Thrive Review: First Impressions of the Products and the Company – I got sick and tired of hearing about the Le-Vel Thrive Experience on social media, so I decided to give it a try myself. Here’s what I discovered.
Call me a hipster, but I just can’t stand it when things go viral. Memes, TikTok challenges, even cute little Baby Yoda memes flooding my social media feed make me reflexively cringe. Maybe it’s a form of burnout — when I see a thousand variations of the same post on Facebook I just feel exhausted. And this goes for every new phenomenon to rear its head. So, when I started seeing my online friends and acquaintances gushing about the Le-Vel Thrive Experience, my first instinct was to hunker down and wait for it to pass.
But it didn’t. More and more people whose opinions I respect became ‘Thrivers,’ and I started to wonder if maybe there was more to Le-Vel than just a passing internet fad. Finally, one day my sister visited from Kansas, and I was amazed at how healthy she looked. When she sheepishly told me that she’d been in the Thrive program for three months, I finally made up my mind: I was going to find out what Thrive was all about.
And that’s exactly what I did. In this Thrive review, I’m going to share my first impressions about Le-Vel Thrive — the product, and the company that makes it.
Wait, What’s Le-Vel Thrive?
OK, if you’re scratching your head and wondering what I’m talking about, let me give you a little background:
Le-Vel is a health-and-wellness company founded in 2012 that employs independent sellers (called Thrive Promoters) to market and sell its products. Despite being a part of one of the most competitive markets in the world (the global health and wellness market size is expected to hit USD 7,656.7 billion by 2030), Le-Vel managed to secure an enthusiastic following right out of the gate, generating more than $1 billion in sales during its first five years. Then, just for good measure, it went on to make another billion only two years after that. What was getting people so excited? The idea of a simple plan for nutrition and wellness.
Although Le-Vel offers a range of products, its primary commodity has always been the Le-Vel Thrive Experience, or 60-Day Challenge. The idea behind the Thrive Experience is that most modern diets are lacking in complete nutritional support. Thrive fills those nutritional gaps and gives users a better foundation for improving their health. To do this, the Thrive Experience consists of a daily three-step program of nutritional supplementation supported by personalized fitness goals. It goes something like this:
- You take two Thrive capsules first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.
- 20 minutes after, you chase the capsules with a Thrive nutritional shake for breakfast.
- You put on a Thrive DFT (a foam adhesive that you stick on your skin), which you will need to replace every 24 hours.
Sorry if that’s a little too crash course-ish, but I’m here to share my impressions, not give you a tutorial. You can find a more in-depth set of instructions on the Le-Vel site.
Le-Vel, independent promoters, billions of dollars in sales, nutritional supplementation, daily three-step program — does that about cover the basics? Good. Then let’s get back to what really matters: me (or rather, my personal experience).
Down the Hatch and On My Calf
Discovering that my sister was a Thrive enthusiast (and seeing just how much progress she made) broke through my wall of obstinacy and got me thinking. I found a friend who was a Thrive Promoter and ordered the beginner’s 2-Week Thrive Experience (that’s enough capsules, shake mix, and DFTs to last 14 days). I figured that two weeks would be enough for me to say that I gave it the old college try, and that way I wouldn’t be out too much money if the whole thing ended up being a waste. No harm in a little skepticism, you know?
So. Day #1 came, I woke up and took my capsules (“as soon as [my] feet hit the floor,” just like the directions say; if I was going to give this an honest try, I was going to do it right). I waited 20 minutes and then drank the shake. Then I went through the rest of my morning routine (helping my boys get ready for school, feeding the cat, brushing my teeth, glaring at Baby Yoda memes on my social media feeds, etc.) until it was time to take a shower. Once I was clean and dried off, I got ready to slap on the DFT.
For those who still aren’t sure what a DFT actually is, you can think of it as sort of like a nutritional wearable. DFT stands for Derma Fusion Technology, and the concept, as the Le-Vel site describes it, is that it’s a “delivery system designed to infuse the derma (skin) with Le-Vel’s unique, premium grade THRIVE Lifestyle formula — different from the Lifestyle Capsule and Lifestyle Shake formula.” I felt a little silly sporting a colorful foam plaster on my calf, but this was for science, so I went along with it.
And then I went about my day. My very first impression of the Thrive Experience was that at least it was easy to follow through on. The entire three steps took me about 40 minutes from start to finish, and that’s including all of the standard minutiae of getting up and getting ready. In terms of personal sacrifice, this particular health craze was one I could handle. But did it work?
Energy & Focus
I couldn’t say for sure if it was helping me “thrive,” but by the end of day #1, I could say that it was doing something. For one thing, I made it from 7:00 am to 11:30 pm without hitting that two-o’clock slump. I had an easier time concentrating on my tasks at work and even managed to maintain my attention through a two-hour meeting that should have been an email. That’s a victory, right?
The Long Run
I’ll admit it; I was impressed. In my experiences with other health-and-wellness products, I had come to expect that noticeable effects (if any) probably wouldn’t manifest themselves for at least a few weeks. With Le-Vel Thrive, I felt a positive change from the very start. But did it have the staying power to impress me in the long run?
And that’s when I decided to take a long run.
Before you get any false ideas, I’m not totally out of shape. I hit the gym semi-regularly and I try to save fast food for special occasions (like Thursdays). But one thing that I’ve never had much stomach for was running. I figure that if God had wanted me to run, he wouldn’t have invented cars. But after about a week with Thrive Experience, I was noticing so much extra energy, and craving snacks so much less, I wondered if maybe I could stand a light jog.
That jog turned into a sprint. And I kept on sprinting until I finally felt like some of my reserves were being used up. I ended up running 1.5 (give or take) miles without feeling any need to pause, slow down, or gasp for breath. I hadn’t run like that in years.
I turned my run into a regular thing, as much a part of my daily Thrive Experience as the Shakes or the DFT. And while I did manage to create a few new blisters (particularly noticeable when my feet hit the ground in the morning in preparation to take my Thrive capsules), overall I was feeling better than I had in a long time. My body felt light and powerful. My mind was alert. And my mood was maybe slightly less bitchy than my long-suffering friends and family had become accustomed to.
So, when I reached the end of my two-week trial, I decided to keep things going (this time more for me than for science). I extended to the Thrive 60-Day Challenge, and have been thriving ever since.
What about Le-Vel the Company?
My first impressions of the Le-Vel product line were extremely positive. But this Thrive Review isn’t just about the Thrive Experience; it’s also about the company that provides it.
How was it working with Le-Vel?
Let me preface by saying I never considered becoming a Thrive Promoter. I don’t personally have anything against independent selling, but I do have a job that I’m committed to and no real need for a side hustle, so signing on to sell Le-Vel products wasn’t something I was super interested in. Maybe once my kids are a bit older.
But as a customer, I can say that working with Le-Vel was fine. I made my orders through my friend, the promoter, and I never had any issues with delayed deliveries or problems with payment or anything like that. Does that mean that Le-Vel is the perfect company? I honestly couldn’t say, but my first impressions were all positive, and that right there is a pretty good sign.
Bringing It All Together
When is a fad not a fad? When it has staying power. My experience with Le-Vel Thrive showed me that not every new craze on social media is something I need to turn my nose up at. But more than that, it helped me improve my health and get in better overall shape.
In the end, my first impressions (and all of my impressions since then) all strongly suggest that there really is something to Thrive. In terms of the product and the business, Le-vel appears to be completely on the level. And yes, I intended the hell out of that pun. So, if you’re interested in giving Le-Vel a try, I say go for it. And whether it’s for science or just for you, here’s hoping your first impressions are as positive as mine were.