Today, I'm joined by Michelle Larivee, founder & CEO of WTHN.

With five NYC clinics and a recent Ulta Beauty launch, WTHN is modernizing acupuncture — offering personalized TCM treatment plans and tools to address bodily dysfunction at its root.

In this episode, we discuss taking ancient healing practices mainstream.

We also cover:

• Ulta and Canyon Ranch partnerships

• The healthcare-meets-wellness studio model

• Breaking down barriers like myths, access, and education

Subscribe to the podcast → insider.fitt.co/podcast

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

WTHN's Website: www.wthn.com

Use code FittInsider25 for 25% off first time client session in NYC or online purchase

Visit studios in New York or shop products nationwide

Michelle's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-larivee-35640012/

The Fitt Insider Podcast is brought to you by EGYM. Visit EGYM.com to learn more about its smart fitness ecosystem for fitness and health facilities.

Fitt Talent: https://talent.fitt.co/

Consulting: https://consulting.fitt.co/

Investments: https://capital.fitt.co/

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:17) WTHN's mission

(02:02) Personal healing journey

(03:35) Why acupuncture is inaccessible

(05:30) Barriers to entry

(07:00) Progress in New York

(08:22) Education as the key

(09:21) Following yoga and meditation's path to accessibility

(10:32) Omnichannel strategy

(12:00) Core of the business

(14:15) Physical expansion strategy

(15:15) Why New York

(16:33) Operational challenges

(19:43) Consumer trends

(21:00) The original longevity tool

(22:15) Healthspan over wellness

(23:30) Balancing medical legitimacy with accessibility

(24:24) Membership model

(26:15) 2026 priorities

(27:00) Ulta and Canyon Ranch partnerships

(27:30) Corporate wellness and hospitality convergence

(29:43) Breaking down barriers between practitioners

(30:30) Where to try WTHN

(31:32) Conclusion

Keywords:

Fitt Insider, Joe Vennare, Michelle Larivee, WTHN, Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Wellness, Longevity, Preventative Healthcare, Pain Management, Fertility, Stress Management, Nervous System, Studio Model, Omnichannel, Corporate Wellness, Health Span, Business, Entrepreneurship, Fitt Insider Podcast

January 30, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• Hims & Hers airs Super Bowl spot titled "Rich People Live Longer," framing consumer health as response to structural inequity in preventive care access

• Climatic raises $10M seed round to launch first daily lung health system backed by Mount Sinai research, creating new wellness category

• AG1 announces Hugh Jackman as global ambassador as Bryan Johnson publicly criticizes the brand, sparking debate over clinical evidence and supplement credibility

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

\Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

January 29, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• Sword Health acquires Kaia Health for $285M, expanding AI Care platform into Germany's 70M+ person reimbursement system

• Flo Health and Mayo Clinic study finds U.S. women lag behind UK, Canada, and Australia in recognizing perimenopause symptoms

• Life Biosciences receives FDA clearance for first human trial of partial cellular reprogramming, targeting glaucoma using gene therapy

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

January 28, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• Anta Sports buys 29% stake in Puma for $1.8B, becoming largest shareholder and positioning as global challenger to Nike

• Top tennis players told to remove Whoop devices at Australian Open as Grand Slams debate fairness of real-time data access

• Kevin Hart joins Burn Boot Camp as equity partner and franchisee, opening own location as part of growing wellness portfolio

• Ulta Beauty pilots Wellness by Ulta Beauty concept, expanding into supplements, sexual wellness, and recovery with in-store educators

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

January 27, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• P&G acquires Wonderbelly, the digestive wellness brand with distribution at CVS and Target, moving to reposition digestive health as wellness

• Once Upon a Farm kicks off IPO roadshow targeting $200M+ raise at $760M valuation, testing whether premium mission-driven food brands can sustain consumer trust and growth

• Life Time reports preliminary Q4 & FY25 earnings, with revenue up 14% as revenue per member jumps double digits, planning to open 12-14 large-format clubs in 2026

• New racket sport Typti launches with backing from 80+ athletes including Drew Brees, targeting tennis players on pickleball courts as participation sports spawn new ecosystems

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

Today, I'm joined by Dr. Muthu Alagappan, founder & CEO of Counsel Health.

Counsel Health is an AI-native virtual care platform combining medical AI with human doctors to provide accessible, high-quality guidance at a fraction of traditional costs.

