Biohacker Ben Greenfield says he packed on real muscle after traveling outside the country to receive an experimental gene therapy designed to switch on a gene tied to muscle growth, a claim he detailed during a roundtable appearance on the Modern Wisdom podcast with host Chris Williamson.
Greenfield described traveling to a small island off the coast of Honduras, a location he noted operates as a network state without the regulatory oversight that governs medical treatments in most countries. There, he underwent a gene therapy procedure that he says produced measurable physical results.
“I gained muscle at a more rapid rate than I would have expected without changing protein, calorie intake or my weight training protocol, around 10 lbs (4.5 kg) in 3 months,” he said.
Greenfield clarified that the treatment does not involve cutting or replacing DNA.
“It’s not editing a gene. It’s turning on a pre-existing,” he said, adding that the process is “not a crisper gene edit scissors tool. It’s basically like upregulating or downregulating a gene.”
The effects, however, are temporary.
“It’s not permanent. You would need to repeat it I think every one to one and a half years,” he said.
Greenfield also revealed that he had been misinformed about a key safety detail before undergoing the procedure.
“At the time I was under the impression it was reversible in case something hit the fan and something went wrong. It’s not actually reversible,” he said.
Greenfield said the company behind the therapy has since walked back its earlier claims.
“The company is now readily admitting that it’s not, and doctors were supposed to reach out to their patients and tell them that oops it’s not,” he said.
The revelation prompted a reaction from Williamson, who connected it to a conversation the group had been having about genetic science and longevity. Williamson referenced comments made earlier in the conversation by a guest who described a “black box code” shared across species, including jellyfish, and the theoretical possibility of activating dormant genes in humans.
“We can literally inject you with a virus that will go turn on a gene that has been turned off,” guest Brigham Buhler had said earlier, adding that scientists could “turn on a gene that can increase bone mineral density eightfold.”
While the guest experienced a tangible physical outcome, the requirement for repeat treatments and the reversibility mix-up show how early-stage and unregulated this corner of biohacking remains.
