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Michelle da Silva
Christopher Chapheau, owner of Canada's first REVIV location, makes regular vitamin-wellness infusions part of his health and fitness regime.
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Michelle da Silva
REVIV has locations across the U.S., Europe and Asia. This is the first Canadian location.
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Michelle da Silva
Owner Christopher Chapheau wanted a light and airy space for his medi-spa.
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Michelle da Silva
Clients can receive their IVs in the lounge or in private rooms.
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Michelle da Silva
It takes most clients around 30 minutes to receive a full IV bag.
Many people associate needles and intravenous bags with hospitals and sickness, but a new service in Toronto is trying to change that. REVIV, an international brand that launched in Florida in 2010, offers vitamin-wellness infusions through IV bags and intramuscular injections. They’ve opened their first Canadian location at 626 King W.
“Vitamin-wellness infusions are great for getting all your vitamins and minerals. It’s fantastic for boosting your immune system, natural energy levels and anti-aging benefits,” says owner Christopher Chapheau. “What sets us apart is we’re a medical-based organization, so we also have recovery infusions that contain active medicinal ingredients like painkillers, anti-nausea medication, antacids and anti-inflammatories.”
Chapheau, who hails from Victoria, B.C., moved to Toronto five years ago to start a men’s accessories company. When that didn’t pan out, he turned to his interest in health and fitness for inspiration.
“I’m that guy at the gym at 5 am, and eat roast chicken and sweet potatoes every day, so this just seemed to make sense,” he says. “The fantastic thing is there’s almost no competition. It’s progressive, it’s new and it’s exciting, and I had been searching for something like that to bring to Toronto.”
While Chapheau doesn’t come from a medical background, the rest of REVIV’s staff does. All of the IVs and IMs are administered by registered nurses, who work in hospitals and clinics across the city. Treatments are also overseen by REVIV Toronto’s medical director, Dr Reinier Van Aardt, a Halifax-based physician and president of the Canadian Association of Aesthetics Medicine.
On a first visit, clients are required to fill out a medical questionnaire and meet with a nurse, who measures vital signs like blood pressure and heart rate. A short Skype call with Van Aardt or another physician associated with REVIV is also required. Once a client’s in the clear, a nurse sets up the IV drip and clients are left to relax in the lounge or in one of the private rooms.
“The IV is instantaneous and goes directly to your vein with 100 percent absorption of all the active ingredients. Whatever your body doesn’t use, it just flushes it out,” Chapheau explains.
Alternatively, intramuscular injections work at a slower rate. A shot is administered to either the upper-gluteus maximus or deltoid muscles (in other words, your butt or shoulder) and the depot of fluid left in the tissue is slowly released and absorbed over days.
“We usually suggest that our clients come in for one of our IV infusions and pair it with an IM. You’ll get the immediate effects of the IV, which lasts for a few days, and the IM helps extend those benefits over weeks,” Chapheau says.
IV infusions cost $100 to $275, while IM shots start at $25 (REVIV currently has an opening promo of $99 for an IV infusion and shot). The most popular wellness infusion is the Megaboost, a mixture of vitamins, minerals, electrolytes and antioxidants that can help with things like flu symptoms and jetlag.
Another best-seller is the Hydromax, which benefits both athletes and late-night partiers looking to restore hydration levels.
“Everyone’s chronically hydrated. You’d be surprised how good it feels just to have fluid given intravenously. Even when you drink water, because of your digestive tract, efficiency isn’t great and you’re not getting 100 percent absorption,” Chapheau says.
Other treatments, such as the Vitaglow infusion and Slimboost shot target specific needs – in this case, anti-aging and weight loss, respectively.
“Slimboost helps your body naturally synthesize fats. It helps your liver metabolize fats and boosts your body’s metabolic processes,” Chapheau explains. “It’s huge in the UK. People will buy a package of 10 and go in once or twice a week, and it will help you lose a couple of extra pounds a week. All our staff in our Las Vegas location swear buy it too.”
At the Toronto location, clients can book appointments in advance or simply drop-in. All treatments are open to anyone over 18; however, clients over 65 are asked to bring a doctor’s note. While Chapheau likens vitamin-wellness infusions to the trend in Botox usage, he says that intravenous treatments for health and wellness purposes aren’t new.
“IV infusions have been offered for a number of years through naturopaths and medical clinics. We’re just bringing it to the consumer in a much more relaxed and modern setting,” he says. “We’re trying to remove that clinical feel of going to a doctor. You’re coming here to treat yourself.”