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17-year-old launches fascinating "Sperm Racing" league to get people talking about male fertility

"When you really think about it, we all won our own individual sperm races to get onto this planet," one viewer said.

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Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets on the healthiest and most mobile sperm!

At one point or another, we all saw the videos in health class that explained how babies are made. A pivotal scene in these educational films is the inevitable race between sperm as they make their way through the cervix and uterus in a frantic rush to reach the egg before they're destroyed. It's really wild to think about—out of hundreds of millions of sperm released during sex, only one (1!) will successfully penetrate the outer layer of the egg and achieve fertilization.

And even that is not guaranteed. Successful conception requires the right timing and environmental factors in the woman's body, and it also requires strong, healthy, mobile sperm. The odds are long, and only the best can survive!

It's a wonder it took someone so long to come up with the brilliant idea: Sperm races!

sperm, sexual health, fertility, infertility, men, men's health, mens fertility, sexAnd they're off to the races!Giphy

A 17-year-old "student and entrepreneur" from California named Eric Zhu recently had the idea to pit men against each other to see who had the healthier, stronger sperm.

The whole thing has the atmosphere of a supercharged UFC fight. There's a live crowd, a pre-match weigh in, professional hype crew. There's music and lights. Apparently, if you attend a bout, you can even bet on the results of the race.

After the contestants provide a, uh, sample, the sperm are introduced onto a tiny track that mimics the shape of the female reproductive system complete with "chemical signals, fluid dynamics, and synchronized starts." Using a sophisticated series of microscopes and high-tech cameras, every movement of the sperm are tracked as the two contestant's quite literally race to the finish line.

The "athletes" recruited even train before the big showdown by honing in on their diets, workout routines, and mental discipline.

On stage at the event, the Sperm Racing team showed a video that alleged to represent a real-live sperm race. In reality, reporters later found out, the video shown was merely a 3D representation of a race that had been conducted beforehand behind closed doors.

The authenticity of the race and competition is still up for debate. Still pretty entertaining though if you can suspend your disbelief:

It's complete insanity, with a heavy hand on the marketing and hype. But it's (mostly) for a good cause. Zhu launched Sperm Racing to start a broader conversation around male fertility, which is seeing an alarming decline.

Around the globe, men's sperm quality and counts are suffering, in part due to environmental factors, diet, and more. Fertility is so often seen and discussed as a women's issue, but more men need to know they play an important role. Certain factors are out of our control, but diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, and more can actually play a massive role in sperm quality.

Male infertility is responsible for about half of all infertility, which is what you would expect. But did you know that sperm quantity and quality also play a major role in embryo development, miscarriage risk, birth weight, fetal health, and likelihood of other pregnancy complications? If not, you're not alone. We don't talk about this nearly enough.

sperm, sexual health, fertility, infertility, men, men's health, mens fertility, sexHaving healthy sperm is way more important than most people realize.Giphy

There are some fair criticisms of Sperm Racing, to be clear. Some commenters find the whole thing gross and off-putting, and it's worth questioning why we need to wrap men's health in this hyper-macho, sports-like packaging for people to take it seriously. There's talk on the official Sperm Racing website of setting up an official league, the best competitors becoming professional athletes. "Where legends are born," the eye-rolling manifesto reads. It reeks of the same men who won't get their regular prostate exams because they think it's "gay" (yes, that's really a thing).

And, of course, there are still many questions about the authenticity of the science behind Sperm Racing, and the ethics behind letting people bet on something that may be pre-determined and not actually performed live.

Then again, the whole thing is just so absolutely, absurdly ridiculous that it can't help but generate headlines and grab attention. And maybe that's exactly the point. Having a salad and going for a run to improve your sexual health isn't overly exciting. But training for a chance to win the Sperm Racing championship belt? Now that's guaranteed to get a few reluctant dudes up off the couch, even if they have no real intention of competing.

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Jennifer Aniston is opening up about her fertility struggles and countless women can relate​

'I don’t have anything to hide at this point.'

Angela George, CC BY 3.0

Jennifer Aniston shared her difficulties trying to have a baby in an interview with Allure.

For years, rumors of Jennifer Aniston possibly being pregnant have circulated through the media and internet gossip mill. Aniston has called these rumors "nasty" and "hurtful," but has largely kept quiet about that part of her personal life.

Now, at 53, Aniston is opening up about her efforts to have a baby and countless women are seeing themselves in her fertility journey.

In an interview with Allure magazine, Aniston shared that she spent years during her 30s and 40s trying to get pregnant amid the repeated, swirling rumors that she was.

"It was a challenging road for me, the baby-making road," she said. “All the years and years and years of speculation...It was really hard. I was going through IVF, drinking Chinese teas, you name it. I was throwing everything at it. I would’ve given anything if someone had said to me, ‘Freeze your eggs. Do yourself a favor.’ You just don’t think it. So here I am today. The ship has sailed.”

