30 min

Episode 6:8 John Wenzlau & Steve Heller from Glencroft Talk about their Zoelife™ Lifestyle Program Glowing Older

    • Health & Fitness

As the largest single campus continuing care retirement community in Arizona, Glencroft has been an incubator for innovation for 50 years. John Wenzlau and Steve Heller share details about their holistic approach to wellness that is inclusive for all.

About John 

Currently, John Wenzlau serves as the President & CEO of Glencroft Center for Modern Aging in Arizona. Hired by the Glencroft nonprofit board to reposition the Center as a leader in the changing landscape serving seniors, Wenzlau pioneered the development of the ZoeLife™ Network, a faith-based lifestyle program that empowers aging adults to pursue vitality through a full, active and purposeful life. He co-produces and co-hosts the ZoeLife™ Radio talk show with 40,000 listeners on Facebook Live. He is the author of the forthcoming book titled, “Falling for ZoeLife.

Trilingual in English, French and German, Wenzlau holds a Master of Divinity and M. A. R. E. (Gerontology) from Southwestern Baptist Seminary; an MBA (Finance/Marketing) from Southern Methodist University; an M.A. (German/Linguistics) and a B.A. (Political Science) from the University of Oregon and has pursued Doctoral Studies (Philosophy) at the University of Munich, Germany.  Mesa Community College, the largest of the 10 community colleges in the Maricopa County District in Mesa, AZ, named him Teacher of the Year.

His passion is providing an alternative way of living for people who are aging in place, and to influence the perception that retirement can be the most energizing years of life.

About Steve 

Steve Heller is co-founder of ZoeLife at Glencroft. A ZoeLife community empowers aging adults to pursue vitality through a full, active, and purposeful life, providing a holistic approach to wellness for senior living communities. Mr. Heller first implemented ZoeLife at the Glencroft where he oversees ZoeLife programs and operations.

Mr. Heller integrates ZoeLife principles with his extensive knowledge of exercise physiology and rehabilitation conditioning to help aging adults achieve and sustain the greatest level of independence and quality of life for as long as possible.

Heller is the Co-founder and Director of Fore-Max Training Systems for Westin Hotels & Resorts. He served for 16 years as an exercise physiologist and trainer for professional athletes (NFL, NBA, PGA, LPGA, MLB) within the luxury hospitality industry. His work and programs have been covered by New York Times, USA Today, Forbes andMen’s Journal, among others.

Key Takeaways


Residents don’t pay extra for Glencroft programming. The faith-based campus is a low-income provider that makes all programs accessible to everyone.
ZoeLife is inspired by the Blue Zones and six pillars of wellness physical, social, emotional, spiritual intellectual and vocational.
Metrics confirm ZoeLife’s success. For example, the number of resident falls was reduced from 35 a month to 15.  Occupancy and census also showed measurable benefits: Glencroft was at 92% occupancy was when ZoeLife was first introduced and went up to 98% in 2020—in the middle of the pandemic.

As the largest single campus continuing care retirement community in Arizona, Glencroft has been an incubator for innovation for 50 years. John Wenzlau and Steve Heller share details about their holistic approach to wellness that is inclusive for all.

About John 

Currently, John Wenzlau serves as the President & CEO of Glencroft Center for Modern Aging in Arizona. Hired by the Glencroft nonprofit board to reposition the Center as a leader in the changing landscape serving seniors, Wenzlau pioneered the development of the ZoeLife™ Network, a faith-based lifestyle program that empowers aging adults to pursue vitality through a full, active and purposeful life. He co-produces and co-hosts the ZoeLife™ Radio talk show with 40,000 listeners on Facebook Live. He is the author of the forthcoming book titled, “Falling for ZoeLife.

Trilingual in English, French and German, Wenzlau holds a Master of Divinity and M. A. R. E. (Gerontology) from Southwestern Baptist Seminary; an MBA (Finance/Marketing) from Southern Methodist University; an M.A. (German/Linguistics) and a B.A. (Political Science) from the University of Oregon and has pursued Doctoral Studies (Philosophy) at the University of Munich, Germany.  Mesa Community College, the largest of the 10 community colleges in the Maricopa County District in Mesa, AZ, named him Teacher of the Year.

His passion is providing an alternative way of living for people who are aging in place, and to influence the perception that retirement can be the most energizing years of life.

About Steve 

Steve Heller is co-founder of ZoeLife at Glencroft. A ZoeLife community empowers aging adults to pursue vitality through a full, active, and purposeful life, providing a holistic approach to wellness for senior living communities. Mr. Heller first implemented ZoeLife at the Glencroft where he oversees ZoeLife programs and operations.

Mr. Heller integrates ZoeLife principles with his extensive knowledge of exercise physiology and rehabilitation conditioning to help aging adults achieve and sustain the greatest level of independence and quality of life for as long as possible.

Heller is the Co-founder and Director of Fore-Max Training Systems for Westin Hotels & Resorts. He served for 16 years as an exercise physiologist and trainer for professional athletes (NFL, NBA, PGA, LPGA, MLB) within the luxury hospitality industry. His work and programs have been covered by New York Times, USA Today, Forbes andMen’s Journal, among others.

Key Takeaways


Residents don’t pay extra for Glencroft programming. The faith-based campus is a low-income provider that makes all programs accessible to everyone.
ZoeLife is inspired by the Blue Zones and six pillars of wellness physical, social, emotional, spiritual intellectual and vocational.
Metrics confirm ZoeLife’s success. For example, the number of resident falls was reduced from 35 a month to 15.  Occupancy and census also showed measurable benefits: Glencroft was at 92% occupancy was when ZoeLife was first introduced and went up to 98% in 2020—in the middle of the pandemic.

30 min

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