Healthy to a Hundred: Joe Bardin of Coalition for Radical Life Extension On 5 Things You Need to Live a Long, Healthy, & Happy Life
An Interview with Savio P. Clemente
Live the future from the future, not from the past — we all have a future we imagined, that’s the future from the past. It’s not real, just something we put in our heads to fill in the blank. The real future is from the future, it’s unknown, so be ready.
The term Blue Zones has been used to describe places where people live long and healthy lives. What exactly does it take to live a long and healthy life? What are the science and the secret behind longevity and life extension? In this series, we are talking to medical experts, wellness experts, and longevity experts to share “5 Things You Need to Live a Long, Healthy, & Happy Life”. As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Joe Bardin.
Joe Bardin is a visionary communicator and disruptor in the field of extending human lifespans. As the Communications Director of the Coalition for Radical Life Extension, he utilizes his exceptional skills in messaging strategy to challenge societal beliefs about aging and mortality. Joe’s innovative approach to communication breaks down barriers, empowering individuals to embrace the transformative possibilities offered by radical life extension. With his passion for reshaping the industry, Joe fosters meaningful connections, sparks engaging conversations, and encourages a deeper understanding of the benefits of a future where aging becomes a thing of the past. Joe Bardin’s unwavering commitment to reshaping the extension of the human lifespans industry paves the way for a future where aging becomes a relic of the past and limitless growth becomes our reality.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?
I heard about the possibility of unlimited lifespans about thirty years ago, in my early twenties, and it made a lot of sense to me. I wasn’t particularly worried about dying at that age, but what disturbed me was the repetitive life everyone seemed to be stuck in. If you already know how the story of your life is going to end, how different can it really be? By opening up to unlimited lifespans, we are really opening to unlimited possibilities right now. That made life feel a lot more exciting.
The more I embraced super longevity the more I saw that I couldn’t just be a consumer of longevity products and ideas, I had to become a revolutionary and help advance the movement. This purpose has informed everything I do, from the plays and essays I write to my work organizing and leading RAADfest, the largest super longevity event in the world.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
Too many stories to tell. Thirteen years ago I had a catastrophic back injury, which included a staph infection in my spine. Two years of extreme pain and no end in sight. Walking back to my bedroom, I had a vision: I saw I was becoming someone I was not — a chronic pain person. I saw I needed to talk to myself, about not being a pain person. I started to talk to myself at that very moment — “I am not a pain person”. Eventually, I talked myself out of the pain entirely, and I have been talking to myself about who I really am ever since.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
James Strole and Bernadeane, who are the founders of People Unlimited, have really inspired me to take on a large and very public role in the fight against aging. I always saw myself as a writer, but they’ve encouraged me to become a speaker on immortality and the value of human life and it has been one of the most fulfilling things I’ve experienced.
You are a successful leader. Which three-character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Passion — When you really feel what you’re doing, other people pick up on it, and they get excited with you, and that’s when great things can be accomplished.
Commitment — You have to stick with the vision even when it’s not going well, or doesn’t seem to be going anywhere at all. Having the guts to keep going is the key to getting anywhere new and interesting.
Originality — Leadership means showing up as you are, which is allowing people to feel your uniqueness. We don’t all need to be the same, and the more we step out the more distinct each one of us is.
Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of our interview about health and longevity. To begin, can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority in the fields of health, wellness, and longevity? In your opinion, what is your unique contribution to the world of wellness?
I’ve been an immortalist for thirty years, so I’ve really thought about it deeply, and you might even say I’ve communed with my immortality. This allows me to think and feel beyond many of the limitations of aging that are so ingrained in our psyche and our culture. We really have to open our minds to possibilities that didn’t exist for our parents. By advocating for unlimited lifespans and writing about it in many different contexts, I’m helping people to engage with a concept of wellness that doesn’t have to end but can continue to evolve over time, with no upper lifespan limit.
Seekers throughout history have traveled great distances and embarked on mythical quests in search of the “elixir of life,” a mythical potion said to cure all diseases and give eternal youth. Has your search for health, vitality, and longevity taken you on any interesting paths or journeys? We’d love to hear the story.
