the artillery started going off, nothing was spared it. 292 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:16,840 Speaker 2: Andrea's business was literally destroyed. A while trying to keep 293 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:19,200 Speaker 2: up his training and compete in the Olympics, but. 294 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:23,200 Speaker 10: When it happened, all my dreams, all my plans just vanished. 295 00:17:23,840 --> 00:17:27,600 Speaker 2: Andrea's tall and blonde and very broad, kind of like 296 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:30,400 Speaker 2: a bulldog. He's someone who at the minute you see him, 297 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:31,919 Speaker 2: you know he's an a late athlete. 298 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:34,240 Speaker 10: Grain I'm thirty three years old. I'm the current world 299 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:36,640 Speaker 10: record holder of the fifty butterfly. 300 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:39,400 Speaker 2: So when he talks, it's just as obvious. 301 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:44,160 Speaker 10: Fastest butterfly in the world in the history of humanity, 302 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:47,080 Speaker 10: plus time the finalist of Olympic Games in a fifty freestyle. 303 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:53,280 Speaker 10: Imagine that you put everything in your life into this achievement, 304 00:17:53,359 --> 00:17:57,160 Speaker 10: and you feel that you're superhero. You're unstoppable, you speak better, 305 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:01,840 Speaker 10: you thinks faster, you're smarter. Everyone wants to be with you, 306 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:04,399 Speaker 10: and you're so energized. 307 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:08,359 Speaker 2: And Andre's a bit different from the other swimmers, like he's 308 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:12,320 Speaker 2: a power swimmer, a specialist, and his specialty is the 309 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:13,800 Speaker 2: fifty meters butterfly. 310 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:14,880 Speaker 12: Andres are different animals. 311 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:15,960 Speaker 3: So I'm trying to figure him out. 312 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:17,600 Speaker 12: Ut, Yeah, he's just a. 313 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:20,040 Speaker 2: Powerhouse that's enhanced swim coach Brett Hawk. 314 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:24,360 Speaker 12: So like he's just he's he's the ultimate power machine. 315 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:27,680 Speaker 12: And with him, he just takes a lot more recovery. 316 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:29,840 Speaker 12: And so you just gotta you gotta treat him a 317 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:30,480 Speaker 12: little bit different. 318 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:34,119 Speaker 2: An injury kept Andre out of the twenty twenty Tokyo Games, 319 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:36,840 Speaker 2: but he kept training harder and planned on competing at 320 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:40,840 Speaker 2: the twenty twenty four Games in Paris. Unable to train 321 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:43,320 Speaker 2: at home and without a way to earn any money, 322 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:46,560 Speaker 2: Andre has lived basically as a nomad, and all the 323 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:48,600 Speaker 2: while he's been trying to maintain his training. 324 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:55,200 Speaker 10: I called every single organization whoever supported me, and most 325 00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:59,480 Speaker 10: of them they were not interest. They say, uh, you know, 326 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:01,760 Speaker 10: in order to support, you need to show the result first. 327 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:04,399 Speaker 10: And I'm a world record holder, an actual one, you know, 328 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:07,359 Speaker 10: And I mean, I'm fine to show the result, but 329 00:19:07,359 --> 00:19:09,520 Speaker 10: how can I show the result without having any support? 330 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:15,120 Speaker 2: The thing about training for the Olympics, it's expensive and anyway, swimming, 331 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:19,159 Speaker 2: it's not the NFL or the NBA. Very few Olympians 332 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:21,679 Speaker 2: can carve out a living for themselves, let alone for 333 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:24,720 Speaker 2: their families. Even at the highest highest level. 334 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:27,800 Speaker 10: In order to be able to train, you need to 335 00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:31,000 Speaker 10: have at least like six or seven thousand dollars a 336 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:34,200 Speaker 10: month in order to have decent maintenance. 