By Anayansy Hernandez
As Miami Tech Week’s energy runs high and techies roam around the city catching the latest panels and networking events, one event in the heart of downtown Miami brought some zen to the chaotic week.
The Betterness Festival gave attendees a day full of wellness and relaxation. Health enthusiasts, wellness instructors, athletes, and technologists came together at Flow Miami on March 26 to catch a break, enjoy the present moment, and celebrate the official launch of the Betterness platform.
Betterness, a new initiative recently launched by Demian Bellumio and his team, is an augmented wellness platform bridging users and providers. Betterness integrates personal health metrics with expert guidance, acting as a personalized AI wellness coach.
On one end, users get personalized, AI-powered health guidance based on health metrics collected from monitoring tools like an Apple Watch. On the other end, wellness providers gain tools to automate engagement, scale their business, and offer deeper personalization for their clients.
Attendees had a chance to sign up for the platform and explore the latest health innovations at the festival. Let’s dive into the day:
Using the Latest Tech to Unwind
Cold plunges, yoga sessions, and meditation were easy to find at the event, and so was the latest technology. Supermind stood out as a crowd favorite, combining therapy, mindfulness, and brainwave training. Using EGG sensors, the device collects real-time brain activity and translates it into sound frequencies designed to help the brain create new neural pathways more efficiently.
For those looking to cut stress, Shiftwave was the solution. The chair uses pulsed pressure waves to activate the body’s autonomic responses, helping the nervous system reset. This results in less stress, sharper focus, more energy, and better sleep. Erick Anderson, founder of Uplifted Miami, uses the recliners as part of his 40-minute workout experience. Anderson pairs it with an Adaptive Resistance exercise machine (ARX) that provides users with exactly the right amount of resistance they can handle on every rep. ‘Whatever energy you put into the machine, you get back. It’s a safe way to do intense exercise,’ he explained. Anderson uses both machines as part of his full stack training method, which he provides in Upper Buena Vista.
Leading with Community in the Workplace
Founders Rob Bent and Tony Cho shared how prioritizing well-being and community unlocks purpose and long-term impact. Bent, founder of Othership, a community centered around ice baths and saunas, spoke about hiring individuals who are passionate about the product and the mission of the organization. ‘Most of the people that we hire come from our customer base,’ Bent said. His approach to having satisfied employees is to seek people who love the product and give them titles they can feel proud of.
Cho, founder of Cho Ventures and ChoZen, emphasized the significance of articulating a larger vision that employees can connect with. ‘I think we all want to be part of something that’s bigger. Everybody that’s in our organization is committed to the bigger vision,’ he said.
Olympic Gold Advice on Being Resilient
In an on-stage discussion with Amanda Goetz, Apolo Ohno, an Olympic gold short track speed skater medalist, reminded the crowd of the importance of finding a balance between driven ambition and recovery. ‘I overtrained for 80% of my career,’ said Ohno.
He emphasized the importance of focusing on sleep, nutrition, movement, and mental health as the four foundational pillars for maintaining overall well-being. Ohno noted that having imbalances in these areas will have even the high achievers feeling dissatisfied. ‘Seek balance and start figuring out what your North Star is,’ he advised the crowd.
READ MORE IN REFRESH MIAMI: Betterness aims to redefine Miami’s startup culture, one wellness hack at a time
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