1 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:07,720 Speaker 1: Ah, Welcome to Behind the Bastards, the podcast where I 2 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:11,480 Speaker 1: Robert Evans am pulling a power move on Sophie with 3 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: the script of today's episode. Again, you want me to 4 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,640 Speaker 1: send it, Sophie excited, I don't know. 5 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 2: Do you want pain and suffering? I will drive to 6 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 2: your house. I will. I will literally end this zoom call. 7 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, you might, you might, you might. 8 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:30,840 Speaker 3: People can't see it, so if he has an axe 9 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:34,880 Speaker 3: behind it, I got her that act probably a mistake. 10 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 2: I'm so nervous to open this. 11 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 1: Uh uh huh. I know it's it's a Schrodinger's script. 12 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: It could be a fake again, it could be the 13 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:47,559 Speaker 1: real script. You never know, dead cat, who is the 14 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 1: real script? 15 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 2: The real script? Because you're a fucking coward. That's why. 16 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: Well, you don't want to do it every time. I'm 17 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:56,760 Speaker 1: not going to do it two weeks in a row. 18 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: You'd expect it too much. 19 00:00:58,160 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 2: Respect. 20 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 1: I gotta luw you back into a false sense of 21 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:03,040 Speaker 1: security and then send. 22 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:05,160 Speaker 2: Me the right script, you motherfucker. 23 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:08,360 Speaker 1: This is the one use for chat GPT. I may 24 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:10,959 Speaker 1: have it write a fake script that looks like on 25 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 1: the surface like it could be real, and then send 26 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: that to you. Some week and see how long it 27 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:16,759 Speaker 1: takes before you get really angry. 28 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:18,520 Speaker 4: I gotta be honest. I've read the first who said 29 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 4: it's a chat scheep, but you can write that shit. 30 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:21,720 Speaker 2: You are an artiste. 31 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:26,800 Speaker 1: Thank you, Thank you. Speaking of art. Our guest for today, 32 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:31,200 Speaker 1: James Stout, a man whose life is a work of art. James, 33 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:34,199 Speaker 1: how are you doing today? So much better for that? Roman? 34 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:37,200 Speaker 1: Thank you? Welcome? Yeah? Sor are your spear gun triggers 35 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:42,039 Speaker 1: not working ideally? Yeah? Yeah, I'm going to make it work. 36 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 1: It's okay. The joy of building weapons for yourself is 37 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 1: the long period through which they don't work, to figure 38 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: out what tiny thing you've gotten wrong, hopefully when it 39 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 1: discharges into you. Yes, as long as you don't point 40 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: them at yourself. Yeah, they are fun and rewarding. Why 41 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 1: barrel discipline is key? You know what else is key? James? 42 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:12,120 Speaker 1: What is that? Root? Breath control and true? Yeah? Yeah, 43 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 1: Today we're talking about a guy who has gotten very 44 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: probably rich, I don't know his exact neck worth, but 45 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:24,440 Speaker 1: certainly extremely famous for teaching people a series of very 46 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:28,520 Speaker 1: specific breathing techniques. A fella that you may have heard 47 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 1: of that most of I'm gonna guess a lot of 48 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: our listeners have heard of named wim Hoff. James, Yeah, 49 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 1: you're you're aware of You're actually the guy who suggested 50 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 1: this episode. So what am I fucking around pretending like James? 51 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:42,920 Speaker 1: What do you know about wim Hoff? Yeah? You know, 52 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:47,120 Speaker 1: you know he's a dangerous grifter. Yes, I'm gonna guess 53 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 1: most of our audience don't because I really didn't, you know. 54 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 1: For for me, wim was a guy who you know 55 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:56,679 Speaker 1: he was, He was on the scene. He's now spent 56 00:02:56,760 --> 00:02:58,680 Speaker 1: a lot of time in like Joe Rogan show, He's 57 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 1: been on like the Goop pod cast, and he's working 58 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:03,480 Speaker 1: on a TV show with those people. But prior to that, 59 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:06,239 Speaker 1: he was also pretty prominent. I back when I worked 60 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:09,320 Speaker 1: at crack dot com like ten years ago, we featured 61 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:11,800 Speaker 1: him in an article for some of the stuff he 62 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:14,360 Speaker 1: would do and broad whim as a guy who like 63 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:17,920 Speaker 1: uses a series of breathing and meditative techniques that he 64 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,200 Speaker 1: claims basically renders him immune to the cold and capable 65 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:25,519 Speaker 1: of extreme feats of heretofore thought impossible athletic prowess. He's 66 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:29,080 Speaker 1: been studied and by scientists and a number of occasions 67 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:32,800 Speaker 1: there are some things he's done that are impressive, although 68 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:34,840 Speaker 1: we'll talk about it not in the way that he 69 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: claims usually. But you know, I was somebody who I 70 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:40,920 Speaker 1: read about him. I read like, saw this video of 71 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:43,960 Speaker 1: him like submerged in ice, you know, for a crazy 72 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 1: long period of time, or like hiking up Kilimanjaro in shorts, 73 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: and was like, Oh, that's impressive. Cool. I guess a 74 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 1: guy figured out some new endurance techniques, nifty, And I 75 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:55,920 Speaker 1: kind of didn't think about it much more than that, right, 76 00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: It was not. It wasn't one of those things. Wim 77 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 1: was not initially claiming I have cured cancer, you know, 78 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: or I've got like you know, you don't need vaccines, 79 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 1: just do my exercise techniques. He was just a guy 80 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: who was like, you actually have more control over your 81 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: body's reactions to cold than you think, and here's how 82 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 1: to do it, which didn't seem to me on the 83 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:19,360 Speaker 1: service to be something particularly sketchy. And I'm gonna guess 84 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:22,120 Speaker 1: most people were kind of in that broad bucket where 85 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:24,279 Speaker 1: you were like, you saw some video of him, you 86 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:25,960 Speaker 1: read some article, you're like, oh, neat, and then you 87 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:28,919 Speaker 1: went on with your life. The truth is that he 88 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 1: is in fact a rather dangerous con man. Now, since 89 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 1: mister Hoff is a bit of a fame hound, it's 90 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 1: not hard to find interviews with him, and nearly all 91 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:42,120 Speaker 1: of them summarize his career in similar ways. To set 92 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 1: the scene, I'd like to read an excerpt from an 93 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,880 Speaker 1: article in The Mirror, which is a shitty tabloid but 94 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:50,840 Speaker 1: reasonably representative of the tone a lot of websites use 95 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 1: when talking about whim Hoff. That's why I'm quoting it, 96 00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:56,479 Speaker 1: not to not because the Mirror is a reliable source on. 97 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 3: Anything Brinn's left wing press. 