Gripping a scalpel, Vladislav Zaitsev makes an incision in the fold of skin between his client’s thumb and index finger and pushes in a small glass cylinder.<\/p>\n
Alexei Rautkin, a 24-year-old programmer in a hoodie, is having a chip inserted in his hand so he can open the door to his office without swiping a card.<\/p>\n
“It’s something I decided a long time ago,” he says.<\/p>\n
“Mainly because it’s convenient but there’s also a kind of exclusivity, because practically no one else has this.”<\/p>\n
Rautkin and Zaitsev are among a growing number of Russians interested in biohacking, a global movement whose followers seek to “upgrade” their bodies with experimental technology and DIY health fixes that began in Silicon Valley at the start of the last decade.<\/p>\n
For some, the lifestyle trend involves implanting technology under their skin.<\/p>\n
For others — mainly wealthy Russians — the quest is to live longer, which they hope to do through intensive monitoring of their bodies, taking vast quantities of supplements or extreme exercise.<\/p>\n
Although it’s unclear how many biohackers there are in Russia, the movement is spreading, with social media forums, conferences and businesses springing up to cater to their needs.<\/p>\n
Zaitsev, a programmer with a ducktail haircut, taught himself to insert chips, helped by the fact he’s a medical school dropout.<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old caught national attention in 2015 by taking the chip out of a Moscow metro pass, dissolving it in acetone and encasing it in silicone before inserting it into the back of his hand.<\/p>\n
The disc, about the size of a British one penny coin, is still visible but currently defunct — Zaitsev reprogrammed it with bank card details, only for the bank to close.<\/p>\n
He also has magnets on his fingertips, mainly for party tricks.<\/p>\n
He says the biohacking movement is about using technology to facilitate concrete tasks.<\/p>\n
“In biohacking, I like things that give a real, confirmed effect, for example putting in chips,” he says.<\/p>\n
Based on the contact between the close-knit community on social media, he estimates that about 1,000 Russians are chipped.<\/p>\n
Most install work passes, he says, while some insert magnets or a compass implant that vibrates when they turn north.<\/p>\n
“I like the idea of expanding the capabilities of the human body.”<\/p>\n
Around the world, implanted microchips are being used to start cars, turn on smartphones, computers and printers, monitor body temperature and store medical information or as business cards.<\/p>\n
Professional magicians even use them to enhance their tricks.<\/p>\n
Some chips have been approved for human use, but Zaitsev said he uses veterinary ones made in Taiwan and ordered by mail for about 500 rubles ($8) each.<\/p>\n
While some have raised concerns over potential surveillance and hacking, the number of chipped people is still very small in Russia, and unlike smartphones, the chips do not transmit the users’ location.<\/p>\n
– Studio flat surgery –<\/p>\n
In his studio flat, Zaitsev charges Rautkin 2,000 rubles ($32) for the operation to insert the chip that is slightly bigger than a grain of rice.<\/p>\n
He has chipped about 50 others, too, he says.<\/p>\n
The “typical client is a geek”, he adds. “Most are men aged 35 or younger.”<\/p>\n
Other biohackers have little time for chipping, however.<\/p>\n
Entrepreneur Stanislav Skakun says that biohacking is about extending life, potentially for thousands of years, an idea known as transhumanism.<\/p>\n
“I haven’t yet found a chip that would be useful for prolonging life… I can’t see any point in doing this yet,” the 36-year-old said.<\/p>\n
Instead, he regularly attends a private clinic where nurses fill some 20 test tubes with his blood for analysis.<\/p>\n
It’s just part of his exhaustive routine over the last five years, measuring hundreds of biochemical markers and taking handfuls of vitamins and supplements daily.<\/p>\n
Although he declines to talk in detail about what he takes, he says the supplements include iodine, Vitamin D, magnesium and prebiotics.<\/p>\n
As well as genetic tests to identify personal risk factors and compensate for them, he undergoes tests for inflammation, cholesterol, glucose, bone density, the stress hormone cortisol and the efficiency of his immune system.<\/p>\n
– Molecular ‘scissors’ –<\/p>\n
Trim with piercing blue eyes, Skakun claims that “in the last five years, my biological age hasn’t changed at all.”<\/p>\n
He hopes to live long enough to see scientific advances extend life massively.<\/p>\n