Bryan Johnson discusses the erection-monitoring device from his film Don't Die and how it went viral. He explains why provocative framing, like linking sleep loss to erectile dysfunction, works to get people's attention on messages about longevity and vitality.
Lots of people want to talk about your penis.
No, they don't.
I'm starting with the penis, but I think I'm starting with it in a different way. You were the star of this film, Don't Die, that I made, and I was doing some fact-checking, and one of the fact-checking items was this erection monitoring device. And then I remember you were like, are you going to put that in the story? I was like, yeah, of course I'm going to put that in the story. So here's my question. I can't wait.
I can't wait. You had this trepidation.
About me mentioning this erection monitoring device. And then the next day it was like you kind of saw how people reacted to it. And then I was actually blown away, which was that you embraced this. And now how did you make that flip so quickly?
I've become so normalized to this now. But you're right. When we first started talking, I was so nervous for our interview. That was my face when you showed up. Yeah. We were doing wacky things and I knew I'd get penalized if I talked about certain things in certain ways. Would it be so bad that I would be canceled or that I would be discredited. When this went viral because of your piece, it allowed me to start really putting sensors on the world, like what gets people excited. And so the thing on the erections, when I tell somebody sleep is important, yeah, they roll their eyes. And when I say when you don't sleep, your dick is broken, right?
They listen. Oh, tell me more.
