Wellness/mindfulness app you actually use: Calm, but I usually choose a podcast over the app if in a rush.
Daily supplements: Curcumin, magnesium glycinate, omega-3s and vitamin D with K are my essentials for energy, skin health and focus.
Favorite workout clothing or gear: Alo
Fave workout shoe: Nike Pegasus Premium
Skincare product: Fulcrum Skin’s Koji Edit and Glass Skin—the ultimate brightening and smoothing duo for all seasons.
Favorite wellness hotel, spa or getaway: The Peninsula Chicago Spa for in-town restoration; Amangiri when I need a complete reset.
Post-workout snack: A protein shake with greens, electrolytes, and creatine; simple, fast and supportive between patients.
Always tucked in your gym or travel bag: Fulcrum’s Hypochlorous Acid Spray, Laneige lip balm, and Fulcrum’s The Hand Whip for silky-smooth hands (especially in Chicago winters).
Wellness trend you think is worth the hype: Saunas. I’m Finnish and grew up taking saunas weekly—my grandparents would light the outdoor, free-standing sauna every Saturday night, and cousins, friends and family would pile in. It was heat, community and ritual. And the health benefits are real: improved circulation, reduced inflammation, enhanced recovery, clearer skin and deeper sleep. It’s still one of the most restorative practices in my life.
Michael J. Lee
Photo by Katrina Wittkamp
Beauty is more than skin deep for this Chicago plastic surgery star.
Looking good starts with feeling good for Dr. Michael J. Lee (michaeljleemd.com)—and that philosophy has quietly made him one of Chicago’s most trusted names in the world of aesthetic medicine. For more than 20 years, the board-certified plastic surgeon has built a loyal following of prominent Chicagoans at Northwestern Memorial Hospital thanks to his detail-focused, positive approach and emphasis on natural improvement. Beyond the clinic, the Bloomfield Hills, Mich. native and University of Michigan graduate brings that same energy to his podcast I’d Love to Know, where he dives into discussion with leaders in the medical field on themes of longevity, wellness and living our best lives. As Lee embraces 2026 with the goal of expanding the synergy of wellness and aesthetics through new tech and treatments, the River North resident shares with CS some of his essentials for staying at his peak.
Go to workout platform: Athlean-X
Wellness podcast: Mine, of course! But other than that, I love Dr. Peter Attia’s podcast The Drive because it is science-based and detailed.
Wellness/mindfulness app: I use Whoop because of its level of detail in strength training and sleep and Headspace for meditation.
Daily supplements: Carlson omega-3 with EPA and DHA; Theracurmin, which is the most highly available form of curcumin; Pure Encapsulations zinc, vitamin D3 from Thorne. Creatine is also great for muscle growth and brain function.
Favorite workout clothing: Vuori—love the Kore shorts and Sunday joggers as well as the Seaside joggers.
Fave workout shoe: The Nike Metcon. I wear them primarily for lifting weights, but they also work great for CrossFit and HIIT training.
Skincare product: My go-to moisturizer is the Aestura Atobarrier 365 with ceramides and niacinamide as well as Skinbetter Science Trio Rebalancing Lotion and the new Plated Intense lotion with exosomes to brighten the skin.
Favorite wellness hotel, spa or restorative getaway: My favorite place is the Four Seasons in Seoul, which offers wellness and skin treatments, but in the U.S. I’d say Blackberry Mountain.
Morning ritual that sets your day in motion: Qigong
Post-workout snack or drink of choice: Ice water and True Nutrition cold-filtered vanilla whey protein isolate
Always in my travel bag: Sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat.
A wellness trend you think is worth the hype: GLP- 1s (Ozempic/Wegovy) and dual agonists GLP-1/GIP (Zepbound/Mounjaro) will revolutionize health not only with their effect on weight, metabolism and heart and kidney disease, but also likely dementia/brain health and alcohol use.
Amanda Hanlon and Suman Chagarlamudi
Photo courtesy of Eastend
With a social, experience-driven take on wellness, this entrepreneurial pair is shaping Chicago’s next wave of self-care.
