"When you're lost, you become numb, and for him to feel alive again, he did these challenges. "For him, it was a way to feel again," Enahm explained over the phone. Wim continued to venture into the cold, regardless of the weather or season.Įnahm Hof, Wim’s son and manager, says the cold, along with meditation and specialized breathing techniques, helped his father pull through his grief. Suddenly, he was a single father raising four children. Wim Hof, now 60, says at first people thought he was a "crazy guy or a circus artist." Now, a growing number of people and scientists are curious about the power of breath combined with the cold. The "average joe" isn't likely to become an "Iceman" after a weekend workshop. "Good luck with that," Christoforo says.The man's spectacular ability to withstand extreme cold is the result of decades of physical and mental conditioning. Many were recovering from injuries or surgery, looking to relieve inflammation and pain.Įveryone, it seemed, hoped to absorb a bit of Hof’s magnetic energy and healthful vitality - even if, physically, he wasn't going to join us there. Another felt debilitating fatigue from an autoimmune disorder. One participant was dealing with severe endometriosis and multiple surgeries. But some members of the group brought pressing health issues into the room. And some still were impressed by Hof’s 26 Guinness World Records. Other participants said they came because they had seen a 2015 Vice documentary on the method. (Goop did not respond to multiple inquiries via email.) In Episode 2, "Cold Comfort," Goop staffers swim the freezing waters of Lake Tahoe, guided by Hof. About one-third of this workshop's participants learned about the method on an episode of her new show, The Goop Lab with Gwyneth Paltrow, which debuted in late January on Netflix. Paltrow's influence on the decision to attend a Wim Hof workshop is real. “Thank you for all being here with us - and thanks, Gwyneth,” Michael Christoforo, the workshop’s leader and Wim Hof instructor, said to the group, laughing.
To prep for the course, I was advised to check out a free app with guided tutorials and background information, as well as mini workshops on YouTube. After checking in and signing liability forms, I found a spot on the floor. This course cost $120, but they range between $89 and $150 (I attended as press, so I went for free). Danny Paez, Inverse Let it goįour hours before the sidewalk ice bath, I walked into a dimly lit CrossFit gym along with 30 other participants and checked into the Wim Hof workshop. Participants fight to control their breathing in the ice bath at the Wim Hof Method workshop. I set out to explore whether the practice - which asks participants to throw out conventions of comfort and face their fears - is overhyped or restorative. Many Hof enthusiasts practice the method with religious devotion.īut the science supporting the miraculous claims is scant, and the method doesn't come without risks. The Wim Hof Method aims to relieve people’s 21st-century woes, treat their trauma, and help combat disease. "It takes away the shit within and leaves who you are and what you are within your control."Įveryone is able to plunge into the cold, Hof says - men, women, children. “The cold sounds very severe and very merciless, but it is very righteous as well," Hof tells me. Its creator is a Dutch 60-year-old extreme athlete known as the "Iceman." His method is a combination of breathing, meditation, and cold exposure, and it will make you "happy, strong, and healthy." Or at least, that's the promise. This is the world of Wim Hof, a trendy movement that prompts people around the world to take an ice bath or cold plunge in the dead of winter. It's the last place I thought I’d be on Super Bowl Sunday. The air's a brisk 36 degrees, and there's a light drizzle, yet we’re stripped down to swimsuits, chatting nervously. The sidewalk is filled with ski bros, firefighters, Goop enthusiasts, and people who told me they were there to relieve their chronic pain.