Dave Asprey

Asprey worked in the IT industry for companies that included Bradshaw{{cite magazine |last=Taylor |first=Dave |date=October 13, 1997 |title=Inside the Firewall: Intranets add fuel to the never-ending platform battle |magazine=InfoWorld|volume=19|issue= 41}} and 3Com.{{cite journal| last=Shachtman| first=Noah| date=September 28, 1998| title=Next-Level Web -- Businesses Are Raising The Skills Levels Of Their Web-Site Staffs| journal=InformationWeek| publisher=CMP Media LLC}} He taught and ran the Internet and web engineering program at the UCSC Silicon Valley Extension, in which Asprey created one of the first working instances of cloud computing.{{cite web |url=http://www.cio.com/article/2403343/careers-staffing/stress-management--better-living-through-technology.html |title=Stress Management: Better Living Through Technology |last1=Levinson |first1= Meridith |date=October 14, 2011 |website=CIO |publisher=CXO Media Inc. |access-date=June 14, 2015 }}{{Cite web |date=2020-01-22 |title=Dave Asprey |url=https://humanwindow.com/dave-asprey/ |access-date=2022-07-26 |website=HumanWindow |language=en-US}} Later, he joined Exodus Communications as director of strategic planning,{{cite journal| last=Barthhold| first=Jim |title=Exodus hangs onto customers - for now Most are sticking with Web host despite analysts' warnings|date=August 13, 2001 |journal=Telephony| volume=241 |issue=7 |page=32| issn=0040-2656 }} where he co-founded the company's professional services group.

His first startup was an early-stage e-commerce company founded around 1993, which was featured in Entrepreneur magazine. Eventually, the company delivered products to customers in ten countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and several parts of Asia, making it one of the first worldwide e-commerce businesses.

Asprey was the director of product management for a Silicon Valley startup called NetScaler, which was later acquired by Citrix Systems. After working at Citrix, Asprey served as the vice president of marketing for Zeus Technology{{cite news|last1=Broadhead|first1=Steve|title=Optimising small business networks|url=http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Optimising-small-business-networks|work=ComputerWeekly|date=February 2008}} and later, vice president of technology and corporate development at Blue Coat Systems.{{cite web |url=http://www.firstpost.com/business/biztech/blue-coat-integrates-sophos-true-file-type-detection-to-fight-malware-1870709.html |title=Blue Coat Integrates Sophos True File Type Detection To Fight Malware |date=February 12, 2009 |publisher=FirstPost |access-date=June 14, 2015 }} He then became an entrepreneur in residence at Trinity Ventures before co-founding a company called Basis. Asprey was the vice president of cloud security for Trend Micro{{cite web |url=https://gigaom.com/2012/03/22/trend-micro-structure-data-2012/ |title=What big data really needs is security |last1=Lawler |first1=Ryan |date=March 22, 2012 |publisher=Gigaom |access-date=June 14, 2015 |archive-date=March 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329153644/https://gigaom.com/2012/03/22/trend-micro-structure-data-2012/ |url-status=dead }} before he left to run his own business full time.{{cite web |url=http://www.crainswealth.com/article/20150422/WEALTH/150429970/could-buttered-coffee-make-you-smarter |title=Could buttered coffee make you smarter? |date=April 22, 2015 |website=Crain's Wealth |publisher=Bloomberg News |access-date=June 14, 2015 }}

Asprey founded Bulletproof 360, Inc. in 2013 and founded Bulletproof Nutrition Inc. in 2014.{{cite web|title=Bulletproof Nutrition, Inc. registration|url=https://businessfilings.sos.ca.gov/frmDetail.asp?CorpID=03732199|website=businessfilings.sos.ca.gov|publisher=California Secretary of State|access-date=28 December 2016}}{{cite web|title=Bulletproof Nutrition Securities Registration|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1630823/000163082315000003/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml|website=www.sec.gov|publisher=SEC Edgar|access-date=29 December 2016}} He initially started the Bulletproof brand after developing Bulletproof Coffee. He posted the recipe for the beverage and details on the health benefits he experienced on his website while still working for Trend Micro. Asprey developed "low-mold coffee beans", oils, and supplements and started selling them on his website in 2011. The following year, Asprey was a panelist at the "Hack Your Brain" event at South by Southwest. By 2013, Asprey had left his position at Trend Micro to run the Bulletproof companies.

