{"id":243239,"date":"2024-07-14T12:24:11","date_gmt":"2024-07-14T12:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/14\/a-biohackers-love-story-fortune-well\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:14:46","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:14:46","slug":"a-biohackers-love-story-fortune-well","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/14\/a-biohackers-love-story-fortune-well\/","title":{"rendered":"A biohacker’s love story | Fortune Well"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Kayla Barnes, a 33-year-old wellness CEO based in Cleveland, was eager to pick up her date from the airport one spring evening last year. It would be the first time she would meet Warren Lentz, who lived in Los Angeles, in person, and the next step in a month-long burgeoning relationship that included countless FaceTimes, texts\u2014and, most notably, a detailed exchange of personal health information.<\/p>\n

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After meeting Warren on Raya, a private, membership-based dating app, and before their first date, Kayla requested his health labs\u2014including a gut health test and a total toxin test, measuring levels of heavy metals and environmental toxins in the body, plus a slew of other assessments, of nutrient levels, inflammation, and a range of biomarkers. Warren dutifully had them all performed by a local California clinic without hesitance. And Kayla knew, however unromantic, that both his compliance and his results would show more than any other dating compatibility test or ordinary deal-breaker question ever could.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did all of them without question,\u201d she tells Fortune<\/em>. And good thing, she adds, explaining that it was crucial to have a partner who appreciated and encouraged her strict lifestyle\u2014and admitting it would \u201cnever work\u201d to have a man who came home, drank beer, ate chips, and watched TV.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cHealth outcomes are so much better when we have a great support system around us,\u201d she says. Luckily, his labs looked good, with some room for improvement to strengthen and optimize his gut health, she says. Most importantly, he was also eager to see the results and to get healthier with her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He passed other tests, too\u2014including Kayla asking her suitor if he frequented L.A.\u2019s elite organic food store Erewhon (he did), as well as quickly stalking his Instagram<\/a> to make sure he was following an adequate number of health influencers (he was).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI had never had anyone ask me for my health labs in the context of dating,\u201d says Warren, 36, the chief revenue officer at a marketing agency and previous founder of a talent agency for Gen Z influencers. \u201cBut I liked how she was confident about the fact that that was important to her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

***\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kayla has always chased perfection. As a kid, she worked to hone her gymnastics skills; as a young adult, to study nutrition and achieve a brain coach certification from Dr. Daniel Amen, a neuroscientist known for giving wealthy public figures brain scans<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And now, as an entrepreneur, it\u2019s part of her job: She\u2019s host of the Longevity Optimization<\/em><\/a> podcast and co-owner of LYV the Wellness Space<\/a>, an up to $1,000-a-month<\/a> membership precision health and longevity clinic headquartered in Cleveland, where novel technology and health trackers are not only within reach, but career requirements.\u201cI always had super high ambitions for myself, and I just wanted to become the absolute best version of myself,\u201d she explains.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s just a glimpse of how she aims for that now: strict 8:30 bedtimes, set meal times of only organic foods with never a drop of alcohol, morning strength sessions, weekly body composition measurements, cold therapy, red light therapy<\/a>, sleep tracking, grip strength tests<\/a>, walking meetings, routine blood and toxin tests, and quarterly stem cell therapies for preventative purposes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She admits her lifestyle and values are not the least bit relatable. But while some may call her a health nut or fitness fanatic, in today\u2019s lexicon, Kayla is the epitome of the modern biohacker<\/a>: someone with a pure dedication to experimenting and optimizing health by using data, technology, and lifestyle interventions.\u00a0In the age of longevity<\/a>, where more people are eager to spend<\/a> in the name of living longer, we\u2019re familiar with many novel biohacking lifestyle choices. But there\u2019s a new frontier we\u2019ve yet to hear about: the biohacking dating market.<\/p>\n

