Wealth Redefined: The Day My Father Said, “Son, We Are Rich”
Founders, Matt and Natalie Hayden at our first ever VIP All Members Party, November 2025
I grew up in the heart of the Midwest, in a house where the floorboards were worn and the budget was tighter. My mother was a part-time nurse; my father worked the land. To the outside world, to the kids at school who handed over cash for extra snacks while I handed over my lunch ticket, we were "struggling."
I spent my youth detasseling corn, hoeing soybean fields, and cleaning pig pens. If I wanted a Nintendo, I didn't ask for it; I worked for it. I felt the weight of what we didn’t have. I saw the gap between us and the families with the new cars and the annual vacations.
One afternoon, I finally asked the question that had been burning in my chest: “Dad, are we poor?”
My father didn't hesitate. He looked at me with a certainty that I can still feel today.
“Son,” he said, “we are rich.”
At the time, I looked at our modest house and my tired work boots and I didn't get it. But as the years passed, as I traveled from the "green rush" of California to the jungles of Belize, and eventually back to the Midwest to build Body Haus, those four words became the blueprint for my life.
Redefining the Currency
We live in a culture that tries to sell us a version of "rich" that is fragile. It’s a richness measured in zeros, in labels, and in the "gatekeeping" of exclusive circles. But my parents knew something that most of the world has forgotten: True wealth is a holistic ecosystem.
At Body Haus, we’ve built our entire philosophy around ten dimensions of richness. It’s why we don’t just offer a workout; we offer a way to live.
Richness in Health: The vitality to move your body without restriction.
Richness in Relationship: The strength of the people standing beside you.
Richness in Spirit: The peace that comes from knowing your "why."
Richness in Experience: The sensory joy of heat, ice, and light.
The "Health Bank"
When we say #LiveRichly, we aren’t talking about excess. We are talking about intention.
In my childhood, we were rich in love, rich in tradition, and rich in the grit it took to wake up and work the land every day. Today, at Body Haus, we see every Pilates session, every 3-minute cold plunge, and every conversation over a post-class coffee as a deposit into your health bank.
