Is your personal trainer gossiping about you?

Happy weekend, Pursuits-anistas! Deputy editor Jim Gaddy here. Life on the luxury beat has its share of perks, but an underrated one is that [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Happy weekend, Pursuits-anistas! Deputy editor Jim Gaddy here. Life on the luxury beat has its share of perks, but an underrated one is that I have a wealth of weird and wacky stories to tell my friends and family. Just this week, we’ve talked to people who are upset [because they can’t find a seat]( at their airport lounge, [new pneumatic-tube innovations for fast food drive-thru](, and a [line of clothing]( from the Bling Empire crew. (The shirts say “bling” on the front.) But some luxury jobs have even stranger, you’ll-never-believe-this-one stories. If you work on a yacht, for example, [watching the internal cameras can be like blooper TV](. A staff member at one of New York’s fanciest hotels still talks about the time [he had to find a live tarantula]( so that one of the guests could eat it. About once a month, flight attendants get to regale their friends about the latest person to try to [gain admission to the Mile High Club](. And after going through [our latest exposé on the lifestyles of the rich and famous]( in a recent issues of Businessweek, I’d bet that fitness instructors have the wildest tales of all. Illustration: Carolina Moscoso Without fail, they say they often feel more like a therapist than a fitness instructor. Imagine spending an hour hearing about a husband’s exploits with drugs and prostitutes while on international business trips; then spending the next hour training the man’s unwitting wife. Or watching a couple draw up legal papers to share custody of a cycling class after a divorce. Or getting DMs from your clients asking, “Will you watch as I give myself a wedgie?” Or: “Will you watch as I smash a pie in my own face?” Or: “Can I put on a dog collar and have you zap me?” Illustration: Carolina Moscoso Or even competing for attention with a teacup pig. Reading that story, I felt a little bit better about my ongoing fascination (not obsession!) with Pilates, which started after I helped one of our regular contributors research [the best Pilates classes in NYC](. There was something really appealing about a judgment-free, meditative, and slow—but still muscle-building!—class that helped ease me back into shape after a bicycle injury required several months of physical therapy. I even felt slightly superior. I mean, those fitness people are a little insane! Who acts like that? Surely my Pilates instructors wouldn’t say anything like that about me, right? Right? Elsewhere on the Wellness Beat [Get Ready for the Magic Mushroom Pill]( The medical benefits of psychedelic drugs have gone from Age of Aquarius punchline to solid science, but the startups racing to market might still be getting ahead of themselves. [In the Wake of Covid, Corporate Bosses Become Breathwork Believers]( The ancient practice is increasingly validated by science and used to optimize brainpower and relieve stress. [Thinking Too Hard Really Can Make You Tired, Scientists Say]( If you’re feeling drained at the end of a demanding day at the office, it could be you’ve been thinking too much. [NYC’s Most Expensive Hotel Is Now Aman New York. Here’s a First Look]( The most reliable way into this bonafide urban wellness resort is a club membership that costs $200,000. [Don’t Forget to Write! Why Letters and Cards Are More Important Than Ever]( Your handwriting may be rusty, but we say: enough with the Zooms. Foster some real connections by putting pen to paper What We’re Watching - You know who else told great stories? J.R.R. Tolkien, whose Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books have become modern-day classics, and George R.R. Martin, whose Game of Thrones saga was adapted into one of the most successful TV shows ever. Well, they’re both back this fall, and [going head-to-head in the latest battle for streaming supremacy](. In the new issue of Businessweek, our Screentime colleague Felix Gillette delves into the unusually high stakes for Amazon’s new LOTR prequel, entitled Rings of Power, which cost roughly $58 million per episode and begins airing Sept. 2 on Prime. Milly Alcock as Princess Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon. - We also [reviewed the first episode of House of the Dragon](, the Game of Thrones prequel now airing on HBO. And all the blood, sex, violence, plotting, and dragons that made its predecessor such a pop culture phenomenon are back. But this time, there’s no Tyrion Lannister-style comedic relief.  - Another of our generation’s most gifted storytellers is Australian film director George Miller, who critic Esther Zuckerman describes as the “wild genius” of pop cinema. Anyone who can go from Babe and Happy Feet to Mad Max: Fury Road has got serious range. His new film, Three Thousand Years of Longing, gets released this weekend and is an “[almost-perfect potion](.” Mike Tyson, played by Trevante Rhodes, and Don King, played by Russell Hornsby, before a fight with Evander Holyfield. Photographer: Alfonso Bresciani - A not-so-good story this fall? The new docudrama Mike, streaming on Hulu now and on Disney+ on Sept. 8 in the UK, about the life and times of the most famous fighter alive, Mike Tyson. The producers did not seek out Iron Mike’s help with this one, and he’s not very happy about that. But the bigger issue, says our reviewer Brin-Jonathan Butler, is that the most interesting character in the show isn’t even Tyson—it’s Desiree Washington, who accused Tyson of rape in 1991. Her story, he says, [is the one that deserves its own show](.  - We also check in with Ken Burns, documentarian extraordinaire, whose name is practically synonymous with PBS. His latest, made with Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein and airing Sept. 18, is entitled The US and the Holocaust. It focuses on US corporations such as Ford Motor Co., which helped supply trucks to the Nazis, and looks at why so many families, such as Anne Frank’s, [were denied visas by the US government](. You can probably guess why. So, you had some questions … What is the next trend you’re observing in UHNW fitness demands? Our [story about the secret lives of fitness instructors]( mentions one big thing that UHNW (ultra-high-net-worth) individuals want: total customization. Think monogrammed dumbbells, personal wallpaper, or specific paint colors. The most expensive add-on right now is an “altitude room,” a sealed chamber that can replicate atmospheric pressure at different elevations. “You can go for a run on Everest if you want,” says one trainer. The technology will set you back $100,000 before putting any equipment inside. I’m a 23-year-old female and weigh 230 pounds. I need to lose a lot of weight but am terrified of loose skin. Any advice? Everyone’s body is different, so there are rarely any one-size-fits-all suggestions. It depends on how much weight you are trying to lose—anything roughly 20 pounds or less usually doesn’t lead to loose skin—and how fast you are aiming to lose it, since your body adjusts to gradual weight loss better. And drinking water helps your skin retain elasticity, too. My advice? It can be really, really hard to lose weight, but if you are able to do it, worry about the skin issue later. There are ways to fix it. (Insurance may even pay for it.) Don’t let fear of future success be the reason for failure today. Who will win the US Open? It’s wide open this year. Reigning champion Daniil Medvedev is the betting favorite, now that Novak Djokovic has been ruled out because of his vaccination status, but after that it’s a lot of question marks. Rafael Nadal is second, but he’s been battling injuries lately. I’m most interested in watching Carlos Alcaraz: He’s only 19 and has never made a Grand Slam semifinal but has a chance to leave New York as the youngest No. 1-ranked player ever. I want to see how he holds up under the lights at Arthur Ashe. On the women’s side, Iga Swiatek is currently ranked No. 1, but Coco Gauff has been playing well all year. I like her chances to get that first Grand Slam. Why are people who talk about fitness so boring? I wouldn’t go that far: The fitness instructors in our story ([here’s that link one more time!]() are highly entertaining. But in general, yes, people who talk about working out can be insufferable. No one cares how much you can bench press! It’s the equivalent of bragging about getting good grades. Like, okay nerd. A fitness routine should take to heart that old saw about storytelling: Show, don’t tell. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Pursuits newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](