337 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:37,480 Speaker 2: But elite athletes have a village around them. First, you've 338 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:39,919 Speaker 2: got to pay your main coach. Then, if you're lucky, 339 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:43,720 Speaker 2: an assistant coach and a strength coach. Then you have 340 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:48,200 Speaker 2: to pay for your recovery, to massage, physical therapy, because 341 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:51,280 Speaker 2: if you can't stay healthy, you can compete. And if 342 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:53,840 Speaker 2: you've got a manager to help you secure brand deals, 343 00:19:54,119 --> 00:19:55,399 Speaker 2: they're taking a cut as well. 344 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,160 Speaker 10: To be good and actually chase the world record. It's 345 00:19:58,560 --> 00:19:59,640 Speaker 10: ten thousand months at. 346 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:02,320 Speaker 2: Least, and it isn't like winning the Olympics pays very much. 347 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:04,640 Speaker 2: If you're lucky to live in the US, you might 348 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:08,400 Speaker 2: make five or low six figures, but those expenses add up, 349 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:12,560 Speaker 2: so most athletes turned to sponsorships to keep the cash flowing, 350 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:16,159 Speaker 2: or patrons wealthy donors who fund your training for you. 351 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:19,040 Speaker 2: On top of all of that, Andrea was still without 352 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:21,840 Speaker 2: a home, so his training for the twenty four Games 353 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:25,800 Speaker 2: was put on hold. Now he's missed two whole Olympic Games, 354 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:37,440 Speaker 2: eight years of his career just poof gone. In April 355 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:40,840 Speaker 2: of twenty twenty five, the International Olympic Committee announced some 356 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:44,359 Speaker 2: upcoming changes to the swimming category. One in particular stood 357 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:47,480 Speaker 2: out to Andrea. For the first time ever, the IOC 358 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:52,639 Speaker 2: was including the fifty meters butterfly. Suddenly Andre could have 359 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:55,040 Speaker 2: more than just a world record, he could have a 360 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:59,200 Speaker 2: gold medal too. At the same time, Andrea had heard 361 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:02,240 Speaker 2: all about in Hand and how they were basically employing athletes, 362 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:07,000 Speaker 2: offering them a fresh start and Enhanced. They wanted Andre 363 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:12,840 Speaker 2: to forget the Olympics to come from with them. Andre 364 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:16,000 Speaker 2: had a decision to make. If he stuck with the Olympics, 365 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:20,000 Speaker 2: he'd have the chance to be a gold medal winning Olympian. Plus, 366 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:22,800 Speaker 2: if he did win gold, he'd be eligible for a 367 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:26,320 Speaker 2: Ukrainian grant reserved for Olympians about one hundred and twenty 368 00:21:26,359 --> 00:21:32,159 Speaker 2: five thousand dollars. Maybe if he went with Enhanced, well, 369 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:36,679 Speaker 2: he'd have money, which on its own fair enough. But 370 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:42,280 Speaker 2: in Andre's case, considering his destroyed business, his displaced family, I. 371 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:44,880 Speaker 10: Have a son, I have a wife, and I went 372 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:48,240 Speaker 10: very deeply down financially because of that situations. 373 00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:52,040 Speaker 2: I had Should Andre break a record with Enhanced. They're 374 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:55,200 Speaker 2: offering to pay him a million dollars and he gets 375 00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:59,399 Speaker 2: free housing and free training with the best coaches, his food, 376 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:02,800 Speaker 2: his recover, and even a monthly salary, all paid for. 377 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:06,160 Speaker 2: All he has to do is subject himself to Enhancement 378 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:08,840 Speaker 2: and agree to be studied. It was a no brainer. 379 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:14,480 Speaker 2: Last May, about a year before the Games, my producer 380 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:17,800 Speaker 2: Sam went to Las Vegas for yet another Enhanced announcement event. 