Recently the “luxury fitness chain” Equinox introduced a longevity program, called Optimize by Equinox, in partnership with Function Health. And it’s charging a $3,000 a month membership fee for it, or $40,000 a year!
So what do you get with a membership? According to an article in the New York Times by reporter Dana G. Smith:
Optimize gives users access to Function’s panel of blood tests ($499), an Equinox membership (ranging from $3,600 to $6,000 per year) and an Oura smart ring (starting at $299). But most of the cost comes from 16 hours a month of one-on-one coaching. That consists of three weekly personal training sessions, two 30-minute meetings per month with both a sleep coach and a nutritionist, and a monthly massage. (Equinox private coaching averages $160 a session.)
This is clearly not just an experience. It’s a transformation.
In fact, longevity has become a big business in the past decade or so. I just Googled “longevity programs” and received back 187 million results (and yes, I know that’s not a very accurate picture, but is still indicative), including sponsored links to programs such as “Extend Longevity”, “Age Gracefully”, “Younger for Longer”, and – inevitably – “The Ultimate Longevity Program”.
This is clearly not just an experience. It’s a transformation.
The most famous proponent of the longevity movement may be technologist Ray Kurzweil, who for decades has expressed a personal desire to live forever and thinks it should be possible to add a year onto your life for every year you live within the next decade – and if that fails, we’ll eventually be able to upload our minds to computers.
Perhaps. Right now, Function Health is merely aiming to “empower you to live 100 healthy years”, while the Optimize by Equinox offering looks like this:
Equinox’s elite Coachx trainers will develop a revolutionary program designed to unlock the peaks of human potential based on each individual’s unique biological data. Equinox members will soon have access to personalized health data that provides a detailed overview of their health—and healthspan—and access a customized, performance-driven program to help them achieve extraordinary results.
Coaching/guiding, customized offerings, transformative experiences, and an outcome-orientation – all the elements of a transformation are there, with a price tag indicative of the value many (wealthy) people place on their lives, and on being able to live longer with greater wellbeing.
Of course, you are what you charge for – as we discussed in chapter 10 of The Experience Economy, I will further write about when I update Chapter 1, The Progression of Economic Value – so at some point hopefully Equinox will learn to put some of the $40,000 a year at risk based on how well, and how long, members live. (Of course, it might be tricky for ex-members to collect. . . .)
Joe Pine
© 2024 B. Joseph Pine II