However, she said, she has "zero regrets" about where she ended up on that journey. “I actually feel a little relief now because there is no more, ‘Can I? Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.’ I don’t have to think about that anymore.”

Aniston is one of the countless American women who have sought the help of modern medicine, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), to try to have a baby. According to WebMD, 1.9% of babies born in the U.S. since 1981 have been conceived through IVF or other assisted reproductive technologies (ART).

Fertility is an extremely personal topic and people often don't share their struggles to get pregnant publicly. No one is entitled to anyone else's story, of course, but the understandable privacy surrounding infertility can result in many people feeling alone in the ups and downs of the journey. Aniston opening up and publicly sharing her difficulties with getting pregnant means a lot to women who have quietly, and often painfully, gone through their own IVF experiences.

Fertility specialist Dr. Natalie Crawford thanked Aniston for sharing her story and "normalizing IVF," writing on Twitter, "All the money & fame can't guarantee IVF success. It's a hard road but you are not alone."

Of course, Aniston also had to deal with the tabloid obsession over her relationship status on top of her fertility challenges. She shared that the narrative that she was "just selfish" and only cared about her career only added to the pain of being unable to conceive.

"And God forbid a woman is successful and doesn’t have a child," she added, describing the judgments that came along with rumors about her. "And the reason my husband left me, why we broke up and ended our marriage, was because I wouldn’t give him a kid. It was absolute lies. I don’t have anything to hide at this point.”

Aniston addressed the constant "baby bump" speculations in a 2016 HuffPost op-ed simply titled "For the Record." She did not share her personal pregnancy struggles at that time, but rather took the opportunity to share her thoughts on how we as a society view and treat women and girls in general.

"If I am some kind of symbol to some people out there," she wrote, "then clearly I am an example of the lens through which we, as a society, view our mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, female friends and colleagues. The objectification and scrutiny we put women through is absurd and disturbing.

"I have grown tired of being part of this narrative," she added. "Yes, I may become a mother some day, and since I’m laying it all out there, if I ever do, I will be the first to let you know. But I’m not in pursuit of motherhood because I feel incomplete in some way, as our celebrity news culture would lead us all to believe. I resent being made to feel 'less than' because my body is changing and/or I had a burger for lunch and was photographed from a weird angle and therefore deemed one of two things: 'pregnant' or 'fat.' Not to mention the painful awkwardness that comes with being congratulated by friends, coworkers and strangers alike on one’s fictional pregnancy (often a dozen times in a single day)."

She was right, of course. Our worth as women is not wrapped up in our relationships or our desire or ability to reproduce. And while she hasn't owed anyone any explanations about her personal life, Aniston sharing that she had tried to have a baby and ultimately wasn't able to—and how she has come to a place of peace with that reality now—will comfort and empower many other women who have been through similar experiences.

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Moms rally around Chrissy Teigen after she cautiously announces pregnancy two years after a loss

"I don’t think I’ll ever walk out of an appointment with more excitement than nerves but so far, everything is perfect and beautiful and I’m feeling hopeful and amazing."

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Chrissy Teigen announces pregnancy.

Losing a baby is a tragedy at any stage of pregnancy, but losing a baby later in pregnancy can feel that much more devastating. Getting pregnant after loss is extremely anxiety-inducing, so when Chrissy Teigan cautiously announced she was pregnant with her fourth child, mothers who have experienced pregnancy loss collectively shared her apprehension.

In 2020, Teigen excitedly announced that she and her husband, singer John Legend, were expecting their third child and people were elated for them. But sadly the pregnancy ended at 20 weeks and the famous couple bravely shared the pictures of their beautiful son Jack with the world. The experience was understandably traumatic for the couple but their bravery in sharing the news allowed for others to open up about their own losses while offering support to the couple.

Now, two years later, the pair are expecting again and Teigen shared her apprehension on telling the world she was pregnant saying in part, "Every appointment I’ve said to myself, 'ok if it’s healthy today I’ll announce' but then I breathe a sigh of relief to hear a heartbeat and decide I’m just too nervous still." The supermodel continued, "I don’t think I’ll ever walk out of an appointment with more excitement than nerves but so far, everything is perfect and beautiful and I’m feeling hopeful and amazing."

Teigen isn't alone in her experience. Danielle Campoamor shared her own story in an essay on Today sharing her own experience with losing a baby at 19 weeks. About 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage and 1 in 100 end at or after the 20-week mark. Each year, 24,000 babies are stillborn in America. The number feels staggering and it's a subject that is not talked about enough as it's a club that no one wants to join. Teigen sharing her story and photos of losing her son Jack helped catapult the reality of infant loss into the spotlight.