381 00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:21,679 Speaker 2: This one officially debuted the location and venue for the 382 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:24,960 Speaker 2: inaugural Enhance Games. You all get to know Sam better 383 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,199 Speaker 2: as we go along. He was with me for a 384 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:30,360 Speaker 2: bunch of my interviews and vice versa. It'd be fun 385 00:22:30,359 --> 00:22:33,639 Speaker 2: to say we're like Batman and Robin or Beavis and 386 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:34,280 Speaker 2: butt Head. 387 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:37,680 Speaker 8: But really we're just two guys who, like anyone, are 388 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:38,720 Speaker 8: getting older every day. 389 00:22:39,359 --> 00:22:43,399 Speaker 2: Remember that term longevity, that aging is basically something we 390 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:47,240 Speaker 2: can and should be able to solve for Well, Sem 391 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:49,840 Speaker 2: and I have been spending so much time reporting on Enhanced, 392 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:52,120 Speaker 2: It's become a lot of what we talk about too, 393 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:54,200 Speaker 2: aging getting older. 394 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:57,399 Speaker 8: I'm six foot one. In a previous life, I was 395 00:22:57,440 --> 00:22:59,720 Speaker 8: a Division one athlete. I was a wrestler at the 396 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:03,160 Speaker 8: univers Cee Wyoming. I'm still very involved in combat sports. 397 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:06,959 Speaker 8: I fight moy Thai. My hair standing a little bit 398 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:08,520 Speaker 8: on top, mostly in the front, not in the back 399 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:11,800 Speaker 8: yet knock on wood. Also, I should say I'm thirty 400 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:12,320 Speaker 8: years old. 401 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:13,080 Speaker 10: Cool. 402 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:16,159 Speaker 8: What about you? How would you describe yourself? Sell yourself 403 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:16,359 Speaker 8: to me? 404 00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:22,080 Speaker 2: I am forty one years old, five foot five, Filipino man. 405 00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:26,159 Speaker 2: I have bleach blonde hair, kind of like a Dragon 406 00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:29,719 Speaker 2: ball Z character. I'm pretty fit, I think, you know, 407 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:32,480 Speaker 2: on a on a good day, like I have a 408 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:36,360 Speaker 2: couple abs that that pop out. I also do muay Thai. 409 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:40,200 Speaker 2: I like train like a crazy person five to six 410 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:42,920 Speaker 2: times a week. Something that Sam brings up a lot 411 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:45,320 Speaker 2: is that it's hard to keep up and it's only 412 00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 2: getting harder. After college he put on some weight, fucked 413 00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:51,199 Speaker 2: up a disc in his back, the sort of thing 414 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:53,080 Speaker 2: he used to bounce back from a lot more quickly. 415 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:55,720 Speaker 8: So much of my identity at least is rooted in 416 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:01,760 Speaker 8: is rooted in being physically capable. What I fear is 417 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:10,399 Speaker 8: there's gonna come a time when, like I won't be 418 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:11,680 Speaker 8: able to do those things in the way that I 419 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:15,080 Speaker 8: want to be able to do them right. And my 420 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:24,880 Speaker 8: body is not working as a machine anymore. What can 421 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:26,959 Speaker 8: I What are you most afraid of? When you think 422 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:29,040 Speaker 8: about your body and like what it can do and 423 00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:31,119 Speaker 8: what it looks like, what are you most afraid of losing? 424 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:34,280 Speaker 2: I'm afraid of losing my ability to keep up with 425 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:36,199 Speaker 2: my kid. That's the big one for me. 426 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:39,040 Speaker 8: It makes my answer feel so vain. 427 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:43,920 Speaker 2: I promise you I'm also very vain. Anyway back to 428 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:46,720 Speaker 2: Vegas where Sam's waiting for the sevan to gick off. 429 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:49,040 Speaker 8: You know, when you first walk in through this like 430 00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:54,080 Speaker 8: weird hotel mall area, there's like a nightclub called Zoop 431 00:24:54,119 --> 00:24:55,840 Speaker 8: that you walk into and there's a big crowd and 432 00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:59,000 Speaker 8: people are you're mingling kind of right now, and there's 433 