Bryan, I appreciated the title of this one and all of these insights as always with the ones about "designing for hope" and "wellness not being designed for a 70-year-old body resonating the most.
I think most people 50+ want to have new experiences and things to look forward to, so consumerism that supports that and doesn't assume slowing down or that later years are decline-focused is important.
And I'm seeing in my own coaching clients and myself that while we certainly would like to look good in our clothes, it's more about feeling good in your own skin. Weight loss and fitness is for making sure you can do everything you hope to as you age vs. vanity. Current portrayals of those age 50+ so often assume all we want to do is golf, yoga, pickleball and chair exercise. So many of us are more rugged than that. In fact, the fitness professional guidelines for older adult fitness are not to do something sitting when standing is possible.
Maybe soon we'll see more images of 50+ people hiking and running (like I and many I know do) rather than holding 2-lb. weights in chairs. Nothing wrong with that if that's a fit for your capability but it shouldn't be the default assumption.
Fantastic breakdown of the trust gap affecting older demographics. The point abotu optimism fueling engagement really gets at why so many longevity-focused products fail adoption. I've seen family memebers hesitate on health tech not becuase of usability but because they don't believe things will actually improve longterm. Rebuilding hope isn't just emotional, it's foundational to designing anything people will commit to for decades.
What connects the dots (for me) is how often the real bottleneck is trust and not information. People don’t opt out because they’re ignorant. They opt out because the future feels rigged, their body feels unfamiliar, and institutions keep asking for compliance instead of offering proof.
Also: “Wellness wasn’t built for a 70-year-old body” is a killer frame. There’s an entire market shift hiding inside that sentence.
This seems true. A lot of skepticism isn’t resistance. It’s lived experience.
Bryan, I appreciated the title of this one and all of these insights as always with the ones about "designing for hope" and "wellness not being designed for a 70-year-old body resonating the most.
I think most people 50+ want to have new experiences and things to look forward to, so consumerism that supports that and doesn't assume slowing down or that later years are decline-focused is important.
And I'm seeing in my own coaching clients and myself that while we certainly would like to look good in our clothes, it's more about feeling good in your own skin. Weight loss and fitness is for making sure you can do everything you hope to as you age vs. vanity. Current portrayals of those age 50+ so often assume all we want to do is golf, yoga, pickleball and chair exercise. So many of us are more rugged than that. In fact, the fitness professional guidelines for older adult fitness are not to do something sitting when standing is possible.
Maybe soon we'll see more images of 50+ people hiking and running (like I and many I know do) rather than holding 2-lb. weights in chairs. Nothing wrong with that if that's a fit for your capability but it shouldn't be the default assumption.
I think it is coming Melanie. We will see more diverse representations of “older adults” in media over the coming decade. Appreciate your comments! ❤️
Fantastic breakdown of the trust gap affecting older demographics. The point abotu optimism fueling engagement really gets at why so many longevity-focused products fail adoption. I've seen family memebers hesitate on health tech not becuase of usability but because they don't believe things will actually improve longterm. Rebuilding hope isn't just emotional, it's foundational to designing anything people will commit to for decades.
What connects the dots (for me) is how often the real bottleneck is trust and not information. People don’t opt out because they’re ignorant. They opt out because the future feels rigged, their body feels unfamiliar, and institutions keep asking for compliance instead of offering proof.
Also: “Wellness wasn’t built for a 70-year-old body” is a killer frame. There’s an entire market shift hiding inside that sentence.