You have a fascinating background—a master’s degree in finance, a passion for quantum physics, and you’re also a shaman. Could you briefly tell us about yourself and your role as a Wellness Pioneer?
I’ve been in this industry for a very long time and have explored many different avenues—from the financial and entrepreneurial side to working with medical doctors, professors, and other experts. I also trained with shamans and practise energy medicine, which I see as a key part of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. McKinsey even published a strong piece last year on the importance of spiritual well-being. Over the years I built and sold my own company, Raison d’Etre. I remain involved with Six Senses, where we develop our own brands and spa concepts, including programmes for cruise ships such as LivNordic.
As a wellness pioneer, I focus on what’s coming next—what works, what the future looks like, and how we build strategies around it. I was previously VP of Spas and Wellness for Six Senses, but once the operations were well established, I changed my title to Wellness Pioneer to concentrate on long-term direction. This includes developing new concepts such as female health programmes, breathwork, and longevity initiatives. My role is to look ahead, anticipate demand, and ensure we integrate these ideas successfully across our properties.
Do you think that wellness has become a principal driver of hospitality?
A recent study showed that 86% of Americans now list health and wellness as their number one life goal—above finance or career. People increasingly value wellness, which feels inevitable given the rise of chronic disease. Medicine alone can’t solve the issue; despite huge medical advances, we aren’t living healthier lives than we did 50 years ago. Wellness alone can’t solve it either, but together they can. COVID accelerated the realisation that you can’t wait until you are sick and then hope for a pill—you have to prevent.
This has led to a marriage between wellness and medicine, alongside a growing interest in psychedelics, breathwork, and other modalities. People may have wealth and health, but they are still searching for something more. At Six Senses, we’ve seen this dramatically: before COVID, about 40% of our clients were interested in wellness; now it’s 99% in some form.
Travellers once looked for relaxation and escape. Today, many are looking for transformation—to become better, healthier, and more aligned with themselves.
Longevity, with its scientific basis, is becoming increasingly important as people seek to extend not just lifespan but healthspan.
Are people now choosing hotels specifically for their wellness offerings?
Yes, very much so. The Global Wellness Summit identified two groups of travellers: primary wellness travellers, who choose destinations specifically for wellness; and secondary wellness travellers, who choose a hotel where wellness is a key part of their decision. The secondary group has grown exponentially. At Six Senses, we offer biomarker screening, on-site specialists, sleep programmes, food concepts, outdoor activities, classes, sound baths, breathwork, and alchemy bars where guests can create their own experiences.
Hotels are ideal places for guests to try new wellness practices because they are relaxed and curious. We’ve increased the number of free classes we offer because demand has grown so much. Even guests who say they’re “just looking for a gym” often end up engaging with deeper wellness elements. People want wellness to be part of their holiday—something that supports their health while still being enjoyable.
What differentiates your wellness programmes from competitors?
What really differentiates us is consistency and systemisation across all our locations. Many competitors may create one signature wellness room or one specialised wellness property, but we implement the same systems brand-wide. For example, we worked with sleep professors to design our rooms—from beds and linen to blackout systems, temperature standards, and construction requirements. We also offer sleep assessments with wearables to help guests understand their sleep patterns. All of this is consistent across every Six Senses property and is offered free of charge.
Our food programme is also standardised and was one of the most challenging to build. We needed to work closely with finance and purchasing to ensure we could buy healthier, more expensive ingredients without compromising the business. Our menus are at least 60% plant-based, with a focus on local, seasonal, and organic ingredients. But we’re not trying to be restrictive—we still offer pizza, burgers, and beer, just made with much better ingredients. Our spas also offer biomarker screening using an FDA-approved device that looks at 50 biomarkers, allowing highly personalised wellness journeys. These foundations—sleep, food, fitness, and biomarkers—enable us to create advanced programmes such as detox, female health, and fitness across all locations.
Why the focus on female health? Do you see it as a major growth frontier, and what innovations have you introduced?
Female health covers 51% of the population, yet only about 1% of research funding goes to it once oncology is excluded. Historically, research has focused on men because women’s hormonal cycles are far more complex. Men’s testosterone is linear; women cycle monthly through oestrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. The lack of research has left huge gaps in understanding. If I had known earlier what I know now about how to eat and live according to my cycle, it would have changed my life.
We partnered with Dr Mindy Pelz, who synthesised the research into a system we can implement. We recorded 30 educational videos on women’s cycles, perimenopause, and menopause. Guests complete biomarker screening and wear CGMs because hormones regulate insulin, and cortisol affects both. We ask women where they’ll be in their cycle during their stay and adjust their food accordingly—since daily intermittent fasting, for instance, is not beneficial for women. The goal is empowerment: a week-long programme won’t change your life, but understanding your biology can. It has taken significant training for our chefs to deliver cycle-specific menus, but the results have been excellent.
Which markets or client groups have shown the most interest so far in your wellness programmes?
We piloted the programme over six months in the Maldives, Switzerland, Portugal, and Rome. Switzerland performed the strongest, and the Maldives also attracted a large number of guests wanting to explore deeper wellness from all over the world. These locations had particularly passionate teams, which helped drive momentum.
Client origins have been very international, though we currently see more Western guests than Eastern guests engaging with the programmes. Overall, interest is global, but Western markets are leading in early adoption.
As the Wellness Pioneer, what do you hope to achieve at Six Senses in the next two to three years?
My priority is ensuring consistent, high-quality wellness delivery across all locations. We monitor this through our minimum wellness standards, which allow us to track performance and keep the quality strong. Even guests who do not choose a deep programme should leave feeling better, inspired, and more informed.
Looking ahead, we want to continue developing new concepts—female health, longevity, breathwork, sound baths—and remain at the forefront of wellness innovation. Because our foundations are so strong, we can move into more advanced offerings and guide guests through deeper wellness experiences. That combination of consistency and innovation is what excites me most for the future.
