Dave Asprey, the biohacking entrepreneur behind the long-running BEYOND Biohacking Conference4, has held his first event devoted to psychedelics. BEYOND Wonderland ran from 12 to 14 October 2026 at the Omni Barton Creek Resort and Spa in Austin, Texas, according to the conference website3. A New York Post reporter who attended put the crowd at about 600 people4. The event mixed talks by established psychedelic researchers with exhibitors selling psychoactive products, and the clinicians on stage were careful to separate early evidence from hype.
What happened
Asprey announced the event on 20 July as a new conference joining his BEYOND series, focused on psychedelic science and consciousness technology1. In that announcement he said: "Psychedelics are an underutilized tool in biohacking."1
The July release listed the dates as 13-14 October1. A second release on 12 October and the conference website gave 12-14 October23, a difference Hoodline also noted in its coverage5. The website names Asprey and psychiatrist Dr David Rabin as organizers3, and Hoodline reported that the site billed the event as the first major collaboration between the two5.
The New York Post described the gathering as a smaller, more specialised offshoot of Asprey's long-running BEYOND Biohacking Conference4. Opening the event, Asprey told attendees: "This is the time for psychedelics to reemerge."4 He told the Post that "optimization is dead" and that "what we're doing with psychedelics is actually enhancing"4.
Who spoke and what was on the program
The website lists more than 60 speakers, including mycologist Paul Stamets, MAPS founder Rick Doblin, Dr Rachel Yehuda, Dr Matt Johnson, Céline Cousteau and Jamie Wheal3. The October release identified Yehuda as a centre director at Mount Sinai, Johnson as a Johns Hopkins psychedelic researcher, and Dr Scott Aaronson as a centre director at Sheppard Pratt2.
Program themes on the site included psychedelic-assisted therapy protocols, neuroscience and brain health, consciousness technology and digital therapeutics, plant medicine and Indigenous traditions, breathwork, and trauma recovery3. Mornings opened with yoga and breathwork sessions1.
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| One-day pass | $59934 |
| General admission | $1,1993 |
| VIP (two days, lunches with Asprey and speakers) | $1,69934 |
What the clinicians on stage said
Several speakers framed the field as promising but unfinished. Rabin, introduced in the October release as co-founder of Apollo Neuroscience2, asked in that release: "Can psychedelic-assisted therapy offer a path toward cure rather than lifelong symptom management?"2
Speaking to the Post, Rabin described ketamine, one of the few drugs with psychedelic-like effects that can be prescribed legally in the US, as "fantastic medicine when used with psychotherapy"4. He also warned about how it is delivered:
"Ninety percent of the clinicians that provide ketamine right now do not deliver it with talk therapy of any kind. That means people just keep coming back and become dependent on the drug rather than learning how to heal themselves."4
Doblin told the Post that preparation and follow-up therapy matter for other substances too, including 5-MeO-DMT, and that while the need for them is great, "they should still be rolled out in a careful way"4.
The Post reported that researchers it spoke with said much remains unknown about how psychedelics work, who benefits and what risks they carry. It listed known risks: worsening of some mental health conditions, dangerous interactions with medications, strain on the cardiovascular system depending on the substance, and bad trips that can trigger intense anxiety, paranoia and panic4.
What was sold on the floor
The exhibit hall showed a less cautious side of the field. The Post reported that Azul Chocolates offered cacao treats containing psilocybin, and that Voyager Labs sold PLÜR Beyond Molly, capsules and tablets containing 5-MAPB, a psychoactive designer drug that is not federally banned and that the company markets as an MDMA-like product with a milder comedown4. The coverage did not cite evidence for those safety claims. Other booths offered matching services with therapists and facilitators, and resorts in Costa Rica and Mexico pitched supervised psychedelic retreats4.
Attendees could also try non-drug options, including breathwork and neurofeedback training4. Several attendees told the Post that psychedelics or plant medicine had helped them after conventional treatments failed, including a military veteran with severe PTSD4. These are personal accounts, not measured outcomes.
Who is behind it
BEYOND Wonderland is a paid event organized by Asprey. His YouTube channel promotes and links to Danger Coffee, TrueDark glasses, Suppgrade Labs, Upgrade Labs and 40 Years of Zen6. The Post reported that attendees were served Danger Coffee and that Asprey wore TrueDark glasses on site4. In a video posted on 17 October, Asprey described adding ketamine to neurofeedback with a medical director, an approach he calls Ketamine Assisted Neurofeedback6. That video was posted days after the conference and is not a study.
Rabin also has business ties: he co-founded Apollo Neuroscience, and the October release said musician Rahzel would debut music made with Apollo that pairs sound with haptic vibrations2. Coverage of the event did not report any new trial results being presented.
How it fits the field and what to watch
The conference arrives as psychedelic research gains official attention. The Post noted that Johns Hopkins and Mount Sinai are studying psychedelics for mental health care, and that an executive order signed in April 2026 directed federal agencies to speed review of qualifying treatments for serious mental illnesses such as treatment-resistant depression and PTSD4. Hoodline reported that the FDA has announced a public hearing on potential future therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs, and cited a Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine review finding preliminary evidence for psychedelic-assisted therapy in depression, PTSD and substance-use disorders, with psilocybin, MDMA and LSD all having received FDA breakthrough-therapy designations5.
Breakthrough designation speeds review; it is not approval. The open questions are the ones speakers raised themselves: which patients benefit, how durable effects are, how therapy should be paired with dosing, and how to manage risk outside trials. Things to watch include whether Asprey makes BEYOND Wonderland a recurring event, whether his businesses add psychedelic-linked services, and how regulators handle unscheduled compounds such as 5-MAPB that are being sold to the same audience.
