Flyers going in and out of the San Francisco International Airpot now have the chance to buy ‘wellness bro’ supplements and $400 massage guns.
San Francisco saw record-breaking flight numbers and delays over the holidays. The San Francisco International Airport (SFO) — deemed the best international airport in North America last year — with the average person spending well over $100 in the airport, per flight. (In fact, the average flyer spends upwards of $135 on in-airport purchases a trip, most of which is on food and drinks.)
For those with deep pockets and buckets of disposable income, two new vending machines in SFO have garnered niche virality and equally parts intrigue and eye-rolls from passersby.
Recently, SFO travelers noticed a pair of vending machines that fell outside the usual collection of food and novelty vendors — one from the ultra-lux massage gun company Theragun and the other by the high-end health food supplement unicorn, AG1.
“… And [AG1] is now in SFO,” reads a post from popular podcast host, neurologist, and ostensible daddy figure Andrew D. Huberman. The Associate Professor of Neurobiology and Ophthalmology at Stanford’s University School of Medicine enjoyed widespread fandom and adoration since 2020.
Huberman began appearing as guests on popular podcasts, most of which were focused on health, before launching his own podcast, Huberman Lab, in January of 2021; the podcast — a regular entry in the top ten lists on streaming services like Spotify and Apple Podcasts — came under criticism and scrutiny last year when it was found the “wellness bro” was allegedly lying to women he dates, exaggerating and twisting past relationships in his personal and professional life (including his career at Stanford), and pedaling wellness practices that could benefit him, financially; Huberman is still an official sponsor of AG1, a health supplement that’s been widely criticized for its questionable nutritional ingredients, health claims, and, you guessed it, misinformation peddling by social media influencers.
Nevertheless, the company’s moss-green vending machine, which sells its brand-specific shaker bottle and line of powdered supplements, sits right outside SFO’s Terminal 3.
But wait, there’s more! For when your neck becomes stiff from sleep strang sat in your middle seat, you can preemptively (or preemptively) buy a hundreds-dollar massage gun to soothe said sore neck.
Workout news outlet Fitt reported the recovery tech maker installed its first vending machine at SFO in December. Unlike AG1, Theragun’s San Francisco Airport vending machine unit exists as the first of its kind installed in any airport; currently, AG1 has multiple vending machines in airports across the country, including Oakland.
Technological recovery devices, especially massage guns, are nothing new. These tools have been common in the workout space for nearly two decades — the first “percussion massage gun,” the units we commonly see advertised today, came onto the market in 2008, though the technology was first patented in 1974 — but Theragun was the first health tech company to give the devices a more chic appeal.
Much like AG1, Theragun, like AG1, wielded the social media prowess of influencers to garner brand recognition. While AG1 is commonly associated with the tech bro cohort, Theragun is more affiliated with the “YT,” i.e. “white people,” TikTok crowd of “trad moms” and high-end wellness space.
However, unlike the aforementioned supplement company, Theragun has largely avoided controversy and, while objectively overpriced — Theragun models regularly cost more than $400 for massage guns that have a category average price of less than $100 — its products feature robust components.
The company’s neutral tones and minimalist format echo those seen in the luxury handbag industry. In fact: a quick color study shows that SKIMS, Kim Kardashian’s billion-dollar shape-wear brand intertwines with celebrity, and Theragun shares an almost identical Pantone scheme throughout their individual product lines.
Granted, there are probably better (and wiser) places to drop hundreds of dollars on wellness products than through a human-free kiosk at an international airport. But what the hell: We’re on the cusp of entering another Trump presidency. We’re going to need all the mind and body aid we can muster. But, please: do your research before dropping those Benjamins, beforehand.
