Davison Magazine Stout Interview

1. B I O H A C K B I O H A C K LIVING A FULL LIFE Psychologist, angel investor, consultant and biohacker are just some of the ways to describe Dr. Chris Stout. Davison catches up with the multi-hyphenate on what it means to live life to the fullest. I t’s hard to introduce Dr. Chris Stout, for the simple reason that he does so many things. So, perhaps, one way is to address the title that comes with his name; he is a licensed clinical psychologist. But he is also an angel investor, a consultant for individuals, startups and large companies, and a board member of organisations and a faculty member at the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois. He is also the founder of the Center for Global Initiatives, a non-profit, and a kindergarten for orphaned children in Tanzania. He has also written 37 books, which have been published in nine languages. There’s more, though. You could call him a biohacker – and, perhaps, that was his first title before everything else came along. “Well, it pretty much started when I was 13 years old. Obese, I had a Body Mass Index of 36 at age 12. I had orthopaedic issues needing special shoes, so I was pretty much inactive. It was particularly problematic being my size and named Stout. I was the focus of much teasing. I had just lost my grandmother to a protracted illness, which resulted in my moving from urban Dallas where I’d grown up with my mom and grandmother (my parents divorced before my first birthday), to living with my dad on a farm in Indiana,” the 59-year-old says. A bookish child, he began reading up about weight loss, diet and exercise. In three months, over the summer, he lost 64 pounds and became vegetarian. He went back to school different, hardly recognisable by his classmates. WORDS &PHOTOS RED BULL EDITED BY JONATHAN TAN WORDS ROSSARA JAMIL PHOTOS CHRIS STOUT 7 6 | D A V I S O N . C O M . S G D A V I S O N . C O M . S G | 7 7

2. B I O H A C K B I O H A C K Today, the father of two has pretty much maintained the same discipline and focus, and continued experimenting, tweaking and monitoring to feel, look and perform better. With a strong spirit of adventure and drive, he climbed three of the Seven Summits and participated in endurance sports. Marked on his calendar are 29029, where participants climb up a peak in Vermont 17 times, therefore climbing a total height equivalent to Everest, and a 100K trail run. Dr. Stout’s continuing interest in biohacking spurred him to write an exhaustive piece, What You Need to Know to have an Optimized Healthspan: Bio-hacking for Beginners, on Medium, where he shared a long list of tips, ideas, resources, and strategies that have worked for him. When he is training for something specific (and major) like 29029 and an ultramarathon, he introduced variations into his routine. However, he is not so big on giving advice because he believes that something may not work for every individual because it may simply not be suitable for the person. “While we share a lot, we do not share the same biology, biome, motivation, genetics, drives, proclivities, strengths, weaknesses, needs, problems, risk factors, protective factors, goals, fears, experience, situations, traumas, victories, you get the picture,” he writes in his piece on Medium. For him, his experimentations have led to defined servings of plant-based foods and he does a variety of workouts throughout the week. Managing his mood is of utmost importance to him as he deals with bouts of anxiety. “Biohacking has helped with knowing some genetic aspects vis-à-vis lifestyle choices and performance enhancement. I’m a big fan of pre- and probiotics, not only for gut health, but in terms of mood as well. Of course, it’s hard to generalise beyond oneself as an “N of 1,” but I feel being vegan helped a great deal in running my unsupported double marathon a few years ago and having a good recovery. Likewise, last year when I did the 100 Ton Challenge,” he says, adding that he is also currently focusing on increasing the quality and quantity of his sleep. 7 8 | D A V I S O N . C O M . S G D A V I S O N . C O M . S G | 7 9

3. B I O H A C K B I O H A C K Being a clinical psychologist for so long – he no longer clinically practises now – might have helped too in understanding behaviour, families, systems and cultures. Also an independent thinker, he garnered other valuable learnings as well. When asked what he has learned after having been in the field for so long, he says, “I suppose it is the need to break down academic and intellectual silos. Too often we just read our profession’s journals and only go to our own profession’s conferences. I find that I have gained much value in reading, learning, and working with professions that do not have a clinical psychology background or focus. Indeed, many breakthroughs come from those not generally associated with the area in which they have brought fresh perspective.” Therein, perhaps, lies the answer to his openness to new data. The spirit of experimenting and quest for better that he developed since he was a child – biohacking before it had a name – has spilled over and influenced the rest of his life. Dr. Stout also works on what he had named The List of A Lifetime, the ultimate life to-do list that he regularly updates and adjusts. For now, as he approaches his 60th birthday, there are plenty he wishes to strike off that list. “I want to finish up my 275 x 60 Project, which is to visit a 100 countries (99 done), all 50 of the United States (done!) and 125 World Heritage sites (done!), and photo-document it all. I’m also working what I call ‘A Year Living Adventurously’. I’m in the last phase of a Ducati build that I designed, and I’m working with a start-up on a land speed record motorcycle project. And of course, having more interesting interviews on my podcast show, Living a Life in Full.” Now, that’s living life to the fullest. 8 0 | D A V I S O N . C O M . S G D A V I S O N . C O M . S G | 8 1

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