Life of a Biohacker #04: Interview with Jayce Love, aka Train Holistic.

About the Hapi biohacker series:

In this series we interview biohackers from around the world, to share their biohacking, quantified self and human performance insights. You can join the Hapi wellness newsletter on our website here.

A little about Jayce.

Jayce is a biohacker from Sydney, Australia. He’s a qualified personal trainer and accredited nutritionist, who’s journey into human optimisation started when he was a competitive Surf Life Saver, where performance was a priority.

1. In your words, how would you describe biohacking to someone who has never heard of it before?

Bio-hacking is generating self awareness. It’s about finding your individual sweet spot by adding more of what makes you strong, happy and in a state of flow and removing what makes you weak in mind and body. It is a process of discovery, not a blueprint that already exists and is a self experiment that involves breaking down knowledge, trying new things, challenging norms and making your health a priority #1.

2. How long have you been into biohacking and human optimisation?

I think I’ve always had an astute awareness of what is good for me — as we all do with our built in Human Intelligence. However, I have only really started to hone in on the finer details of human optimisation in the last 3 years. Discovering things like the Bulletproof protocol, the idea of fasting, practicing yoga and breathing have all put me on a more focussed, dedicated biohacking journey.

3. How did your biohacking journey begin? Tell us your story.

When I grew up I was into competitive Surf Life Saving. Performance was a priority, training twice a day and competing most weekends, but nutrition and optimisation knowledge was lacking back then. On nearing the end of my schooling years a few things challenged my current habits for the better. 1. I watched as my dad dealt with years of Kidney Disease 2. I started thinking about heading in the direction of Navy Clearance Diving.

The first made me consider the idea of lifestyle choices and how much they can determine your state of health, longevity, headspace, fitness as well as your potential. The second made me start to focus on building a foundation to perform. So my biohacking really started when I began to experiment and research my nutrition. I got into the Paleo diet, stumbling my way through that for a few years, finding what worked and what definitely didn’t. Then I started playing with yoga somewhere around the same time, which led me to discover the power of the breath in healing, performance and mindfulness. From here I really started to come into my own methods of combining these few practices and developing my own routines, tweaking nutrition even more, adding more meditative practices and really experimenting all the while with a simple and positive mission — to be more happy and healthy and perform better.

4. What’s your background?

I’m a current serving Clearance Diver in the Royal Australian Navy. Prior to the Navy I had some experience sailing and diving through Great Barrier Reef as well as working super yachts in Spain and the South of France. I have been a qualified Personal Trainer for the last 3 years and am also an Accredited Nutritionist through Cadence Health.

5. What areas of biohacking do you focus on?

1. Nutrition.
2. Quantified Self — mostly tracking ketones as well as fasting tracking.
3. Meditation and breathing.
4. Sleep.
5. Movement and fitness.
6. Cognition and nootropics.

6. Tell us an epic biohacking story from your adventures experimenting.

I had a funny experience whilst practicing Wim Hof breathing. Despite the warnings that come with his technique to only practice in a safe environment I thought I would have a go at trying it while walking. This breathing technique for those who haven’t tried it, is characterised by a bit of light headedness, dizziness and euphoria. So I was practicing the technique whilst walking along a dirt path that had a pretty steep drop off, up in Noosa, Queensland. After my fourth round of breathing I went a bit black and stumbled on the path almost coming off the edge of the cliff. I had a similar experience while driving but I will leave that one for off the records.

7. Why is biohacking important to you, and what purpose does it serve in your life?

It presents an opportunity to be better. Not for the benefit of anyone but me. Growing that internal awareness, playing with ideas, products, hacks, methods and habits gives great meaning to me and presents an everlasting, ever evolving possibility of progression.

8. What’s your daily stack?

1. Bulletproof Coffee w/ Cordyceps Mushroom.
2. Hapi Flow.
3. Primal Collective Turmeric.
4. L-glutamine.
5. Glutathione.
6. Ashwaganda.

9. Who are some biohackers you’re inspired by?

I have a few pretty big idols who I consider to be gurus and can do no wrong in the field of winning at life. Tim Ferris and Dave Asprey are the most obvious two that come to mind. I would call myself 1 of the ‘1000 True Fans’ that Tim Ferris mentions in his book Tools of Titans, that would pretty much buy, subscribe to, read, wear, drink, or take anything they recommend. Some other winners on the biohacking and health scene I follow closely are:

1. Dr Dominic D’Agostino.
2. Nora Gedgaudas.
3. Abel James.
4. Wim Hof.
5. The Minimalists.

10. What are your top three favourite biohacks?

1. Going barefoot: Nothing better than earthing out and releasing those bound up feet.
2. Bulletproof coffee: Playing around with this adding different mushroom powders and roots.
3. Wim Hof breathing: Being able to get into a deep meditative state with just a few focussed rounds of breathing is one of the best bio hacks I’ve come across.

11. What advice would you give to others who have just started their biohacking journey?

• Make it fun and have open mind.
• Start reading, even if its for 5–10 minutes, the more informed you become, the more your biohacking will develop.
• Follow a few well informed biohackers such as the ones Ive mentioned that inspire me.
• Write it down — starting journal will help you track your best biohacking methods and throw out your worst. This will also help you stay accountable to your biohacking/health and wellness goals.

12. What are three entry level biohacks you recommend to anyone wanting to join the movement?

1. Cold Showers: Great for bolstering immunity, this one is a part of my morning routine.
2. Going Barefoot Daily: There is no more simple and effective practice than stripping back the layers and connecting to the earth.
3. Meditation: I use a meditation app called Headspace, which is a guided meditation that allows you to choose a focus on a certain area of your life eg. Sleep, performance or focus.

13. What is one big misconception people get wrong about biohacking?

That there is a blueprint for successful biohacking. There is no one way to go about biohacking. There are thousands of ideas out there all with there own science or fiction that is waiting you to try it for yourself and generate your own set of routines/habits that give you results.

14. What are your predictions for the future of biohacking? What do you think it will look like in 5 years?

1. I’m guessing cheaper Ketone esters will become available.
2. There will be a growth in popularity in the use of edible clays on the health and wellness scene.
3. I’m sure there will be devices, wearables, implants and other technology that will revolutionise our biohacking capabilities as such technological advance has a habit of doing.

Finally, where can people follow your journey?

1. Website.
2. Instagram.

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Be happy and stay healthy peeps 😀

— The Hapi team.