“I am the proof”
Dad at 92: He wants to slow down aging
Updated 11/19/2025 – 08:21Reading time: 3 minutes
John Levin from Australia is 93 years old. His late father made him known around the world – and his anti-aging methods are controversial. Her case raises questions about liability and medical boundaries.
A small child in his arms, wrinkles on his face and the year of birth 1933 in his passport: When 93-year-old John Levin walked around Melbourne with his son Gabby, many were surprised to find that he was neither grandfather nor great-grandfather, but the father of the 18-month-old boy.
The case caused a stir in Australia and beyond. According to the press, Levin is considered one of the “oldest fathers in the world”. For the 93-year-old, his belated role as a father, even though the child was not his natural birth, is a clear sign of how his anti-aging methods keep him physically and mentally productive.
Levin continues to practice as a doctor, exercises regularly, only eats from noon, and does not consume alcohol or cigarettes. Most importantly, he relies on methods he has promoted for decades: daily intake of nutritional supplements such as coenzyme Q10 and growth hormone injections. According to Levin, the latter is meant to help you stay youthful, even though medical research warns of an increased risk of cancer.
“I am proof that discipline breeds longevity,” Levin told 10 News Australia. According to his own statements, he has treated more than 1,000 patients with his controversial method – with no scientifically proven evidence that this therapy actually slows aging.
Levin’s story as “the world’s oldest father” began with a twist of fate: after the death of his wife in 2013, he met Chinese woman Yanying Lu, 56 years his junior, at a Mandarin course. The two married in Las Vegas in 2014. During the corona pandemic, they wanted to have children together – even though their husband was elderly.
The couple decided to undergo artificial insemination using donor sperm. Son Gabby was born in February 2024. Biologically the child is not Levin’s child, but legally he is the father. Gabby has two half-sisters, aged 60 and 62, and a nephew who is older than her.
Yanying Lu dismissed rumors of financial motivation in a television report: “When we met, he was practically broke.” Currently the family lives in exile, but even plans to have another child.
The unusual family constellation evokes different reactions. Many criticized Levin for becoming a father when he was over 90 – an age at which he was unlikely to live to see his son’s youth. Levin himself is calm about this: he wants to live at least to the age of 113, he says. Then he could not only accompany Gabby to her bar mitzvah, but also to her 21st birthday.
