Wellness is a word often attached to femininity. When you say a “wellness establishment” or a “wellness brand,” you tend to think of hot tubs, manicures, hair treatments, and facials. Since men aren’t the usual market of those services, you’d brush them off and think that they’re not for you, without question.
But our unwillingness to invest in our own wellness is harming our population more than ever. In the U.S., men live about five years shorter than women, and the leading causes of death are depression and suicide.
Sadly, even mental illnesses are something a lot of men aren’t open to talking about. True enough, men have a much more negative view on counseling and therapy and will only seek help when they reach rock-bottom. Clearly, despite society having gone a long way since the start of the information age, many men still stick to traditional, toxic masculinity standards.
This National Men’s Health Month, let’s rethink our ways and realize that wellness is for all genders. If you’re already a step ahead of the others, you can start a wellness business with men as your primary target market. Below are some great wellness business ideas that will encourage your brothers to get healthier physically, mentally, and emotionally:
1. Martial Arts Studio or School
For boys lacking confidence because they’re not into traditional team sports, martial arts can be a good sport. Engaging in martial arts is a great way to boost their heart health and build up their strength and reflexes. The sport also improves flexibility, manages weight, and helps achieve an overall healthier lifestyle.
There are some risks involved in martial arts, though, such as physical injuries and property damage. Hence, it’s critical not just to provide protective gear but also to get insurance for your martial arts school or studio. It will protect you from being personally liable if your classes get a little too intense.
2. Dance Studio
Dancing is an amazing form of exercise for boys and men who aren’t athletic. The activity is fun, interactive, and has many health benefits. Like martial arts, dancing improves heart health and builds up strength and balance. It’s also good for mental health, boosting cognitive performance challenging the brain and providing opportunities for socializing. Whether they’re ten or 80 years old, boys and men can definitely enjoy dancing.
3. Resort and Wellness Center
Nestled in the foothills of the Alps in Switzerland is a five-star hotel called Grand Resort Bad Ragaz. It was featured in the Netflix documentary Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby. The hotel boasts the usual amenities of first-class accommodation and a large wellness center offering a wide range of services. These include rheumatology and sports medicine, aesthetics, radiology, dental care, plastic surgery, and more.
You don’t have to build a five-star hotel to offer relaxation and healthcare services to men. You can start with a more affordable exclusive resort, and offer critical services for men like STI tests, counseling, eating disorder treatment, and life coaching. A gym, of course, is always welcome, but also note that there’s more to health than bulging biceps.
4. Dietitian Services
Gut health is crucial for everyone, but men tend to be weaker in this department. As they get older, most of their body fat gets deposited into their bellies, creating the famous “dad bod.”
Despite the dad bod getting relatively positive feedback from females, it doesn’t mean all men with pudgy bellies are confident. Many of them would rather get their flat stomachs back but don’t know how. So you can help them by starting a dietitian services business.
A dietitian, a.k.a. nutritionist, is essential to those who want to lose weight fast. Many people, regardless of sex, resort to unhealthy methods like starving themselves or exercising excessively to shred off fat fast. Those dangerous methods can lead to an eating disorder, jeopardizing their health even more. But with a dietitian guiding them instead, they can discover safer, healthier, and more energizing approaches to weight management.
5. Performing Arts Workshop
Wellness isn’t just about working out your body. Working out your talents counts as wellness too. So if you know many boys and men who are gifted with incredible singing, dancing, or acting skills, but lack the chance to show them off, open a performing arts workshop. Be the start of their path to stardom.
By marketing wellness activities or programs to men, you help break the stigma toward boys and men who take care of themselves, as well as the prejudice that health- and image-conscious men are “vain.” Make health and wellness normal for men so that no one would suffer mental and physical illnesses alone anymore.