98 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:02,480 Speaker 1: Yeah. Quote, but a daredevil record holder dubbed the Iceman, 99 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:04,839 Speaker 1: showed he can keep a cool head after scrambling to 100 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:07,920 Speaker 1: the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in record time. Wim Hoff, 101 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: fifty five, holds a whopping twenty six Guinness World records 102 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 1: for extreme sports challenges, including running a full marathon above 103 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:16,479 Speaker 1: the Arctic Circle wearing only a pair of shorts. But 104 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: father of five, whim from Sittard, Holland, proved he has 105 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:22,039 Speaker 1: ice in his veins after his eighteen strong climbing groups 106 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 1: scaled Africa's highest mountain in a record time of thirty 107 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:26,520 Speaker 1: one hours and twenty five minutes. 108 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:29,880 Speaker 3: Now, James, it does sound by chat GPT. We show 109 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:32,599 Speaker 3: that that one wasn't. I am absolutely not sure that 110 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:35,279 Speaker 3: could have been chat GPT, but it is. If it was, 111 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 3: it's because they cut up a bunch of other newspapers 112 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:38,920 Speaker 3: talking about whim. 113 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: They all use that kind of tone. Now, James, do 114 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,039 Speaker 1: you want to guess what percentage of the claims made 115 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:53,159 Speaker 1: in those three sentences are true? Zero? Yeah, zero, every 116 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:55,920 Speaker 1: single thing. I just read you as a lie. A 117 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:57,920 Speaker 1: couple of them, my hood, nos like that. That doesn't 118 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:00,800 Speaker 1: sound right. See, I'm sure about that. But you will 119 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:03,680 Speaker 1: see those not just repeated by the Mirror. You know, 120 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 1: for example, the Guardian pretty well respected paper, not someone 121 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 1: something would consider just like a tabloid generally. And here's 122 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 1: their summary from a recent article about the Iceman. Wim 123 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:17,599 Speaker 1: Hoff is known as the Iceman. He earned his name 124 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:20,560 Speaker 1: after setting twenty six Guinness World records, which includes swimming 125 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:23,360 Speaker 1: under ice, running a half marathon, a of the Arctic Circle, bear, 126 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:26,800 Speaker 1: submerging himself in ice for an hour and fifty two minutes, 127 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:30,599 Speaker 1: and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in just shorts and sandals. Now, 128 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 1: this will tell you something about like what good journalism 129 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:38,040 Speaker 1: is worth versus bad journalism because the amount of things 130 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:41,599 Speaker 1: that are correct in that sentence is higher than zero percent. Right, 131 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:45,120 Speaker 1: that's good to hear. Yeah, there are four claims in there, 132 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:50,040 Speaker 1: and one of them is accurate. Okay, so that's good. 133 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:54,320 Speaker 1: Well it's we strive. We strive for a little more 134 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:57,280 Speaker 1: and then you can say two of them are accurate, 135 00:06:57,360 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: but not in a meaningful way. We'll talk about it later. 136 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: So mind chik. This is probably a significant surprise to 137 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:05,720 Speaker 1: most people who have kind of casually heard about whim 138 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,280 Speaker 1: because for seven or eight years he's been very good 139 00:07:08,279 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: at not just performing feats of endurance, but doing it 140 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:15,000 Speaker 1: while hooked up to equipment monitored by actual scientists from 141 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 1: like reputable universities who have confirmed some of the health 142 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:21,960 Speaker 1: benefits of the breathing techniques he claims to have pioneered. 143 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 1: But the real story behind wim Hoff breathing and the 144 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:28,480 Speaker 1: man himself is much shadier than that. Now, given that 145 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:31,120 Speaker 1: he is a semi beloved figure too many, I want 146 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 1: to start us off by making the states clear. But 147 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:36,560 Speaker 1: the stake's clear because the breathing techniques that wim uses 148 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:40,040 Speaker 1: he did not really invent, but they're not bad, right, 149 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:42,520 Speaker 1: He's not like lying about it. There are uses for 150 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:45,520 Speaker 1: these techniques. They go back much further than wim Hoff. 151 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:48,600 Speaker 1: We'll talk about the origins and like, the ice bathing 152 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 1: stuff that he does is not inherently bad. There are 153 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 1: some potential health benefits to cold water exposure when you 154 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 1: do it in certain controlled ways. Right. Again, the way 155 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 1: he tends to teach people about it is pretty reckless, 156 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:04,440 Speaker 1: but fundamentally there are aspects of the things he teaches 157 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:07,880 Speaker 1: that are not like inherently toxic. However, I want to 158 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:10,040 Speaker 1: start again by making the stakes clear, which is that 159 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:14,320 Speaker 1: there are multiple allegations in court that the irresponsible training 160 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:17,360 Speaker 1: methods by Whim and his organization Inner Fire, have led 161 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:20,960 Speaker 1: to the deaths of between twelve and fifteen people. So yeah, 162 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:23,480 Speaker 1: we are not talking about like, well he's just like 163 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 1: bullshits around. We're talking about, like there's body count for 164 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:27,800 Speaker 1: this episode, right, That's why we're talking about the guy. 165 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: If he was a dude who just got like some 166 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:33,280 Speaker 1: rich people from Santa Monica to like do ice bats 167 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:35,680 Speaker 1: and like particularly right, I have a lot of respect 168 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:38,439 Speaker 1: for that. Yeah, yeah, well that's fine. I don't take 169 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:39,560 Speaker 1: their money. I don't give a shit. 170 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:41,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, I have a lot of respect for the guy 171 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:44,040 Speaker 3: on the one wheel who gets rich people to crawl 172 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:45,800 Speaker 3: on their backs along train tracks. 173 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 1: He's absolutely, absolutely, like, I got no problem with those 174 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:52,080 Speaker 1: guys who do those like fake Navy seal trainings that 175 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:55,680 Speaker 1: convince like, I don't know, finance bros in their thirties 176 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 1: to like, yeah, crawl backwards over train tracks, like you said, like, yeah, 177 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:03,640 Speaker 1: finance whatever praxies there, willing has been ten grand to 178 00:09:03,679 --> 00:09:05,800 Speaker 1: do that for four days. Gives a shit. 179 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:08,320 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's the best thing they could be doing with 180 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:09,600 Speaker 3: that time and money, if we're honest. 181 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:14,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah now. Wim Hoff was born on April twentieth, 182 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:19,360 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty nine, in Sittard Limberg, the Netherlands. He was 183 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:23,600 Speaker 1: one of ten children and is also a twin. In 184 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 1: his book The Way of the Iceman, he claims he 185 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:29,200 Speaker 1: came out as something of a surprise. Quote. After his 186 00:09:29,240 --> 00:09:31,920 Speaker 1: mother had given birth to his twin brother Andre, no 187 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:34,320 Speaker 1: one noticed that a second child was on the way. 188 00:09:34,559 --> 00:09:36,640 Speaker 1: When the doctors had left, his mother started to feel 189 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:39,880 Speaker 1: contractions coming on again. His mother, a Catholic, prayed the 190 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:42,719 Speaker 1: second child would also be born healthy. She expressed the 191 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:44,400 Speaker 1: hope that if it were healthy, the child would grow 192 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:47,480 Speaker 1: up to be a missionary. WiM's mother told this story regularly, 193 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:49,680 Speaker 1: and Wim believed the circumstances of his birth and his 194 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:53,560 Speaker 1: mother's strength had a great influence on him. So that's 195 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:56,200 Speaker 1: his claim right born