The Power Of Proximity: WHOOP's John Sullivan On Why His Boston-Headquartered Company Chose Doha For Its First International Performance Lab

For years, innovation in wearable tech has been concentrated in a handful of locations around the world, and then rolled out to other markets—but that one-size-fits-all model is starting to give way. And this is where the Boston-headquartered wearable tech company WHOOP—whose products aim to help people perform better and live healthier for longer—has made its move: by treating localization itself as a form of innovation.

Indeed, WHOOP Chief Marketing Officer John Sullivan tells Inc. Arabia that this is the mindset shift that’s governing the company’s decision to launch its first international performance lab in Qatar’s capital city of Doha, which will be modeled on its flagship performance science center, WHOOP Labs Boston. “We saw a real opportunity to build something meaningful, not just expand our presence in the Middle East, but contribute to the ecosystem long-term,” Sullivan shares. “Qatar and the wider GCC have quickly become one of our most dynamic and fastest-growing markets. It’s a place defined by ambition and innovation, with a deep respect for performance, recovery, and longevity—values that align closely with how we think about human performance and healthspan at WHOOP. Doha has already established itself as a hub for performance science and innovation in the region, which made it a natural home for WHOOP Labs outside the US.”

A scene from WHOOP Labs Boston.

WHOOP Labs Doha, which will be based out of Msheireb Downtown Doha (“the world’s first fully built smart and sustainable city district”), will function on the same philosophy as WHOOP Labs Boston, which, as Sullivan puts it, is to “use real data, real people, and rigorous science to deliver practical, actionable insights, not research for research’s sake.”

“In Boston, WHOOP Labs has focused on foundational research across sleep, recovery, strain, and long-term health, in close collaboration with top academic and medical partners worldwide,” Sullivan explains. “That work has directly shaped product innovation. For example, WHOOP features like Healthspan and WHOOP Age were developed with the California-based Buck Institute for Research on Aging to give members a clearer picture of their biological age and pace of aging across nine key longevity-linked metrics.”

“WHOOP Labs Doha builds on the same foundation, but with a regional lens,” Sullivan continues. “It gives us the ability to study performance and recovery in the context of the GCC’s unique environment, high-performance lifestyles, late nights, extreme heat, and demanding schedules, and translate those realities into more relevant insights for our members. Over time, we see WHOOP Labs Doha becoming a place where local athletes, researchers, and institutions can work alongside us to push performance and longevity science forward.”

The new lab thus serves as a reflection of the company’s belief that the most meaningful innovation happens when it is built close to the communities it serves. “At its core, WHOOP Labs Doha reflects how we think about growth,” Sullivan says. “We build locally, partner thoughtfully, and use real-world data to drive innovation that can scale globally. All with one goal in mind, to add one billion healthy years to the planet.”

Pictured in the lead image is John Sullivan, Chief Marketing Officer at WHOOP. All images courtesy of WHOOP.

This article first appeared in Inc. Arabia's Special Edition for Web Summit Qatar in February 2026. To read the full issue online, click here.