So when the mom of three shared she was expecting again, the comments on Teigen's Instagram were filled with people wishing her well and sharing their experiences. One commenter, Hilari Seagears, wrote, "Girl! After 4 miscarriages im 7 months pregnant with no medical intervention. Can we say MIRACLE!? 😭 i feel you 100000000000%." While Robyn Oyung said, "CHRISSY MY EYES ARE IMMEDIATELY FULL OF TEARS I AM SO SO SO HAPPY FOR YOU AND THE FAMILY CONGRATULATIONS LOVE YOU 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥹🥹🥹."

The positive enveloping of the expectant mom did not stop there. LiShelle Trembath told the model, "Well done. The struggle to let yourself be happy and confident, is real and valid. You’re doing all the right things to honor Jack. He’d be so proud." While Ruth Kennedy sent her well wishes gently saying, "Gentle congratulations ❤️ I’m also pregnant after loss and can absolutely relate to the nerves and anxiety xx."

Of course there were celebrities in the comments as well, but the amount of mothers that are showering Teigen with love and well wishes were overwhelming. We are wishing Teigen and all the people experiencing pregnancy after loss healthy and smooth pregnancies.

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Khloe Kardashian's baby story is complex. But it's so important she shared it.

(You probably already know this, but) Khloe Kardashian had a baby.

The 33-year-old reality star — arguably the most relatable of America's first TV family — gave birth to a baby girl on April 12. And, like me, the internet couldn't be any happier.

OK, maybe not everyone.

Kardashian's pregnancy seems to have resonated with so many people because she's been so open about her struggles.

In 2013, she revealed that she'd been trying to get pregnant, but that conception wasn't coming easily due to hormonal imbalances that required a strict regimen of injections.

In 2017, she got really real when she visited a specialist with her sister. Their visit was ostensibly planned so Khloe could talk about being Kim's potential surrogate, but Khloe opened up about the fact that she'd stopped her fertility treatment because she knew that her relationship with Lamar Odom needed a lot of work before they'd be able to raise a child together.

Later in the episode, Kardashian is told that she may not have enough healthy follicles to have a baby.

"Shut the fuck up!" she says in a moment that was too emotional to have been scripted. "This is definitely not at all how I thought this appointment was going to go. What if I can't get pregnant?"

My greatest dream realized! We are having a baby! I had been waiting and wondering but God had a plan all along. He knew what He was doing. I simply had to trust in Him and be patient. I still at times can't believe that our love created life! Tristan, thank you for loving me the way that you do! Thank you for treating me like a Queen! Thank you for making me feel beautiful at all stages! Tristan, most of all, Thank you for making me a MOMMY!!! You have made this experience even more magical than I could have envisioned! I will never forget how wonderful you've been to me during this time! Thank you for making me so happy my love! Thank you to everyone for the love and positive vibes! I know we've been keeping this quiet but we wanted to enjoy this between our family and close friends as long as we could privately. To enjoy our first precious moments just us ❤️ Thank you all for understanding. I am so thankful, excited, nervous, eager, overjoyed and scared all in one! But it's the best bundle of feelings I've ever felt in my life! ❤️❤️❤️

A post shared by Khloé (@khloekardashian) on

When she officially announced her pregnancy in December 2017, the news was met with unprecedented fanfare. Sure, she's a Kardashian, but the truth is that her story was more than that: By being open about her journey she inspired hope and helped pave the way for other people to talk about their own fertility problems.

Many stay silent about fertility and reproductive issues because of the stigma that can surround it.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 12% of cisgender women in the U.S. will experience trouble conceiving during their lifetime; 6.7% of married cis women will experience infertility; and between the years of 2011 and 2015, more than 7 million sought fertility treatment.

Why aren't more people talking about it?

For many, infertility can feel embarrassing or shameful. Teresa Taylor, the former chief operating officer of Qwest Communications, told CNN in 2015 that her struggles made her feel like she wasn't good enough:

"I felt like I was a failure. I felt like I was alone. I felt like it was just me. It's supposed to be a natural thing that you conceive and give birth as a human being. You see bugs do it and animals do it and birds do it and so you're like, 'Why can't I?'"

Feelings of grief and loss keep many from talking about it and lead them to believe that others won't understand or will ask inappropriate questions.

Taylor said that friends and family, not knowing that she was having fertility problems, would constantly ask her about why she wasn't starting a family. In a society where womanhood and motherhood are so often conflated, not being able to conceive — especially when one is desperate to do so — can feel humiliating.

Bringing these kinds of issues out into the open is good for everyone.

That's why Kardashian's candidness is so important. When celebrities speak out about their difficulties, they encourage others to be more open as well.

"I do think my difficulty getting pregnant has helped a lot of women," Kardashian said in 2013. "Do I wish people would quit asking me about it 24/7? Yes, but I don’t regret it."

If, as critics says, the Kardashians are synonymous with overexposure in our culture, Khloe's forthcomingness about her pregnancy proves there's good in all of it.

This kind of frank discussion is one worth keeping up.

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