60 Days Alone in Antarctica: Amputation, Frostbite, and Lessons from Extreme Suffering | Akshay Nanavati : 1286

The Human Upgrade with Dave Asprey

Dave Asprey

Fat, Health & Fitness, Meditation, Biohacking, Lifestyle, Diet, Science, Self-improvement, Fasting, Nutrition, Hacking, Fitness, Brain, Wellness, Education

4.6 • 7.3K Ratings

🗓️ 29 May 2025

⏱️ 79 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This episode dives into the brutal, mind-altering experience of spending 60 days alone in Antarctica, and how extreme suffering became a catalyst for spiritual awakening, peak performance, and deep inner peace.

Watch this episode on YouTube for the full video experience:

https://www.youtube.com/@DaveAspreyBPR

Host Dave Asprey sits down with elite adventurer, Marine Corps veteran, and Fearvana founder Akshay Nanavati, who dragged a 420lb sled solo across Antarctica in a brutal test of endurance, fasting, and spiritual transformation. Akshay shares how he used suffering as a tool to transmute PTSD, expand consciousness, and awaken what he calls the “paradox of oneness”—where discomfort unlocks the deepest joy.

Together, they explore how cold therapy, isolation, and extreme hardship reshape dopamine, mitochondria, neurochemistry, and the stories we tell ourselves. Akshay’s journey through darkness retreats, trauma healing, and polar expeditions opens a raw and unfiltered look at self-quantification, mental resilience, and human performance at the edge.

This episode will challenge your assumptions about comfort, suffering, and what it means to live fully awake. Whether you’re optimizing for longevity, exploring consciousness, or breaking free from invisible scripts, this conversation blends science, spirituality, and hardcore biohacking with moments of unexpected humor and wisdom.

You’ll Learn:

• How intentional pain resets your dopamine response and boosts performance

• Why Akshay chose fasting and cold exposure over nootropics and psychedelics

• How darkness retreats and solitude sharpen consciousness and intuition

• The neuroscience behind pain, trauma, and transformation

• Why true freedom lies in facing discomfort—not avoiding it

• How to find God in suffering and create meaning from chaos

Dave Asprey is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, and the father of biohacking. With over 1,000 interviews and 1 million monthly listeners, The Human Upgrade is the top podcast for people who want to take control of their biology, extend their longevity, and optimize every system in the body and mind. Each episode features cutting-edge insights in health, performance, neuroscience, supplements, nutrition, hacking, emotional intelligence, and conscious living.

Episodes are released every Tuesday and Thursday, where Dave asks the questions no one else dares, and brings you real tools to become more resilient, aware, and high performing.

SPONSORS:

- Zbiotics | Go to https://zbiotics.com/DAVE for 15% off your first order.

- IGNITON | Go to https://www.igniton.com/

Resources:

• Dave Asprey’s New Book - Heavily Meditated: https://daveasprey.com/heavily-meditated/

• Akshay’s Website – https://fearvana.com/

• Akshay’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fearvana/

• 2025 Biohacking Conference: https://biohackingconference.com/2025

• Danger Coffee: https://dangercoffee.com

• Dave Asprey’s Website: https://daveasprey.com

• Dave Asprey’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/daveasprey

• Upgrade Collective – Join The Human Upgrade Podcast Live: https://www.ourupgradecollective.com

• Own an Upgrade Labs: https://ownanupgradelabs.com

• Upgrade Labs: https://upgradelabs.com

• 40 Years of Zen – Neurofeedback Training for Advanced Cognitive Enhancement: https://40yearsofzen.com

Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Trailer

• 00:58 – Intro

• 01:55 – Meeting His Wife Through Intuition

• 06:28 – Pain, Dopamine & Neurohacking

• 15:19 – The Paradox of Oneness

• 21:20 – Darkness Retreats & Mysticism

• 34:39 – Constructing Reality

• 38:32 – Consciousness & Perception

• 39:18 – Polar Travel: Mental & Physical Strain

• 40:22 – Calculated Risk vs. Suffering

• 43:40 – Trauma as Fuel

• 56:26 – Solitude & Self-Reflection

• 01:05:45 – Embracing Fear & Building Courage

• 01:09:29 – Death, Meaning & Bliss

• 01:12:53 – Final Reflections on Purpose

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	If you've been listening to the show, you know that I just came out with my new book,
0:04.8	heavily meditated this May. It's the fast path to remove your triggers, dissolve stress,
0:10.1	and activate inner peace. Go check it out at Dave Asprey.com backslash books.
0:18.0	I don't believe in suffering. I believe in pain. If you step into the edge of pain, it amplifies the experience of pleasure. You have to know the depths of the abyss to experience the heights of all.
0:28.0	Biohackers manipulate dopamine with the discomfort of a really cold lunch. You carried a 190 pound sled through freezing cold, dark temperatures for like 100 days.
0:38.3	I literally pushed the body to the brain of death.
0:40.3	I ended up getting diverticulitis, which is inflammation in the colon.
0:44.3	War is this experience where you taste the extremes of the human condition.
0:48.3	You see the absolute worse, the horrors of war, people doing awful things to each other,
0:51.3	but you see the absolute best.
0:53.3	People sacrificing their lives for each other, jumping on grenades for each other.
0:56.7	And only on those edges can you experience that.
1:00.2	The thing that I go out there seeking is what the suffering gives me access to.
1:04.2	So the suffering is the means, it's not the purpose.
1:06.2	It's the doorway, and what it gives me access to is transcendence.
1:09.7	Do you think trauma and pain became your fuel for being high performer?
1:14.6	You're listening to the Human Upgrade with Dave Asprey.
1:22.6	It's been four years since you came on the Human Upgrade.
1:26.6	Yes, sir. You've done a few things since then. What's been four years since you came on the human upgrade. Yes, sir.
1:27.7	You've done a few things since then.
1:30.9	What's been going on?
1:32.1	It's been a while ride since we first connected.
	...

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