How I Became an ‘Ice Bath Guy’

On TikTok, on Instagram — in all places actually — there’s a new kind of Man.

There’s all the time a brand new style of Man. Traditionally, however particularly previously 5 years, males have begun to coagulate — merge, if you’ll — round singular, unified identities that bond them in areas each actual and digital. 

We’ve Video Recreation Guys. Craft Beer Guys. Reddit Guys and Jiujitsu Guys. We even have [shudder] Hat Guys. An countless procession of… Guys. Extra just lately, in 2022, we have been launched to Spouse Guys. 

Now, I would wish to introduce you to the ultimate boss of Guys: Ice Bathtub Guys.

For those who’ve spent any time on social media, notably Instagram or TikTok, you should have seen this Man in his pure habitat. At 4 a.m., he emerges from his cave. He stands — often semi-naked — subsequent to a bathtub, or a bucket, or an overpriced barrel packed full with ice and water. He units up his digital camera, as a result of they all the time have a digital camera. He makes communion with this digital camera, in platitudes, concerning the grind, about profitable the day, about combating his base instincts to not get up early and partake in unhinged behaviors.

Then he plunges — absolutely submerged within the ice water, shivering as he vomits out extra platitudes. “Consolation is your enemy” or “callus your thoughts.” That kind of factor.

The Ice Bathtub Man has overcome his demons, he has turn out to be stronger, he’s higher, he’s recovering quicker, he’s feeling good, he’s the grasp of his area and his thoughts as a result of he has — at this ungodly hour — clambered clumsily into this chilly physique of water and remained nonetheless for a selected time frame.

He has turn out to be the Final Man. The Ice Bathtub Man. 

For one weird, unforgettable day, I turned an Ice Bathtub Man too. 

Please enable me to clarify.

It began with chilly showers. A chilly bathe problem was my gateway drug. For the whole lot of 2022, I used to be a Chilly Bathe Man. For 12 straight months, I deserted heat water and took nothing however chilly showers. Why? I am nonetheless not solely positive. It was an impulse factor, a brief mind illness from which I’ve since recovered. My inside monologue steered chilly showers have been a good suggestion and I went with it. Months later, I am nonetheless unsure it was worthwhile.

My associates began jokingly calling me Wim Hof — after the Dutch motivational speaker, well-known the world over for his intense, ice-related endurance challenges. 

So in March this 12 months, when Hof — aka The Iceman — arrived in my residence metropolis of Sydney to ship a collection of clinics, those self same associates thought it could be humorous (and considerate) to purchase me a ticket. A cross to an ice tub seminar, hosted by Hof himself.

Like a shivering, confused Pokemon, I used to be about to evolve from an itty-bitty Chilly Bathe Man… to a full-blown Ice Bathtub Man.

Iceman 

Based mostly in Sydney, inside strolling distance of the Harbour Bridge, Luna Park is sort of a Six Flags stripped again by an element of 10. 

It is a low-rent theme park, a grotesque assortment of points of interest and warped exams of ability. An establishment that holds a good quantity of nostalgia for Australians above a sure age. However in 2023, it is a warped anachronism for a distinct place and time, the place hucksters and carnies reigned supreme. It additionally — bizarrely — often performs host to enterprise conventions and motivational audio system. 

Right here, on a boiling Friday afternoon, Hof is within the strategy of delivering a “security briefing,” pacing frantically forwards and backwards in entrance of a crowd of a whole lot, making fart jokes, screaming issues like “we are able to change the world.” 

Hof is 63 years previous. He is a little bit extra regular than I anticipated. Effectively, he’s, and he is not.

In contrast to the TikTok influencers who climb into ice baths at 4 a.m, Hof is not ripped or shredded. He is brief and stumpy, with scraggly hair and an unkempt beard. Bearing an ill-fitting T-shirt and flip-flops, he does not appear to be a motivational speaker — he seems like an Aussie bloke grabbing a sausage roll at his native fuel station. 

He is additionally bonkers. In a great way, I believe.

“The ice is your mirror,” he says, mysteriously.

The ice is your mirror… rattling.

I discovered myself swept away with the group. “Yeah!” I started pondering to myself. “Ice is sorta reflective. Perhaps it might be a mirror, proper guys? Perhaps we can change the world by climbing into a particularly chilly physique of water.”

Hof simply has that vibe. 

“See you on the Ice Baths,” he shouted. He’d been onstage for 2 minutes. That was our security briefing. That is all it took for Hof to persuade me and everybody in attendance that ice was a mirror and we might change the world by leaping in.

Virtually instantly, everybody poured out of the convention corridor into Luna Park. 

Surrounded by ferris wheels, fairy floss and the faint aroma of popcorn, I used to be about to partake in my very first ice tub.

The ice tub cometh

Of all of the queues at Luna Park that day, the ice tub with Hof was by far the longest. 

The irony did not escape me. It had the identical vitality as ready for a curler coaster. That imprecise feeling of concern. A collective, vibrant pleasure. A protracted-ass watch for a particularly momentary expertise. Caked in sunscreen in my little swim shorts, I baked within the sizzling Australian solar, inching nearer to Hof and quite a lot of makeshift, inflatable swimming pools — full to the brim with chilly water and copious quantities of ice. 

The largest shock was the group itself. I anticipated a potent mixture of fitness-pilled Ice Bathtub Guys and barefoot hippies clad in canvas. What I acquired was totally different. There have been ladies right here — a lot of girls. It might need been a 50-50 break up. 