Asprey hosts a podcast, Bulletproof Radio, which had been downloaded more than 75 million times as of January 2019.{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2015-04-21/buttered-coffee-could-make-you-invincible-and-this-man-very-rich |title=Buttered Coffee Could Make You Invincible. And This Man Very Rich |last1=Megroz |first1=Gordy |date=April 21, 2015 |website=Bloomberg Business |publisher=Bloomberg |access-date=June 14, 2015 }} The stated goal of Bulletproof Nutrition is to enhance human performance. It supports the Quantified Self movement as a way to empower individuals to understand and 'hack' their own health.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/xerox/2013/10/07/biohack-your-way-to-a-healthier-less-stressful-life/|title=XeroxVoice: Biohack Guru Stresses Big Data and Biofeedback for Wellness|date=7 October 2013|work=Forbes}}

In 2014, Asprey authored The Bulletproof Diet, published by Rodale Books, and in 2015 opened a cafe in Santa Monica selling Bulletproof Coffee and high-fat foods.{{cite magazine |last1=Torabi |first1=Farnoosh |date=January 23, 2015 |title="I Made $6 Million at Age 26—and Lost It by 28" |url=https://money.com/dave-asprey-bulletproof-diet-money/ |url-status=live |magazine=Money.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927133243/https://money.com/dave-asprey-bulletproof-diet-money/ |archive-date=September 27, 2020 |access-date=June 14, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Ogilvie|first1=Jessica P.|title=David Asprey Wants You to Drink Coffee With Butter. Some Dismiss His Science (VIDEO)|url=http://www.laweekly.com/restaurants/david-asprey-wants-you-to-drink-coffee-with-butter-some-dismiss-his-science-video-5658426|work=L.A. Weekly|date=27 July 2015}} In July 2015, Asprey raised $9 million from Trinity Ventures to expand the company.{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/07/23/trinity-bulletproof/|title=Trinity Backs Dave Asprey's Bulletproof with $9M for Butter Coffee, Nootropics|date=24 July 2015 }}

In July 2018, Bulletproof 360, Inc. reported raising more than $40 million in equity and debt financing, led by the food and beverage investment firm CAVU Venture Partners. Other investors in the round were Trinity Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank.{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Meggen |title=Bulletproof: The Multi-Million Dollar Empire That Bio-Hacking Built |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/meggentaylor/2018/09/06/bulletproof-the-multi-million-dollar-empire-that-bio-hacking-built/ |access-date=2022-07-26 |website=Forbes |language=en}} In Sept, 2019, Bulletproof announced that Asprey had stepped down as CEO but would continue to focus on his role as executive chairman.{{Cite press release|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bulletproof-360-appoints-new-chief-executive-officer-300926404.html|title=Bulletproof 360 Appoints New Chief Executive Officer|website=PR News|access-date=14 April 2023}} In September 2021, Asprey announced franchising his new venture, Upgrade Labs.{{Cite press release|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dave-asprey-announces-highly-anticipated-upgrade-labs-franchise-opportunity-at-2021-biohacking-conference-301379555.html|title=Dave Asprey Announces Highly Anticipated Upgrade Labs Franchise Opportunity at 2021 Biohacking Conference|first=Upgrade|last=Labs|website=PR News|access-date=14 April 2023}}

File:Bulletproof Coffee.jpg

The Bulletproof diet developed and marketed by Asprey recommends eating foods high in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbohydrates with a foundation being the consumption of Bulletproof Coffee, a brand of coffee made and marketed by Asprey.{{cite web| url=http://blog.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/2015/02/15/diet-101-the-bulletproof-diet/ |title=Diet 101: The Bulletproof Diet|author=Toby Amidor|publisher=Food Network|date=February 15, 2015}}{{cite web| url =https://www.thestar.com/life/2015/01/28/diet-decoder-do-the-claims-of-the-bulletproof-diet-add-up.html|title=Butter and coffee for breakfast touted as the latest weight-loss trick|author=Megan Ogilvie|work=The Star|date=January 28, 2015}} Asprey developed this recipe after traveling to Tibet and drinking yak-butter tea.{{cite news |last1=Rubin |first1=Courtney |title=The Cult of the Bulletproof Coffee Diet |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/style/the-cult-of-the-bulletproof-coffee-diet.html |website=The New York Times |date=12 December 2014 |access-date=14 May 2019}} He returned to the United States and experimented with buttered drink recipes and published the preparation for his buttered coffee drink on his blog in 2009.{{cite magazine| url=http://www.inc.com/jill-krasny/dave-asprey-bulletproof-coffee-cafe.html| title=Turning the 'Bulletproof' Coffee Craze Into a Big Brand| author=Jill Kransy| date=January 29, 2015| magazine=Inc.| access-date=June 3, 2015}} The Bulletproof diet promotes the consumption of grass-fed beef and butter and considers soy, wheat, canned vegetables and microwaved foods to be toxic, but fails to provide any evidence to support these claims.{{cite web | url=http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-wellness/articles/2014/12/24/the-bulletproof-diet-is-anything-but | title=The Bulletproof Diet Is Anything But | work=US News | date=24 December 2014 | access-date=16 February 2015 | author=Khan, Amir}} It also recommends incorporating intermittent fasting.

