In June, at a luxury spa called Soma Lifehouse in Greenwich, Connecticut, I found myself flipping through the so-called “trip guide,” deciding whether I wanted to relax, release, recover, or reconnect. As I weighed my options, one boasting the sonic accompaniment of a “sad cello” and the other the gentle vibrations of an ancient didgeridoo, the woman sitting to my right was answering emails on her laptop while undergoing IV therapy. I asked her if she had ever experienced the cellular wonders of NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) injections or come here to be injected with PDRN, a treatment involving salmon DNA that is said to stimulate collagen production. She told me not yet. But like many people looking to thwart the indignities of aging, she was willing to try anything.
Personally, I’ve been waiting to be restored to health by the Eternal Room, a $159,500 tray that combines several non-invasive techniques — meditation, molecular hydrogen, vibrational acoustics, electromagnetism, and both red light and near-infrared therapy — to speed healing, reduce inflammation and relieve stress, among other benefits.
I heard that was the conciliatory shield that Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford leaned on during training camp before going on, at age 38, to win the league’s Most Valuable Player award; Endorsed by baseball stars Mike Trout and Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers; The device was promoted by biohacking evangelist Dave Asprey, whose experiments in the fields of longevity and self-improvement include, but are not limited to, brainwave training, stem cell repair, and keeping a record of ejaculation. There was reason, then, to believe that after a week of heavy drinking and nerve-racking — Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals were played on the Monday and Wednesday before my visit — I too might benefit from the Ammortal Chamber, whose creator Brian Le Gette is careful not to overstate the device’s therapeutic powers. “Like all the technology out there, we don’t process anything,” he told me. “We are not a medical device. We are a health product, so I never use the words ‘heal’, ‘recovery’ or ‘pain relief.'” He added that the idea is to “support you in your healing process,” by regulating the nervous system into what is called a “parasympathetic state.”
Launched in 2023, the room arrived at a time when the idea of using advanced technologies and cutting-edge science to fine-tune our bodies was gaining favor. Although incarnations of this movement tend toward monomania and extreme wealth — like Brian Johnson, the fintech czar who injected his teenage son’s blood, or Peter Diamandis, who sees mortality as merely a problem to be solved with artificial intelligence — their emergence reflects a broader, society-wide interest in the idea that with sufficient investment and monk-like commitment, we can live longer, healthier lives. In fact, the global biohacking market is expected to reach $118 billion over the next seven years; On the other hand, the “smart wearables” market, from glucose monitors and ultrasound patches to Oura rings and sleep trackers, is currently worth about $91.1 billion. And it’s not just retirees and pre-sclerotic people looking to hack their bodies; Even Millennials and Zoomers have embraced the term “pre-rejuvenation,” the umbrella term for a range of preventive measures ranging from microneedling to skin-tightening treatments.
What sets Ammortal apart from the plethora of health and improvement products on the market, according to its charismatic and fitness-minded founder, is the promise of a more comprehensive experience of physical and mental recovery. When he first envisioned a single machine that could “stack” a variety of reputable treatments, Loggett was enjoying steak and malbecs in Buenos Aires with a fellow entrepreneur who was using pulsed electromagnetic field and red light treatments on the damaged joints of mixed martial arts fighters. “He was taking guys who the allopathic establishment told them wouldn’t train for 10 to 12 months, and had them fighting and winning in the ring in six weeks,” Loggett recalls. Lou Getty, who founded a Baltimore-based urban farming company and the brand ZeroChroma, which makes iPhone cases with built-in kickstands, wondered whether this same logic could be applied to the entire body. So he began drawing sketches of the room, starting with a reclining bed inspired by the zero-gravity position of astronauts being launched into space.
I found myself in this situation when I began my journey as Emily, the invisible, soft-spoken audio guide of Ammortal. A canopy of lights was lowered from the pod’s ceiling, blasting my naked body with near-red and infrared light while molecular hydrogen was delivered to my nose through a nasal cannula. For the next 25 minutes, I was immersed in something of a euphoria, so much so that when I raised the umbrella and Emily announced that I had completed my journey, I reached into my notebook and could remember little of the experience besides the ambient, soothing sound of the sonic vibrations. For the first time in my life, I meditated successfully. If I had the opportunity to use the room on a more regular basis, I might also see a reduction in inflammation, cellular repair, and, according to the Ammortal website, a sense of “caffeinated calm.”
A few days later, Loggett recounted testimonies of patrons who had far more sublime experiences: one prominent NHL enforcer who used the room and felt like they were “flying through the universe,” another who found himself in conversation with his deceased mother. “Some people come out crying, saying things like, ‘I finally realize I deserve this,’” Loggett added.
However, others may wonder whether the machine itself is worth it. At more than 40 upscale spas and wellness centers across the United States, a 25- or 50-minute session will cost you between $115 and $165. Installing the room in your home, like San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle did, is a more expensive investment, coming in at roughly $170,000 after on-site delivery and assembly. However, Le Gette has designs to eventually make the product more accessible to those who don’t frequent luxury spas, branded hotels or sports facilities for professional sports teams.
“There’s a Tesla-type strategy to this, where you start high and then bring the price points down,” he told me. “Because from an individual point of view, if you’re 4, 94, or 104, you need the same things. Whether you’re a professional athlete, a stay-at-home dad, a CEO mom, or a 14-year-old with anxiety issues, it doesn’t matter. We all need a regulated nervous system. We all need improved biology.”
