The Real-Life Diet of Equinox CEO Harvey Spevak, Who Is Big on Bloodwork, Biomarkers, and Blueberries

Plenty of modern CEOs are notoriously stringent about their schedules: when to eat, how to eat, how long to work out, what temperature the room should be when working out, the whole nine yards. When you’re the CEO of a luxury fitness company—like Harvey Spevak, head of Equinox—you can be even more peculiar about your routine. Spevak has access to all of the Equinox amenities, including the Equinox hotel that he helped open in Midtown Manhattan, and he certainly takes advantage.

But while his disciplined fitness regimen includes all the saunas, hyperbaric chambers, and protein shakes his heart desires, he still leaves room for his lifelong love: a classic New York slice. That, along with being the type of person that can fall asleep anywhere and everywhere, gives Spevak some much-needed chill amid the stress of CEO life. At 61 years old, he can still crush you on the ab wheel and hold his own on the ski slopes, but he’s not going to let a few extra carbs ruin his whole week. Just in time for gym season, we spoke with Spevak about his routine biomarker blood work, cashew addiction, and the power of a good nap.

GQ: You’ve been known to stick to a very disciplined diet. Can you walk me through what exactly that means, and when you started to get disciplined about what you were putting in your body?

Harvey Spevak: I would say I’m just disciplined around my well-being, and that includes my fitness routine. But on the food side, almost 20 years ago, I started working with a guy in New York named Jeffrey Morrison. Now it’s a common topic, but I used biomarkers through blood work, urine, etc, to determine what was best for me. From there, I developed not just a fitness routine, but a food regimen and a vitamin and supplement regimen that has served me extremely well.

So, I’m very disciplined during the days of the work week, Monday through Friday. I’m very disciplined in terms of my sleep, what I eat, and my workout routine. I don’t really stray too far from it, which sometimes frustrates people close to me, including my daughters and my girlfriend. But they’ve come to accept that this is who I am and what I do.

Is this geared towards longevity?

I wouldn’t use the word longevity, but I would say it’s definitely focused on my health span, not just my lifespan. For me, it’s really focused on energy and vitality. How do I have the energy to accomplish what I want to do—professionally and personally—seven days a week? I like to go hard in all aspects of what I do.

As they say, no bueno. That is pure crap.

It’s bad in many ways—what’s in it, but also the high and the low. It’s the artificial bump that so many people want, but that’s not a great way to go about it. Are you a good sleeper?

I usually am, yeah.

What does good sleep look like?

That’s a problem. I’ve been quoted in past years, early on before sleep became a big deal. A lot of people say, “I’m different. I’m wired differently. I don’t need my sleep. I can function well on four or five hours.” It’s all bullshit. You need your sleep. If you get your sleep, it unlocks so much. Then you don’t need the Celsius and all that kind of stuff.

Do you drink caffeine in any form?

I try to avoid it. I don’t drink coffee. I do like chai lattes. I try to just make sure it has a natural caffeine. But I don’t do it for the caffeine, I just do it because I like chai lattes. It’s my one vice. I’ve never been a coffee drinker. I’m not a big alcohol drinker. I used to be a big soda drinker.

What was your soda of choice?

Coke. Then when I thought I was doing better, Diet Coke. My daughters used to call it daddy juice because I used to drink a lot of it. They came to me when they were younger and they said, “This is really bad for you. Can you please stop?” And I stopped!