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FITNESS, HEALTH, WELLNESS

features

HCM People: Dr Darshan ShahNext Health: co-founder

Our vision is that health is not the absence of disease but the abundance of vitality

Published in Health Club Management 2020 issue 9
Dr Shah spent almost a decade in emergency surgery before branching out
Dr Shah spent almost a decade in emergency surgery before branching out

How did the idea for Next Health come about?
After a 20 year career in medicine, I became disenfranchised with both my work and the healthcare system. The entire healthcare model is built on managing disease and sickness once people are already ill. I wanted to address this and create an improved model, which would proactively keep people healthy and drastically reduce their chances of getting sick.

To help achieve this ambition, I partnered up with my longtime friend, Kevin Peake, who is an entrepreneur with an extensive background in operations and unique brand positioning. He also has a passion for pursuing optimal health, and we set about building Next Health, a business that could deconstruct and flip the old healthcare model, providing a data-driven approach to health optimisation.

What are your professional backgrounds?
After graduating from medical school at the age of 21, I spent almost a decade in emergency surgery, performing more than 10,000 operations.

Then I went on to launch Beautologie, one of the first plastic surgery and medical spa chains in California, which scaled throughout the state.

Always an entrepreneur, Kevin started his first business at the age of 14. He spent a decade working with CDS International Holding, a billion dollar private equity fund out of Boca Raton. As head of new business development, he would vet potential acquisitions and manage newly acquired businesses, restructuring the foundations and brand positioning to set the companies up for exponential growth.

What did you want to achieve with Next Health?
Our goal is to revolutionise the way people interact with their health, sharing our vision that health is not the absence of disease, but the abundance of vitality. The services we offer are life changing in that they give people the ability to truly take control of – and optimise – their health.

We want to make these services available to as many people as possible around the world, so we have aggressive expansion plans and expect to open about 20 locations in the US within the next five years, followed by international expansion.

With the aim of taking some of these services to the mainstream, we are also developing on demand and at-home services through our technology platform, which will mean we can reach people everywhere in the world, as cost effectively as possible.

Who are your customers?
Our customers range from 18-year-olds to 65-year-olds, but they are all passionate about their health and are ‘peak seekers’: not complacent, but looking for the next level. Typically, they are already healthy, but they want to experience a heightened new normal and look their best.

Among the benefits our members regularly report back to us are enhanced energy levels, improved sleep, more lean muscle mass, better focus and productivity, healthier skin, more compliments, improved mood, relationships and gut health.

What is the most popular membership package?
The most popular membership we offer gives monthly access to all of our Next Tech services: cryotherapy, infrared, hyperbaric chamber, and Next Fusion IV Lounge Services.

Although services can be purchased a la carte, memberships provide the most value, giving access to a variety of our health optimisation services on a monthly basis. Next Health members receive routine advanced biomarker testing, body scans and medical consultations.

Has demand for services changed since COVID?
We pivoted quickly in the wake of the pandemic and were the first in LA to offer COVID-19 testing outside of hospitals and urgent cares. We saw a very high demand and now the immunity services are steady and almost back to our pre-COVID demand.

Services

Next Coach is the personalised health coaching programme, which guides people through goal setting, behaviour changes, healthy habit formation and provides help in implementing medical recommendations.

Monthly one-on-one meetings are structured around assessing progress, supported through biomarkers and body scans. Education around nutrition, sleep, movement and stress management. Support towards changing lifestyle through a structured plan of action and goal setting through reviewing previous goals and setting new ones.

• Next Fusion IV Lounge Services offers a range of IV drips for different outcomes including super immune, longevity, detox and gut health.

• Next Tech comprises a cutting edge collection of health technology including cryotherapy, infrared LED light therapy, infrared sauna, 3D facial scanning and InBody and Styku body scanning.

• Next Labs gives access to the latest in diagnostic testing to offer specialised blood panels measuring hundreds of critical markers to inform the bespoke health optimisation plans.

• Next Level is a suite of services giving access to the most advanced medical technologies available to increase health, vitality and longevity. For example at $22,500, the longevity package includes full genome sequencing, full body MRI and CT coronary scan, as well as a year of monthly coaching sessions.

• Next Beauty offers individualised skin treatment and beauty optimisation through a range of minimally invasive beauty services.

Memberships

There are four different memberships. Quarantine Relief IV membership costs $199 (£154, €168), a month and offers two IV drips, a virtual health coach session and 20 per cent off other services.

For US$199 a month, Optimise membership offers health coaching, 10 optims (services) a month, annual full body and facial scanning and a Next Health baseline panel.

Premier Membership is $299 (£232, €252) a month and offers health coaching, 10 optims, two IV therapy sessions, two vitamin shots, as well as the baseline panel and scanning services.

Hormone membership is also US$299 a month, offering hormone pellets as needed, 10 optims, health coaching, baseline panel and body scanning.

