Looksmaxxers, Huberman husbands, longevity enthusiasts, extreme bodybuilders — a crop of new wellness microcultures has been born out of a new era of masculinity.
A decade ago, the stereotypical wellness routine for a man encompassed nothing more complicated than a bar of soap and a gym bag. In recent years, however, and particularly in the years following Covid, things have changed. Every pocket of the men’s wellness sphere has its own vision of what wellness looks like and how to achieve it, but no matter their differences, they are all united by a common goal: to reconfigure the body and mind into a stronger, more efficient, more virile, more desirable version of what it once was.
This trend seems to be driven by a growing sense among many men that they are directionless, lacking a fixed sense of identity and guidance on what it means to be successful today. “Young men are lonelier than ever, lagging behind in school and suffering from a generational identity crisis,” says Bia Bezamat, cultural expert at the market research platform Kantar. “Trying to find a space on the spectrum to exist helps them feel a sense of control. This has led to men buying from brands that represent their identity and community. Wellness brands are becoming ideological and cultural signifiers, helping men express who they are, or want to be.”
But it is not just young men this trend applies to. Consumer insights agency Canvas8 points out that there has been a significant surge in male wellness across the age spectrum, fuelled by “a powerful desire for self-optimisation and control”. In McKinsey’s Future of Wellness Study, published in May, 84 per cent of Gen Z and millennial men say wellness is important or one of their top priorities, compared to 83 per cent of women. While Pinterest’s first-ever Men’s Trend report, released earlier this month, revealed that Gen Z and millennial males are prioritising wellbeing in their searches, with physical fitness and functional foods topics trending across the board.
The market for men’s wellness is growing rapidly, with one 2024 study projecting that the global men’s health and wellness market will grow from its $1.27 trillion value in 2023 to $2.57 trillion by 2029. But how do brands reach these consumers? The answer is three-pronged: products should be goal-oriented and effortlessly integrate into daily life; marketing should speak openly about the issues men face — from mental health, to hair loss and infertility — and in doing so, eliminate the stigma that has traditionally existed around those topics; and, finally, brands should partner with influencers or other influential voices among men today to generate interest in their product. But men’s wellness, in today’s climate, can still be tricky waters to navigate.
The brand playbook
The male-identifying consumer today is looking to satisfy a far wider range of needs than ever before. “We’ve seen a shift from traditional ‘bulk and basics’ — think protein powders and multivitamins — towards more refined, ritual-led wellness,” says Julia Alsterberg, head of curation at health and wellness retailer Healf. “It’s less about the gym bag, more about the full-spectrum wellbeing routine.”
That routine encompasses a vast array of products, from testosterone and NAD+ supplements to hair loss serums, health metric tracking devices and nootropic gum. While the range is diverse, most products share the fact that they check a number of health boxes without disrupting the normal flow of the user’s day.
One of the best examples of this is Hims, the telehealth and wellness company that surpassed 2.4 million subscribers this year and aired its first-ever Super Bowl ad a few months ago. According to Dan Kenger, chief design officer at Hims Hers, the brand’s popularity hinges on its ability to address a broad spectrum of concerns (ranging from sexual and mental health to hair growth and weight management) in an individualised, easy-to-use format. Its Sex Rx+ offering, for instance, begins with Tadalafil (a treatment for erectile dysfunction) and builds from there, adding support for goals like hair growth with sprays and serums, or anti-ageing with an age defence skin kit. The result is, in Kenger’s words, “a more seamless, personalised experience that empowers men to take control of their health and feel their best”.
Other brands that are popular with a male audience, like AG1’s health drink, Momentous supplements and Neuro Gum’s nootropic gum, have taken a similar tack. Their products are easily incorporated into an everyday routine, requiring no more than a few seconds or minutes, but promise to deliver a concrete set of health benefits like improved mental performance, energy, gut health and immune system in one use.
Beyond their intended functions, these products have also taken on an interesting cultural significance. The new visibility of men’s wellness means that brands like Neuro, AG1, Alpha Brain nootropics and even Zyn nicotine pouches have, in Bezamat’s words, “become cultural symbols: having a Zyn tin, for instance, on your desk isn’t just about being tobacco-free, it’s a signal of productivity, discipline, and alignment with a certain kind of masculine identity.”
While openly engaging with wellness culture has become an important cultural signifier for many men, most of the brands we spoke with agreed that eliminating the stigma around male wellness — especially topics like erectile dysfunction, hair loss, and mental health — is still the greatest challenge they face when breaking into the market.
