WHOOP CEO, Will Ahmed: 50B Hours of Health Data, a 4 Million Member Data Moat, & the FDA Fight
Jason Calacanis interviews Whoop CEO Will Ahmed about building a 4 million member wearable with 50 billion hours of health data, using AI to spot health problems early, and fighting the FDA over blood pressure.
The gist
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Calacanis says a higher respiratory rate and skin temperature on Whoop warned him early about COVID and, later, lung inflammation that sent him to the ER.
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Whoop's journal links habits to recovery: Calacanis sees warm baths with salts at plus 7%, Ahmed sees alcohol at minus 9%, and late meals hurt sleep.
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Calacanis lost 43 pounds on a GLP-1; Ahmed says about half of GLP-1 weight loss is muscle, so Whoop pushes strength training and protein.
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Ahmed says the FDA sent a warning letter over Whoop's blood pressure feature, built from a 70,000 member study, then later updated its wellness guidelines.
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In a lightning round, Ahmed picks 30 to 60 second cold showers, the classic hot sauna, and more weight lifting over time on an elliptical.
"To be totally honest, for a dollar a day, I think this is like one of the best things you could spend on your health, or even less than a dollar a day."
▶ Play at 3:0213 creators recommend it, including This Week in Startups, Ali Abdaal, and Chris Williamson.
See all on the Whoop page"It turns out for a warm bath, which was never my thing... I'm adding salts to the bath. Yes. And that's now also tracked... Warm bath plus 7% on my recovery."
▶ Play at 26:27"I take a light GLP. Lost 43 pounds on it... that makes a difference when you're 213, you get to 170, skiing, sleeping, everything."
▶ Play at 32:0813 creators recommend it, including David Sinclair, Allison Ellsworth, and Clavicular.
See all on the GLP-1 page"I'll say cold shower because it's very accessible and it's something that people can do every day. And you do it for even 30 seconds, 60 seconds, you're just going to feel a lot better."
▶ Play at 45:082 creators recommend it, including Rhonda Patrick.
See all on the Cold shower page22 creators recommend it, including Joe Rogan, Mark Hyman, MD, and Rhonda Patrick.
See all on the Sauna page"I think that everyone should be lifting more weights... if they have an hour to exercise, they should spend more time lifting and less time on an elliptical... because your muscle mass is such an important test for longevity."
▶ Play at 45:5213 creators recommend it, including Mark Hyman, MD, Andrew Huberman, and Joe Rogan.
See all on the Resistance training pageWhat they recommend · 9 picks
Health & fitness
9 picks · Will Ahmed and Jason Calacanis
"I'll say cold shower because it's very accessible and it's something that people can do every day. And you do it for even 30 seconds, 60 seconds, you're just going to feel a lot..."
"I think that everyone should be lifting more weights... if they have an hour to exercise, they should spend more time lifting and less time on an elliptical... because your musc..."
"To be totally honest, for a dollar a day, I think this is like one of the best things you could spend on your health, or even less than a dollar a day."
Jason Calacanis
5 picks
"To be totally honest, for a dollar a day, I think this is like one of the best things you could spend on your health, or even less than a dollar a day."
"It turns out for a warm bath, which was never my thing... I'm adding salts to the bath. Yes. And that's now also tracked... Warm bath plus 7% on my recovery."
"Long walks and rucking and farmers walks are like the key to longevity, I'm told... I am a rucking machine. I'm in the top 1% of people doing rucking and farmers walks."
Will Ahmed
4 picks · guest
"I'll say cold shower because it's very accessible and it's something that people can do every day. And you do it for even 30 seconds, 60 seconds, you're just going to feel a lot..."
"I think that everyone should be lifting more weights... if they have an hour to exercise, they should spend more time lifting and less time on an elliptical... because your musc..."
"I like the hot sauna. Old school."
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