LOS ANGELES — Is sperm racing the next big thing? Well, it might not become an Olympic sport, but it’s certainly creating quite the buzz.
The so-called world’s first sperm race was held in downtown Los Angeles Friday, drawing a rather large crowd.
But how did this all start? Well, that’s where Eric Zhu comes in.
With the help of wealthy investors, the 17-year-old student and entrepreneur from the Bay Area launched the competition to raise awareness of men’s health and male fertility.
“The general public doesn’t talk about it, because it’s so taboo,” he told ABC Los Angeles affiliate KABC. “It’s always been associated with adult entertainment or something that’s degenerate. What we want to do is make it more of like a sport, a different type of entertainment, but more of, like, optimizing biomarkers.”
So how does the race work?
Well, Friday’s contenders, who were handpicked out of dozens of young men, were given money each week to train their mind, bodies, and diets. One race included a young man from USC going against a UCLA student.
The group has what it calls a Sperm Racing Professional Sperm Analysis Kit, which measures concentration, motility, progressive motility, motile sperm concentration, and progressive motile sperm concentration.
According to the Sperm Racing website, the group has built a microscopic racetrack that mimics the reproductive system, which includes chemical signals, fluid dynamics, and synchronized starts.
Then, high-resolution cameras track every microscopic move. The entire thing is live-streamed, complete with stats, leaderboards, and instant replays.
The sperm that crosses the finish line first (which is verified by advanced imaging) wins the race.
In case you’re wondering, the USC contestant on Friday won his race.
“When you really think about it, we all won our own individual sperm races to get onto this planet, so it’s only fit that we make it a format that we can all watch and enjoy,” said Joshua Gabbay, an 18-year-old who attended Friday’s race, which even featured a performance by hip-hop artist Ty Dolla $ign.
The team behind the race consists of Zhu and seven other members, most of whom are active on social media.
To learn more, visit the Sperm Racing website.
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