For Hims, the method for overcoming this has always been frank and lighthearted marketing (a tactic, it should be noted, that is not always afforded to brands focused on women). Past advertisements have shown a man covering his presumably balding head with the slogan “to have an issue isn’t weird, it’s not handling it that’s weird”, and TV advertisements that speak bluntly about “ED treatments to address your needs”.
It’s an approach echoed by Legacy, a newly launched digital fertility clinic for men which aims to “shift sperm from ‘stigma’ to ‘spotlight’” through advertisements that speak openly about how sperm health is affected by diet, age and other factors. The popular mental health app Headspace faces a similar challenge, but its approach to combat stigma is to find a less intimidating entry point for the market. “This cultural shift, where taking care of your mind is increasingly seen as a strength, and not a weakness, has opened the door for men to explore wellness. But they need entry points that feel reliable and accessible,” says Connie Wang, senior vice president of marketing at Headspace. “Courses on performance, resilience, and productivity resonate particularly strongly with male users, many of whom prefer wellness that feels goal-oriented and self-directed. When wellness is framed as a tool for success and stability, not just emotional support, we’ve seen that it becomes more widely accepted and regularly used.”
These marketing tactics have had a positive effect on brand sales, but of equal importance are partnerships with influencers or other influential voices among men today. “One of the most important things for brands to recognise is that men are often more influenced by who recommends a product than what’s in it,” says Bezamat. “While women’s wellness marketing can traditionally lean on ingredients and efficacy, men generally don’t want to do that research and instead are guided by trusted voices — it could be their favourite podcaster, a lifestyle guru or a sports star. These figures shape not just what men buy, but how they define wellness itself.”
AG1 has partnered with a number of well-known names, including Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton and popular podcaster Andrew Huberman. Supplement brand Momentous has also partnered with Huberman, as well as Dr Stacy Sims, Dr Andy Galpin and lifestyle guru Tim Ferriss on a “Tim’s Performance Stack” of protein, creatine and magnesium. According to brand CEO Jeff Byers, these partnerships help introduce male consumers to their product and educate them about building sustainable health practices, which have them returning to their products again and again.
TikTok content
“Our partnerships have served as a significant component of our strategy when it comes to reaching new customers,” says Neuro founders Kent Yoshimura and Ryan Chen. The brand has paired with athletes like F1 driver Yuki Tsunoda and World’s Strongest Man Mitchell Hooper, philanthropic organisations like the PADI Aware Foundation, musical artists like Steve Aoki, and gaming organisations like 100 Thieves. “We’ve also been fortunate to have powerful figures like Joe Rogan, who’s an extremely influential voice for millions of young men, say incredibly kind things about our company and product.”
While Rogan’s support of Neuro has seen an uptick in the brand’s sales, it also hints at a larger issue brands face when trying to break into the wellness space. Rogan can be a divisive figure, often cited as one of the leading voices in what has become known as the “manosphere”, or a community of online forums concerned with men’s interests often linked to misogyny. If, as Bezamat says, wellness brands are becoming “ideological and cultural signifiers, helping men express who they are, or want to be”, it’s brands’ responsibility to ensure their products don’t pander to the most toxic corners of the internet by avoiding conscious partnerships with contentious voices.
The future
When it comes to what’s next, brands and retailers identify more personalised care and longevity-focused products as the way forward. Hims plans to invest in lab testing, wearable data, and AI to create individualised plans for the topics they’ve seen the most consumer interest in, including longevity, sleep and low testosterone.
Healf has also invested in personalised care with its recent membership programme, which uses an at-home blood test to create a personalised wellbeing plan, with product recommendations, lifestyle guidance and expert consultations. The online retailer also predicts the current fascination with raw and natural products will accelerate a spike in “ancestral nutrition” products like organ-based blends and high-quality creatine for performance and recovery.
It sees the largest growth occurring in the longevity sector with an increasing interest in wearable tech and, most significantly, products containing NAD+, NMN, NAC, and other supplements like Fatty15, which promise cellular renewal for anti-ageing that goes beyond aesthetics.
Overall, experts agree that connecting with Gen Z is the clearest path to success. The generation’s engagement with wellness on social media has made it a resource not only for those who fall into that age bracket, but older demographics looking for insight into what products to use and how to use them. It also signals a deeper shift in how men, and younger men in particular, think about self-care — they’re not just buying products; they’re actively seeking out tools, routines and language to navigate identity and connection.
That desire can be positive when it helps eliminate stigmas around issues like infertility and mental health. On the other hand, it can also fuel insecurities, especially among young men, and be leveraged by influencers to push a more toxic vision of masculinity. It’s up to brands to navigate this complex space with products that deliver low-effort, high-impact results; straightforward and open-minded marketing, and partnerships with voices who promote an inclusive and positive vision of masculinity.
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