PROF I LE
PROF I LE
G ordon C hen , MD Founder and CEO, BLU BY Thrivewell TM
Dr. Gordon Chen has spent much of his career thinking about time, specifically how people experience it in their bodies as they age. “We talk a lot about lifespan,” he says. “But what really matters is health span. Those are the years you’re actually living well.” As the founder and CEO of Thrivewell, a Fort Lauderdale- based longevity and wellness center, Chen has built a practice that focuses on prevention, accountability and measurable change. With a background in cardiology and primary care, he saw firsthand how traditional medicine often responds after illness appears. “The system is designed to treat disease,” he says. “It’s not designed to keep people healthy.” Thrivewell operates on a different model. Members undergo comprehensive evaluations that include advanced lab work, genetic testing, body composition scans and metabolic assessments. The goal, Chen explains, is clarity. “You can’t manage what you don’t measure,” he says. “We want people to understand their numbers and what they mean for their future.” Central to Chen’s philosophy are what he calls the five drivers of health: personal, community, physical, nutritional and spiritual well-being. “When those five areas are aligned,
everything else follows,” he says. “You don’t need gimmicks. You need consistency.”
Fitness plays a significant role, particularly cardiovascular capacity. “VO2 max is one of the strongest predictors of longevity,” Chen explains. “It tells us how efficiently your body uses oxygen. Improving it changes everything.” Thrivewell members routinely see dramatic improvements in this metric, along with reductions in visceral fat and increases in lean muscle mass. Chen is direct about wellness culture. “People think longevity is expensive,” he says. “It’s not. It’s movement, sleep, nutrition, stress management and connection. Most of it costs very little.” Behavior change, he notes, requires structure and support. “Information alone doesn’t help,” he says. “People need guidance, follow-up and someone to keep them accountable.” For Chen, the ultimate goal is freedom. “We want people traveling, playing with their grandchildren, staying mentally sharp,” he says. “Aging doesn’t have to mean decline. We see proof of that every day.”
2026 - JANUARY/FEBRUARY
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