to be a missionary. You know, 196 00:09:56,360 --> 00:10:01,200 Speaker 1: his mom prayed him into being divine, he chose, mm hmm. Yeah. 197 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:03,880 Speaker 1: That just strikes me as something to someone who's parent 198 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:07,160 Speaker 1: to bullshitting might say, yeah, it does seem like like 199 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:09,800 Speaker 1: that might be the case with Whim. So he's not 200 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:12,240 Speaker 1: a great writer. In this book, The Way of the 201 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:16,160 Speaker 1: Ice Man, he is credited along with Cohen Deong. I 202 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:18,720 Speaker 1: don't know, you know, you know these names, it's Danish names, 203 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:21,720 Speaker 1: like I'm doing my best here whatever as the author 204 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:24,360 Speaker 1: of this book, and I guess the safe assumption is 205 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:27,280 Speaker 1: that neither of them are good at writing books. His 206 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:32,760 Speaker 1: stories about his early life are inconsistent, although not necessarily conflicting, 207 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:34,640 Speaker 1: with the stories that he gives like the stories he 208 00:10:34,679 --> 00:10:37,640 Speaker 1: gives in this book are inconsistent with stories he's given 209 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 1: in interviews and on podcasts, but they don't necessarily conflict. 210 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:44,800 Speaker 1: It's just he tells weirdly different stories each time he's 211 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:48,320 Speaker 1: asked about his background. It's not one of the with 212 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:50,160 Speaker 1: a lot of grifters, it's like, oh, these are all 213 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:52,760 Speaker 1: clearly lies, because all of these things can't be true 214 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 1: with whim. It's more like, why did you ignore that 215 00:10:55,480 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 1: detail that you included in your book in this recitation 216 00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:00,520 Speaker 1: of your background, Like that seems kind of using to me. 217 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:03,360 Speaker 1: In some interviews, he claims that his father died in 218 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:06,040 Speaker 1: a mountaineering accident when he was a young boy, and 219 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:08,760 Speaker 1: says that this made him determine to conquer the mountains. 220 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:11,760 Speaker 1: Bad lesson to learn from your dad dying mountaineering. By 221 00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:14,400 Speaker 1: the way, lesson you should learn is respect the mountains. 222 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:17,880 Speaker 1: Mountains are very dangerous. You can try and coquer them, 223 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:20,439 Speaker 1: but yeah, they lie, fight back. They are much older 224 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:23,280 Speaker 1: than you. Yeah. Yeah, they've seen a few people come 225 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:27,320 Speaker 1: and go. Yeah's dad. Yeah, including his dad. In the 226 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:29,440 Speaker 1: way of the ice Man, though he gives a different 227 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:33,200 Speaker 1: story as to why he decides to get into conquering 228 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:36,040 Speaker 1: the mountains and doing weird cold weather stuff. Haff was 229 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:39,160 Speaker 1: fascinated by the cold from a very early age. One 230 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 1: freezing winter's night when he was seven, a neighbor found 231 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:44,400 Speaker 1: him in the snow. Strongly attracted by the white landscape, 232 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:47,080 Speaker 1: Haff had climbed out of bed, crept outside, and fallen 233 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:49,840 Speaker 1: asleep in the snow. If his neighbor had not discovered him, 234 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:54,679 Speaker 1: he probably would have frozen to death. I know, man, why, Yeah, 235 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:59,560 Speaker 1: that seems it's a normal no behavior, seems like congenitally 236 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:04,240 Speaker 1: bad assessment. Yeah. Yeah, there's something in the water in 237 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:07,440 Speaker 1: the Hoff household which has him to make poor choices. Yeah, 238 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:10,600 Speaker 1: something in the Hoff in the male Hoff brain that 239 00:12:10,679 --> 00:12:14,079 Speaker 1: does not want to pass on their genes. He does 240 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:16,600 Speaker 1: not mention his dad dying at all in this book, though, 241 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:18,720 Speaker 1: in fact I didn't really come across I'm not going 242 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:21,560 Speaker 1: to claim I read this thing like fucking Ulysses, but 243 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:23,800 Speaker 1: I did not come across him even talking about his 244 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:27,640 Speaker 1: dad here. One thing he is consistent about is that 245 00:12:27,679 --> 00:12:30,439 Speaker 1: he experimented a lot with the cold as an adolescent. 246 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:32,240 Speaker 1: He does bring this up in every interview that he 247 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:35,640 Speaker 1: that he discusses. This started with him sitting in the 248 00:12:35,679 --> 00:12:38,280 Speaker 1: snow for hours and hours at a time, sometimes sleeping 249 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:40,720 Speaker 1: outside in the winter without a tint or a sleeping bag. 250 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:42,800 Speaker 1: We don't know how much of this is true, but 251 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:45,360 Speaker 1: as we'll discuss. He makes other claims later about his 252 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:49,280 Speaker 1: fascination with enduring extreme temperatures. When he was thirteen, Whim 253 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:52,720 Speaker 1: claims he spent his fall holiday reading a book about psychology, 254 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:56,240 Speaker 1: and later wrote the psychological terminology gave birth to my 255 00:12:56,280 --> 00:12:59,320 Speaker 1: inquisitive mind and the urge to philosophy everything around me. 256 00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:01,000 Speaker 1: It was then that I began to see the world 257 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:02,800 Speaker 1: in a different light, all at once. I wanted to 258 00:13:02,840 --> 00:13:06,680 Speaker 1: learn about different cultures, traditions, and new languages. Now in 259 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:08,440 Speaker 1: the way of the ice Man. He claims that this 260 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:10,840 Speaker 1: process started when he was nine, and that his interest 261 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:13,440 Speaker 1: was sparked by his older brother, who had hitchtiked around 262 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,480 Speaker 1: the Middle East and the Far East and came back 263 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:19,880 Speaker 1: with strange and wonderful tales. Wim goes on to claim 264 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:21,880 Speaker 1: that he was so impressed by how his brother had 265 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,960 Speaker 1: changed that he stopped listening in church and focused instead 266 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:28,760 Speaker 1: on meditation techniques that he'd learned from Hindu and Buddhist texts. 267 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:32,240 Speaker 1: He went to school only with a healthy reluctance. He 268 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:36,440 Speaker 1: then has his autobiographer describe him as quote a self willed, clever, 269 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:39,760 Speaker 1: and cheerful young boy, which I do find a little 270 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:43,240 Speaker 1: bit off putting when you're clearly writing this description of 271 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:46,280 Speaker 1: yourself as a kid. At least make it up as 272 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:47,560 Speaker 1: a quote from someone else. 273 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:51,080 Speaker 3: Bro, Yeah, you've gone down that Rabbi hole, like just 274 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:52,520 Speaker 3: to continue to fabricate. 275 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:57,439 Speaker 1: Yeah. So the specific meditative practices that Whim was drawn 276 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:02,320 Speaker 1: to most is called tumo meditation t ummo, sometimes g tumo, 277 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:05,880 Speaker 1: g dash t ummo. These are a set of meditative 278 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:10,400 Speaker 1: breathing techniques that are part of the Vajrayana tantric Buddhist practices. 