Is the vision of a 200 year lifespan merely science fiction, or perhaps the absolute minimum that technology may allow us to achieve within our lifetime? In this interview, we discuss insights from a yearlong journey across five continents, the role of advanced diagnostics, the phenomenon of Singapore, and why the quality of our relationships and learning to love ourselves may be stronger predictors of longevity than blood pressure or blood sugar levels.
My guest was Marek Piotrowski, a longevity advocate, director, marketing strategist, and creator of the Live Beyond initiative. He spent a year traveling around the world with his son Alek and speaking with more than 100 leading scientists, physicians, and health experts, from Harvard to Okinawa. At ELEVATE, he will explain how the latest science connects with everyday practices that support a long and healthy life.
Aneta Kmiecik: You are a longevity advocate. What does that really mean, and how did you enter this field after years of working for global brands?
Marek Piotrowski: I spent my entire career working in marketing and communications. I ran an advertising agency and worked for some of the world’s largest brands, from Coca Cola, Pizza Hut, and Burger King to alcohol and tobacco companies. At one point, during a conference about the future, I was inspired to focus on things that could change the world for the better in 20 or 30 years, rather than only on what matters here and now. I decided to support what I consider the most important industry today, longevity.
Because I am neither a physician nor a scientist, I decided to use my experience to support science, help it develop faster, and bring longevity within reach during our lifetime. That is where my role as an advocate comes from. And because I assume that if we live for 200 years or more, I will still have time to go back to school, study biotechnology, or become a physician so I can support this movement even more strongly from that side.
You often mention the age of 200. Where did this vision come from, and why do you believe it is a realistic lifespan for humans?
It is not only a question of whether it is realistic. I believe 200 years should actually be the minimum. On one hand, it is connected with how we relate to ourselves. A few years ago, during a retreat in Bali, I was told that we should love ourselves. At first, it sounded absurd to me, but I realized that if we genuinely like and love ourselves, we do not want all of this to end. The longer we can remain in this wonderful world, the better. It is worth awakening that desire for a long life within ourselves.
On the other hand, after traveling with my son, I realized that by applying what we already know today, we can realistically add 20 to 30 healthy years to our lives. To add another 50 or 100 years, however, we need radical life extension methods: gene therapies, partial epigenetic reprogramming, xenotransplantation, and 3D bioprinting. These technologies already exist. This is not rocket science from several centuries in the future. They need further development and greater funding. It will be a step by step process. We will add 20 to 30 years, another decade will pass, and then we will add more. One scientist told me that all we really need to do is become one year younger every year. That sounds quite achievable.
You mentioned epigenetic reprogramming. There has been a lot of discussion about research in this area recently.
Yes, this technology was pioneered by Shinya Yamanaka, who received the Nobel Prize for it in 2006. Human clinical trials have already begun this year. The idea is that in about 20 years, you could go to a physician and say, “Hey, I would like to be 15 or 30 years younger.” I believe we will get there.
You spent a year traveling around the world with your teenage son and speaking with outstanding scientists. What did that journey teach you about relationships, which are, after all, crucial in the context of longevity?
The most important things I learned were the ones my son taught me. I would point to the idea of resilience in a relationship, a certain capacity to endure and remain flexible. The beginning of the journey was not easy. During the first six months, there were conflicts and tensions because spending 24 hours a day together in one room naturally creates emotions. I wanted to solve problems immediately and analyze them, while I noticed that after 15 minutes, my son behaved as though nothing had happened. He simply moved on.
This inspired me to conclude that when two people love each other, they do not have to discuss everything. Around 80 percent of conflicts result from the fact that we are different, and sometimes we simply need to let them go. Only about 20 percent are issues that genuinely need to be analyzed. That is what resilience in a relationship means.
This also has a strong scientific foundation. In Boston, we met Robert Waldinger, the director of the famous Happiness Study. Its findings show clearly that the best predictor of how long and how healthfully we will live is not our blood pressure or blood sugar level, but the quality of our relationships. Our mindset and heartset give us the strength to make the right decisions.
You mentioned medicine, but you often say that physicians alone are not enough to build a world of longevity. We need “an entire village.” Why?
When humanity went to the Moon, it was not the work of engineers alone. Entire cities were built, and communications professionals, managers, CEOs, and CFOs were involved. Longevity works in exactly the same way. Physicians and scientists cannot build it alone. They need support from many different industries and disciplines. That is why I encourage everyone to ask themselves how they can contribute to this development, because if many more people become involved, everything will move forward much faster.
You visited many longevity clinics around the world. What shocked you most compared with the conventional approach to health?
The greatest lesson was how enormous a role comprehensive diagnostics plays. When we feel healthy, we often assume we are invincible. Yet the major diseases that kill us, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and neurodegenerative disorders, develop silently. We can feel great while already having stage two or stage three cancer. Dying from something that could have been prevented is simply foolish. Instead of buying a new car, it is better to spend that money on comprehensive testing for yourself and your family.
Advanced longevity clinics do not perform only a basic blood panel. They combine biomarkers with comprehensive imaging, including DEXA scans, CT scans, and full body MRI, which helps eliminate misreadings. Genetics and functional testing are added as well, while artificial intelligence compares the results with databases containing thousands of records to identify patterns associated with the future development of disease. The goal is for the system to function as healthcare, meaning caring for health, rather than sick care, meaning treating disease.
Singapore is an excellent example. More than 50 percent of the population reports awareness of longevity and demands such solutions from the government. The density of longevity clinics there is higher than in all of Europe combined. Thanks to economies of scale and AI, the cost of these services is falling and they are becoming accessible to ordinary residents. We need to move in this direction globally, including in Europe, because societies are aging, and without extending healthy lifespan, economic systems will simply collapse.
Your Live Beyond project is intended to support this cultural shift. What can we expect from your presentation at ELEVATE?
Above all, I hope it will not be a formal lecture, but the beginning of a conversation. Both my book and the documentary film, which is scheduled to premiere in 2026, are built around the emotional story of a father and son traveling together, as well as dozens of interviews with leading experts.
I will not be alone on the ELEVATE stage. I will be joined by Dr. Olivia Lesslar, a physician working across the areas of heart, mind, and body, and by Raiany Romanni Klein, a bioethicist. We will address the most important questions: how longevity will affect the economy and society, how to make sense of it all, and how to organize it within our own lives. One personal goal I would very much like to build together with everyone there is the creation of new relationships, because I believe that every person we connect with becomes a bridge to a greater and more wonderful future.
