What world's first 'sperm race' in LA really meant for male fertility
We've seen some weird and wonderful races in our time, but away from the UK's deadly cheese-rolling race or Wales' World Bog Snorkelling Championship, we might have found a new contender for the world's weirdest.
That's right, Los Angeles has held host to the world's first sperm race...but with good reason.
Millions of competitors were 'donated' by 19-year-old Asher Proeger and 20-year-old Tristan Mykel, with the pair committing to regular exercise, ensuring they were getting at least eight hours of sleep each night, and even giving up alcohol. This was all to help make sure their little swimmers were up to scratch.
The Times reports how 400 spectators crammed into an LA film studio for a night of lewd jokes and tadpole-shaped toys.
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The big moment came when they watched powerful microscopes project the sperm race onto a massive screen.
The Hollywood Palladium has been the original venue choice, but after it pulled out due to press coverage, Los Angeles Center Studios helped Sperm Racing get out of this 'sticky' situation.
Two ring girls in skimpy outfits paraded Proeger and Mykel's samples, which were then loaded into a 'microfluid device' ahead of the big race.
After Mykel won the first race and Proeger evened the score in the second, they were then put in plastic tubes, with the loser of the third race going to be covered in white slime.
It was a close-fought race, but in the end, Mykel was the victor.
Despite the jovial nature, the world's first sperm race was designed to raise awareness for the ongoing male fertility crisis.
Sperm has been in the news a lot recently, with sperm-injecting AI robots, and biohacker Bryan Johnson trying to de-age his penis. Elon Musk even offered his own swimmers to help populate Mars, with the world's richest man speaking out on the supposed fertility crisis when he said: "Population collapse due to low birth rates is a much bigger risk to civilization than global warming."
As the brainchild of 17-year-old Eric Zhu, Sperm Racing is a start-up that's already raised over $1.5 million.
The event included advice from fertility expert Stephanie Sabourin, explaining how diet and exercise are key to keeping your sperm healthy. Still, age is a major factor, which might be why the average age of fatherhood in the USA rose from 27.4 in 1972 to 31.5 in 2022.
Allan Pacey, professor of andrology at the University of Manchester, warned: “Layer onto this poor lifestyle choices, such as high alcohol intake, smoking — although this is declining — and poor diet, and you can see how it appears that male infertility is getting more prevalent.
"Men can of course clean up their lifestyle, and many do. But cleaning up your lifestyle probably can’t undo the effects of ageing."
US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has blamed microplastics, telling Fox News: "A teenager today, an American teenager, has less testosterone than a 68-year-old man. Sperm counts are down 50 per cent and girls are hitting puberty six years early." Still, there's no scientific evidence to back up RFK's claims.
Even though the message behind Sperm Racing seems to be a noble one, data analyst Nate Wooding told The Times that he was suspicious of how betting seemed to be pushed by the organisers as he concluded: "It seems like it’s a money-making endeavour."