Locations

There are currently two sites up and running in Los Angeles, with a third due to open soon and another planned for New York City.

Next Beauty offers individualised skin treatment / PHOTO: Next Health
Wellness services are complementary to gym operations / PHOTO: Next Health
Wellness services are complementary to gym operations / PHOTO: Next Health
With the new focus on health in the time of COVID, Next Health has global expansion plans / PHOTO: Next Health
With the new focus on health in the time of COVID, Next Health has global expansion plans / PHOTO: Next Health
Body scanning is one of the many services on offer / PHOTO: Next Health
Body scanning is one of the many services on offer / PHOTO: Next Health
IV drips are just one of the many services on offer / PHOTO: Next Health
IV drips are just one of the many services on offer / PHOTO: Next Health
Cryotherapy is a popular service at Next Health / PHOTO: Next Health
Cryotherapy is a popular service at Next Health / PHOTO: Next Health
https://www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/images/2020/657427_771343.jpg
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features

HCM People: Dr Darshan ShahNext Health: co-founder

Our vision is that health is not the absence of disease but the abundance of vitality

Published in Health Club Management 2020 issue 9
Dr Shah spent almost a decade in emergency surgery before branching out
Dr Shah spent almost a decade in emergency surgery before branching out

How did the idea for Next Health come about?
After a 20 year career in medicine, I became disenfranchised with both my work and the healthcare system. The entire healthcare model is built on managing disease and sickness once people are already ill. I wanted to address this and create an improved model, which would proactively keep people healthy and drastically reduce their chances of getting sick.

To help achieve this ambition, I partnered up with my longtime friend, Kevin Peake, who is an entrepreneur with an extensive background in operations and unique brand positioning. He also has a passion for pursuing optimal health, and we set about building Next Health, a business that could deconstruct and flip the old healthcare model, providing a data-driven approach to health optimisation.

What are your professional backgrounds?
After graduating from medical school at the age of 21, I spent almost a decade in emergency surgery, performing more than 10,000 operations.

Then I went on to launch Beautologie, one of the first plastic surgery and medical spa chains in California, which scaled throughout the state.

Always an entrepreneur, Kevin started his first business at the age of 14. He spent a decade working with CDS International Holding, a billion dollar private equity fund out of Boca Raton. As head of new business development, he would vet potential acquisitions and manage newly acquired businesses, restructuring the foundations and brand positioning to set the companies up for exponential growth.

What did you want to achieve with Next Health?
Our goal is to revolutionise the way people interact with their health, sharing our vision that health is not the absence of disease, but the abundance of vitality. The services we offer are life changing in that they give people the ability to truly take control of – and optimise – their health.

We want to make these services available to as many people as possible around the world, so we have aggressive expansion plans and expect to open about 20 locations in the US within the next five years, followed by international expansion.

With the aim of taking some of these services to the mainstream, we are also developing on demand and at-home services through our technology platform, which will mean we can reach people everywhere in the world, as cost effectively as possible.

Who are your customers?
Our customers range from 18-year-olds to 65-year-olds, but they are all passionate about their health and are ‘peak seekers’: not complacent, but looking for the next level. Typically, they are already healthy, but they want to experience a heightened new normal and look their best.

Among the benefits our members regularly report back to us are enhanced energy levels, improved sleep, more lean muscle mass, better focus and productivity, healthier skin, more compliments, improved mood, relationships and gut health.

What is the most popular membership package?
The most popular membership we offer gives monthly access to all of our Next Tech services: cryotherapy, infrared, hyperbaric chamber, and Next Fusion IV Lounge Services.

Although services can be purchased a la carte, memberships provide the most value, giving access to a variety of our health optimisation services on a monthly basis. Next Health members receive routine advanced biomarker testing, body scans and medical consultations.

Has demand for services changed since COVID?
We pivoted quickly in the wake of the pandemic and were the first in LA to offer COVID-19 testing outside of hospitals and urgent cares. We saw a very high demand and now the immunity services are steady and almost back to our pre-COVID demand.

Services

Next Coach is the personalised health coaching programme, which guides people through goal setting, behaviour changes, healthy habit formation and provides help in implementing medical recommendations.

Monthly one-on-one meetings are structured around assessing progress, supported through biomarkers and body scans. Education around nutrition, sleep, movement and stress management. Support towards changing lifestyle through a structured plan of action and goal setting through reviewing previous goals and setting new ones.

• Next Fusion IV Lounge Services offers a range of IV drips for different outcomes including super immune, longevity, detox and gut health.

• Next Tech comprises a cutting edge collection of health technology including cryotherapy, infrared LED light therapy, infrared sauna, 3D facial scanning and InBody and Styku body scanning.

• Next Labs gives access to the latest in diagnostic testing to offer specialised blood panels measuring hundreds of critical markers to inform the bespoke health optimisation plans.