279 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:15,000 Speaker 1: Considered in their full context, toumo, which translates to inner 280 00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:18,360 Speaker 1: fire in Tibetan, is a meditative technique that goes along 281 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:22,040 Speaker 1: with visualizations and rituals that are believed to help alleviate 282 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 1: mental and physical pain. Tumo breathing has been studied by 283 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:28,960 Speaker 1: researchers and it has been shown to allow practitioners to 284 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:31,920 Speaker 1: increase their body temperature and for a long time that 285 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:34,800 Speaker 1: has been associated with at least temporary relief from a 286 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:39,080 Speaker 1: number of ailments. Western researchers have been studying tumo breathing 287 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:42,680 Speaker 1: since the early nineteen eighties, but the practices themselves go 288 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:44,760 Speaker 1: back a very long time. These are basically different kinds 289 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:48,640 Speaker 1: of hyperventilation techniques. Right, So these are things, These are 290 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:50,320 Speaker 1: things that go back a long time, this kind of 291 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:54,080 Speaker 1: breathing techniques, and there are certain physiological changes that can 292 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:56,160 Speaker 1: be useful in some ways that they are tied to. 293 00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:00,000 Speaker 1: In most versions of this story, Whim will say that 294 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:02,720 Speaker 1: his journey from being a guy or to being a 295 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:04,680 Speaker 1: guy who spends all of his time in the cold 296 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:07,720 Speaker 1: started me was seventeen and he found himself possessed with 297 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:10,920 Speaker 1: an inexplicable urge to dive into a half frozen canal 298 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:14,360 Speaker 1: in Amsterdam. Here's how he related that story to The Guardian. 299 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:17,080 Speaker 1: I was quite a thinker, a philosopher, but one day 300 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:19,640 Speaker 1: I felt attracted to the freezing water. I jumped into 301 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:22,160 Speaker 1: a canal in Amsterdam and thought, this is it. That 302 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:24,840 Speaker 1: deep connection I felt that day was the starting point. 303 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:27,360 Speaker 1: Every day for forty five years, I've gone into the cold. 304 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:30,480 Speaker 1: And this is more things are a little bit weird 305 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:34,320 Speaker 1: because these don't necessarily conflict that like in the earliest 306 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:36,360 Speaker 1: versions of his story, he would just say like, yeah, 307 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:38,160 Speaker 1: when I was seventeen, I just felt this urge to 308 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:40,360 Speaker 1: jump into a canal, and that got me started doing 309 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:44,680 Speaker 1: these cold weather exposure, you know, experiments. But in the 310 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:47,520 Speaker 1: more recent stuff that he's written or said about his background, 311 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:49,040 Speaker 1: he claims that, like, oh, I was like eight or 312 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:51,560 Speaker 1: nine and my neighbor just found me sleeping outside in 313 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:53,800 Speaker 1: the snow. No one could explain it. Like he keeps 314 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:58,600 Speaker 1: pushing the timeline back. Yeah, and like going from like yeah, 315 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:01,360 Speaker 1: like a lot of when we have seventeen year old 316 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:03,560 Speaker 1: boys feel nurge to do stupid shit, right, It's kind 317 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:05,720 Speaker 1: it's kind of the scene quion of being a seventeen 318 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:08,560 Speaker 1: year old boy in many ways. But to take it 319 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:11,840 Speaker 1: from like, yeah, from birth, I was like attracted to 320 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:15,400 Speaker 1: the cold because I'm specialist. Kind of my version of 321 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:17,280 Speaker 1: this is that when I was seventeen, I felt an 322 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:21,080 Speaker 1: overpowering urge to pour an entire pint glass of a 323 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:23,880 Speaker 1: fucking jim bean and see what happens if I drink 324 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:26,240 Speaker 1: it all at once. How did I go for you, Robert? 325 00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:29,680 Speaker 1: You know, I developed a new set of meditative breathing 326 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:33,040 Speaker 1: techniques that I could teach you for just twelve thousand dollars. 327 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:36,880 Speaker 3: He breathed from the stomach upwards and with the content so. 328 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:41,920 Speaker 1: Shallowly on my side while while while coughing up vomit. Yes, 329 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 1: that's the that's the real technique. You will not notice 330 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:48,760 Speaker 1: if you're in the cold. What's true. Once you're drunk enough, 331 00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:53,360 Speaker 1: once you've alcohol poisoned yourself and becomes secondary concerned alcohol 332 00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:56,760 Speaker 1: poison yourself to better health. That's that's my breathing technique. 333 00:16:56,840 --> 00:16:58,880 Speaker 1: So he goes into a bit more detail about his 334 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 1: journey here in a Discovery magazine interview from a few 335 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:05,520 Speaker 1: years ago. Even today, he has a difficult time explaining 336 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:07,920 Speaker 1: the impulse. I felt this attraction to the cold water, 337 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:10,320 Speaker 1: he says, and then after I went in, I felt 338 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:12,960 Speaker 1: this understanding, an inside connection. It gave me a rush. 339 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:15,640 Speaker 1: My mind was free of gibberish. It was so good, 340 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:17,359 Speaker 1: in fact, that he returned the next day to take 341 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:19,919 Speaker 1: the plunge again, and he continued through the winter and beyond, 342 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:22,760 Speaker 1: along the way, evolving his breathing technique, which is based 343 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:25,800 Speaker 1: on the centuries old Tibetan Buddhist practice known as Tumo meditation, 344 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:30,119 Speaker 1: but features none of its spiritual trappings. Now, this canal 345 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:33,320 Speaker 1: story is present in basically every interview where Wim talks 346 00:17:33,359 --> 00:17:36,080 Speaker 1: about his past, but oddly enough, he doesn't list it 347 00:17:36,119 --> 00:17:38,320 Speaker 1: as part of his journey in the Way of the Iceman. 348 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:41,720 Speaker 1: There he goes for a more exotic story, claiming that 349 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:44,399 Speaker 1: he traveled to India as a young adult to find 350 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:46,840 Speaker 1: a teacher who knew more about what was really important 351 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:50,399 Speaker 1: in life. His biographer insists to us he was looking 352 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:53,359 Speaker 1: for a deeper spiritual understanding. And I feel like I 353 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:55,119 Speaker 1: have to read the next couple paragraphs of this to 354 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:58,239 Speaker 1: you verbatim so you can truly appreciate how insufferable this 355 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:02,320 Speaker 1: man is. James. He flew to Karachi and took a 356 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:05,040 Speaker 1: train to New Delhi in search of yogis. He slept 357 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:08,240 Speaker 1: in the enormous Berla Mandir Temple complex. He met the 358 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:10,119 Speaker 1: owner of a tea house and the rebellious son of 359 00:18:10,119 --> 00:18:12,960 Speaker 1: a carpet magnate. There these two men persuaded Hoff to 360 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:16,720 Speaker 1: accompany them to Rishikesh and Badrinath, two places of pilgrimage 361 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:19,840 Speaker 1: on the Ganges. This colorful trio set off together a 362 00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:22,560 Speaker 1: strong bearded Sia Kuran, a tea house, a black sheet 363 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:24,959 Speaker 1: from the carpet industry who could get anything he wanted, 364 00:18:25,119 --> 00:18:26,760 Speaker 1: and he was fed up with the corruption of his 365 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:29,920 Speaker 1: world and haff They thought Hoff was crazy because he 366 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:32,200 Speaker 1: went swimming in the Ganges a couple of times a day. 367 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:34,960 Speaker 1: Hoff even swam across to the other side no mean 368 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:37,680 Speaker 1: feet given the strong current. He was also impressed. He 369 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:40,600 Speaker 1: also impressed them with the acrobatic yoga exercises he could do, 370 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:43,160 Speaker 1: despite never having had a yoga lesson in his life. 371 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:46,879 Speaker 1: In India, Haff discovered that his autodidactic approach had already 372 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:49,199 Speaker 1: brought him a long way. He could already stand on 373 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:51,080 Speaker 1: one leg and put the other leg behind his neck, 374 00:18:51,119 --> 00:18:53,720 Speaker 1: a position many people left to practice for years to master. 