Born in sport. Proven in life.

In the early 1990s, Dr Aki Hintsa, an orthopaedic and trauma surgeon and physician to the Finnish Olympic team, was working in war-torn Ethiopia.

There, he observed elite long-distance runners and noticed something unexpected. They trained and lived differently from Western athletes.

One athlete in particular made an impact. Olympic medallist Haile Gebrselassie embodied a simple truth: every aspect of his life supported his goals. Training, recovery, mindset, nutrition, relationships, purpose. Everything clicked.

That insight sparked a defining question. Could optimal performance be built on a healthy, balanced life, rooted in identity and purpose?

Inspired, he drew a circle with six elements: physical activity, nutrition, sleep & recovery, biomechanics, mental energy and health. At the centre, he wrote “Core”: identity, purpose, and control.

This became the Circle of Success. A holistic view of health, wellbeing, and performance, and the foundation of the Hintsa method.

The Hintsa method soon entered an unexpected arena: Formula 1. When Mika Häkkinen invited Dr. Hintsa to support him after a near fatal crash, the idea felt improbable.

That changed quickly. In the paddock, Dr. Hintsa found extreme pressure. Relentless scrutiny. Razor-thin margins. The ultimate test whether performance could truly be built on balance, wellbeing, and purpose.

In 1998 and 1999, Mika and McLaren won the F1 World Championships. Steadily, Dr. Hintsa began assembling a trusted team of experts – the foundations for one of F1’s great untold stories.

Dr. Hintsa later described Formula 1 as “the most fascinating laboratory” for his method. From Mika Häkkinen to Kimi Räikkönen, and on to the next generation of champions including Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, the work behind the scenes continued.

Today, Hintsa remains strong in F1: over 90% of race wins in the past decade have been Hintsa-affiliated. We also work with rising talent in F2, F3, F4, karting, women’s motorsport series, and other elite sports with similar extreme cognitive and physical demands as motorsport.

What was proven then, holds to this day.

Outside F1 races, Dr. Hintsa opened a clinic in Geneva. The executives who visited did not look like racing drivers, but their challenges did: constant pressure, living across time zones, demands to perform.

“Can I use the same method?”, Dr. Hintsa wondered.

He could. The method was adapted beyond sport. Not to create champions, but to help ambitious leaders perform sustainably – without sacrificing health, clarity, or life beyond work.

Over the decades, Hintsa Performance has become a global leader in sustainable high performance. Under Dr. Hintsa’s daughter, Annastiina Hintsa’s leadership, the company today works with elite athletes, ambitious leaders and entrepreneurs, surgeons, artists, politicians and over 500 organisations across the world.

Recognised as a thought leader by the World Economic Forum, Dr Aki Hintsa’s mission continues: to help people live better lives – and perform better, whatever their goals.