Kayla says she trusts the science of protocols like stem cell therapies to slow aging, especially because she\u2019s interviewed so many in the field on her podcast. Still, she recognizes that this is her personal protocol and does not consider herself a health provider for the wider public, despite co-owning a longevity clinic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But naturally, she yearned for a partner who does more than invest in a high-end gym membership, gulp down a green smoothie, and try <\/em>to eat organic. Finding a suitable biohacking mate, she realized, would prove to be a whole different feat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But then came Warren, who ignited Kayla\u2019s yearning for connection and her desire to have a partner who would fit in with her lifestyle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An atypical first date\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Following their first encounter at the Cleveland airport and a walk, Kayla showed Warren her home, where it was hard to miss the numerous \u201chealth robots,\u201d as Warren nicknamed them, distributed throughout. A $7,000 sauna shared her bedroom, along with a $2,500 Faraday cage<\/a> to protect against electromagnetic pulse, a $45,000 PEMF <\/a>to reduce muscle fatigue after exercise, and $2,000 red light panels on the back door of her closet to reduce skin aging (according to the Cleveland Clinic,<\/a> while small studies show promise in low-level red-light therapy, longer-term research is needed to call it a viable treatment for treating the skin).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing healthy as a lifestyle not as a burden was definitely at the forefront of her life,\u201d Warren recalls about observing her cabinets, which resemble pharmacies rather than homes for boxed pasta and paprika.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew right away he was gonna be in or out because probably not every day that you go to meet someone you\u2019re dating do you open up the fridge and see syringes [full of peptides to reduce skin aging],\u201d Kayla says.<\/p>\n

On the first meeting, Kayla also gave a tour of her longevity clinic and the pi\u00e8ce de resistance of the date: an hour-long session for two in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber\u2014a healing tube for the body originally meant to treat people with carbon dioxide poisoning and to increase oxygen in scuba divers after pressure changes, according to the FDA<\/a>. And there, albeit not across from each other at a candle-lit dinner, the two had everyday first-date conversations, touching on their interests and lifestyle values, all while enclosed in a Back-to-the-Future-esque tube.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Their chemistry was evident to both.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were pretty intentional, which I loved,\u201d says Warren, who was health-conscious already at that point, albeit not to Kayla\u2019s level. \u201cIf other people heard [about the date], it might not sound super romantic, but it was so exciting to us. It was what we had been waiting for.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kayla and Warren\u2019s first date was in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.<\/figcaption>

Kayla Barnes-Lentz<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A quick but important note about biohacking<\/h2>\n

While the $27 billion longevity market<\/a> is embraced by many, its specific practices are not always scientifically backed, FDA-approved or<\/em> physician-recommended\u2014a fact that Kayla and Warren understand and are comfortable with, but which newcomers might want to parse out on their own.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still, the industry has amassed a cohort of loyal followers, from Silicon Valley\u2019s Bryan Johnson<\/a> to researcher David Sinclair<\/a> and entrepreneur Peter Diamandis<\/a>. Women like Kayla are also leading the way in taking preventative measures for their health to live longer, healthier lives. And within that conversation, the need for social connection is seldom mentioned\u2014despite strong evidence that it\u2019s the strength of our interpersonal relationships that most often predicts our happiness<\/a>, and which in turn prevents stress, anxiety, and depression, all accelerants to aging.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Biohacker Wedding Bells\u00a0<\/h2>\n

After just three months of dating, Kayla and Warren got engaged while long-distance in the mid-point of Austin, Texas\u2014although she jokes, she would have loved it to be at their go-to date spot of Erewhon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cI want to live as long as my husband does, so that means that I need to prioritize doing everything in my power with all my resources, access, and knowledge to optimize his health,\u201d says Kayla Barnes-Lentz.<\/figcaption>

Courtesy of Kayla Barnes<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

At the wedding less than six months later\u2014an affair where 150 guests enjoyed bone broth, organic grass-fed, grass-finished meat, and an organic keto<\/a> cake\u2014the hitched Lentz and Barnes-Lentz sported matching Levels Dexcom continuous glucose monitors, visible on each of their arms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They now live together in L.A., and disclosed they make seven figures, making it possible to spend in the low six figures on their longevity protocol. While she knows her protocol isn\u2019t accessible to the masses, Kayla admits that no-cost lifestyle changes are the most important in making people healthier and also hopes to influence people to make a fraction of the changes she makes. Since moving in together last year, Warren has followed Kayla\u2019s lead in eating a purely organic diet, going to bed by 8:30, and limiting all so-called guilty pleasures allowed with the renowned 80-20 rule<\/a>, an age-old principle that champions being disciplined 80% of the time and giving yourself wiggle room the other 20%.<\/p>\n

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In the early stages of dating, Kayla circled all the items in Warren\u2019s fridge that did not align with her lifestyle. <\/figcaption>