Asprey has claimed that when used in combination with other "health hacks", the coffee helped to boost his IQ score by more than 20 points, but failed to provide any evidence to support this claim.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3032635/most-creative-people/bulletproof-coffee-the-new-power-drink-of-silicon-valley|title=Bulletproof Coffee, the New Power Drink of Silicon Valley|magazine=Fast Company}} Asprey warns coffee drinkers to avoid mold toxins such as ochratoxin in coffee. Asprey asserts that mycotoxins are harmful substances produced by coffee-bean-growing molds (among other things) and they are responsible for a wide range of health issues, including inflammation. He promotes his Bulletproof-brand "Upgraded Coffee" alleged to omit mycotoxins. Physician David Bach says that coffee producers are already able to remove mycotoxins from their products and that there is no evidence to support Asprey's claim that mycotoxins make people "sluggish".

Critics have described the Bulletproof diet as simplistic, invalid and unscientific.[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/the-bulletproof-diet-simplistic-invalid-and-unscientific/ "The Bulletproof Diet: simplistic, invalid and unscientific"]. The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 November 2018. Asprey has no medical degree or nutritional training. The British Dietetic Association have listed the Bulletproof diet as an example of a fad diet.[https://www.bda.uk.com/uploads/assets/c67fc468-a3a0-45d6-838a6e36f260be67/72846ae8-73ca-4bc3-b0ea3213a132b120/Fad-Diets-food-fact-sheet.pdf "Fad Diets"]. bda.uk.com. Retrieved 4 December 2022. Stephan Guyenet reviewing the book for Red Pen Reviews commented that although some of the Bulletproof diet's advice such as eating whole foods and avoiding processed foods is healthful, "much of the dietary advice presented in the book seems either based on a superficial understanding of nutritional science or a complete rejection of it."[https://www.redpenreviews.org/reviews/the-bulletproof-diet-lose-up-to-a-pound-a-day-reclaim-energy-and-focus-upgrade-your-life/ "The Bulletproof Diet: Lose Up to a Pound a Day, Reclaim Energy and Focus, Upgrade Your Life"]. redpenreviews.org. Retrieved 4 December 2022.

Vox contributor Julia Belluz criticized the Bulletproof diet referring to it as "like a caricature of a bad fad-diet book". Belluz wrote particularly against claims that changing diet can reduce inflammation and lead to weight loss, saying Asprey ignored contradictory studies about the health benefits of certain foods, and inappropriately extrapolated studies on animals, very small groups of people, and people with specific diseases to the general human population.{{cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2014/12/19/7416939/bulletproof-coffee|date=2014-12-19|access-date=2015-02-10|author=Julia Belluz|title=The Bulletproof Diet is everything wrong with eating in America}}

Dietitian Lynn Weaver criticized the diet as being hard to follow and supported by only small studies that are "not generally part of the scientific literature used by medical and nutritional professionals". Dietitians also point out there is no scientific basis for claims of an IQ boost, and that any sense of alertness from Bulletproof Coffee is "just a caffeine buzz".{{cite news|last1=Khan|first1=Amir|title=The Bulletproof Diet Is Anything But|url=http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-wellness/articles/2014/12/24/the-bulletproof-diet-is-anything-but|work=U.S. News & World Report|date=December 24, 2014}}

Asprey has been accused of making false health claims about his vitamin products to prevent and treat COVID-19. An article by Scott Gavura commented that "Asprey’s output combines cherry-picked science with pseudoscience, wrapped up in a self-experimentation ethos that superficially sounds compelling but falls short in actual evidence".Gavura, Scott (October 29, 2020) [https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-top-covid-19-hucksters-and-grifters-so-far/ "The Top COVID-19 Hucksters and Grifters…so far"]. sciencebasedmedicine.org. Retrieved 10 October 2022. In 2020, the Federal Trade Commission sent Asprey a warning letter telling him any "coronavirus-related prevention claims regarding such products are not supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence. You must immediately cease making all such claims".[https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/warning-letters/warning-letter-dave-asprey "Warning Letter to Dave Asprey"]. ftc.gov. Retrieved 10 October 2022.

In 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent a warning letter to Asprey's company, Bulletproof 360, stating that its products were not “generally recognized as safe and effective” for the uses advertised.{{Cite web |last=Ovalle |first=David |last2=Gilbert |first2=Caitlin |date=January 22, 2025 |title=Alternative medicine fans see RFK Jr. as a hero. The field’s skeptics worry. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/01/22/rfk-alternative-medicine-supplements/ |website=The Washington Post}}

Asprey tried a vegan diet for six months in the early 2000s, but then returned to eating animal source foods.{{Cite web |last=Team |first=The Chalkboard Editorial |date=2021-03-05 |title=Why I'm Not A Vegan: Bulletproof's Dave Asprey |url=https://thechalkboardmag.com/why-im-not-a-vegan/ |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=The Chalkboard |language=en-US}} He has criticized veganism, stating that it can increase the risk of vitamin B12 deficiency and has suggested that it is "hard to get enough high-quality protein on a vegan diet". Asprey promotes the consumption of organic, grass-fed meat.