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:03,360 Speaker 8: this light up sort of led board framed by these 434 00:25:03,359 --> 00:25:08,880 Speaker 8: three arches, and there's a bunch of like ripped men's 435 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:12,600 Speaker 8: bodies and very very tight sort of speed out looking shorts, 436 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:15,119 Speaker 8: and you can't see their faces and they're like a 437 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:18,320 Speaker 8: purplish blue hue like a mist is kind of covering 438 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:20,400 Speaker 8: them up. And it says super humanity begins here. 439 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:21,200 Speaker 6: The time is now. 440 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:25,960 Speaker 8: Everywhere I looked ripped men, tight suits, German tech guys 441 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:30,240 Speaker 8: invests it was new money like San Francisco and Dubai 442 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:33,520 Speaker 8: had a baby. Yeah, it's an interesting venue for this. 443 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:37,080 Speaker 8: It's very Vegas down nightclub. Instead of like traditional sort 444 00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:40,280 Speaker 8: of like press docket seats, you have like empty nightclub 445 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:44,720 Speaker 8: booths that you pay probably ten thousand dollars at, you know, 446 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:46,639 Speaker 8: a booth for on a Saturday night. 447 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:46,880 Speaker 11: Here. 448 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:49,600 Speaker 8: Also, it was really obvious that many of the guys 449 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:54,040 Speaker 8: there were already on TRT tstosterone replacement therapy. Not just 450 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:56,000 Speaker 8: the athletes, I mean everyone. 451 00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:57,800 Speaker 7: Let's also talk about the suits. 452 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:01,159 Speaker 8: That's Kostas Linos, one of the boss here at Kaleidascope. 453 00:26:01,359 --> 00:26:05,960 Speaker 7: We're not talking kind of ill fitting men's warehouse suits. 454 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:11,240 Speaker 7: These are incredibly well tailored, very stylish men wearing very 455 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:14,760 Speaker 7: kind of provocative fabrics. I'm seeing white suits. I'm seeing 456 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:18,520 Speaker 7: callers kind of sticking out of lapel's. I'm seeing gold room. 457 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:24,199 Speaker 8: Glasses, doctors, sports scientists. There's biotech investors, there's real estate guys. 458 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:26,440 Speaker 8: Everybody there is just trying to get a piece of 459 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:26,800 Speaker 8: the action. 460 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:34,639 Speaker 2: Las Vegas. Let's make some noise. Let's make some noise 461 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:35,840 Speaker 2: Las Vegas. 462 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:41,320 Speaker 5: Welcome to Las Vegas, the city where Time doesn't sleep. 463 00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:45,000 Speaker 8: And starting today, neither does human potential. Today we stop 464 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:47,439 Speaker 8: watching the Clyde and we start rewinding it. 465 00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:48,880 Speaker 5: The time is now. 466 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:55,440 Speaker 8: And then out on stage came Enhanced co founder Christian Angermeier. 467 00:26:55,880 --> 00:27:00,400 Speaker 13: Some people doubt that we can redefine human limits today. Fully, 468 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:04,600 Speaker 13: we've shown the world that we are happening. We've got 469 00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:08,920 Speaker 13: a date, we've got a city, we've got events, we've 470 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:13,520 Speaker 13: got athletes, and we've got the science. But what about 471 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:18,919 Speaker 13: the world records. Well, he is one more thing. I 472 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:20,600 Speaker 13: think you're all going to love. 473 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:24,960 Speaker 8: Christian's one more thing was surprise. They had a ringer 474 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:28,080 Speaker 8: in their back pocket. As it turns out, when James 475 00:27:28,119 --> 00:27:31,520 Speaker 8: Magnuson was swimming in that public pool in California, Enhance 476 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:35,840 Speaker 8: was also working with a different swimmer, Christian Golamif, a tall, 477 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:39,040 Speaker 8: lanky Olympian from Greece, and with him they tried a 478 00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:42,760 Speaker 8: slightly more conservative protocol, Like if they used James Magnuson 479 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:45,320 Speaker 8: to the gills, let's say they use Christian a little 480 