In this episode, we discuss building the new front door to care.

We also cover:

• AI-native primary care via messaging

• AI vs. human roles in clinical decisions

• Redefining cost and access for personalized medicine

Subscribe to the podcast → insider.fitt.co/podcast

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Counsel Health's Website: https://www.counselhealth.com/

-

The Fitt Insider Podcast is brought to you by EGYM. Visit EGYM.com to learn more about its smart fitness ecosystem for fitness and health facilities.

Fitt Talent: https://talent.fitt.co/

Consulting: https://consulting.fitt.co/

Investments: https://capital.fitt.co/

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:09) Muthu's background

(01:40) What is Counsel Health

(03:08) Patient interaction and care modules

(04:27) From AI to human doctors

(05:38) The clinician side

(06:45) The clinician cockpit

(07:47) The AI healthcare landscape

(09:16) Medical information vs. medical care

(10:38) Re-aggregating fragmented primary care

(12:00) The 10x doctor

(13:45) AI autonomy

(15:00) Will AI replace doctors entirely?

(16:45) Cognitive aspects of primary care

(18:59) Recent AI healthcare product releases

(20:30) Integration challenges

(22:00) Clinical use cases

(23:15) Patient adherence challenges

(25:45) Series A fundraising

(27:15) Scarcity and value in the AI healthcare era

(28:15) Business model challenges

(30:15) Improving quality, lowering cost, and improving access

(31:00) Prevention vs. primary care

(33:00) Wearables and lab data

(34:00) Full-stack convergence vs. singular focus

(35:45) What's next

(36:58) Conclusion

January 23, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• Amazon launches Health AI for One Medical members, using LLMs to reference medical records and coordinate care as AI shifts from informational tools to embedded care coordination

• Lululemon pauses online sales of Get Low leggings after complaints they weren't "squat proof," marking latest quality issue amid leadership uncertainty and founder Chip Wilson's criticism

• New study finds sleeping fewer than seven hours per night impacts lifespan more than poor diet, inactivity, or loneliness — second only to smoking — yet only 7% of U.S. adults report feeling well-rested

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

January 22, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• AO Ventures invests in Padel Haus as the New York-based club operator expects U.S. padel players to double by 2030

• Ammortal adds seven athletes including Mike Trout and Freddie Freeman as ambassadors and investors, with recovery chambers now installed across NFL and MLB teams

• NOBULL raises $50M at $1B valuation with Tom Brady shutting down TB12 to launch NOBULL Nutrition, expanding beyond apparel into grass-fed protein and electrolytes

• Ultra raises $11M led by Left Lane Capital to scale nicotine-free performance pouches delivering energy and focus as functional substitutes gain traction

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

January 21, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• Eventbrite reports 79% of Gen Z and millennials plan to attend more in-person events in 2026, gravitating toward spontaneous formats like run clubs and sauna raves over curated programming

• Meta puts Supernatural VR fitness app into maintenance mode, ending new content after layoffs and strategic shift toward AI, signaling broader risk for VR fitness category

• Merge Labs, co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, raises $252M to develop brain-computer interfaces starting with medical applications before expanding to consumer use

• Cream Co. Meats raises $8M to connect consumers with regenerative ranchers as concern over pesticides drives shift toward nutrient-dense animal protein and transparency

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]

January 20, 2026: Your daily rundown of health and wellness news, in under 5 minutes.

Today's top stories:

• Bathhouse expands with eight new locations over two years, entering Philadelphia, Chicago, Minneapolis, and more as recovery destinations blend hospitality and community

• Peloton and Respin Health report 84% symptom improvement in 60-day menopause program, positioning fitness platforms as legitimate care complements

• World Economic Forum warns global sports economy could lose $1.6T by 2050 due to declining activity and climate risk, calling for sport as preventative health infrastructure

• David Beckham's IM8 crosses $100M in first-year ARR, betting on simplification over more SKUs

More from Fitt:

Fitt Insider breaks down the convergence of fitness, wellness, and healthcare — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.

Subscribe to our newsletter → insider.fitt.co/subscribe

Work with our recruiting firm → https://talent.fitt.co/

Follow us on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/fittinsider/

Follow us on LinkedIn → linkedin.com/company/fittinsider

Reach out → [email protected]