We emerge from the woods to find an ocean of empty space ahead—a crack in the earth so vast that the far side could be in a different time zone. And in a way, it is—because standing nearby are three Stone Age men in togas, motionless as the mountains, as if they’ve been there forever.

This tribe may be one of the most ancient cultures on the planet, but, as I discovered in my preexpedition research, its members actually have a lot in common with the average American guy.

Tarahumara men have a taste for corn snacks and beer, for instance. They’re hard workers, but come downtime, they party like a rap star’s roadies. According to one of the few outsiders to witness a tesguinada—a full-on Tarahumara rave—women were ripping the tops off each other in a bare-breasted wrestling match, while their husbands watched in glassy-eyed, drunken paralysis. Tarahumara men love sports, booze, and gambling so much, they’ll stay up all night to watch a game, down enough beer in a year to spend every third day buzzed or recovering, and support their teams by literally betting the shirts on their backs.

Sound familiar? But here’s where American and Tarahumara men part company: Many of us will be killed by heart disease, stroke, and gastrointestinal cancers. Almost none of them will.

None.

When it comes to the top 10 health risks facing American men, the Tarahumara are practically immortal: Their incidence rate is at or near zero in just about every category, including diabetes, vascular disease, and colorectal cancer. Age seems to have no effect on them, either: The Tarahumara runner who won the 1993 Leadville ultramarathon was 55 years old. Plus, their supernatural invulnerability isn’t just limited to their bodies; the Tarahumara have mastered the secret of happiness as well, living as benignly as bodhisattvas in a world free of theft, murder, suicide, and cruelty.

The Men Who Live Forever | Men’s Health