375 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:57,760 Speaker 1: His traveling companions remained behind in an ashram, but Haff 376 00:18:57,760 --> 00:18:59,919 Speaker 1: didn't feel at home there. He didn't like the klingi 377 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:02,639 Speaker 1: cozy atmosphere of the foreign participants, and although many of 378 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:05,320 Speaker 1: the yogis had learned very special techniques, he didn't like 379 00:19:05,359 --> 00:19:08,080 Speaker 1: the way they profited from them. He also discovered that 380 00:19:08,119 --> 00:19:09,760 Speaker 1: he could not learn much from them, as he had 381 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:13,440 Speaker 1: already mastered their tricks. He continued his travels alone on foot, 382 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:17,399 Speaker 1: just me just the best. Why I went to India, 383 00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:19,359 Speaker 1: But I knew more than all of the teachers, and 384 00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:23,040 Speaker 1: they were doing it for money, which is bad unlike me, 385 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:27,240 Speaker 1: who's I am pure fucking celebrity guru. 386 00:19:27,359 --> 00:19:30,840 Speaker 3: Now, yeah, I'm soiled killing people in the swimming pools. 387 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:34,560 Speaker 3: We've all met this guy as well, right, absolutely, anyone 388 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:38,000 Speaker 3: who has left the United States has encountered this guy 389 00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:39,920 Speaker 3: in some place in the global South. 390 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:43,920 Speaker 1: They are insufferable. Also, I love that he's like they 391 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:48,000 Speaker 1: were mystified that I swam in the Ganji. I was like, man, 392 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:51,440 Speaker 1: I've been to Rishikesh. I have swam in the ganjis 393 00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:53,840 Speaker 1: in the Rishikesh I know exactly where he did. It's 394 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:56,040 Speaker 1: not that you got to be careful, right, Sometimes the 395 00:19:56,119 --> 00:19:58,320 Speaker 1: current is too much, Right, there are times that you 396 00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:00,320 Speaker 1: don't want to be swimming in the ganjis. But like 397 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:02,560 Speaker 1: Rishikesh is up in the far north, it's in the 398 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:06,480 Speaker 1: Himalayan foothills, it's relatively clean. Lots of people swim and 399 00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:09,160 Speaker 1: raft in the gangs up there. Not weird to see 400 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:11,560 Speaker 1: people doing it. No one's going to be like, oh, 401 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:15,359 Speaker 1: white man swimming in the Ganges. Like we're not talking 402 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:18,920 Speaker 1: about being like down like fucking south of Delhi where 403 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:20,600 Speaker 1: you've got a lot of affluvia in it, and it's 404 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:22,680 Speaker 1: a lot like less safe to swim in the ganjis 405 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:25,320 Speaker 1: because like you've got cities and stuff like you are 406 00:20:25,359 --> 00:20:30,720 Speaker 1: talking about a place where a lot of people do this. Anyway, whatever, Whim, 407 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:32,959 Speaker 1: come on the Hoff. 408 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:36,600 Speaker 3: Yeah he used his last name, that Hoff, giving himself 409 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:38,639 Speaker 3: a little stolen hoff Fata. 410 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:43,040 Speaker 1: Yeah that's right, that's right. So in this version of events, 411 00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:46,199 Speaker 1: Wim describes feeling an overpowering urge to leap under a 412 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:49,359 Speaker 1: massive waterfall. The water was so cold it stopped him 413 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:52,200 Speaker 1: from being able to think. Quote, the sensation of a 414 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:54,960 Speaker 1: strength and power greater than himself took hold of him. 415 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:57,920 Speaker 1: Since then, he has loved ice cold water. So now 416 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:00,280 Speaker 1: we're at like three or four different stories about like 417 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:04,000 Speaker 1: how he came to experiment with ice cold water emerging. 418 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:08,960 Speaker 1: I guess, yeah, yeah, it does clear the mind. I went, like, 419 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:13,040 Speaker 1: I remember, I think I have plunged into the waterfall 420 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:14,720 Speaker 1: he's talking about, if it's the one that's a little 421 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:15,840 Speaker 1: north of Rishikesh. 422 00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:17,760 Speaker 3: Right, he just didn't turn me into a giant rift. 423 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:21,640 Speaker 3: Like my first experience with extremely cold water, I think 424 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:25,639 Speaker 3: was I was pack rafting in Alaska and we stopped 425 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:28,920 Speaker 3: on like a chunk of an iceberg, and because I'm 426 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:30,879 Speaker 3: a boy, I pissed from the top of it, right, 427 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:33,960 Speaker 3: because that's the sort of standard operating procedure. And then 428 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:36,399 Speaker 3: from there I jumped off it into the water having 429 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:39,720 Speaker 3: not done up the like the relief zipper on on 430 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:42,760 Speaker 3: the on the dry suit, and it certainly clears the 431 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:44,679 Speaker 3: mind when you when you hit water which is like 432 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:45,880 Speaker 3: just above freezing. 433 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:51,320 Speaker 1: Yes, it's dangerous too, you know, dangerous out You gotta 434 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:53,600 Speaker 1: be real careful with the water. In that moment, it 435 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:56,480 Speaker 1: felt pretty dangerous. I didn't want to go back. That's 436 00:21:56,560 --> 00:21:59,480 Speaker 1: that's that's smart, James. But you know who can never die? 437 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:03,560 Speaker 3: Uh Elon musk Uh. 438 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:07,159 Speaker 1: That remains yet to be seen. But our sponsors of 439 00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:11,320 Speaker 1: our podcast, all of them are willing to fight Elon 440 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:15,720 Speaker 1: in a steel cage at the house. Yeah yeah, at 441 00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:19,160 Speaker 1: their house if if you're in also, I am. By 442 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:22,920 Speaker 1: the way, Elon, let's let's go, buddy. It has been 443 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:23,480 Speaker 1: thrown down. 444 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:35,679 Speaker 5: Yeah yeah, and the weird back. 445 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:37,800 Speaker 2: I would bet on you. 446 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:40,359 Speaker 1: Thank you me too, thank you, Sophie. I would also 447 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:41,600 Speaker 1: bet on me against Elon. 448 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:43,840 Speaker 3: Would you do it like full duel style? Would you 449 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:47,840 Speaker 3: like let him pick the weapons and then look, because 450 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:50,119 Speaker 3: that's that's the if you issue a challenge, he should 451 00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:51,800 Speaker 3: be picking the weapons, right, sure, why not? 452 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:55,920 Speaker 1: What if he chooses Teslas? Oh then we'll both die? Yeah, 453 00:22:56,760 --> 00:23:03,199 Speaker 1: I got you children? Uh yeah, fine, you'll go down 454 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:07,560 Speaker 1: a hero. Yeah, yeah, the way I always wanted to. So. 455 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:10,760 Speaker 1: Soon after which, again, if you're taking the claim that 456 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:15,919 Speaker 1: he encountered coldwater immersion in fucking India, then soon after 457 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:18,639 Speaker 1: this he decides to go home, having learned everything he 458 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:24,720 Speaker 1: can from mysticism in Southeast Asia and decided to go 459 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:28,280 Speaker 1: home and devote himself to unlocking the powerful spiritual benefits 460 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:31,520 Speaker 1: of being in cold water. He returns home to Amsterdam 461 00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:33,840 Speaker 1: at age twenty, and he sets up in a squat 462 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:36,840 Speaker 1: with about ninety other people. By his own description, he 463 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:39,840 Speaker 1: ate very little food and mostly did yoga, avoiding the 464 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:42,960 Speaker 1: drugs the other squatters did. Now, I might say that 465 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:47,840 Speaker 1: starving yourself and doing yoga for twenty hours a day 466 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:50,920 Speaker 1: could theoretically be less healthy for you than just doing 467 00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:56,440 Speaker 1: some fucking k and eating schwarma, but that's a personal choice. 