Journal
Stephen Manderson, also known as Professor Green is a rapper, singer, songwriter, and, most recently, mental health activist from London. His relationship with the cold went public when he appeared on Channel 4’s Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof (2022) as one of eight celebrities who took on extreme cold water challenges to help tackle different aspects of their mental health.
If you’re not feeling well and have doubts about doing your cold exposure, always talk to your doctor. But there’s one clear rule that’s useful to know. If you have flu-like symptoms with a fever, don’t get into the water.
We all have days when we just don’t feel like it. On these days there are usually three mindsets.....
Cold showers are a great entry point when you’re starting your cold water immersion journey. Most people have access to a shower and you can easily play with the temperature and length of your cold exposure.
If you’re wondering what the options are for starting your cold exposure journey, there are a couple of things to think about:
Everyone breathes. But when it comes to breathwork the word ‘work’ is very deliberate.
With our modern lifestyles, stress, poor posture, and low awareness of how to breathe ‘properly’ have meant that for the vast majority, this completely free and incredibly powerful tool has fallen by the wayside.
This is one of our most asked questions, and Daniel gives us a great top-level summary of the most well-known benefits of cold water immersion. But let’s have a quick overview of the full range.
Daniel is often asked about the frequency and the length of cold dips. The answer is as unique as the person asking the question.
You don’t get good at press-ups or handstands, juggling, ju-jitsu, bench-pressing, knitting, playing music or whatever by doing it just once. We know this to be true. CWI is a practice. Show up daily, design it into your routines and reap the benefits.
The most important thing to do when you emerge from your ice bath is to warm up naturally and gradually.
Yes, it’s tempting to wrap up in your dry robe or dash to the sauna - but hold off! Allowing the body to create its own heat is all part of the process, and where many of the benefits are found.
The cold is a very personal thing. We each practise the cold in different ways for different reasons and your journey is your own. Only you can get yourself through it and only you can conquer the cold. But there are some techniques that can help you prepare. Here, we explore the three ways Daniel Kluken prepares for the cold to help you get the most from your practice.
In this 3-minute guided cold exposure, Daniel invites you to surrender to the cold, reminding us that the cold is always stronger than we will ever be.
We are not trying to fight it or control it, we are trying to make peace with it.
As Wim Hoff puts it, “When you go into the cold, you cannot think. You have to be. You learn to be, to be the best version of yourself.”
In this video, Daniel guides us through a 1-minute cold exposure session. Before entering the water, focus on the conscious decision you made to face the cold. Understanding your ‘why’ is an important part of your mental preparation every time you’re preparing to enter the water.
Dutch-born Daniel Kluken has been exploring and teaching cold exposure for over 10 years, working with people from over 40 countries as a high-performance, leadership and mindset mentor.
We loved seeing all the Brass Monkeys you’ve picked this year. And with over 700 colour and material combinations, it’s a tough choice, but you’ve built some absolute beauties and we wanted to share them with you. From hot herringbone to cool steel and burnt cedar, here are our five most popular models of 2023, plus five of our Brass Monkey favs - the unsung heroes that don’t get much love – but totally deserve it!
Up in Scotland’s Speyside Valley lies the whisky trail that winds alongside the cold rushing waters of the Spey River. This famous fiery amber nectar is carried in casks and barrels all over the world, but it’s right here, in this beautifully remote spot, where our story begins.
Feeling drained or like your mental sharpness isn't what it used to be? Trust me, I've been there. Like many of you, I went through countless health tips, looking for ways to shake off this sluggishness.
When we say “cold” we mean anywhere below 16°C. A typical “ice bath” is 5-10°c. Brass Monkey Ice Baths can be set anywhere between 0.1-10°c. The rule is, it has to be cold enough to be uncomfortable, to create a feeling of “Sh*t, I need to get out, but I can stay in, safely”.
When we say ‘stress’ we usually think of life stress. Money worries, a job, relationship problems, children causing havoc. The list goes on. Chronic and persistent levels of cortisol in the bloodstream can cause serious mental and physical health problems. Tackling these usually requires fixing the cause and/or our response to the cause, which is why exercise and meditation can provide some remedy, even when we’re in the thick of it.