Wellness: The Rise (and Risk) of Optimisation Culture in Men’s Wellness

Why It Is Trending: Gamified Masculine Self-Care

• Data-Driven Self-ImprovementMen are adopting wellness through tracking devices, biohacking tools, and metrics that turn health into performance benchmarks.

• Shift in ArchetypesThe masculine ideal is evolving—from stoic strength to quantified optimisation, with men using apps, supplements, and gadgets to engineer their health.

• Wellness as CompetitionInstead of rest and care, men are increasingly pursuing wellness as if it were a sport—posting recovery scores, glucose curves, and “protocols” online.

Deeper Insight: This trend reveals how the industry has rebranded self-care into optimisation, appealing to men’s need for control and achievement. But the cost is new anxiety, comparison, and inadequacy framed as “not optimised enough.”

Overview: From Wellness to Optimisation

The wellness sector successfully engaged men by offering metrics, science, and performance language rather than soft aesthetics. Yet, in doing so, it has transformed self-care into another domain of masculine competition. The result: men may now be more engaged in health but less attuned to emotional connection or holistic well-being.

Detailed Findings: The Optimisation Spiral

1. Masculine Engagement through Metrics

Wearables (Whoop, Oura, CGMs) and supplements reframed wellness as measurable progress, driving mass adoption.

2. Podcasters as Gurus

Figures like Andrew Huberman and Tim Ferriss replaced spiritual leaders, teaching men “protocols” for sleep, recovery, and hormones—making wellness feel scientific, rational, and aspirational.

3. Performative Wellness

On social media, men showcase recovery scores and morning routines, treating wellness as proof of discipline rather than self-compassion.

Key Success Factors (and Pitfalls)

• What Worked: Clear metrics, competitive framing, scientific authority.

• What Backfired: Created performance anxiety, expense-driven exclusion (e.g., costly devices and routines), and emotional disconnection.

Key Takeaway: Optimisation Replaced Care

While men finally entered wellness spaces, the framing as “life hacking” risks making health another pressure point rather than a relief.

Main Trend: Optimisation Masculinity

The dominant wellness archetype for men is no longer just “fit” but “quantified.” Success is measured by HRV, sleep stages, and metabolic scores, not inner balance or community ties.

Description of the Trend: Self-Surveillance Wellness

A shift from caring for the self as a human to managing the self as a system—akin to maintaining a machine. This reduces well-being to inputs, outputs, and optimisation loops.

Key Characteristics

• Reliance on gadgets and supplements as status symbols

• Scientific or clinical language (“protocols,” “stacks”) replacing emotional wellness

• Social media performance of routines and results

• Rising cost barriers to “serious” wellness

Market & Cultural Signals

• Growth in sales of trackers, wearables, and performance supplements

• Surge in biohacking content creators and podcasts dominating male wellness culture

• Shifts in language: “optimisation” and “protocols” becoming mainstream wellness terms

• Male mental health struggles persist despite “engagement” in wellness

What Is Consumer Motivation

• Desire for control in uncertain times

• Competitive drive to be seen as disciplined, high-performing, and resilient

• Fear of inadequacy or decline if not keeping up with the latest science or metrics

Implications Across the Ecosystem

• Consumers: More men engaged in wellness but vulnerable to burnout and anxiety.

• Brands: Opportunity to create balance—beyond metrics—to support holistic well-being.

• Retailers: Growing category for performance-oriented products and gadgets.

• Institutions: White space for communities blending accountability with emotional connection, not just optimisation.

Strategic Forecast

• Expansion of biohacking-aligned product lines in mainstream retail

• Growth of “wellness communities” offering team-based or mentorship frameworks

• Pushback movements promoting “unplugged” or “softer” forms of male self-care

• Potential regulation or critique of expensive gadget-driven wellness as exclusionary

Areas of Innovation

• Balanced Offerings: Tools and apps that track and encourage rest, community, and emotional health

• Affordable Optimisation: Scaled-down products making biohacking more accessible

• Holistic Communities: Brands building support systems around mentorship, group accountability, and shared purpose

• Narrative Shift: Reframing wellness away from “optimisation” toward resilience, presence, and connection

Summary of Trends

• Consumer Trend: Tracking health as proof of discipline

• Social Trend: Optimisation replacing emotional care

• Strategy Trend: Appealing to masculine identity through metrics

• Industry Trend: Wearables, supplements, and biohacking media dominate male wellness

• Consumer Motivation: The pursuit of control, competition, and significance

Final Thought: From Optimised to Human

The industry succeeded in engaging men—but by swapping one narrow archetype (stoic masculinity) for another (optimised masculinity). The next opportunity is bigger: creating spaces where men can thrive as whole humans, not just machines to be measured.

Source: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/beauty/wellness-men-optimisation-performance/