From gym to boardroom: A performance revolution is underway

· Thrive by WHX (2–4 September 2025 in Cape Town) will spotlight how science, sport and strategy are converging to reshape human performance and wellbeing.

· Real-time data, AI coaching, and wearable tech – once exclusive to elite athletes – are now democratising health, fitness and performance tools for broader audiences.

· Global and South African leaders in sport science, medicine and business will explore personalised healthcare, mental resilience and the rise of proactive health strategies.

·South Africa’s wellness tech sector is booming, driven by consumer demand, local innovation and rising investment in personalised and preventative health solutions.

Thrive by WHX (2-4 September, CTICC) unpacks how technology, sport and science are changing the way we work, live and thrive.

What if elite-level performance tools weren’t just for athletes? What if the same strategies used to train Formula 1 drivers and national sports teams could also boost focus, recovery, and wellbeing in everyday life? That’s the question behind Thrive by WHX, taking place 2–4 September 2025 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

The event brings together global and local experts across medicine, sport, nutrition, longevity and leadership to explore one powerful theme: the future of health is personalised, proactive and performance driven.

High performance is found in real-time insights, behavioural data and biosensors, says McKinsey research. AI coaching platforms and mental wellness applications developed for high-performance athletes are democratising access to optimising performance and wellbeing. In South Africa, these tools are levelling the health and fitness playing field as more people can personalise their performance and strategies using tools that give them data, real-time feedback and relevant insights.

Featured speakers include sports and exercise medicine physician, Dr Phathokuhle Zondi; founder of Levitas One and a dedicated specialist in longevity and human optimisation, Dr Ash Kapoor; sports and exercise medicine physician, Dr Janesh Ganda; South African sportsman, Mika Abrahams; and entrepreneur, academic and dietician, Niall Naidoo – each speaker will address themes ranging from preventative healthcare and longevity to elite sport, accessibility and youth resilience.

We’re seeing a global shift from treating illness to creating health,” says Dr Phathokuhle Zondi. “When wellbeing is treated as a strategy, then performance, productivity and resilience all improve.”

Once the domain of elite athletes, performance tech like AI coaching, glucose monitors and biometric wearables is now part of mainstream healthcare and wellness. And in South Africa, adoption is growing fast, from schools and clinics to gyms, corporates and communities.

“These tools used to be seen as luxury add-ons,” says Niall Naidoo. “Now they’re being embedded into daily life. People are using real-time data to track sleep, movement and mood because it works.”

South Africa’s wellness tech sector is booming, with new investment flowing into personalised health tools and preventative care. Consumers are spending more on wellbeing than ever before. The shift is driven by demand for health creation not just healthcare.

“We aren’t just tracking more data,” says Dr Ash Kapoor. “We’re redesigning care around individual variability. The value comes when we help people interpret that data and take meaningful action.”

From tracking blood sugar to decoding your genome, personalised medicine is moving into the mainstream. “Longevity isn’t about ageing slower,” says Dr Janesh Ganda. “It’s about functioning better, for longer.”

Thrive speakers will unpack how tech and science must be matched with education, context and design. “If people don’t know what their data means,” says Kapoor, “it becomes noise. We need systems that guide and support.”

Thrive will also shine a spotlight on mental performance and how it’s being redefined by sport and science. Zondi says recovery and reflection now matter more than toughness. “Those who pause and reset outperform those who just push through.”

As tools become cheaper and more ubiquitous, the next question is: who gets support? Thrive will explore how employers, educators and healthcare professionals can create environments that embed healthy choices into the routines people already live.

The future of wellness, when set against the backdrop of tech, innovation, data and life hacking, has become something transformative and exponential – moving in new directions and with new possibilities opening up as people become more connected and solutions more ubiquitous. This set of tools, principles and systems are designed to work with complexity and simplify it for anyone to use. Whether in hospitals, offices or sports academies, the aim is the same: to create environments where human beings can function at their best, not by chance, but by design.

To find out more and register for Thrive by WHX, visit: https://www.worldhealthexpo.com/events/thrive/capetown/en/home.html

For more industry related news, click here.