as possible. Initially he had reservations
that his method might be mocked. “I
thought maybe they will make me a clown
or a guru. My only goal is to relieve unnec-
essary suffering,” he says. In the end
the show surprised him. “It is better than
I ever could have expected it to be. It is a
profound and emotional show and I hope
it will reach the people lying on their sofa
eating chips. The cold is a very effective
way to get into the deeper brain area.
There is nowhere you can hide from your-
self. Tears are shed, emotions are let go.”
Most surprising, perhaps, was who coped
best. “The women in our group did better
because they go gradually and this means
their body is able to deeply activate.”
So what’s the appeal of the Wim Hof
Method? Hof believes it is a strategy for
coping with life, which, after the couple of
years we’ve just had, is part of its current mass
appeal. “Basically it feels good.” Cold expo-
sure, he explains, “will better regulate mood,
strengthen the tiny muscles in the cardiovas-
cular system, increase energy levels and battle
inflammation”. Hof himself came to the cold
from a place not of machismo daredevilry but
of vulnerability. He only began to order it all
into a method after his first wife died by
suicide in 1995. “The cold was the only release
from my great emotional agony. It regulated
my mood, it gave me peace.”
Cold also activates many structures in the
body, including the limbic system in the
brain, which processes emotions and stress,
fight or flight. It increases production of dopa-
mine, a brain chemical that influences mood
and feelings of reward and motivation. The
name of the show was changed from Superstar
Survival to Freeze the Fear when, during
filming, it became apparent that the celebri-
ties were facing their deepest fears.
Among the celebs in the BBC show are
the presenter Gabby Logan and the actressTamzin Outhwaite. Logan says that while the
cold was a challenge — “I couldn’t stand three
seconds at first” — she found “the breathing
was the most emotionally impactful. I felt a
very deep connection to Tamzin’s mum, who
had died. I had never met her before and
when I stood up I was floored by how much
love I had to give her from her mum. We were
both in tears.”
Of course Hof did not invent breathing or
cold baths. Unlike many other wellness
trends, cold therapy is not a fad. It has long
been used in cold-climate cultures — the
Norwegians, for instance, let babies nap out in
the cold to improve sleep and boost immu-
nity, while in Russia bracing cold is prescribed
for wellbeing. Numerous scientific studies on
its benefits have been carried out over the
past century. And unlike most things popu-
lating the wellness industry (worth an esti-
mated £3.3 trillion globally) it’s free. You don’t
require any kit — although for real Wim Hof
devotees the ultimate bit of gear is a home ice
bath, which you can buy for £2,999, or follow
one of the numerous online tutorials to make
one from your chest freezer — and it now
appeals to all ages and demographics.
Sara Dance, a 41-year-old Wim Hof
Method instructor in Devon, for instance,
says that among the instructor community
you will find nice former London-based
communications directors such as her andmore of the extreme Vice and Reddit-
reading psycho nauts looking for alternative
highs to adventures on psychedelics.
Hof is able to regulate his internal body
temperature better than most. Many of his
world records simply featured him cheer-
fully packed in ice for almost two hours. He
has an identical twin brother who lacks his
superpowers, Hof says, “simply because he
does not train”.
His point is that anyone can do this if they
apply themselves. He frequently issues online
“challenges” of 10 or 30 days, aiming to coax
in the curious with short cold showers and
breathing exercises. However, Hof doesn’t
approve of all the visible machismo. “To just
plunge shockingly into ice cold water to prove
your manhood is not good. It stresses the
cardiovascular system and causes unhealthy
stress to the body. Always go gradually,” he
says. People seem to forget that there are
three pillars to his method, he reiterates:
breathing exercises, mental focus and the
cold. His favourite refrain to bellow is:
“Breathe, motherf ***er!”
Today he is also often quoted by academics,
such as Andrew Huberman, associate
professor of neurobiology at Stanford Univer-
sity, California, and director of the university’s
Huberman Lab, which researches how the
brain works and how it can change through
experience. The lab’s eponymous podcasts,
top-ranked in both America and the UK, have
returned again and again to Hof ’s methods,
and to the positive emerging science around
breathwork and cold water immersion.
A recent Huberman podcast highlighted
how cold water therapy is one of the rare
ways we can raise dopamine levels in the
brain (by as much as 250 per cent, a similar
level to a line of cocaine) for a sustained
period and without a comedown. He has also
reported on an experiment in which Hof-
style breathwork used by subjects who had
been injected with E. coli had the effect of
reducing inflammation and the infection’s
flulike symptoms.
Sara Dance says people do not turn to the
cold because of the science, though, but for
the experience. She found Hof ’s teachings
after the death of a close friend. “Grief was a
black hole that was eating me alive.”
And it is this positive impact on mental
health that has people going back for more
in a time when everything is expensive,
nothing is free, and anxiety is at unprece-
dented levels. In short, be it Hof ’s breath-
work, meditation and cold immersion
system or the casual cold water dippers
with their Dry Robes and friendly beach
gatherings, the cold is helping people. ■Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof starts on BBC1 on
April 12 at 9pmIceman
Wim HofFor real Wim Hof
devotees the
ultimate bit of gear
is a home ice bath,
which you can buy
for £2,999
Aaron Feaver/ The Licensing Project, BBC
The Sunday Times Style • 15