The most fantastic thing I’ve experienced along the way is how being an immortalist has changed and deepened my connections with people. You might say that all our relationships are mediated through the certain knowledge that we will separate at some point and that this will bring pain, which we want to protect ourselves from. So we don’t get too close. By connecting with people in the context of having no end, we can go to deeper depths and higher highs than we thought possible. Sharing the society of other immortalists has been the most fun, exciting, and creative experience I’ve ever had.
Based on your research or experience, can you please share your “5 Things You Need to Live a Long & Healthy Life”? (Please share a story or an example for each)
- Keep an open mind — every RAADfest I hear about has new ways to live longer and better, so you can’t get too attached to whatever the last best thing was.
- Don’t expect perfection — shit is gonna happen. Health crises may occur. That doesn’t mean you can’t take charge of your longevity, just that the path is more complex than you thought. And it is.
- Live the future from the future, not from the past — we all have a future we imagined, that’s the future from the past. It’s not real, just something we put in our heads to fill in the blank. The real future is from the future, it’s unknown, so be ready.
- Receive who you are now — you might as well start liking yourself because you’re planning on spending a long time with you.
- Find pleasure in taking great care of yourself and feeling good. Don’t be a martyr to bad habits that don’t bring you much joy anymore anyway.
Can you suggest a few things needed to live a life filled with happiness, joy, and meaning?
Do your profession, but don’t limit yourself to identifying fully with it. You’re a person first, and that gives you some breathing room.
Embrace the unknown of creation. Just make your next move, without worrying too much about where the big break is coming from.
Honor the people that honor you. Bless the people that bless you. Self-centeredness isn’t sustainable for the long term.
Some argue that longevity is genetic, while others say that living a long life is simply a choice. What are your thoughts on this nature vs. nurture debate? Which is more important?
None of us has been raised to live forever and yet we’ve all inherited the potential for unlimited lifespan. So, it’s really a pretty blank slate, what are we going to do with it? Rather than worry about where you come from, I would say, get informed with solid science, get connected with like-minded people, and get going on living what your real potential is.
Life sometimes takes us on paths that are challenging. How have you managed to bounce back from setbacks in order to cultivate physical, mental, and emotional health?
Setbacks have forced me to believe in myself. It’s good to believe in yourself, basically when you have no reason, other than that you believe in yourself. It’s good not to rationalize self-belief. If you need evidence to believe in yourself, it might not always stack up the way you’d like it. Kobe Bryant said: If you’re going to be on anyone, bet on yourself. So don’t try to build a case about why you should believe in yourself, just place your bet on you.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?
I once heard Bernadeane say: “If you want to grow as a person, receive someone else in their uniqueness just as they are.” This has been a huge insight for steering clear of petty disagreements and learning to enjoy all kinds of people in all kinds of situations, which also makes leadership a lot more fun.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Ending aging and the inevitability of death will establish a whole new value of human life in which the abuse, violence, and killing that is so common today will become totally unacceptable. This will trigger an emotional and spiritual renaissance in people that could create what we might call heaven on earth. It also, of course, will lead us to finally take true stewardship over our natural environment, because we can’t dump it on the next generation anymore. It will be the most powerful and comprehensive advancement for people in the history of history.
What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?
Please join us at RAADfest in Anaheim, CA September 7–10.
You can also subscribe to the newsletter for the Coalition for Radical Life Extension at www.rlecoalition.com
You can also read more of my work at www.josephbardin.com.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you only continued success.
About The Interviewer: Savio P. Clemente coaches cancer survivors to overcome the confusion and gain the clarity needed to get busy living in mind, body, and spirit. He inspires health and wellness seekers to find meaning in the “why” and cultivate resilience in their mindset. Savio is a Board Certified Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC, ACC), #1 best-selling author, syndicated columnist, podcaster, stage 3 cancer survivor, and founder of The Human Resolve LLC. He has interviewed notable celebrities and TV personalities and has been featured on Fox News, The Wrap, and has worked with Authority Magazine, Thrive Global, BuzzFeed, Food Network, WW and Bloomberg. Savio has been invited to cover numerous industry events throughout the U.S. and abroad. His mission is to provide clients, listeners, and viewers alike with tangible takeaways on how to lead a truly healthy, wealthy, and wise lifestyle. Savio pens a weekly newsletter in which he delves into secrets to living smarter by feeding your “three brains” — head
, heart
, and gut
— in the hope of connecting the dots to those sticky parts of our nature that matter to living our best life.
