Sudheer Koneru/Zenoti; BI
- Sudheer Koneru, 56, is the CEO of a health tech company.He told BI's Fitness Money Diaries that he spends around $25,000 a year on his health and fitness.A significant chunk goes on his breathwork classes and annual trip to Bali.
Sudheer Koneru was 15 years into a successful career when he retired to go on what he called a journey of "inner discovery."
Koneru started out as a product manager at Microsoft in 1992, before launching his own company, Intelliprep, in the early 2000s.
In 2008, at age 39, he left the company to focus on improving his fitness by doing yoga, strength training, and running.
"I was happy with where I was financially and my goals were more around my personal well-being and being with my family," Koneru, 56, who is based in Seattle, told Business Insider. "What I did every day at work, all that was fine, but there is something deeper to the meaning of my existence.
"I needed to spend some time learning about that, not just making money."
Zenoti
In 2010, at age 41, he came out of retirement to found Zenoti, which provides business software to fitness centers, spas, and salons. He said he tries to integrate what he sees as the principles of wellness into his company's culture.
Zenoti hosts fitness classes during work hours, including yoga, kickboxing, and pilates, and rewards employees with money for every mile they run, walk, or swim. Employees also have access to a spa and salon, healthy snacks like fruit in the office, and unlimited counseling sessions.
"Wellness isn't about having a six-pack," Koneru said. "It's about balance and being able to live to your full potential."
Koneru works 10 to 12 hours a day in a high-pressure job and tries to sleep for at least seven hours a night, but doesn't always achieve this because he travels at least once a month.
He tries prioritize his health to stay at the top of his game: below is what he spends on average.
Yoga: $0
Koneru does yoga most days at around 7 a.m., including on weekends.
"Yoga has served me very well. When I am very regular with doing it, there's a certain innate balance in my execution of life," he said.
He doesn't buy yoga mats often, so he said he doesn't spend any money on yoga.
Wellness trip to Bali: about $15,000 a year
Koneru's biggest wellness expense is his yearly monthlong trip to Bali, where he rents an entire property for himself for $10,000. He said it helps him focus on work and wellness.
While in Bali, he receives treatments such as massages and sound baths and does lots of yoga. He estimates that treatments, travel, and food add a further $5,000 to the cost of the trip.
"It's an investment, but it helps me be very balanced and I get access to way more wellness and spirituality in Bali," Koneru said. "And I'm still doing my regular 10 hours of work a day."
"Your energy is different in Bali. It's quite peaceful. So, I think I perform better, and I am a believer that when I'm in a good zone with my yoga and wellness and everything, good things happen naturally," he said. "Like I may get better ideas and I may execute them better because the universe is operating through me."
Sudheer Koneru/Zenoti
Running: $200 - $300 a year
Koneru spends between $200 and $300 on running shoes each year.
He ran sporadically during his time at Microsoft and his previous company, because he found it helped him overcome jet lag while traveling.
Koneru started running "seriously" at 40 for the mental health benefits and to help with weight loss, and did two half-marathons in 2014 and 2015. He no longer feels the need to do races because he's proven to himself that he can do them, he said.
Now, Koneru tends to run when he is traveling, for 30 minutes to an hour at around 4 p.m. or 5 p.m., to refresh himself before returning to work in the evening.
Zenoti has teams in the US and India, so he has to be available in different time zones.
Home gym: $3,000 upfront cost + $66 a month
Two years ago, Koneru bought a $3,000 smart home gym machine from the brand Tonal.
Tonal machines feature weight bars and tension ropes installed on a wall, and collect data on the user's movements and fitness goals to provide personalized training programs.
Koneru pays a $66 monthly subscription fee to access features beyond its basic functionality, including a library of workout videos and real-time coaching.
Koneru uses his Tonal home gym to strength train four or five times a week.
Fitness clothing: about $3,000 a year
Koneru estimates that he spends around $3,000 on workout clothes each year.
He shops at stores such as REI Co-op, which sells hiking clothing and gear, and "Lululemon-type places," he said.
Zenoti
Massages: $200 every two months
Koneru has a massage every two months, which costs around $200.
He said he chooses massage parlors that are "wellness-focused," and is happy to spend more on one that's good quality, he said.
He likes Ayurvedic massages, which use essential oils and focus on "energy points" and the skin as well as the muscles.
Breathwork workshops: $4,000 a year
Koneru was born in India and travels there every quarter or so. He often attends four-day breathing workshop at a Bangalore-based center.
It uses a specific spiritual breathing pattern in each two-hour guided meditation and breathwork session.
"It is amazingly healing and just so powerful," Koneru said.
Each workshop costs between $1,300 and $1,900, and Koneru estimates that he spends around $4,000 on them a year.
