Strauss Zelnick, the head of Rockstar Games owner Take-Two, is known for his dedication to health and fitness. In 2018, he published a book titled Becoming Ageless: The Four Secrets To Looking and Feeling Younger Than Ever, and images of the executive looking shredded and lean at 8% body fat have circulated online. Zelnick has now spoken more about his health and fitness lifestyle, and offered some advice for people who want to get in shape and feel better.
Zelnick started off by telling Business Insider that he's good friends with Bryan Johnson, the billionaire who is trying to live forever, but Zelnick doesn't subscribe to the kinds of things Johnson is trying to do in terms of longevity in that regard.
Instead, Zelnick said he got some advice from his former doctor, the celebrity longevity doctor Peter Attia who appeared in the Epstein files, who told him he could help him with his healthspan but not his lifespan, and Zelnick was into that.
In 2016, Zelnick filmed a video for Business Insider where he showed off his workout routine--you can see it below.
Zelnick said his No. 1 piece of advice for anyone trying to improve their health is to avoid smoking altogether. "Smoking is the factor most highly correlated with a short, unhealthy, and frankly unhappy life. Don't smoke." Second, Zelnick said people should not abuse alcohol and drugs. "Those are the two most highly correlated factors with a bad old age, or no old age," he said.
After that, Zelnick said it's a good idea to get "some exercise," and that could be walking for 30 minutes four or five days a week. Zelnick said he goes way beyond this because health and fitness are his hobbies "but you really don't need to do that." Beyond exercise, Zelnick said he recommends that people eat a "responsible" diet, but it doesn't have to be "insanely healthy." The best practice for food, Zelnick said, is to simply not overdo it on unhealthy foods.
Another part of increasing your healthspan is getting enough sleep, and that should be about seven hours each night, Zelnick said. "If you're getting less than six hours of sleep a night, you're making bad decisions; that's what the math says," he said. "You are going to make bad personal decisions and bad professional decisions."
Having some kind of "emotional or spiritual life" is important, too, Zelnick said. "You have to have people you love and love you in your life, and preferably, you have to have a community around you," he said.
Also in the interview, Zelnick pushed back against taking peptides, which are popular in some fitness circles, but are largely unregulated.
"No. We have an FDA for a reason," he said. "Don't take something that is not double-blind tested. Even if it worked, do the stuff I do, forget the peptides, and you'll be in a better place."
Lastly, Zelnick said if people want to lose weight, they should consider taking some kind of GLP-1.
"Don't be grossly overweight. But in the world of GLP-1s, you have no reason to be," he said. "I am a huge advocate [for GLP-1s]. And no, there is absolutely no shame in taking them, whatsoever. If you're carrying extra weight, take a GLP-1. I happen never to have struggled with my weight, ever; I am blessed that way."
"I have this workout group, and I've had people show up who are heavyset, because we welcome everyone. So one guy shows up and he comes over and he says, 'I want you to talk to me about your diet, because I want to lost weight. I want to lose 50 pounds.' So I said, 'See, there are these things called GLP-1s. Go to my endocrinologist and get a prescription.' He said, 'Really? What about diet?' I said, 'That is literally like saying to me, I have a migraine, and I would say to you, forget about Tylenol, just meditate.' You take prescribed medications to help you live a healthier life. Of course."
