Obsessed with the Average | Welcome Issue
What to expect and why now?
Welcome to Obsessed with the Average.
My name is Ben Parens, and yes, this newsletter delves into the vast world of health and wellness. But before you click away, let me give you a glimpse of what you’ll discover here and why you might want to stick around.
Who am I?
Health, fitness, and sports have been my lifelong companions, shaping me in ways I never imagined. I started playing ice hockey at the age of 3, which set off a cascading series of events that led me to playing college lacrosse, a very short stint in the pros (for those unfamiliar, we can equate this to an underpaid, very well-organized beer league), which has now evolved into an obsession with distance running, hybrid training, and exploring personal growth through health.
At the core of this, I’ve always been drawn to how pushing myself physically and maintaining a health-focused mindset seeps into every other corner of my life and allows me to show up as the best and most productive version of myself.
Over the past 6 years, nearly 10 marathons and 10,000 miles later, hybrid fitness has been the tuning fork for how I measure my life. Physical exertion has been an outlet that has taught me some of the most important lessons I carry with me daily. For better or worse, my mood hinges on whether or not I worked out before kicking off a day, and in a world of cheap dopamine hits, I’ve found this to be the lesser of the evils, and the most sustainable route for me. I’m excited to lift up the hood into what interests me in this rapidly growing, and to me, incredibly exciting space of personal and consumer health, and fitness communities more broadly.
As the name of this newsletter suggests, reaching optimal health isn’t a secret, although it can feel this way as we’re constantly inundated with an onslaught of new products and protocols on what feels like a daily basis. My goal is to share what has worked for me, what’s “worth it”, and how the minute details are what really move the needle - the average stuff.
Why Now?
I’ve recently joined the awesome team at TrueMed founded by Justin Mares and Calley Means. I manage our brand partnerships with some of the cutting edge, health-forward brands focused on improving long term physical, mental, and metabolic health of their consumers. In a space littered with conflicting information (and a lot of quick-fix-BS), I feel the mission of sustainable and science-backed health and wellness practices is both critical and worth evangelizing.
This has inspired me to share my journey. The health & wellness space is growing rapidly, and I feel lucky to be engaging with many of the leaders in it.
To close out, this newsletter will serve three main purposes:
Update you on the latest in consumer & personal health. Give “wire cutter” like insight into use cases, benefits, and commentary around the products aiming to make this country a healthier one. Maybe you’ll find a new greens powder or start to think differently about how you can make small tweaks to your daily routine and ultimately change your health and life trajectory.
Block out the noise. I don’t aim to be a myth buster but there is unfortunately more bad information in this space than good. The importance of small tweaks/nudges that someone can make is something this industry often overlooks and I hope to share examples of this.
Update you on my own health journey and upcoming challenges and how many of these brands and products (in conjunction with other practices) can make these feats less grueling and optimized for success. I’m not a professional by any stretch of the imagination, but feel somewhat qualified to highlight the products and practices jockeying for a spot in your daily or training routine.
Excited to embark on this journey together.