Translations

Wim Hof: the “Ice Man”

"I'm not afraid of death, I'm afraid of not living fully".

Wim Hof photo

Meet Wim Hof. He's 62 years old, sporting a bushy beard and a booming voice that carries easily over long distances. Hof is Dutch, and his accent has plenty of rolling Rs and elongated vowels. There’s nothing particularly flashy about his appearance. He typically wears surf shorts, rubber sandals, and a t-shirt under a light jacket.

He seems like an ordinary guy, but scientists consider him phenomenal. By using “the cold, harsh nature” as his teacher, his extensive training has allowed him to learn how to control his breathing, heart rate, and circulation while withstanding extreme temperatures.

Wim Hof, the extreme athlete known as the “Ice Man,” has set a number of cold-related records, including:

climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in shorts,
running a half-marathon above the Arctic Circle barefoot,
and standing in a container of ice cubes for over 112 minutes.

Armed with his motto, “What I can do, everyone can learn to do,” Wim has made it his mission to share what he’s learned with the world.

That's why he developed the Wim Hof Method, which combines:

breathing techniques,
cold therapy,
and practices like meditation and yoga.

Using his method, Wim Hof teaches people from all around the world how to control their body and mind and achieve amazing results. Known as "The Iceman," Wim Hof has accomplished extraordinary feats of human endurance, setting 21 Guinness World Records:

- He ran a half marathon above the Arctic Circle barefoot and in just shorts.
- He swam 66 meters under ice.
- He hung from one finger at a height of 2,000 meters.
- He climbed some of the highest mountains in the world wearing only shorts.
- He completed a full marathon in the Namib Desert without any water and so on.

His example scientifically proves that the autonomous nervous system, linked to our innate immune response, can be influenced by willpower. All these "ice feats" might seem deadly, but the only time Hof came close to death was in 2000 when he attempted to swim 50 meters under ice at a lake in Finland. His cornea froze, impairing his vision, which prevented him from finding an exit from the icy trap. That time, he was rescued by a diver.

Source: wimhofmethod

Hoff's Rules of Success:
1. Take control of your life.
2. Don't let fear hold you back.
3. Embrace the power of your mind.
4. Live in harmony with nature.
5. Find your passion and chase it.
6. Shift your "chemistry," breathe deeply and consciously.
7. Learn through trial and error.
8. Step outside your comfort zone and connect with nature.
9. Breathe and believe not just in pills, but first and foremost, in yourself. And hey, take cold showers!
10. Do amazing things.

Good luck!