468 00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:59,760 Speaker 1: People are allowed to do whatever. So he seems to 469 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:02,720 Speaker 1: have basically spent this time busking by teaching yoga in 470 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:06,720 Speaker 1: the park, which is again fine. And one day, while 471 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:09,359 Speaker 1: he's doing this, this thing that he had also criticized 472 00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:12,560 Speaker 1: these Indian yogis for, by the way, kind of worth 473 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:16,280 Speaker 1: note in taking money. Yeah, he meets his future wife, 474 00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:20,120 Speaker 1: Oleah Fernandez. She moves in with him, and he claims 475 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:23,000 Speaker 1: for a year they didn't have sex, which I was 476 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:27,159 Speaker 1: not going to ask about, h yeah in the book. Yeah, 477 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:29,119 Speaker 1: but he wants us to know. So now we have 478 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:33,000 Speaker 1: to fucking interrogate this. Yeah, let's go, he says. He 479 00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:35,760 Speaker 1: does explain why they didn't fuck, and it's because, quote 480 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:38,800 Speaker 1: Hoff's what life was devoted to yoga, and his Spanish 481 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:42,960 Speaker 1: girlfriend respected that. And I always, I always find it 482 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:45,040 Speaker 1: a little weird. It's fine if you're like, he met 483 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:47,919 Speaker 1: his wife, you know, a basque woman from from you know, 484 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:51,280 Speaker 1: Spain or whatever. Okay, Like that's that's fine for whatever reason, 485 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:54,280 Speaker 1: Just like the way, just like describing her as his 486 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:57,359 Speaker 1: Spanish girlfriend, I do find slightly off putting. Yeah, I 487 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:00,679 Speaker 1: can't exactly tell you why. Yeah, she's like a character 488 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:04,560 Speaker 1: in a story he's telling him by himself. Yeah, we'll 489 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:07,160 Speaker 1: be talking about her a bit. So she goes home 490 00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:10,840 Speaker 1: after they're together for like a very sexless year, according 491 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:13,560 Speaker 1: to Whim, and the next thing that happens in his 492 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:15,439 Speaker 1: life that he talks about in his book is a 493 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:18,480 Speaker 1: bike trip to Senegal, which is very spiritual to him. 494 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:21,959 Speaker 1: I don't care. It's very boring, James. His spiritual journey 495 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:25,320 Speaker 1: is boring his ass. I much prefer like I don't 496 00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:28,760 Speaker 1: know l Ron Hubbard's. But he claims after Senegal he 497 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,600 Speaker 1: goes back to India and he studies under Yogi's this time, 498 00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:35,439 Speaker 1: I guess he finds someones that have lessons to teach him. 499 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:39,399 Speaker 1: Still non profit yogis, Yeah, nonprofit yogis. We have no idea, 500 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:41,320 Speaker 1: no way of knowing if any of this is true. 501 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:44,399 Speaker 1: But given how inconsistent his story is, I'm going to 502 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:48,560 Speaker 1: throw serious doubt on this next passage quote. He trained 503 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:52,280 Speaker 1: his body in mind under extreme conditions. Sometimes he spent 504 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:55,000 Speaker 1: several days at great heights while enduring temperatures of negative 505 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:58,720 Speaker 1: two degrees without food negative two degrees celsius without food. 506 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:01,440 Speaker 1: He discovered a new way to survive the extreme cold, 507 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:04,959 Speaker 1: controlling his breathing. With breathing exercises, he could transform his 508 00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:07,320 Speaker 1: fear and the negative experience of the cold into a 509 00:26:07,359 --> 00:26:09,800 Speaker 1: powerful form of energy. He saw his body in a 510 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:12,400 Speaker 1: new way and learned that breathing is an important instrument. 511 00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:17,040 Speaker 1: This was also where he learned his breathing exercises. So 512 00:26:18,080 --> 00:26:22,520 Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't believe that, but that's one 513 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:25,800 Speaker 1: of the claims that he makes about his background. He 514 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:29,439 Speaker 1: tells different stories in other mediums. In some interviews, he 515 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:32,360 Speaker 1: claims that he learned to control his body temperature through 516 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:35,320 Speaker 1: diving in the freezing canals and other cold weather exercise 517 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:40,639 Speaker 1: in the Netherlands. I'm not sure that's how that works. 518 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:43,160 Speaker 1: It is not how that works, but here's how he made. 519 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:44,760 Speaker 1: I want to read a claim that he makes in 520 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:49,520 Speaker 1: a Reddit ama that this guy sounds powerfully Reddit. He 521 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:55,520 Speaker 1: makes some fascinating claims in his AMA. So here's iceman Hoff. 522 00:26:56,640 --> 00:26:59,240 Speaker 1: Because our natural ability to withstand cold makes us not 523 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:01,679 Speaker 1: able to freeze and not go below zero degrees. If 524 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:04,359 Speaker 1: your cells go below that temperature, you get a reparable damage. 525 00:27:04,359 --> 00:27:07,359 Speaker 1: If you exposure self for that temperature, your body knows 526 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:10,080 Speaker 1: what to do to not freeze. The body is able 527 00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:12,760 Speaker 1: to go to the extremities besides the core, which remains 528 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:15,719 Speaker 1: thirty seven degrees. I can do all that stuff. I 529 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:18,800 Speaker 1: trained with kung fu masters in Beijing and they respected 530 00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:26,439 Speaker 1: me very much. Kung kung fu masters in Beijing just 531 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 1: throws that out there in the reddit. Enemy. I haven't 532 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:32,119 Speaker 1: seen that elsewhere, but I guess in between the yogis 533 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:33,919 Speaker 1: and the top of mountains, he went and trained with 534 00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:37,320 Speaker 1: some kung fu masters stew and then they respected me 535 00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:42,159 Speaker 1: very much. Fuck me. The orientalism is so profound, it 536 00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:47,639 Speaker 1: is out it is outstanding orientalism. He missed travel to 537 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:50,880 Speaker 1: the eighteen forties to get orientalism like this normally. Yeah, 538 00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:53,560 Speaker 1: this guy could have crushed it and oh my god, 539 00:27:53,640 --> 00:27:55,920 Speaker 1: he would have been huge. Yeah yeah, like he could 540 00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:59,080 Speaker 1: been on some learns for Arabia shit, but he would 541 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:01,600 Speaker 1: have been almost to god until he died of fucking 542 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:06,800 Speaker 1: tetanus at age thirty seven ye bacterian infection from the Thames, 543 00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:10,639 Speaker 1: trying to show off his breathing techniques. And it's very so. 544 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:13,119 Speaker 1: He says that, like I trade with kung fu masters, 545 00:28:13,119 --> 00:28:15,800 Speaker 1: they respected me very much. The response, the one Reddit 546 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:19,040 Speaker 1: response whom jam Brooklyn is just very inspiring. Thank you. 547 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:29,199 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, fuck me. He's really getting high on his 548 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:35,200 Speaker 1: own supply here, believably so. And again yeah. So. One 549 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:37,439 Speaker 1: of the things I find intriguing about whim is that 550 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:40,520 Speaker 1: this is not the kind of situation we see all 551 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:43,320 Speaker 1: the time where grifter kind of workshops a version of 552 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:47,440 Speaker 1: their life story and there are inconsistencies in the past, 553 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:49,560 Speaker 1: and then they pick a story and stick with it, right, 554 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:51,200 Speaker 1: And if you dig into it you can find like, oh, 555 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:53,640 Speaker 1: they used to tell a different story, but they tend to, 556 00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:57,280 Speaker 1: like when they get famous, stick with a version of events, right, 557 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:00,640 Speaker 1: because that's the smart thing to do. What's interesting to 558 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:03,360 Speaker 1: me about what he's so inconsistent still to this day 559 00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:07,440 Speaker 1: with like his exact journey and like when he had 560 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:09,880 Speaker 1: his revelations and when he got inspired to do what 561 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:13,240 Speaker 1: just very interesting to me how he has drunk guide 562 00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:17,880 Speaker 1: to ba and she has not like experienced scrift or energy. Yeah, 563 00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:20,360 Speaker 1: which I think is probably part of what works for 564 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:22,720 Speaker 1: him is that he does seem a little bit less 565 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:26,480 Speaker 1: polished than some of these more explicit con men. Yes, yeah, 566 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:29,600 Speaker 1: he's not like aodh and he doesn't look like like 567 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:32,680 Speaker 1: he's not If people are watching there listening to this, 568 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:35,080 Speaker 1: and like they haven't looked at wim Hoff, you want 569 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:37,400 Speaker 1: to look at wim Hoff because it's not the extreme 570 00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:41,040 Speaker 1: mountain athlete you're probably thinking of. No, No, he does 571 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:42,960 Speaker 1: kind of look like a normal man in his fifties 572 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:48,080 Speaker 1: from you know this part of the world, so up 573 00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:50,720 Speaker 1: to the present day, he continues to give different anecdotes 574 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:53,400 Speaker 1: about his path to figuring out his special breathing techniques. 