A 69-year-old Dutch man just tried to legally subtract 20 years from his age — but the court said no way

Age ain't nothing but a number, but it's not a number we can change as we see fit.

Emile Ratelband, a 69-year-old Dutch motivational speaker and author, doesn't see it that way.

"My aging has stopped," Ratelband told Business Insider by phone from Germany, as he was preparing for another in a string of TV and radio appearances related to his case. (He seemed to be enjoying the media spotlight as much as the legal battle.)

The Dutchman said he feels "condemned" by his elderly status and wants society to recognize the age he feels is most appropriate.

"I'm 69, but I like to work my ass off," he said. "I look at my biological age, and my biological age is 40, 42."

Ratelband argues that his age brings with it some unfair constraints, since being classified as a sexagenarian makes it harder for him to live an active, youthful life. It's harder for older folks to get a mortgage, Ratelband said, and near impossible to get work. He could avoid age-related discrimination, he claims, if his numbered years better aligned with the way he feels.

A Dutch district court refused his request on Monday, saying it did not find any reason in his arguments for a change in policy. The key reason why the court said no to Ratelband's request is because aging comes with special rights and privileges, like a requirement to attend school, and a right to vote.

"If Mr. Ratelband’s request was allowed, those age requirements would become meaningless," the court said in a written statement on its website.

The court argued those differences in rights and privileges are what makes an age change categorically different from a name change or a sex change, and the number one reason that it shouldn't be allowed.

How Ratelband keeps himself feeling young

It's not uncommon for people whose livelihoods have age restrictions to claim they're older or younger than they really are. Actors, actresses, gymnasts and footballers have all tried to obscure their ages to qualify for competition or to save face in a culture that cares (perhaps too much) about age.

But Ratelband is not hiding his real age right now. He just claims that his strict diet, exercise routine, and mindset have given him a "different point of view."

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"I don't drink coffee or tea, no alcohol, no smoking, no drugs, no dairy products, no meat," he said, adding that he takes a cold bath to wake up in the morning (a practice Silicon Valley biohackers are also embracing).

Ratelband says that ever since he worked with fitness guru and motivational speaker Tony Robbins in the late 80s, time seems to have stood still for his body and mind. (Robbins didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's requests to verify this.)

He also argues that the world has changed as he's aged — we now live in an era of joint replacements, Botox injections, and smartphones. Ratelband thinks this progress helps us feel younger and sharper, something that should be reflected in our ages.

"In Europe, they're very old fashioned, and they're not used to change," he said.

Ratelband was even ready to give up his 1,500 Euro monthly pension in return for 20 years off his official age.

But there is some merit to the idea that aging doesn't always march forward in a linear fashion.

Humans age, but not all life forms do

Earthlings haven't always aged. The earliest life forms on the planet were single-celled microbes that didn't breathe or grow old. They only got killed off by illness or injury.

The same is true of some endlessly replicating cancer cells, such as those of cancer patient Henrietta Lacks. Scientists have studied those cells for decades, and still use them in research today.

Henrietta Lacks had her cancer cells famously stolen by scientists after her death. They were used to develop the polio vaccine and help scientists study AIDS and cancer. BusinessInsider

Although humans can't live forever, they have demonstrably slowed down their biological aging processes by eating better, exercising, meditating, and maintaining community ties with family, friends, and spouses. Scientists think part of the way this works is by helping maintain the health of our chromosomes.

At the same time, as healthcare and sanitation conditions improve around the world, people are living longer, healthier lives than before through science and technology. Data shows that as people gain access to better toilets and vaccines, their life expectancy soars.

Some studies have also shown that getting old is about more than the passing of time. Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer discovered that by putting men in their 70s into an environment that felt like it was frozen 20 years in the past, she could improve their

The logical holes in

At its simplest, Ratelband's argument can logically be reduced to: I feel young, therefore, I am young.

Troublingly, he has likened this fight to change his age to the transgender movement. That comparison is problematic and caused offense — trans writerShon Faye called it pure "nonsense" in The Guardian.

But there are other flaws in Ratelband's logic. According to his concept of age, shouldn't an especially astute, learned, and mature child be able to assert that they are older than their birth years?

Ratelband balked at that notion.

"No, no, no," he said, quickly brushing aside the counterargument. "Because that's forbidden by law."

One judge hearing his case pointed out another big hole in his argument, asking: "

Ratelband once tried (unsuccessfully) to form his own far-right political party in the Netherlands. BusinessInsider

"In 25 years, all kinds of people who are then at the age of 70 will feel like if they are 40," he said. "Everything has changed... only the government doesn't change at all."

But changes in how we define age are nothing new. One wouldn't expect people today to die of old age in their 30s, as many did in the middle ages. And while the US birth rate fell overall last year, it rose 2% among women between the ages of 40 and 44, and 3% for those from 45 to 49 — a change that would have been inconceivable in decades past.

Even Thomas Jefferson grappled with this idea.

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Of course, that's not always the way the world works. Age discrimination has been shown to have a detrimental effect on health care, employment, and, yes, even dating prospects. Ratelband, who tried to have his eighth child using a surrogate earlier this year, jokes that's been a problem for him.

"I made a joke with the Tinder," he said of the online dating app. "If you go on Tinder, you are 69, you have no connections at all, but if you are 49, that's good."

n any case, there are other alternatives available for challenging age discrimination, rather than amending a person’s date of birth," the court said.

Ratelband said he is planning to file an appeal within the next two months in this fight for the ages.

A 69-year-old Dutch man just tried to legally subtract 20 years from his age — but the court said no way

How Ratelband keeps himself feeling young

Humans age, but not all life forms do

The logical holes in

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