Forrest Galante: Why Comfort Is What Actually Ages You

Forrest Galante (0:00)

I think the modern human, their biggest reality for mental health issues, for physical health issues, is a disconnection from nature.

Gary Brecka (0:07)

Sedentary lifestyles, the leading cause of all cause mortality, the lack of movement. You know, we've got escalators, we've got moving walkways, we've got elevators, we've got cars. I have a saying that aging is the aggressive pursuit of comfort. The more aggressively you pursue comfort, the faster you age.

Forrest Galante (0:19)

You realize that in the natural world, anything that lives a very slow lifestyle has to live a very long lifestyle. So whether you're looking at Galapagos Giant Tortoises or Greenland Sharks, they have very extended lives because everything they do is at fraction of the speed that we do things.

Gary Brecka (0:37)

They're doing what they were designed to do. And human beings, we have pursued comfort to such an aggressive extent that in the United States, we're now the sickest, fattest, most disease-ridden nation in the world.

Forrest Galante (0:47)

I think we get caught up in this rat race and we forget that we are just something, another organism that is designed to be in nature. We've taken away something that is programmed inside of us, that we are supposed to be connected to.

Gary Brecka (0:59)

How does getting back in tune with Mother Nature, in your opinion, impact our health?

Forrest Galante (1:04)

I believe strongly that.

Gary Brecka (1:19)

Hey guys, welcome back to The Ultimate Human Podcast. I'm your host, human biologist, Gary Brecka, where we go down the road of everything, anti-aging, biohacking, longevity, and everything between. This is like one of those really cool in-between podcasts. I'm so excited to run this with today's guest.

Fascinating upbringing in Zimbabwe, and fascinating career. He's really brought animal planet right into your living room. His care for animals, his perspective on how mother nature can actually impact your health, how disconnected we are from the wild, is so philosophically aligned with what I talk about every day. I am super pumped to run this podcast with you, Forrest Galante.

Forrest Galante (1:59)

Gary, give me goosebumps, man. That was such a lovely intro. Thank you, yeah.

Gary Brecka (2:03)

Yeah, I've done it a few times, but no, I really mean it, man. I am fired up for this podcast because, so I have a younger daughter, Alina, 18-year-old. And ever since she was a little, little girl, this is a girl that was like snatching frogs out of ponds and picking up lizards and chasing the boys with spiders.

Forrest Galante (2:20)

Love that.

Gary Brecka (2:21)

Daddy long legs. And she's got a wildlife refuge in her room, all of which she completely like suckered me on.

We actually have a dog, we have a staffie now because we were supposed to foster it. And then nobody wanted a dog, so we had to keep the dog. I actually don't think she tried to sell the dog. No, I'm sure.

Forrest Galante (2:43)

I'm sure she didn't.

Gary Brecka (2:43)

But we got lizards stuck to tanks, we got a python in there, we got fish. I mean, there's all kinds of stuff going on in that room. But dude, you have had a fascinating life, fascinating career. And what I find really interesting is the crossover that you and I have about human beings and human physiology, how disconnected we are from other nature, and how getting back very often to the basics is so empowering and so healing for human beings. But I want to start with assuming that my audience doesn't know who you are. I mean, most people have heard of you, have probably seen your videos. I recognize that dude.

He was crawling in a cage across a pond with the alligator.

Forrest Galante (3:23)

That's me. Yeah.

Gary Brecka (3:25)

And then he's like, I want to invite you to this place in India, to this animal refuge.

Forrest Galante (3:28)

I'm like, dude, I'm not with you. I don't want to be bitten by something weird.

Gary Brecka (3:34)

And because you've been bitten by all kinds of weird shit. But I'd love to start with your upbringing in Zimbabwe, because it had to have something to do with how you shape the rest of your career.

Forrest Galante (3:46)

I think it did. But I also think that it was hardwired into me because my sister had the same upbringing. She works in fashion. So, you know, yeah, I think I think there was something hardwired into me. But I did. I grew up in Zimbabwe, in Southern Africa, beautiful country, idyllic childhood. You know, we never locked a door. I lived on 200 acres, big farm, a small farm by African standards, but a lot of land. And my family ran safari businesses. So, if I wasn't in school, I was in the bush, barefoot, in the bush, chasing animals around.