575 00:29:53,760 --> 00:29:56,320 Speaker 1: The Way of the Iceman came out in twenty seventeen, 576 00:29:56,600 --> 00:29:58,960 Speaker 1: but you can find articles from the twenty twenties where 577 00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:02,320 Speaker 1: he tells the Canals story instead. I do find that 578 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:04,880 Speaker 1: book to be the most interesting version of his backstory, 579 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:07,600 Speaker 1: in part because of how badly written and off putting 580 00:30:07,640 --> 00:30:11,440 Speaker 1: it is. So after his time in Senegal, Wim breaks 581 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:14,440 Speaker 1: up the narrative with a message to the reader, which 582 00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:17,040 Speaker 1: basically says, Hey, we know you're probably wondering why we're 583 00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:20,400 Speaker 1: getting all these bullshit stories about spiritualism and shit and 584 00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:25,280 Speaker 1: a book ostensibly about breath control exercises. Don't worry, we'll 585 00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:28,400 Speaker 1: tell you soon. But first quote, we must share the 586 00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:35,440 Speaker 1: sad story of Whim's wife, Olayah. You ready for this, James, 587 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:39,480 Speaker 1: I don't think I am. You are not ready for this. 588 00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:42,880 Speaker 1: It's impossible to be ready for this. Hit me with 589 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:46,080 Speaker 1: the Yeah, I'm going to hit you with my best shot, 590 00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:50,520 Speaker 1: so fire away. That is a peculiar way of introducing 591 00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:53,360 Speaker 1: what will prove to be a very dark story. So 592 00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:57,520 Speaker 1: before going back to India to study with Yogi's, maybe 593 00:30:57,760 --> 00:31:01,520 Speaker 1: Haff returned to Amsterdam and met with Oleya. They got 594 00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:03,800 Speaker 1: married and they had a son in nineteen eighty three, 595 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:06,880 Speaker 1: presumably after he got back from studying in the mountains 596 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:10,480 Speaker 1: with Yogi's, although he doesn't say. They had two daughters 597 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:13,560 Speaker 1: soon after. But it was too cold for Olea in 598 00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:16,440 Speaker 1: the Netherlands, so they moved to the Pyrenees and Wilm 599 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:20,640 Speaker 1: got it a job teaching English. Now. Whim claims that 600 00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:23,080 Speaker 1: he took to mountain climbing up in the Pyrenees with 601 00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:25,640 Speaker 1: basically no gear. He'd go up in like shorts and 602 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:28,360 Speaker 1: shoes and nothing else and stuff as a hobby, right, 603 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:30,600 Speaker 1: so that he could he could just feel alive. He's 604 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:32,920 Speaker 1: got to like go up there without proper safety equipment, 605 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:36,400 Speaker 1: otherwise he doesn't. He's not on the edge. He's not alive. 606 00:31:36,760 --> 00:31:39,840 Speaker 1: Now this pisses off his wife because they have three 607 00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:42,600 Speaker 1: children together, and she's like, you are taking dumb risks 608 00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:45,479 Speaker 1: with your life for no reason, and like we have 609 00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:50,280 Speaker 1: kids that we're responsible for. Would you give us a 610 00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:53,440 Speaker 1: fact criticism if you're just a dude and your hobby 611 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:58,560 Speaker 1: is risking your life in unnecessary ways. You got a 612 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:00,520 Speaker 1: right to do that, you know, Yeah, to a point, 613 00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:02,600 Speaker 1: as long as you're not endangering other people with it. 614 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:05,240 Speaker 1: When you have three kids with someone, you are kind 615 00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:07,400 Speaker 1: of a dick for continuing to do that is a 616 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:10,560 Speaker 1: douche move. Yeah, like you have a responsibility. Now, you 617 00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:12,480 Speaker 1: gotta at least get those kids out the door before 618 00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:14,640 Speaker 1: you go back to your suicide. 619 00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:17,840 Speaker 3: How did your father die? Yeah, well he was hiking 620 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:20,560 Speaker 3: in his box of shorts in the parodies, being a. 621 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:22,840 Speaker 1: Dumb ass, and so I here him every day by 622 00:32:22,880 --> 00:32:27,000 Speaker 1: continuing his legacy being a stupid asshole in the mouth. 623 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:28,440 Speaker 3: I like to ghost ride my car. 624 00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:33,200 Speaker 1: Yeah exactly, now now you say that, James, Actually you 625 00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:36,040 Speaker 1: may be unaware of this. Ghost riding the whip is 626 00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:41,320 Speaker 1: the most reliable way to treat uh uh chemo resistant 627 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:45,120 Speaker 1: forms of cancer. Oh fruscinating. Yeah, doctors agree. It's really 628 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:48,440 Speaker 1: the most antioxidant rich activity you can engage in. Ghost 629 00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:51,520 Speaker 1: riding your car. Yeah, bigger the car, the better. Just 630 00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:54,320 Speaker 1: rent an eighteen wheeler and and just fucking get that 631 00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:57,800 Speaker 1: thing going downhill and then just tuck and roll. Baby. Okay, 632 00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:00,160 Speaker 1: you you actually okay, you don't go right on top 633 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:03,840 Speaker 1: of it. You that is actually more terrorism. Actually, hey, 634 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:05,720 Speaker 1: when I think of it, that. 635 00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:07,520 Speaker 2: This bit is bad. Shut the fuck up. 636 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:11,640 Speaker 1: Uh huh, that's is that, Sophie. You don't you don't 637 00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:14,480 Speaker 1: like no ghost writing? You don't like ghostwriting? 638 00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:18,960 Speaker 2: No, I don't. I don't like uh fake wink cancer. 639 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:22,040 Speaker 1: Oh I love a good fake cancer here, Sophie. That's 640 00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:24,760 Speaker 1: like our bread and butter. Yeah, none of us would 641 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:29,160 Speaker 1: have jobs if people didn't have fakes for answer, Sophie, Yeah, yes, 642 00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:33,960 Speaker 1: but no. Okay, Well, Sophie doesn't like my retirement plan, 643 00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:37,480 Speaker 1: but that's not going to stop me from retiring. Uh 644 00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:41,760 Speaker 1: so where were we? Just like, no one's going to 645 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:45,240 Speaker 1: stop that wheeler rob it rub the energy of a 646 00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:48,920 Speaker 1: least truck paraly down the freeway, gets pissed at him 647 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:52,440 Speaker 1: for risking his life when they've got kids together, pointlessly 648 00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:55,719 Speaker 1: uh And eventually he agrees to stop doing his suicide 649 00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:58,760 Speaker 1: climbs and instead devotes his free time to learning how 650 00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:01,880 Speaker 1: to hold his breath underwater. Eventually he gets up to 651 00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:04,680 Speaker 1: six minutes. Now. When I first read that, I was like, 652 00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:06,920 Speaker 1: that sounds like bullshit. I don't think people can hold 653 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:10,000 Speaker 1: their breath that long. Turns out they can. Yeah, it's 654 00:34:10,360 --> 00:34:13,120 Speaker 1: actually totally doable. I was when I was looking this up. 655 00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:15,120 Speaker 1: You know what, the longest anyone's ever held their breath 656 00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:21,040 Speaker 1: for underwater eight minutes twenty four fun. Now, that is 657 00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:24,680 Speaker 1: the longest anyone's done it with oxygen pre breathing. Right, Okay, 658 00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:26,600 Speaker 1: it's not like they're not like raw Dog in it 659 00:34:26,680 --> 00:34:29,160 Speaker 1: right there in Haley pure O two before. But still, 660 00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:33,240 Speaker 1: that's fucking wild. That is wild. It's like whale numbers 661 00:34:35,880 --> 00:34:39,799 Speaker 1: a half man, half dolphin. Yeah, without pre breathing. The 662 00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:42,200 Speaker 1: record is eleven minutes and fifty four seconds, which is 663 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:45,000 Speaker 1: fucking nuts. That is so long to hold bad. 664 00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:48,439 Speaker 3: Yeah, get bored, like you got to work onto mind 665 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:51,680 Speaker 3: exercises to think of Sudoku down there, something. 