The Woman Selling Longevity to Women Left Out of the Boys Club

On a typical day, after a protein coffee, a workout, a sauna session and a multitasking moment of red-light therapy and prayer, Kayla Barnes-Lentz takes a walk in Texas’ early-morning light to reset her circadian rhythm. Today she’s had to truncate this routine — she’s on the road for work — but standing atop one of San Francisco’s many hills, eyes closed, palms outstretched, chin tilted upward, she still makes time to take in the rising sun. It’s a practice, she is quick to explain, backed by science.

Barnes-Lentz is a longevity influencer and entrepreneur who’s built a following by treating her own body as a one-woman laboratory. In recent years, the industry of trying to live longer — and better — has boomed, with global investment in the longevity field topping $8.49 billion in 2024, more than double the year prior, according to analysts at UK-based Longevity.Technology. But the emerging sector has a gender problem: Much of the foundational science of aging biology is based on men’s bodies, and the most prominent longevity evangelists — Bryan Johnson, Andrew Huberman, the recently embattled Peter Attia — have built their protocols based on male-dominated science. “Women are confused,” Barnes-Lentz, 35, says. “We were completely left out of the conversation.”