Extreme athlete and motivational speaker Wim Hof, also known as ‘The Iceman,’ has been spotted in one of Australia’s warmest beach towns. Wim Hof was snapped stretching on the beach in Noosa, and also chatted with a local photographer.
Wim Hof, the Dutchman known for climbing to Everest base camp in just bare feet and board shorts, and for setting the world record for the longest time in direct, full-body contact with ice 16 times (including 1 hour, 42 minutes and 22 seconds on 23 January 2009; 1 hour, 44 minutes in January 2010; and 1 hour 53 minutes and 2 seconds in 2013) has just been spotted in Noosa.
Wim Hof was snapped by photographer @tonynoosa, who shared what it was like to meet Wim Hof on Instagram, writing: “Well I didn’t think I’d be sitting on the beach having a chat with Wim Hof today. Was so nice to randomly meet him, talk about life. Absolutely made my day when he mentioned I have beautiful energy.”
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Wim Hof has made waves in Australia in recent years, with his breathing technique (“take in a strong inhalation through the nose, let out a relaxed exhalation through the mouth, repeat for 30 breaths, on the 30th breath exhale to 90 percent and hold for as long as you can, when you feel your body really needs to take a breath, inhale fully and hold for 15 seconds before releasing”) and cold water masochism bringing many people together.
From Coogee’s How’s The Head swim community to Victoria’s Elevated Springs retreat, cold water therapy (in conjunction with the ancient breathing techniques popularised by Wim Hof) has been bringing Australians all over (particularly men) together and helping them enter the much coveted ‘ego free zone,’ with the ABC calling it “the wellbeing movement bringing tradies to tears.”
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If you’ve never tried it, we highly recommend giving it a crack, even if just for the community element. If this has piqued your interest, feel free to read our account of trying cold water therapy or check out Wim Hof’s video explainer of the technique below (after first watching the safety video).
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