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:48,320 Speaker 8: bit less than that, maybe just to the flippers. And 481 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:51,320 Speaker 8: unlike James, who had worked his nervous system to the bone, 482 00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:56,199 Speaker 8: it worked. On February twenty fifth, twenty twenty five, Christian 483 00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:59,560 Speaker 8: Golamie pulled off what James Magnuson could not. He broke 484 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:01,880 Speaker 8: the world record for the fifty meter free by two 485 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:05,120 Speaker 8: tenths of a second. Here's tape of him winning, which 486 00:28:05,119 --> 00:28:07,880 Speaker 8: they played on stage that day. 487 00:28:10,119 --> 00:28:12,359 Speaker 3: That's Superhammor's. 488 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:15,040 Speaker 10: That's a definition of enhanced. 489 00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:15,480 Speaker 2: Babe, right the head. 490 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:21,640 Speaker 8: In Vegas, they paraded Christian on stage, where he awkwardly 491 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:24,560 Speaker 8: smiled at the crowd behind him. On a screen flashed 492 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:26,520 Speaker 8: a photo from the day he'd broken the world record 493 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:29,639 Speaker 8: alone at the podium in North Carolina. He was holding 494 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:32,880 Speaker 8: a giant novelty check. I looked out at Christian front 495 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:35,359 Speaker 8: and center, and then across the rest of the room 496 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:39,360 Speaker 8: at the suits, the doctors, the assistants. It seemed to 497 00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:41,640 Speaker 8: me like Christian was one of the only athletes there. 498 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:44,920 Speaker 8: I've seen what it takes to be an Olympian. I 499 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:48,760 Speaker 8: trained with them periodically throughout my early twenties. It's not fun. 500 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:53,560 Speaker 8: The monotony, the physical discomfort, the emotional turmoil of equitting 501 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:58,840 Speaker 8: identity with physical performance. It's excruciating. The Christian I saw 502 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:00,760 Speaker 8: was separated from the old the other people in the 503 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:04,880 Speaker 8: world who actually understood what he was going through other Olympians. 504 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:08,280 Speaker 8: On top of that, the rest of the world seemed 505 00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:11,959 Speaker 8: pretty suspicious of Christian and his world record. Aaron promised 506 00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:13,800 Speaker 8: us that Christian's record would be on the front page 507 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:17,560 Speaker 8: of every newspaper, and it sort of was. But in 508 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:19,840 Speaker 8: the New York Times the next morning, the headline read 509 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:24,400 Speaker 8: enhanced games claims former Olympic swimmer broke two world records 510 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:28,520 Speaker 8: ahead of controversial launch, heavy emphasis on the claims. In 511 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:32,160 Speaker 8: another headline, the current Olympic fifty meters champion describes Christian's 512 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:38,080 Speaker 8: record as meaningless. About six weeks after that, the biggest 513 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:42,120 Speaker 8: headlines were about Christian's ban from World Aquatics. We obviously 514 00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:45,000 Speaker 8: that means no Olympics, but it also means he could 515 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:47,360 Speaker 8: no longer train at any pool that wants anything to 516 00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:50,600 Speaker 8: do with the Olympics. He can't coach Olympic hopefuls and 517 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:54,000 Speaker 8: other Olympians his friends now put themselves at risk if 518 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:54,960 Speaker 8: they were trained together. 519 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:04,680 Speaker 2: Since that announcement event a year ago, culture has done 520 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:07,680 Speaker 2: plenty of shifting. There's been a massive uptick in people 521 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:12,720 Speaker 2: regular people taking glp ones injections like a zebic and 522 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:16,920 Speaker 2: zep bound to lose weight and they're talking about it. 523 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:18,360 Speaker 2: It isn't weird to be at a party in New 524 00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:22,280 Speaker 2: York or LA where guys reveal their peptide stacks. Terms 525 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:26,160 Speaker 2: like looksmaxing and fray mogging have broken into the mainstream lexicon. 