• Next Level is a suite of services giving access to the most advanced medical technologies available to increase health, vitality and longevity. For example at $22,500, the longevity package includes full genome sequencing, full body MRI and CT coronary scan, as well as a year of monthly coaching sessions.

• Next Beauty offers individualised skin treatment and beauty optimisation through a range of minimally invasive beauty services.

Memberships

There are four different memberships. Quarantine Relief IV membership costs $199 (£154, €168), a month and offers two IV drips, a virtual health coach session and 20 per cent off other services.

For US$199 a month, Optimise membership offers health coaching, 10 optims (services) a month, annual full body and facial scanning and a Next Health baseline panel.

Premier Membership is $299 (£232, €252) a month and offers health coaching, 10 optims, two IV therapy sessions, two vitamin shots, as well as the baseline panel and scanning services.

Hormone membership is also US$299 a month, offering hormone pellets as needed, 10 optims, health coaching, baseline panel and body scanning.

Locations

There are currently two sites up and running in Los Angeles, with a third due to open soon and another planned for New York City.

Next Beauty offers individualised skin treatment / PHOTO: Next Health
Wellness services are complementary to gym operations / PHOTO: Next Health
Wellness services are complementary to gym operations / PHOTO: Next Health
With the new focus on health in the time of COVID, Next Health has global expansion plans / PHOTO: Next Health
With the new focus on health in the time of COVID, Next Health has global expansion plans / PHOTO: Next Health
Body scanning is one of the many services on offer / PHOTO: Next Health
Body scanning is one of the many services on offer / PHOTO: Next Health
IV drips are just one of the many services on offer / PHOTO: Next Health
IV drips are just one of the many services on offer / PHOTO: Next Health
Cryotherapy is a popular service at Next Health / PHOTO: Next Health
Cryotherapy is a popular service at Next Health / PHOTO: Next Health
https://www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/images/2020/657427_771343.jpg
The co-founder of Next Health, Dr Darshan Shah, talks to HCM about helping people optimise their health and his plans for global growth
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Les Mills has launched a reformer Pilates workout. The 45-minute workout blends traditional reformer movements ...
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Latest News
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Everlast Gyms expands its footprint outside of the UK this month with the imminent launch ...
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The UK's four Chief Medical Officers have published a refreshed edition of  Physical activity guidelines: ...
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Opinion
promotion
Strength training has moved from the margins to the mainstream.
Opinion: Building smarter strength spaces for today’s operators
Featured supplier news
Featured supplier news: Legends never die: four legends, four philosophies of life
Panatta brought together four of the most influential figures in bodybuilding history on the stage of RiminiWellness 2026: Phil Heath, Lee Haney, Ronnie Coleman and Hany Rambod.
Featured supplier news
Featured supplier news: Introducing a new era of Nautilus Leverage
Strength training has never been more important for member retention, facility differentiation and long-term commercial success.
Company profiles
Company profile: Peak Pilates UK<br>(distributed by Gymkit UK)
Peak Pilates, founded in the US in the early 1990s and now part of Mad ...
Company profiles
Company profile: Gladstone Software
Gladstone’s software is built to streamline operations, reduce admin burden, and boost engagement. Operators can ...
Supplier Showcases
Supplier Showcase - From nightclub to health club
Supplier Showcases
Supplier Showcase - Future-proofing
Catalogue Gallery
Click on a catalogue to view it online
Featured press releases
Speedflex (UK press release: Inclusive Fitness in action: The Speedflex Blade at Gym Possible
Following the successful installation of the Speedflex Blade at Gym Possible, the UK based charity gym dedicated to making exercise accessible for people with physical disabilities, the innovative training solution has quickly become one of the facility’s
Featured press releases
BLK BOX press release: Inside the Player Gym at The Open, equipped by BLK BOX
The performance facility at Royal Birkdale gives the world’s leading golfers access to strength, conditioning, mobility and recovery equipment throughout Championship week.
Directory
Water experiences and hydrotherapy solutions
Aquaform s.r.l.: Water experiences and hydrotherapy solutions
Industrial washing machines
Miele Company Limited: Industrial washing machines
Lockers
Crown Sports Lockers: Lockers
Hot tubs
MSpa International Ltd: Hot tubs
Fitness tracking platform
SpiviTech: Fitness tracking platform
Spa and beauty equipment
Living Earth Crafts: Spa and beauty equipment
Property & Tenders
Stratford, East London.
Lee Valley Regional Park Authority
Property & Tenders
Y Felinheli, LL56 4QN
Newmark
Property & Tenders
Diary dates
21-24 Sep 2026
The Langham Huntington Pasadena , Pasadena, United States
Diary dates
06-08 Oct 2026
Messe Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
Diary dates
22-22 Oct 2026
QEII Conference Centre, London,
Diary dates
26-29 Oct 2027
Koelnmesse Exhibition Centre, Cologne, Germany
Diary dates
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