Biohacking to Best Self | Future of the Biohacking Movement | CPG Industry Insights

What this episode covers

Who doesn’t enjoy a trick, shortcut, or innovative method for accomplishing familiar tasks more easily and efficiently, right? While these type of lifehacks are heralded throughout society, it’s fraternal twin known as biohacking feels like a strange cultlike mix of amateur DIY medicine and things you’d read in futuristic sci-fi novels. Depending on which biohacking subculture you ask (e.g. grinders, transhumanists, primitivists or immoralists), you’ll get a different definition of what biohacking is, but how about we try on the one I prefer? I explain biohacking as making small, incremental diet or lifestyle changes to achieve modest improvements in your health and well-being. By that broad definition, biohacking seems like a recognizable pursuit, right? While the media likes to sensationalize the extreme actions of select biohackers, I’ve scrolled through many biohacking forums and subreddits, and followed prominent biohackers across social media platforms…and noticed almost all are trying to solve familiar problems. Biohackers want to get more and higher quality sleep. They want to perform better at work. They’d like to lose weight, gain strength, or reduce their risk of things like cardiovascular disease. Biohackers are trying to prevent or manage mental health issues like depression. So, if biohacking comes down to something we can all relate to…why hasn’t the movement exploded in popularity? I think perception and reality aren’t matching up around biohacking, and it’s time for a much needed rebrand. For many years, I’ve referred to the desire to feel better, perform better, and to see just how far one can push the human body as an individual that’s pursuing a high-performance lifestyle. It wasn’t until a recent conversation with Matt Titlow, CEO of Compound Solutions, that I learned he has been calling the mainstreaming effect of the biohacking movement…the “Best Self” category. I liked the simplicity of that term, so I’m going to rebrand my own rebrand and use it going forward. The “Best Self” movement is a broader yet direct approach to the wellness culture that doesn’t just assume one-size-fits-all. It’s the consumer that simply wants to be better each day. While the future of biohacking might one day have us resembling cyborgs, that would be closer to Z on the A-to-Z spectrum. Right now, Shelly from Ohio isn’t thinking about all those sci-fi distractions in her pursuit of “Best Self.” Today’s opportunity is targeting the “Best Self” consumers that are looking at real problems or highlighting real goals…and interested in finding real solutions. Compound Solutions TeaCrine, Dynamine, and Caffeine Information FOLLOW ME ON MY SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS LINKEDIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuaschallmba TWITTER - https://www.twitter.com/joshua_schall INSTAGRAM - https://www.instagram.com/joshua_schall FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/jschallconsulting MEDIUM - https://www.medium.com/@joshuaschall

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