In this week’s newsletter

✅ Introduction to our Episode #12 with Niklas Anzinger. ✅ ”The biggest myth in longevity.” ✅ Get to know Próspera and Vitalia.  ✅ Building a new longevity society. ✅ Detailed show notes for the episode.

”The biggest myth in the longevity community is that we need to change public opinion”

In this latest episode of the LEVITY podcast, we’re exploring something quite different from our usual focus on longevity science, technology, and philosophy. You could call it a discussion on policy, politics, and regulation, but at its core, it’s about envisioning and laying the groundwork for a new kind of society.

We sit down with Niklas Anzinger, a German entrepreneur who left Berlin’s startup scene to help build the charter city of Próspera, located on the island of Roatán in Honduras. In an era when it seems every corner of the world has been explored and every model of society attempted, he and others are creating an entirely new community on a Caribbean island.

The concept of charter cities originated with Nobel laureate economist Paul Romer. Próspera, a special economic zone (or ZEDE) in Honduras, operates under its own regulatory framework - much like Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Dubai. (If you're curious to learn more, Romer’s TED Talk is a great introduction to the concept.)

But Próspera has also garnered a reputation as a longevity community. And this is in no small part thanks to Niklas Anzinger, who wants to make death optional.

Now, Niklas didn't start with longevity in mind. After founding the venture capital firm Infinita, he spent a year and a half exploring various opportunities in Próspera. But as he watched pioneering projects like biotech startup Minicircle's gene therapy trials (yes, the same treatment Bryan Johnson took), he realized that accelerating longevity research could be Próspera's killer app.

That’s why he started the company Vitalia, aiming to reimagine how we regulate medical innovation. Or, to use Niklas’ phrase, a ”longevity safe harbor” - a place where medical innovation can happen at the speed of science rather than bureaucracy. Where there is a realisation that the biggest bottlenecks might not be in the lab, but in the lawbooks.

As Niklas points out, the first Covid vaccine was developed in a single weekend, but took a year to approve - and people thought that was fast.

The numbers are staggering: it typically costs more than $500 million (and sometimes billions) to bring a new drug to market. Much of that cost comes not from the science itself, but from navigating regulatory requirements that haven't fundamentally changed since 1962.

But what if we could maintain safety while dramatically accelerating the process? That's what Niklas and his team at Vitalia are trying to achieve.

Through tools like medical reciprocity laws (if you're licensed elsewhere, you can practice here) and custom regulatory frameworks backed by mandatory liability insurance, they're creating a model that could revolutionize how we approach medical innovation.

”The biggest myth in the longevity community”, Niklas tells us, ”is that we need to change public opinion before we can do things better. It's the reverse - we have to develop better products and get them to market, which then changes public opinion.”

But perhaps most importantly, this isn't an isolated enclave for wealthy foreigners. More than 60% of Prospera's residents are Honduran, and Vitalia employs mostly local talent. They're building schools, creating jobs, and offering an alternative to the brain drain that typically pulls talented Hondurans to the United States.*

* It’s worth pointing out that I’m simplifying a great deal and you should listen to the podcast episode for much more detail. The backstory of Próspera is messy. You can also read this New York Times article to get some of the many nuances (it was published after we did the recording with Niklas). The official Próspera account calls the NYT article ”fake news” without going into specifics. They also, as a response, link to this FAQ for more information.

This practical approach extends to their ambitious goals: they aim to have 1,000 semi-permanent residents by the end of 2025, and eventually hope to host thousands of biotech companies working on extending human healthspan.

Throughout history, people have struck out for new shores, seeking not just personal freedom but the chance to build something better. From the founding of Hong Kong to the rise of Silicon Valley, these ”startup societies” have often driven human progress in unexpected ways.

Now, on a beautiful Caribbean island, a new community is taking shape - one that might just help unlock the secret to longer, healthier lives. And they're inviting others to join them. As Niklas puts it, they're not looking for people who have read all the libertarian philosophy books - they're looking for people who want to build something better than what exists today.

You can watch the first episode below or listen to it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or other places, like PocketCasts. Please follow, like and subscribe! 🙏🏼 This will boost our chances of reaching a bigger audience.

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