Disruption via doping: Enhanced Games founder on the controversial 'future of sports'

Equity

TechCrunch

Founders, Silicon Valley, Finance, Ipo, Vc, Technology, Business News, Startups, Business, Venture Capital, News, Stock Market, Entrepreneurship, Techcrunch

4.2 • 365 Ratings

🗓️ 15 October 2025

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Can performance-enhancing drugs push the limits of human potential? The creators of the Enhanced Games say yes — and they’re building a new sporting event to prove it. Backed by Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr.’s 1789 Capital, the Enhanced Games aims to disrupt the Olympics with a competition that allows athletes to dope. Launching in Las Vegas in May 2026, the games promise $1 million bounties for breaking world records and lean on a business model reminiscent of Red Bull’s, using the spectacle as marketing for future enhancement products. Today on TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan spoke with Aron D'Souza, co-founder and President of the Enhanced Games, about the business of enhancement, what it means to build in the longevity space, and who gets to do it. Listen to the full episode to hear: How the venture has raised "double-digit millions" and signed Olympic silver medalist Fred Kerley, whom D'Souza believes will break Usain Bolt's 100m record at age 31. Why D'Souza believes Olympic drug testing has stunted performance enhancement research, and how allowing enhancements in sports could drive longevity breakthroughs. Enhanced's plan to build a telehealth platform selling testosterone and weight-loss drugs (which have yet to be developed). The societal, economic, and ethical implications of extending human longevity. Subscribe to Equity on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is a paid ad by Fidelity Private Shares. A messy or missing cap table might not just slow you down. It could cost you your next fundraising round.
0:08.6	Welcome back to Equity TechCrunch's flagship podcast about the business of startups. I'm Rebecca Boulon, and this is the episode where we bring on industry experts to help us explore a trend in the tech world and dive deep.
0:20.1	Today, we're bringing you a conversation I had with Aaron DeSouza about the enhanced games,
0:24.7	the sporting event that DeSuzza says will overtake the Olympics.
0:28.1	Why?
0:28.8	Because athletes can use whatever substances they want to get bigger, stronger, or faster, or better.
0:33.8	It's backed by Peter Thiel.
0:35.1	It's offering a million dollars to break world records.
0:37.9	And yes, this is actually happening next year in Vegas in May.
0:42.0	DeSuz and I dig into the business model, the longevity angle, and his views on everything from demographics to human enhancement technology.
0:49.7	It's a complex, wide-ranging discussion that goes well beyond sports.
1:00.1	Music It's a complex, wide-ranging discussion that goes well beyond sports. Erin, welcome to the show.
1:02.5	Rebecca, thanks for having me all.
1:03.8	So give us a little bit of your background.
1:05.6	Like you have a, I would say, controversial, interesting past. You were, you have been for many years,
1:15.2	Peter Thiel's lawyer. You were behind the Gawker case helping bring down the media company after
1:20.2	they, after they shared some things that they, you know, some would say they probably
1:24.8	shouldn't have shared. So I'm curious, like, that's not
1:27.7	who you are as a whole person. What else are you doing? And if you want to say anything about that?
1:32.4	Yeah. So I started my professional career about 16 years ago when Peter Thiel hired me to lead
1:40.2	the litigation against Gawker Media. I was at that time of 24-year-old law student at Oxford University.
1:45.7	We went on to win. I'm very proud to say the largest invasion of privacy judgment at the time.
	...

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