Zoltan Istvan Gyurko, professionally known as Zoltan Istvan (born March 30, 1973), is an American transhumanist, journalist, entrepreneur, and futurist. Formerly a reporter for the National Geographic Channel, Istvan now writes futurist, transhumanist, secular, and political themed articles for major media, including Vice's Motherboard, Wired,The Huffington Post, TechCrunch and Newsweek. Istvan regularly appears on television and video channels discussing futurist topics. He is one of the world's most influential transhumanists and believes transhumanism will grow into a mainstream social movement in the next decade. Istvan is the author of The Transhumanist Wager, a philosophical science fiction novel.In late 2014, Istvan announced his intent to run for President of the United States in the 2016 elections to raise awareness for transhumanist politics issues. In 2017, Istvan announced his intent to run for Governor of California in the 2018 election as a member of the Libertarian Party.