Eudemonia Summit: The New Celebrity Wellness Event
- hadleyhenriette
- Dec 5, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 3
For wellness disciples, the new three-day Eudemonia Summit in Palm Beach is the Super Bowl, and worth every penny of the $1,500 ticket price. This covers a three-day extravaganza of health with the all-stars there IRL: Bryan Johnson, Dave Asprey, Andrew Huberman, Mark Hyman, Gabrielle Lyon, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Calley Means, Jillian Michaels, Adriene Mishler, and even Timbaland (who this writer interviewed at his home in 2015!)
Over the long weekend in early November, these heavy-hitters gave lectures, sat on panels, led classes, and even broke a sweat alongside attendees. Any one of those names would have been big enough to headline most biohacking or longevity events, but Eudemonia had them all.
For those of us whose media diet consists of listening to wellness podcasts like The Human Upgrade, watching biohackers on YouTube, doing breathwork, or working out in our living room, was quite a thrill. These are the voices in our cars and faces in our living rooms now.
Perhaps this is why, Andrew Huberman, in his packed Saturday evening speech said he almost felt sorry for traditional media—almost.
It's not just traditional media that's getting tossed aside by the wellness community, it's the Standard American Diet (SAD) and conventional medicine. Most of the health-conscious folks gave up SAD years ago, but recently, there has been another seismic shift as awareness of functional medicine increases skyrockets.
Functional medicine is a personalized approach to healthcare that seeks to discover the root cause of ailments. So it was telling that the godfather of functional medicine in the US, Dr. Jeffrey Bland was on also hand to give lectures on neurobiology and more.
Dr. Mark Hyman, best-selling author, podcaster, and of the world's leading functional doctors was there as a sponsor of the event via his startup, Function Health. Function sells memberships providing an annual battery of (often expensive) blood tests commonly performed by functional doctors for a $500-a-year membership.
Addressing a packed room at the event's grand finale, Hyman detailed his experience."If you look back [historically], diseases like Alzheimer's were extremely rare. But despite all the advances in medicine and that we are using 300% more drugs to treat these diseases, we are getting sicker and sicker. We aren't dealing with the problem in the right way. Doctors aren't getting to the root cause. [The US is] in a chronic disease epidemic. 6 in 10 of us are suffering from some type of chronic disease, and if you're over 65, it's 85%. We spend $4.9 trillion on healthcare and we are still last among all developed nations. Only 6.8% of Americans don't have any metabolic problems, and most of you are in the room today," said Hyman eliciting a collective chuckle from the audience.
It definitely a healthy looking crowd. Aristotle would have approved. Which is probably why chief executive Sean Hoess, who founded Wanderlust, chose Eudemonia's name from the Greek term for happiness and well-being. Everyone there seemed to have a bit of both.
The show floor was called the "Exposome," and pulsed with innovation. Exhibitors showcased new devices, supplements, and groundbreaking tests touting the ability to add years to your life. Brands included Bryan Johnson's new Blueprint, Qualia, STEMREGEN, Essentia Organic Mattresses, Sakara, and even 23andme, promoting their new health-focused DNA tests.
One of the coolest things about Eudemonia—besides the all-star list of speakers—was that there was a similarly robust program of activities. Eudemonia wasn't just about sitting in a seminar and learning about being healthy, it was also about getting out there and practicing those principles.
Physical experiences ranged from kayaking on Palm Beach's waterways to daily guided meditative walks to celebrity-driven fare like HIIT with Jillian Michaels, Yoga with Adriene, to an MMA-workout with Phil Daru. For those of us used to watching these famous faces on screen it was, as Huberman would say, quite a dopamine hit.
Speaking of, Huberman, his Saturday evening headline slot was proceeded by the always eccentric but hilarious Reggie Watts. The perfect bit of humor before the main event, he got to play to a packed house.
There were so many things happening concurrently that bold-faced names and exciting activities competed against each other.
When Mark Hyman wondered aloud where everyone had been that morning while he and a few devotees were sweating it out to a Soul Cycle class you could hear from outer space, I knew the answer. "Everyone" was at that class I had taken at 9 am—a peaceful Qi Gong class on the lawn led by the "Urban Monk" Dr. Pedram Shojai.
Such was the nature of the exhaustive offerings. It was impossible to do it all—and maybe that was a good thing. But that means I missed the walking meditation, kayaking in the famous waterways of Palm Beach, a surprise appearance by Calley Means, a chance to test drive a Rivian, and a lot more. But there's always next year. We plan to be there with vibrationally-aligned bells on. :)
Comments