Kayla Barnes-Lentz<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Before meeting Kayla, Warren would stay up past midnight and indulge in the occasional ice-cold Diet Coke or Dr. Pepper, though he admits it was a trait she hated, prompting him to give it up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is probably one of the hardest things, sadly, that I did or had or had to do for the betterment of us as a couple. But man, a Diet Dr. Pepper,\u201d he says, seemingly dreaming of one still. \u201cKayla is all in, 10 out of 10 the healthiest person I have ever met,\u201d he says, admitting that \u201cdoing longevity as a couple is unique because there\u2019s always going to be one person who might be pushing harder than the other.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s Kayla, of course\u2014something Warren says makes him a lucky man. Now, he calls his wife the \u201cchief health officer\u201d of their family. For example, Kayla has cut out microplastics, refusing to drink from a plastic cup, though Warren still uses them occasionally.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a nickname welcomed by Kayla, who admits, \u201cI knew that it was going to take someone really unique to fit everything that I was looking for,\u201d she says. \u201cBut being married has been one of the biggest biohacks I\u2019ve ever done.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Kayla and Warren\u2019s L.A. home has all her \u201chealth robots,\u201d including a sauna, cold plunge, and red light panels. <\/figcaption>

Masha Maltsava<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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B<\/strong>eing married has been one of the biggest biohacks I\u2019ve ever done<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kayla Barnes-Lentz<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Much as they assess their physical and mental health<\/a>, the biohackers have a monthly marriage optimization meeting to ensure their partnership is optimized, too. \u201cIt\u2019s created a space for her to tell me, \u2018Hey, when you eat past 8 p.m., that doesn\u2019t make me frustrated or act out of the blue, but it makes me sad because I want you to be your best.\u2019\u201d They also make space to compliment each other, and both agree it strengthens their emotional bond.\u00a0<\/p>\n

FOMO? Never heard of it\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Of course, the duo has to forgo social plans if they are too late into the evening and interfere with their bedtimes. And no, they tell Fortune<\/em> they don\u2019t have FOMO<\/a>, mainly because they have each other. The game they are playing is too fun, and they wind down their nights by reading or watching a show on the couch.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, they try to make some social plans work by leaving them early, eating before a dinner party, or offering an alternative. \u201cI\u2019m becoming someone like Kayla who doesn\u2019t get joy out of eating food that\u2019s not organic or grass-fed finished,\u201d Warren says. \u201cI\u2019d rather have sparkling water with some lemon than a cocktail,\u201d he says, adding his family is curious yet accepting of their lifestyle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the wedding, Warren\u2019s sister paid homage to the unique pairing. \u201cHis sister said I was the most \u2018unrelatable person,\u2019 but I loved it. It was the best,\u201d she says. Now, Warren\u2019s family members all come to Kayla\u2019s clinic to get their own tests.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Kayla and Warren have a strict longevity routine, including red light therapy. <\/figcaption>

Masha Maltsava<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

With biohacking together comes the reality that, if all holds up well and the protocols work, the two could spend far more time together than the average married couple\u2014perhaps another half century till death do them part. \u201cI don\u2019t know to the extent we could push 200, but I think it\u2019s a really exciting time to be alive right now,\u201d Warren says. \u201cWe are in it for the long haul.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite initial adjustments, Warren says adhering to this strict regimen was a \u201cno-brainer\u201d and has helped him feel healthier\u2014all in the name of love.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m definitely all in,\u201d he says. \u201cVery few people go the extra mile to get a perfect score, and that\u2019s what she\u2019s been doing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since meeting Kayla, he shares, his testosterone, the sex hormone responsible for libido and sperm production, has gone up 200 points (a healthy range is from 300 to 1,000 nanograms per deciliter), and he has not craved sugar fixes like he used to.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Says Kayla, \u201cI want to live as long as my husband does, so that means that I need to prioritize doing everything in my power with all my resources, access, and knowledge to optimize his health. For an optimal marriage, we both have to be running at the same speed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The couple is preparing to bank their stem cells for rejuvenation down the road, for when they get sick and for emergencies, all of which Kayla plans to post about on her personal website and social media accounts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll continue to look at biomarkers to see what is improving, and that\u2019s kind of the whole name of this game,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

And with that, the couple hopes to introduce a brood to their abode\u2014five to seven children, to be exact, whom Kayla hopes will be biohackers, too. \u201cI\u2019m excited that we are going to be able to have the healthiest children ever,\u201d she says, noting that part of the plan includes investing in a biohacking home outside of the city. There, while curating a healthy lifestyle for her children, she plans to balance the following: \u201cHow hard do we push into [health optimization], and how hard do we let them find their own path?\u201d<\/p>\n

For Warren\u2019s part, he says that Kayla pushes him in the right direction\u2014and could seamlessly do so for their kids, too. \u201cThis is someone who would obviously not just be an amazing wife,\u201d he says, \u201cbut also an amazing mom.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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