LIFESTYLE: Labvantage Lx's Liquifusion

New York City is known for its high-flying, fast-paced, hectic lifestyle. When we don't have the time to take care of our bodies, everything else falls out of place. Whether it’s our #CaptainKennedy jet-setting from Nantucket and The Hamptons or an #EdgarAllanFaux after his latest underground concert, we need to recover and do it fast. This exactly what entrepreneur Nicolas Barthelemy thought about and now has the answer for us. His liquid IV treatments - Labvantage Lx's Liquifusion IV - ranging from "The Hangover" to "Regenerate" and everything in between, give you the strength you need to get your body back to normal in under an hour. We met Barthelemy at the W Hotel in Union Square between his meetings with clients to get an exclusive interview with him. We talked about how his treatments started and how his brand differs from the copycats. We personally tried "The Hangover" after visiting the Labeling Men LA headquarters cross-country in LA and let us tell you, this shit works. Not only did it cure our hangover, but the jet lag was instantly gone. Read more about Barthelemy's take on liquid fusion and which city the IV treatments will be heading to next. Labeling Men: How did you come up with the concept of IV Fusion? Nicolas Barthelemy: I've been doing a lot of the treatments in my youth back in Europe and I came across IV Infusion in Ibiza about 15-20 years ago. When I got back to Ibiza last year in April, a friend of mine was working on a concept like that and it peaked my curiosity and I asked a few friends of mine in the medical field and a few of my athlete friends and I realized that this concept was going to be great for the New York market. The audience wanted it, the market was ripe, and it was the right time to do it. I wanted to change the way people take vitamins and I knew this concept was going to work. It was just the matter of putting the right team together and at the right time. Labeling Men: You say it’s ripe for New York; what type of clients are using the treatment? Nicolas Barthelemy: It’s a wide audience. My main target is the busy New Yorker. You and I, everybody in New York has a hectic life; we don't sleep enough, we work hard and long hours. It really could be anybody in New York City. I realize on top of that a good chunk of my clients are the healthy New Yorker who wants to feel good inside and out. Labeling Men: I know you have a variety of treatments for athletes; what’s the most popular one for them? Nicolas Barthelemy: The most popular one during the winter was the “Immunity,” they were trying to find a way not to get sick. The “Immunity” fusion is packed with Vitamin C, which is what you need. I also have a “Rejuvenation” fusion, which is also a best-seller. It’s great for your skin and also has an antioxidant inside which helps to detoxify your body. We have the “Performance” one, which is great for athletes, people who work out a lot and need an extra enhancement. Labeling Men: The one that catches my eye is "The Hangover." Tell us who is taking it and what times they are booking it. Nicolas Barthelemy: It is the one that the New Yorker is using a lot. Who is calling me? Well, I'm surprised you haven't called me yet! Labeling Men: [laughs] Nicolas Barthelemy: It’s last minute. Most of the infusions people book in advance, but "The Hangover" is last minute. I receive a lot of calls early Saturday morning, on Sunday morning, Monday mornings. It’s obviously a younger type of audience, 25-35 years old, who understand when you're hung over, which can happen quite a bit in the city. We have hectic lives so it’s normal to find a way to socialize on the weekend, and when you indulge a little too much, the “Hangover” infusion will put you right back on track. When you're hung over, you're dehydrated and what you need most is the liquid and fluids. We also put in a headache and nausea medicine inside the fusion, so within the next hour or so you can bounce back. Labeling Men: That's great. What inspired you to get into these treatments? Nicolas Barthelemy: My goal was to really find an alternative way for people to maintain their body. I think that in 2015, we want to be young for a longer time and to keep up with their business and their lives and the day-to-day activities, and the way we've been taking vitamins so far has not been at the maximum benefit for people. I quickly realized that getting your vitamins and minerals through an IV, directly into your blood, is really the only way to get 100% absorption. Most of the people in the world have a very acidic diet, so my infusions are very much helping that on many levels, the right way to take care of your body. Labeling Men: Building off of that, are you worried that people will say it’s not healthy because it’s not FDA approved? Nicolas Barthelemy: That's an interesting point. All the vitamins and minerals that I provide are actually FDA approved. The concept itself is not FDA approved, and why is that? It could very well be a big threat for the pharmaceutical companies, which are a billion dollar industry and we all know the ties that they have with the FDA. So far, the FDA hasn't received the concept so far. So far, the people who have received it have been writing about it positively and I hope the industry will change soon. Labeling Men: Have you received any nasty responses so far when you tell people about the concept? Nicolas Barthelemy: No, it’s been really positive so far. I would say 80% of my client base are repeat clients, so that's really encouraging. The only obstacle so far is the fear of the needle, so we have to explain to the audience that it’s a mental problem that it really doesn't hurt and we are making sure that our nurses our well trained, we are only hiring nurses that have a lot of experience in the ER. We do that because it’s the first thing that nurses do mostly in the ER, so the concept is painless. A lot of people are very happy to see us; we have clients we never thought we'd have. Older people who already have a lot of pills to take, they are very happy to have a company like mine that goes to their home and gives them their vitamins. We have about 20 clients or so in my network that have a lap band to lose weight, and it’s hard for them to take a pill, so it’s nice. Labeling Men: I'm going cross-country and traveling a lot, what would be the best one for a jet-setter? Nicolas Barthelemy: I would recommend a "Performance" right before you take off and then when you get back a "Rejuvenation," which is very good for the jet-lag. [Editor’s Note: We went for “Hangover” instead] Labeling Men: Have you had any famous clients? Nicolas Barthelemy: We have few, but I can't say! It’s a concept that has been very popular among artists and singers of this world because they need that extra burst of energy and they spend a lot of energy on stage. So after the show, to get an IV treatment really helps out. Labeling Men: Tell us about your “luxury pod.” Nicolas Barthelemy: I'm really excited for them to come out. Our business model is to really send a nurse to you, but as of September, we are launching our first liquid fusion lounge, where you can go in the city and enjoy your IV treatment in an state of the art pod where you can relax and listen to an iPod filled with music and movies or you can stay busy and keep working on your iPad. The beauty of an IV is that you are totally free to do whatever you want and remain active. Labeling Men: What do you have planned in future besides the pods? Do you plan on expanding outside of New York City? Nicolas Barthelemy: We already have some requests. I think we want to be in Los Angeles, it should be our next market. I've gotten some requests for overseas but it’s more challenging to do because we have to be more careful. We're running a legit operation and we have to run it through our doctors and it'll just take a little more time.