When it comes to the Chicago wellness scene, these days it’s all about getting social, from group sauna experiences to members-only wellness clubs. With their recently opened Fulton Market destination Eastend (practiceeastend.com), dynamic duo Amanda Hanlon and Suman Chagarlamudi are on the trend’s cutting edge, offering everything from sauna and cold plunge to Ammortal, a guided experience featuring light, vibration, electro-magnetics, molecular hydrogen, music, meditation, breathwork and intention. As the entrepreneurial pair (Chagarlamudi resides in the Gold Coast, while Hanlon is based in Toronto) look ahead to 2026 and building Eastend into a powerhouse performer, they share with us some of their own personal passions when it comes to living their best lives.
Go-to workout platform: Alo Moves: sleek, well-structured and travel-proof. —AH
Nike Training Club and Apple Fitness+ —SC
Wellness podcast: Kelly Starrett’s The Ready State: Mobility, recovery and “how to feel better in your body” from the world’s best physio-coach. Practical fixes you can use the same day. —SC
Wellness/mindfulness app: Ten Percent Happier— approachable, slightly skeptical mindfulness conversations, great for us high-performers who don’t want woo. —AH
Daily supplements: AG1, omega-3s, vitamin D, iron and collagen —AH
Vitamin D, magnesium, ashwagandha and turmeric/ curcumin —SC
Favorite workout gear: Nama: Canadian, cute and pilates-friendly. —AH
Mate the Label sets —SC
Fave workout shoe: On Running Cloud series —SC
Skincare product: I own medical spas in Canada, so anything Augustinus Bader or Biologique Recherche. —AH
Favorite wellness getaway: Aman resorts (especially their Ayurvedic spa experiences) —SC
Slow start, steady energy. —SC
Post-workout snack or drink of choice: Green smoothie —AH
Eggs and veggies —SC
Wellness trend you think is worth the hype: Sauna. Not a trend for me, it’s foundational for nervous system regulation, recovery, skin health and long-term longevity. —AH
Ammortal. It feels like a full-body reset, energizing without being taxing and a real mood and circulation lift. —SC
Ryan Murphy
Photo by Katrina Wittkamp
Wellness and design go hand in hand for this Chicago entrepreneur, who works to create spaces and experiences that help people thrive, extend their health and live with purpose.
As the CEO of Build Holding Company (buildholdingco.com) and a founding member of leading longevity and wellness company Next Health (next-health.com), which recently opened a Lincoln Park location, Ryan Murphy is powerfully passionate about both real estate and wellness. His goal? To integrate the two by creating wellness-focused environments that help people optimize their well-being, all while maximizing his own via Next Health treatments like IV therapy, therapeutic plasma exchange and functional medicine counseling. As Murphy looks ahead to 2026 and his goal of “building something that outlives me” through the lives he impacts, he shares with CS some of the wellness essentials that keep him energized on the daily.
Go-to workout platform: Forget platforms—10,000 steps and old-school bodyweight exercises to failure. Simple. Brutal. Effective.
Wellness podcast: Darshan Shah’s Extend. Longevity with zero fluff .
Wellness/mindfulness app you actually use: Calm. Quick reset, big impact.
Daily supplements you swear by: A genomic-driven stack based on SNIP nutrigenomics, plus magnesium, omega-3s, creatine and a precision peptide rotation engineered for recovery, energy and performance.
Favorite workout clothing or gear: Vuori shorts and an old-school hoodie. Comfortable enough to move, rugged enough to earn it.
Fave workout shoe? ASICS flats. No nonsense— just stability and work.
Skincare product you consider nonnegotiable: Obagi vitamin C serum and a peptide-packed moisturizer. Skin longevity equals life longevity.
Favorite wellness hotel, spa or restorative getaway: Little Palm Island. A full reset disguised as a vacation.
Morning ritual that sets your day in motion: Hydration, breathwork, cold exposure, movement. Shock the system, command the day.
Post-workout snack or drink of choice: Protein, creatine and minerals
What’s always tucked in your gym or travel bag: AirPods, electrolytes and a pair of Vuori Kore shorts
A wellness trend you think is worth the hype: Stacking peptides based on genomics. Precision is better than guessing.