Asprey has stated that he expects to live to one hundred eighty years of age. As of 2021, he claims to have spent at least two million dollars on "hacking his own biology", including having his own stem cells injected into himself, taking one hundred daily supplements, following a strict diet, bathing in infrared light, using a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, and wearing special lenses when flying or using a computer.{{Cite web |last=Kelly |first=Guy |date=January 22, 2021 |title=Meet the man who plans to live to 180 (and has spent $2million trying) |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/meet-man-plans-live-180-has-spent-2million-trying/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231226131421/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/meet-man-plans-live-180-has-spent-2million-trying/ |archive-date=December 26, 2023 |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=The Telegraph}} Asprey believes biohacking has benefited his sexual health, having kept an ejaculation journal for a year.{{cite web |last=Benoit |first=Sophia |date=6 February 2019 |title=Can You Biohack Your Way to Better Sex? |url=https://www.gq.com/story/biohacking-erectile-dysfunction-improve-sex-drive |access-date=10 February 2019 |work=GQ}}

Asprey met his wife, Lana Asprey, a physician, at an anti-aging conference, and they lived in Vancouver Island, Canada.{{cite magazine |last1=Monroe |first1=Rachel |author-link=Rachel Monroe |title=The Bulletproof Coffee Founder Has Spent $1 Million in His Quest to Live to 180 |url=https://www.menshealth.com/health/a25902826/bulletproof-dave-asprey-biohacking/ |access-date=26 January 2019 |magazine=Men's Health |date=January 23, 2019}} He claimed that following the Bulletproof diet helped his wife with her polycystic ovary syndrome.{{Cite web|url=https://www.good.is/food/bulletproof-diet-biohack|title = I 'Biohacked' My Body—But My Body Hacked Me Back|date = 7 March 2017}} In 2021, Asprey and Lana divorced,{{Cite web |title=Dave Asprey {{!}} Advanced Biohacking For Body Mind & Spirit: How To Train A Healthy Brain, Boost Your Flow State + Remove False Beliefs - Wellness Force Media |url=https://wellnessforce.com/dave-asprey-advanced-biohacking-for-body-mind-spirit/ |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=wellnessforce.com |language=en-US}} after which Asprey moved from his thirty-two–acre farm in Canada to Austin, Texas.{{Cite web |last=Zigoris |first=Julie |date=2023-01-29 |title='Father of Biohacking' and Founder of Bulletproof Coffee Wants You To Embrace Laziness |url=https://sfstandard.com/2023/01/29/this-former-tech-exec-the-self-proclaimed-father-of-biohacking-has-some-advice-for-you/ |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=The San Francisco Standard |language=en}}

Asprey supported President Donald Trump's nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to United States secretary of health and human services (HHS). He expressed hope that Kennedy would remove FDA regulations, believing that doing so would lead to a "dawning of a new age of biohacking". He echoed Kennedy's distrust of research funded by "Big Pharma", stating, “I want the right to look at all the data, and I want the right to make the decision of what works for me.”

• The Better Baby Book (2013) co-authored with his wife Lana Asprey, {{ASIN|B00DNL3I7K}}
• The Bulletproof Diet (2014), {{ISBN|162336518X|978-1623365189}}
• Headstrong (2017), {{ISBN|9780062652416|978-0062652416}}
• Game Changers: What Leaders, Innovators, and Mavericks Do to Win at Life (2018),{{cite book|title=Game Changers: What Leaders, Innovators, and Mavericks Do to Win at Life|author=Dave Asprey|date=4 December 2018|publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0062652447}} {{ISBN|0062652443|978-0062652447}}
• Super Human: The Bulletproof Plan to Age Backward and Maybe Even Live Forever (2019), {{ISBN|0062882821|978-0062882820}}
• Fast This Way: Burn Fat, Heal Inflammation, and Eat Like the High-Performing Human You Were Meant to Be (2021), {{ISBN|0062882864|978-0062882868}}
• Smarter Not Harder: The Biohacker’s Guide to Getting the Body and Mind You Want (2023), {{ISBN|006320472X|978-0008625924}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Low-carbohydrate diets}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asprey, Dave}}

Category:1973 births

Category:American drink industry businesspeople

Category:American male non-fiction writers

Category:Brand name diet products

Category:Businesspeople from Albuquerque, New Mexico

Category:California State University, Stanislaus alumni

Category:Fasting advocates

Category:High-fat diet advocates

Category:Life extensionists

Category:Living people

Category:Low-carbohydrate diet advocates

Category:Pseudoscientific diet advocates

Category:Wharton School alumni