FOREVER YOUNG

The mindshift around health is seismic, with longevity and wellness – in body and mind – prized highest of all. With joined-up thinking and fast-paced innovation, living longer is now more attainable than ever

Words: Lysanne Currie

Among the most desired commodities in this world – whether gold, petroleum or a personalised performance from Taylor Swift – there exists an intangible yet universally desired prize. It cannot be grasped in one’s hand, yet it is the most sought-after possession of all time. For a new breed of ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals, especially in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the pursuit of accumulating more – and, crucially – healthier biological miles has taken on a heightened urgency, fuelled by the recognition of our fragility and the preciousness of every passing moment.

In our modern era, however, the journey of ageing no longer carries the grim inevitability of a steady decline into frailty, daily tablets and decay. And that’s particularly true for the affluent elites who can afford the finest health care in the world.

And wellness is big business. In 2023, the global market is valued at over $5.3trn (£4.29trn); in the UK alone, it’s estimated to hit £30.6bn this year. If the health and wellness industry growth rate stands at 10%, it’s expected to continue at this pace until 2025. Trends abound: from biohacking to delay aging and prevent disease, wellness tourism – whose market is projected to reach $915bn (£741bn) this year – and digital wellness (tech we can use at home, including apps).

At the beginning of 2023, leading hospitality group Accor released a white paper titled The Road Map Towards a Transformational Well-Being Culture, providing research and insights into eight key pathways for navigating business, society and leadership. As Emlyn Brown, the brand’s global vice president of wellbeing, said: “It demonstrates that wellbeing must be recognised as an imperative for all if we are to maintain the equilibrium of our lives, our society, and our planet.”

The paper’s key findings and recommendations include that wellbeing must bring together body and mind (noting the well-documented link between mental and physical wellbeing); that access to healthcare needs to be fully democratic; and that technology must become a force for good. There are ramifications for business here too. If UHNW clients have access to better healthcare, there’s a good chance they may implement more holistic strategies into the workplace, to ensure a healthier workforce. Economically, it makes sense to shape, inform and create a culture of wellbeing.

And wearable tech is indeed playing an increasing role in workplace wellbeing, with the market currently valued at around $37bn (£30bn). Smartwatches, smart patches, and smart helmets are all being used to monitor employees’ health indicators and collect data on sleep habits and activity levels. »

MIND, BODY AND SOUL

For Accor, such “joined-up thinking” is another must “for true transformation”. And joinedup thinking is exactly what a recently opened longevity clinic, in London’s Mayfair, promises to deliver, via a sort of ‘cubist’ approach to health for time-poor UHNWIs.

Founded by Lev Mikheev – a Russianeducated polymath whose career has encompassed everything from theoretical physics, finance, and 21st-century medicine –bespoke healthcare service Hooke offers clients “a first of its kind” service in the form of a health management system. According to its CEO –Mikheev’s daughter, Kate Woolhouse – Hooke was originally set up as a “conceptual idea of what a longevity clinic would look like”.

What if there were a way to live a longer, happier and healthier life? asks Hooke’s literature. “A place to personally access the latest in biology, medicine, psychology, and data science, where the experts in these fields work collaboratively to create a new paradigm for living well?”

Rather than pinballing between different health providers – such as nutritionists and therapists – in a time-consuming whirl, Hooke offers its time-poor but healthfocused members wraparound support and personalised longevity programmes, devised by a team of elite doctors and specialists.

“If you’re in your 30s, with small children and a busy job, outsourcing your healthcare to a single place is something people find very convenient,” explains Kate.

Hooke’s methodology includes screening and early diagnosis of diseases, “to make sure we catch anything at the stage where we can still do something about it”. Plus a “brain health assessment – a look at emotional resilience, and personality typing, to see where the roadblocks might be.”

Living longer: Hooke offers its HNW clients a full a health management system, with physical and mental wellness at its core (pictured)

Happily Ever After

Ultimately, says Kate, fitness and exercise are the greatest cure: “Keeping yourself physically active has been shown to have the best ability to prevent cognitive degeneration. You just have to keep going.

“We do try and make it easy for people… we give you an active, targeted programme that fits in with your lifestyle, enabling people to make changes,” she explains. “We’re setting people on a trajectory which means they can stay healthy well into their 80s. They can still spend time with their families, enjoy their hobbies and carry on with their work if that’s what they want to do. And it’s all done, mostly, through quite simple but well-tuned lifestyle changes.”

Hooke has already attracted a diverse client base. “We always thought our demographic was going to be 50-plus UHNW individuals who’d made their money, and this was now their time to focus on their health. But, actually, we’ve been surprised by how many younger people have joined us.”

No surprise to the statisticians: in 2019, the average millennial spent £155 a month on health and fitness, a figure, as Women’s Health says, “that easily makes us the most healthconscious generation in the UK”. Equally, it’s this demographic which is driving the change for mental health to be taken more seriously in the workplace.

As Kate acknowledges, there’s currently a “huge conversation” around mental health. “For a lot of people, it’s about managing stress. Maybe they’re having sleep problems and that’s affecting their ability to work on their health as much as they’d like.”

Again, there’s a recognition that body and mind are one. As Accor’s white paper states, “everything is connected when it comes to health and wellbeing. It’s your responsibility to make the choices and take the right steps in preventing illness, maintaining fitness, eating healthily, developing resilience and cultivating contentment that will nourish your wellbeing.” group.accor.com; hooke.london

Sentiments that the elite team of specialists at Hooke, working towards the healthy and happy expansion of life, would surely encourage.