526 00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:28,719 Speaker 2: People are taking their health care into their own hands 527 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:32,720 Speaker 2: and spending a lot of money to do so. Actually, 528 00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:36,880 Speaker 2: in the last year, I started injecting myself in the 529 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:41,560 Speaker 2: belly with Nity plus, a popular energy booster. My kid 530 00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:43,640 Speaker 2: likes to wake up pretty early, so I've spent the 531 00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:46,800 Speaker 2: last few years in a default state of crogginess. It 532 00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:50,200 Speaker 2: works by speeding up how fast cells heal. A friend 533 00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:52,440 Speaker 2: recommended it to me, saying it helped get rid of 534 00:30:52,440 --> 00:30:56,840 Speaker 2: her brain fog, and it helps me too. All to say, 535 00:30:57,080 --> 00:30:59,600 Speaker 2: I get why in Hans would be interested in normalizing 536 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:04,840 Speaker 2: whatever drugs they are using on their athletes. I want 537 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:06,760 Speaker 2: to go back to that episode of Joe Rogan for 538 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:09,000 Speaker 2: a second, the one I first heard a few years 539 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:11,560 Speaker 2: ago with the enhanced guys, the one that made me 540 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:15,200 Speaker 2: go I want that it was something the founder Aaron 541 00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:16,280 Speaker 2: Deseuza said. 542 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:18,680 Speaker 4: I come from the view that aging is a disease 543 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:21,440 Speaker 4: that we should be able to treat, cure, and eventually solve, 544 00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:24,680 Speaker 4: And so I think we need a revolution here where 545 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:27,680 Speaker 4: we say medicine is not about making just the sick 546 00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:32,520 Speaker 4: people less sick. It's about fundamentally improving the quality of 547 00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:36,720 Speaker 4: all human life so that we can become superhuman. 548 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:40,000 Speaker 3: That's really probably a good sign for the future of 549 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:44,440 Speaker 3: how these substances are or at least allowed to be used. 550 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:49,600 Speaker 4: And at the first Enhance Games, athletes will break world records. 551 00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:54,440 Speaker 4: When that happens, everyone's going to say, what is he on? 552 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:56,040 Speaker 4: And how do I get it? 553 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:06,160 Speaker 2: I spent the last year embedded with Enhanced with athletes, executives, scientists, doctors, 554 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:10,080 Speaker 2: really anyone, hoping these games spark a new conversation around 555 00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:13,880 Speaker 2: band drugs. I wanted to understand, how is it that 556 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:18,000 Speaker 2: eternal youth, the stuff of Greek mythology, is suddenly so attainable, 557 00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:21,240 Speaker 2: and why has the pursuit of it so quickly gone 558 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:26,720 Speaker 2: mainstream and not for nothing? How can we get our piece? 559 00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:37,640 Speaker 2: Superhuman is a Kaleidoscope production in partnership with iHeart Podcasts. 560 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:41,720 Speaker 2: The series is produced and reported by Sam Egan. Lina 561 00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:46,320 Speaker 2: Mesizis is their senior producer. Production support from Dara luck Potts, 562 00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:53,240 Speaker 2: edited by Kate Osborne, Editorial consulting by Adiza Egan, original 563 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:56,960 Speaker 2: composition and mixing by Hannes Brown. Reported and hosted by 564 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:02,720 Speaker 2: me Chris Guyemale. From Kalis WKS our executive producers ArKade Osborne, 565 00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:08,920 Speaker 2: Oswa Loashin, Mangesh Hetikador and Kosis Linos. Jullian Nutter is 566 00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:13,240 Speaker 2: the head of studio for Kaleidoscope and From My Heart 567 00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:17,680 Speaker 2: our executive produces Arkatrina Norvil and Nikki Etor. If you 568 00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:20,239 Speaker 2: like what you're hearing, subscribe to the feed now so 569 00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:21,360 Speaker 2: you don't miss our next shop