8 hours ago
8
NEW YORK: Athletes using performance-enhancing drugs are set to compete this Sunday (May 24) in the inaugural Enhanced Games in Las Vegas – a controversial event critics have already labelled the “Doping Olympics”.
But beyond the spectacle lies a far bigger commercial ambition.
Enhanced Group, the company behind the event, is betting on the growing demand for longevity and human enhancement products. It has already drawn interest from investors despite safety concerns and tight regulations in some countries.
BIOHACKING MEETS BIG BUSINESS
The company is positioning itself in what supporters call the “enhancement economy” – a growing space focused on biohacking and optimising human performance.
Alongside the competition itself – which features sports like swimming, athletics and weightlifting – it is also marketing peptides as well as other longevity and performance-enhancing treatments.
The Games allow athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs in an attempt to surpass records set under traditional anti-doping rules.
Supporters frame the event as a challenge to long-standing sporting restrictions, while critics warn it normalises dangerous drug use.
Economist Veronika Dolar, an associate professor at Pace University, said investor interest may be fuelled by the explosive growth of consumer health markets such as weight loss drugs.
“Based on historical examples that we have, especially when it comes to, say losing weight or getting in shape, people are willing to shell out quite a bit of money,” she added.
Still, the venture faces significant backlash from regulators and health authorities.
The World Anti-Doping Agency has condemned the Enhanced Games as “dangerous and irresponsible”, while medical experts warn that performance-enhancing substances can pose serious health risks when used without clinical supervision.
Many of the treatments promoted within the enhancement industry are also tightly regulated or outright banned in countries including Singapore.
When it comes to the ethics of these products, Dolar said “informed consent” is the key line – meaning that as long as consumers understand the risks of what they are taking, and the products are legal, the transaction itself is ethically sound.
But she cautioned against assuming the success of GLP-1 weight loss drugs can easily be replicated across other forms of enhancement.
"Just because it's working there, doesn't mean that the same model can be easily transferred for something else,” Dolar added.
Enhanced Group appears to be betting that the Games themselves will attract further investor confidence, said observers.
But market enthusiasm has already shown signs of volatility.
After surging more than 20 per cent following its market debut, the company’s shares have since fallen nearly 50 per cent.
INVESTOR DOUBTS EMERGING
Sports historian John Hoberman of the University of Texas at Austin questioned the transparency of the Enhanced Games, arguing that key details about its finances and medical safeguards remain unclear.
“The Enhanced Games have been an entirely opaque operation,” he said.
“That applies to the finances (and) the medical operation, about which we know practically nothing.”
Enhanced went public through a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) – a faster alternative to a traditional stock market listing that has become popular among speculative growth ventures.
Its investors include Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel and 1789 Capital, where Donald Trump Jr is a partner.
Douglas Ellenoff, a lawyer specialising in SPAC deals, said political alignment with the Trump family has become a powerful draw for some investors.
“There seems to be a large appetite for supporting this president and his family and other members of the administration's initiatives in the SPAC market,” he added.
