Sperm races: The latest brainchild of American millionaires

If someone were to make a joke and ask, “What do American billionaires do when they’re bored?” a cheeky answer might be, “Send their wives into space!” But now, that punchline might have some competition: organize sperm races.

Eric Zhu, co-founder of Sperm Racing, is getting ahead of the potential jokes. “Sperm racing isn’t just a joke. it’s not just some viral idea for the internet to laugh at,” he says. “It’s something much bigger.”

The startup has already raised $1.5 million to launch its debut competition on April 25 at the historic Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.

The race will pit two healthy college students from rival universities against each other. Chosen based on matching biomarkers, their sperm samples will face off on an eight-inch-long (20-centimeter) track designed to replicate the female reproductive system, complete with “chemical signals, fluid dynamics, and synchronized starts.”

Every movement will be captured by high-resolution cameras and streamed live with real-time statistics, rankings, and instant replays. The winner will be the sperm that crosses the finish line first.

More than 4,000 spectators are expected to attend the event, which will be broadcast live with 40x zoom to follow the 0.05-millimeter sperm in detail.

“Sperm typically swim at about 5mm per minute, meaning each race will take at least 40 minutes,” explains Bevan Hurley in a report for The Times.

Turning health into sport

Zhu laments in the company’s manifesto that although male fertility is in sharp decline, no one is talking about it.

“Sperm motility — how fast your sperm moves — turns out to be a massive factor in fertility. It’s measurable, trackable, and just like running a race or lifting a weight, it’s something you can actually improve. But no one’s turned it into something people care about. So we did. We’re turning health into a sport," explains the young investor, who is also part of Thor Ventures, a firm that backs tech-focused projects.

Data presented at the latest meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, held in Copenhagen, may validate his concern. The findings revealed that only 11% of male reproductive issues are properly diagnosed.

To put that into context with Spain, it suggests that around 3.7 million Spanish men may be experiencing fertility problems without even knowing it. After analyzing 5,000 samples at Spain’s Bernabeu Insitute group over the past five years, researchers found a 16.75% overall decrease in sperm count (per milliliter), along with a 12% drop in motility.

“Sperm racing isn’t just about racing sperm (although, let’s be honest, that’s hilarious). It’s about turning health into a competition. It’s about making male fertility something people actually want to talk about, track, and improve,” says Zhu.

This young entrepreneur — who is only 17 years old — founded Sperm Racing alongside Nick Small of Stealth Consulting, Shane Fan, CEO of the NFT pricing platform Waterfall, and Garrett Niconienko, the former head of strategic content for Mr. Beast, the world’s most-followed YouTuber.

The race for manhood

“Oh Great, Millionaires Are Racing Sperm Now,” Elizabeth Gulino quips in a headline for The Cut about the event. But why are wealthy men so eager to measure the quality of their sperm?

Erick Pescador Albiach, a sociologist and sexologist, argues that this fascination is deeply rooted in the patriarchal model of masculinity — where power and virility go hand in hand.

“In the age of the manosphere, of Trump and his acolytes and imitators, it’s often declared that a man is more of a man — and more successful — if he exhibits sexual and reproductive dominance,” he tells EL PAÍS. “Being rich and powerful should go hand in hand with having lots of sex, lots of power, and ideally, lots of children, and if possible, sons.”

Pescador Albiach notes that many men refer to their sperm as “little soldiers,” as if fertilization were a battle or a race — making this competition a perfect fit with that military imagery.

“Fertility gives men identity and prestige even in the 21st century, and even more so now that there are fewer and fewer fertile men,” he says. “Everything related to sexuality and virility is linked to and symbolically built around masculine power. Many men believe that their identity must be reaffirmed and that they must compete with other men to obtain their identity status.”

According to the expert, in a patriarchal society, being born with a penis isn’t enough—you have to prove your manhood through “rites of passage, contests, and tournaments against other men.”

“The crux of the matter isn’t just being powerful, but being powerful in front of other men and in competition with them,” he continues. “That’s why, in this crazy time of macho antics and fistfights between billionaires, it almost makes sense that a race of rich men’s sperm is being promoted for April 25.”

May the best man win?

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