Tech execs are buying $100,000 red-light therapy beds and $70,000 hyperbaric chambers for their wellness quests
Amid Silicon Valley's longevity obsession, some tech execs are spending huge sums on high-tech wellness devices, according a survey by The Information.
Thor
- The Information recently surveyed 500 subscribers on their health and wellness habits.
- Big-ticket items included $100,000 red-light therapy beds and $70,000 hyperbaric chambers.
- It's not just tech bros who seem to be obsessed with health, wellness, and longevity trends.
Tech billionaires are getting pretty serious about their health and wellness these days.
Jeff Bezos recently flaunted his toned abs on the stairs of his yacht. Mark Zuckerberg got so serious about jiu-jitsu that he's now shredded and was even prepared to fight Elon Musk.
Bryan Johnson, the centimillionaire who founded payments startup Braintree, spends about $2 million annually on a rigorous program to reverse his biological age.
Dustin Giallanza
But how are others in the industry spending their money on living healthier, and longer lives?
The Information, a subscription tech industry news site, recently conducted an anonymous poll of 500 subscribers' health and wellness habits. The site, which has about 45,000 paying subscribers — costs about $450 a year.
While massages, saunas, and supplements ranked among the top wellness expenditures for the survey's respondents, one told The Information they'd bought a red light therapy bed from NovoThor for $100,000.
The bed uses "red and near infrared light to reduce pain, relax muscles/joints, and increase blood circulation," according to NovoThor's website.
It's the kind of health device that you could book an appointment at a spa or medical center to use. At Next Level Therapeutics, a wellness center in New York City, a 15-minute NovoThor full body red light therapy session costs about $55, according to its booking page.
James Carroll, founder and CEO of Thor Photomedicine, told Insider that it's sold about 100 beds for personal use.
Other splurges among those who responded to The Information's survey included a $70,000 hyperbaric chamber – a pressurized device that helps the lungs gather more oxygen than possible at normal air pressure, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The chamber is used for hyperbaric oxygen therapy that can help treat serious infections, air bubbles in blood vessels, wounds from diabetes or radiation, and can also help release proteins and stem cells that promote healing, per the Mayo Clinic.
Almost a third of those who responded to The Information's survey said they spend more than an hour a week on some kind of wellness practice like infrared therapy, IV drips, or cryotherapy. It involves exposing the body to very cold temperatures and has been said to help with injury recovery and weight loss.
Some respondents allowed themselves to be identified. Venture capitalist Keith Rabois, general partner at Founders Fund, said he spends an hour a weekly on cryotherapy. There's no evidence that it brings any benefit, however, according to the FDA – and may even carry some risks.
Barry's Miami
Rabois also told The Information that works out about 90 minutes every day, usually by taking Barry's Bootcamp classes.
Other purchases mentioned by respondents included a $19,000 Colnago C68 bicycle with Enve wheels.
Among the general population, wellness trends like cold plunges and red light therapy are gaining popularity as the quest to live longer increasingly goes mainstream.
But it seems Silicon Valley types also want to look pretty as well: some of the 500 respondents told The Information they drop between $400 and $1,000 every time they get Botox.