I acquired to chatting. Might, a private coach, turned a fan of Hof after watching movies on YouTube and cycled right down to Luna Park between shopper conferences to attempt an ice tub for the primary time. One other girl — middle-aged, cracking jokes the entire manner — was right here on a dare. This was a once-in-a-lifetime expertise for her and I believe many carried the identical vibe. Weirdly, the Ice Bathtub Guys largely stayed residence. 

In actual fact, after making it to the entrance of the queue and giving Hof an enormous hug (everybody did — a part of the bundle, I assume), I seen that every one 10 individuals in my ice tub group represented a various cross part of the Australian inhabitants. Males, ladies, younger, previous, totally different races and backgrounds. All of us gave one another a fast look, the kind of eye contact you share if you’re about to embark on one thing completely silly.

After which, collectively, we climbed into the ice tub.

It was… chilly. Clearly. However a distinct kind of chilly. The kind of chilly that makes your physique really feel prefer it’s on fucking hearth. Hof’s main space of experience helps his college students breathe, and, climbing into this ice tub, I instantly understood why. It was extremely laborious to inhale and exhale usually on this state. Instinctually, I believed taking lengthy deep breaths would make it simpler for me to acclimatize, however it did not assist in any respect. 

The one factor that basically made issues extra bearable was respiration out. I picked a degree within the horizon to gawk at and stared into the void, ready for the 2 minutes to finish, so I might clamber out of this frozen hellhole and reside the remainder of my regular life in peace.

However then, within the closing 30 seconds, a fever dream. Hof grabs a microphone, or a megaphone. Perhaps it was the uncooked energy of his personal voice pushed to its limits. He started chanting, screaming at full blast like a call-and-response preacher:

“WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?”

Everybody, in unison:

“OOH OOH OOH OOH!”

“WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?”

“OOH OOH OOH OOH!”

We chanted like males. Baha Males. After which it was throughout. We climbed out of the ice tub, wrapped ourselves in towels. I felt… OK? Relieved. Proud? Perhaps. I discovered myself laughing. This was hysterical. Each single a part of this was hysterical. For now, the curler coaster was over.

The King of Ice

Historical past is plagued by examples of human beings forcing themselves by means of unimaginable, torturous rituals. In Papua New Guinea, males reduce elaborate elongated patterns into their again, chest and buttocks to suggest their coming of age. Some tribes, together with Indigenous tribes right here in Australia, practiced unspeakably brutal circumcisions. Many of those traditions have been designed to ingrain an intense bond of belief in members of the tribe. If they might bear the ache of fingernail elimination or tattoos or penis mutilation, they might be trusted with the secrets and techniques of the clan. 

Perhaps ice baths are a particularly tame model of that very same impulse. That, or a warped mixture of junk science, placebo results and poisonous masculinity.

I’ve two sons, ages 10 and seven. Throughout my 12 months of chilly showers, each thought it was humorous to additionally take chilly showers, to see who might keep within the longest, attempting to outdo one another. My 7-year-old as soon as stayed in for quarter-hour and — hilariously — began calling himself “The King of Ice.”

However after I acquired residence that evening, it was my 10-year-old who was most excited after I informed him concerning the ice baths. He needed to see if he might final two minutes like I did. That weekend, temps in Sydney hit 100 levels Fahrenheit. Driving residence from a pal’s party with my son, I finished to get petrol and had a sudden mind wave. 

“Ought to we purchase some baggage of ice and make an ice tub at residence?”
My son’s eyes lit up. It was on.

We acquired residence and made a makeshift plunge pool in our bathtub and took turns getting into, screaming and laughing hysterically. It wasn’t as chilly because the Hof tub, however it was nonetheless bloody freezing. A healthful, innocent kind of torture that (I believe) breeds a little bit of resilience in youngsters. He climbed into the chilly tub and sat there for 2 minutes although it was extremely tough. He nonetheless, nevertheless, refuses to eat broccoli.

However I did ask myself: Why are we doing this? Why am I kind of encouraging it? A fast “are ice baths okay for youths” search on Google allayed preliminary fears, however bigger questions started to hang-out me. Am I breeding the subsequent era of Guys? A brand new wave of boys participating in pointless (typically painful) actions to fill a gaping black void of validation?

My youthful child — the so-called King of Ice — was on the retailers with my spouse. I referred to as them on Facetime and informed them concerning the ice tub. My spouse agreed to seize a couple of extra baggage of ice on the best way residence so we might put son No. 2 by means of the brand new household ritual.

“Alright,” I informed my 7-year-old on the cellphone. “Let’s have a look at who the actual King of Ice is.”

He was fired up.

However later, when he acquired residence, he appeared much less enthusiastic. He dipped his finger in cautiously, attempting to get a way of what he is likely to be in for. He was extraordinarily reluctant.

“You go first, Dad,” he stated.

“I’ve already gone in,” I replied.

“For those who go in, Dad, I will go in. Pinky promise.”

I felt as if I had no alternative. I needed to lead by instance. To show that you may (and typically ought to) do tough issues. We pinky swore on it. Then, like an entire fool, I went again into the bathtub.  

This time spherical it was chilly. Correctly chilly. Simply as chilly because the ice tub at Luna Park. My limbs seized up; each ligament and bone ached. I made noises, ungodly noises. I used to be in hell. My son, cackling like an unhinged Demogorgon, discovered this extraordinarily humorous. 

Lastly, my two minutes have been up. I clumsily scrambled out of the bathtub, nonetheless in bodily ache.

“Your flip,” I stated, my physique nonetheless shivering.
“Nah,” he replied. “I do not need to. 

He left the lavatory and fired up Roblox on his Nintendo Swap.

“What do you imply?” I cried, chasing after him, a crumpled, damaged previous man.

“I am good,” he stated lastly. This boy wanted no validation. He had no void to fill.

“You may be the King of Ice.”