Chris Botting felt fine. So fine that he hadn’t seen a doctor in over a decade. What would have been the point? The 52-year-old was a husband, father to three, grandfather to one, and entrepreneur working 70-hour weeks to open two new restaurants during the pandemic. The man was busy.
Enter: Life Force, a book by Tony Robbins and doctors and entrepreneurs Peter Diamandis and Robert Hariri. Subtitled How New Breakthroughs in Precision Medicine Can Transform the Quality of Your Life & Those You Love, Botting found the cutting-edge diagnostic techniques and vetted therapeutics it covered exciting. His wife did too, for another reason. Maybe it would inspire her husband to see a doctor. For his birthday, she surprised him with a membership to Fountain Life, the precision medicine company founded by the authors that showcases the breakthroughs they wrote about.
Botting went in to experience Fountain Life’s Day of Diagnostics at his local center. The process included a full body and brain MRI and a coronary CT angiography (both enhanced by AI analytics), an electrocardiogram, genome sequencing and more. The next day, he was informed he had a large tumor on his kidney. The Fountain Life doctor was 90% sure it was renal cell carcinoma. Removal happened less than a month later. If he’d waited mere weeks longer – or not known about it at all – the outcome could have been very different. Possibly fatal? Absolutely, Botting says, still emotional.
Botting is among a growing group of patients uncovering diseases before they’re symptomatic. Fountain Life, which offers annual memberships, works this way: Via a 150 Gb “upload” of data from the latest imaging techniques – and genetic and blood tests which also cover metabolic and neuro-cognitive diseases and include a comprehensive biomarker panel and even performance tests for olfactory capabilities – the company creates a health portrait. If a problem is found or is at risk of developing, a functional medicine doctor analyzes it. A plan is created to manage the issue. If caught early it can often even be reversed, as in the cases of cardiac disease, cancer, and neuro-cognitive dysfunction. Bill Kapp, Fountain Life’s CEO, says, “Ultimately the goal is to change healthcare. We want to give you back…not just lifespan but healthspan.”
In America, the focus on reactive medicine has been undeniably costly. 70% of heart attacks happen to people with no prior symptoms, not even shortness of breath. And 70% of cancer fatalities are due to types for which routine screenings aren’t performed. Why? Until the last decade or so, the technology and medical knowledge to solve the problem didn’t exist. With advances in areas including genomics, cellular medicine and AI, that’s changed. It’s already impacting lives. 14.4% of Fountain Life members have a life-saving finding. 2% are diagnosed with cancer. 2.5% spot an aneurysm in their future which can be avoided.
Why are such protocols not par for the course at doctors’ offices yet—or at least on the way to being so? Kapp, an orthopedic surgeon who’s founded multiple hospitals, explains: “There’s nobody in the current healthcare system that’s really paid to keep you healthy. So there’s really no incentive to do so.” He also faults the training of doctors, who are shown how to diagnose based on symptoms, making predictive diagnoses all but impossible.
Fountain Life isn’t just for people with underlying conditions. A membership is also about being proactive and intentional in achieving longevity and health goals. As such, comprehensive health optimization plans, diet=exercise regimes, and cutting-edge therapeutic treatments (approved by the FDA-approved or another investigational protocol) are also central to the company’s offerings. The latter’s regenerative therapies include therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE), hydrodissection and orthobiological treatments, adult stem cell banking and the option to participate in cutting-edge clinical trials.
To bolster the benefits of all aspects of a membership, individuals are matched with a dedicated team that includes a leading physician trained in longevity and functional medicine, a nutritionist, a health coach, a nurse, and a care coordinator. Together they design individualized plans, follow up with members and track their progress throughout the year. Members also enjoy 24/7 concierge care and access to Fountain Life’s app, which is powered by proprietary AI. The app allows members to ask “Zora”—the most knowledgeable and up-to-date personal health assistant on the market – questions. Responses are informed by a member’s genetic makeup, family health history, existing habits and body’s potential, combined with the latest research in longevity.
Fountain Life is opening six new centers in the next two years, and its partnerships with self-insured employers, hotels, resorts and communities are growing. Individual and group membership options are also expanding. The membership the Bottings bought, APEX Longevity, runs $19,500 and will remain the gold standard. However, self-insured employers looking to enroll five employees or more have access to a package focused on diagnostics for $6,500. These CORE members will also be able to buy other diagnostic tests à la carte. All members receive access to the app, which allows patients to track progress over time, chat with Zora AI, and access a comprehensive library of longevity-focused content.
The Bottings remain wowed by their experience. Chris, who is disease-free, says, “I’m the poster child for Fountain Life. I thought nothing was wrong, but I had a cancer that could have killed me. That’s what everybody should take away. Even if you’re cruising along…maybe you should take that pause and do a little deeper dive.”
