Boulder is now home to Colorado's first Upgrade Labs franchise, a wellness center packed with tech-driven health optimization tools.

Why it matters: Boulder's fitness culture makes it a natural testing ground for the booming "biohacking" industry centered on longevity, performance and recovery.

Driving the news: Upgrade Labs opened May 2 at 2100 28th St.

• The company was founded by Dave Asprey, the self-described "Father of Biohacking" and host of "The Human Upgrade" podcast.

How does it work: The process begins with body scans and movement assessments that collect biometric data to create personalized treatment plans.

• Members get access to tools more commonly associated with elite athletes and high-end training centers.
• The studio offers AI-assisted strength machines, adaptive cardio, cryotherapy, red-light therapy, pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy, lymphatic compression systems and altitude-style breathing devices.
• Memberships range from $150 to $599 per month.

Between the lines: Biohacking is part of a growing longevity economy that treats health less like medical care and more like performance engineering.

• Followers say biohacking uses science and technology to "upgrade" the body.
• Skeptics argue the industry relies on overstated claims and expensive gadgets with uneven scientific backing.

What they're saying: Franchise owners Michelle and George Amacker, who also operate four local urgent care facilities, said in a statement they wanted to bring advanced health and longevity tools to the community "in a more accessible, everyday setting."

Zoom out: For a more traditional workout, Kinetic Pilates opened May 9 in north Boulder with reformer-based group classes.

• The studio was founded by former ballerina Julianne Blunt and former college athlete Nicolaas Drapanas.
• "Kinetic's classes are designed to support the things you love to do outside the studio," Blunt told us.
• Memberships range from $129 to $269 monthly, plus a $50 two-week intro.

The bottom line: Boulder's latest wellness openings reflect the city's longstanding fitness culture, one rooted both in traditional movement and a growing appetite for optimization.

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Boulder Valley's spelling bee hopeful is out, but Colorado still has a speller in the game.

State of play: Derek Li of Superior and Nikhil Ganta of Timnath were among the 167 spellers who advanced to written tests at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

Yes, but: Results posted late yesterday showed only Ganta among the 95 spellers advancing to the quarterfinals.

Catch up quick: Both Colorado spellers cleared the first two rounds.

• Li, a seventh-grader at Boulder's Summit Middle Charter School, correctly spelled "sanglier," French for wild boar, in the first round.
• In the vocabulary portion, Li defined tariff, a word many Americans know well these days.

Ganta, a sixth-grader at Kinard Core Knowledge Middle School, spelled "boniface," meaning an innkeeper or proprietor, and identified "buffoonery" as "foolish shenanigans."

What's next: Quarterfinals and semifinals are today, with the finals tomorrow.

Spread the w-o-r-d

🚲 The comment period on Boulder County's alternating trail use pilot concluded last week, and Parks and Recreation spokesperson Summer Alameel told us a report will be posted and staff will present options to the Boulder County commissioners later this summer.

📡 KGNU, Boulder's first community radio station, held a grand opening last week for its new downtown building, which features multiple recording studios, meeting and event spaces, a cafe and a rooftop deck. (Boulder Reporting Lab)

🤖 United Airlines is deploying AI to help travelers avoid missing flights at Denver International Airport, where nearly 60% of customers connect to their final destination. (9News)

🦠 Colorado's viral respiratory season — which ends in May — included a record 870 people hospitalized with the flu at its peak, and eight children who died from the disease, the most in over a decade. (CPR)

Denver International Airport is finally giving travelers another way to get between concourses — and yes, it involves those mysterious tunnels.

Why it matters: The new underground pedestrian walkways between the A, B and C concourses will offer passengers a second option when the beleaguered train system gets crowded or stops working.

How it works: The walkways will weave through parts of the airport's underground passageways, part of the existing baggage system. According to one of the airport's many legends, the tunnels contain pathways and bunkers used by secret societies.

• Construction is expected to start in 2027 — about the same time the main terminal build-out nears completion.

What they're saying: "We've heard loud and clear that easier, more reliable ways to move between concourses has been a top priority," Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said in a statement.

• "And who knows," he added, "maybe along the way, travelers will finally get a closer look at the underground tunnels and decide for themselves what's fact and what's fiction."

The big picture: The airport is in the middle of a massive expansion, adding 39 gates in recent years and renovating the Great Hall in the Jeppesen Terminal.

• It invested $75 million into upgrading the train system between terminals and is promising more improvements in the years ahead.

🗯️ Mitchell's thought bubble: Forget biohacking and Pilates, running from security all the way to Terminal C while being chased by underground lizard people is the new Colorado fitness trend.

• But also: Will there be a Starbucks down there?

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