666 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:55,839 Speaker 1: Taxes or some shit. Yeah, so it's plausible. Whim very 667 00:34:55,960 --> 00:34:58,360 Speaker 1: likely probably can do something like this, given some of 668 00:34:58,360 --> 00:34:59,680 Speaker 1: the other stuff I've seen him do. So I'll give 669 00:34:59,719 --> 00:35:03,040 Speaker 1: them that. In the way of the Ice Man, he 670 00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:06,960 Speaker 1: claims that around this time, while he's spending god knows 671 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:10,600 Speaker 1: how long preparing to hold his breath underwater, his wife 672 00:35:10,600 --> 00:35:14,840 Speaker 1: starts disappearing for periods of time because she is severely depressed, 673 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:19,600 Speaker 1: and she will regularly threatened to commit suicide. He says 674 00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:23,719 Speaker 1: that they returned to Amsterdam because he no longer felt 675 00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:26,880 Speaker 1: safe with her in their farmhouse, which is very sad. 676 00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:32,439 Speaker 1: This is to some extent true. They have another kid though, 677 00:35:32,480 --> 00:35:34,839 Speaker 1: while this is all going on, and then after they 678 00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:37,759 Speaker 1: have this last kid, Olea abandons them again for a 679 00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:42,080 Speaker 1: period of time. Now in numerous other storeses sources, he 680 00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:46,560 Speaker 1: says that Oleah was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia. This includes 681 00:35:46,600 --> 00:35:49,400 Speaker 1: in twenty seventeen in the Way of the Iceman. He 682 00:35:49,440 --> 00:35:52,000 Speaker 1: also will sometimes just say that she was depressed. Obviously, 683 00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:55,000 Speaker 1: both of those things can go together. She does eventually 684 00:35:55,040 --> 00:35:58,799 Speaker 1: commit suicide, and this is very bleak. I want to 685 00:35:58,840 --> 00:36:02,040 Speaker 1: first read to you how that story is related in 686 00:36:02,080 --> 00:36:06,000 Speaker 1: a twenty seventeen Rolling Stone article, and then I'm going 687 00:36:06,080 --> 00:36:08,120 Speaker 1: to read how it's related in his book, because the 688 00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:10,520 Speaker 1: differences between the two of them are fascinating. So here's 689 00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:13,840 Speaker 1: that Rolling Stone article. Okay hit me. One day in 690 00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:16,800 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety five, after kissing her four children goodbye, she 691 00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:19,239 Speaker 1: jumped off the eighth floor of an apartment building. A 692 00:36:19,239 --> 00:36:21,399 Speaker 1: bit later, Hoff had a vision in which he saw 693 00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:23,960 Speaker 1: how his breathing technique could help people like his wife. 694 00:36:24,080 --> 00:36:26,759 Speaker 1: I can bring people back to tranquility. He once said, 695 00:36:26,880 --> 00:36:31,839 Speaker 1: my method can give them back control. So that's yeah, 696 00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:35,160 Speaker 1: very paragraph. That's just a choice, that is, that is 697 00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:39,160 Speaker 1: a series of choices. See, man, there, I think i'd 698 00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:42,600 Speaker 1: write that. Yes, fucked up in my mind, but you 699 00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:45,799 Speaker 1: know whatever, not worth getting into too much there. Yeah, 700 00:36:45,840 --> 00:36:48,600 Speaker 1: my judgment on the matter. But here's how he relates 701 00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:51,000 Speaker 1: the same story in his twenty seventeen book The Way 702 00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:53,880 Speaker 1: of the Iceman. One day, when Hoff was alone in 703 00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:56,920 Speaker 1: the mountains, Olea jumped from the eighth floor of her parents' 704 00:36:56,920 --> 00:37:01,920 Speaker 1: house in Pamplona. Olea was dead. Jennam, Isabelle, Laura and 705 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:04,480 Speaker 1: Michael lost their mother, and Wim lost his wife. He 706 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:08,360 Speaker 1: felt guilty and the children were devastated. Hoff devoted himself 707 00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:11,160 Speaker 1: to caring for his children, occasionally retreating to be alone 708 00:37:11,160 --> 00:37:14,160 Speaker 1: with nature to recharge his batteries. In those years, he 709 00:37:14,239 --> 00:37:16,279 Speaker 1: was a well known figure in the Vondel Park. With 710 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:18,640 Speaker 1: ropes and ballet equipment, he showed young children how to 711 00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:21,160 Speaker 1: climb the highest trees. The children learned that they could 712 00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:23,440 Speaker 1: do more than they thought was possible. Hoff enjoyed the 713 00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:26,759 Speaker 1: natural surroundings, even in the heart of Amsterdam. Later, wim 714 00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:31,279 Speaker 1: remarried and had another son, So that's also a paragraph, 715 00:37:32,160 --> 00:37:35,399 Speaker 1: quite a page or whatever that just gets across. First, 716 00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:37,719 Speaker 1: how odd reading Whim's different life stories can be. Again, 717 00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:41,120 Speaker 1: they're not necessarily in conflict with each other, but they 718 00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:43,920 Speaker 1: all are so different in terms of what is emphasized 719 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:48,480 Speaker 1: and claimed that it does feel peculiar and spoilers. In 720 00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:51,719 Speaker 1: both of those versions of the wim Hoff story, he 721 00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:55,840 Speaker 1: leaves out some very fucking important details which we are 722 00:37:55,880 --> 00:37:58,480 Speaker 1: about to get into. But James, you know what we're 723 00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:03,439 Speaker 1: going to get into first? Is it some advertising? Oh, 724 00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:07,359 Speaker 1: we are sure going to get James, you know what 725 00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:11,480 Speaker 1: I love about capitalism? No? Actually, no, please enlighten me. 726 00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:16,040 Speaker 1: Oh man, oh wow. First off, the fact that content 727 00:38:16,239 --> 00:38:20,160 Speaker 1: can be supported with ads. That's wonderful, which is a 728 00:38:20,200 --> 00:38:23,239 Speaker 1: sustainable situation. I was just thinking the other day, you know, 729 00:38:23,239 --> 00:38:26,239 Speaker 1: it would be a great way to run newspapers, make 730 00:38:26,239 --> 00:38:29,800 Speaker 1: it import That's a stable way to make sure people 731 00:38:29,800 --> 00:38:31,520 Speaker 1: have access to the best news at all times. 732 00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:34,600 Speaker 3: And it helps because they sort of the press holds 733 00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:36,759 Speaker 3: people in power to account. So it's important that it's 734 00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:37,719 Speaker 3: also advertising. 735 00:38:37,880 --> 00:38:41,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, Critical Critical, So be a part of that 736 00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:44,480 Speaker 1: by buying whoever it is you you hear from next 737 00:38:44,520 --> 00:38:47,360 Speaker 1: you know, if it's a Reagan coin, it's the Washington 738 00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:50,920 Speaker 1: State Highway Patrol. Send them money. Just send money to 739 00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:53,560 Speaker 1: a random phone number on Venmo. You know what type 740 00:38:53,640 --> 00:38:56,360 Speaker 1: numbers and VINDI and the spreads and joy spreads and 741 00:38:56,440 --> 00:39:00,319 Speaker 1: joy will you than the Reagan guy if you've got 742 00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:02,360 Speaker 1: a pot of money and you're thinking about what to 743 00:39:02,360 --> 00:39:05,799 Speaker 1: send it random Venmo? James, I don't think it's responsible 744 00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:09,760 Speaker 1: to advise our listeners not to invest in Reagan coins. 745 00:39:09,960 --> 00:39:13,000 Speaker 3: Because they will be quadrupling in value. 746 00:39:13,040 --> 00:39:15,560 Speaker 1: I'm sure it. Is it a crypto type coin or 747 00:39:15,600 --> 00:39:18,359 Speaker 1: is it a physical I don't know. There's fiscal coin. 748 00:39:19,160 --> 00:39:21,680 Speaker 1: I skipped through that ship. You didn't read the pdf. 749 00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:23,040 Speaker 2: Hey, here's an idea. 750 00:39:23,239 --> 00:39:28,799 Speaker 4: How about people don't do that and they they subscribe 751 00:39:28,840 --> 00:39:31,960 Speaker 4: if they are able and want to to cooler zon media, 752 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:33,320 Speaker 4: and then they don't get any ads. 753 00:39:33,920 --> 00:39:38,120 Speaker 3: Wow, or alternatively these drawings of monkeys that you can 754 00:39:38,160 --> 00:39:40,640 Speaker 3: buy on the internet. That's a great thing to spend 755 00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:41,160 Speaker 3: your money on. 756 00:39:42,400 --> 00:39:44,520 Speaker 2: James, no way. 757 00:39:44,600 --> 00:39:48,680 Speaker 1: I have reinvested the whole company pension plan into smart 758 00:39:48,719 --> 00:39:49,279 Speaker 1: because we have. 759 00:39:49,520 --> 00:39:51,600 Speaker 2: We totally have that, mm hmm. 760 00:39:51,680 --> 00:39:53,920 Speaker 3: And that's why our motto is the fast Diana. 761 00:39:54,600 --> 00:39:58,200 Speaker 1: I got an incredible deal on Jimmy Fallon's monkey dry 762 00:39:58,880 --> 00:40:01,960 Speaker 1: This is it on the boat? Yeah, it could be 763 00:40:02,080 --> 00:40:04,560 Speaker 1: on a boat. That's up to you. 764 00:40:03,640 --> 00:40:03,880 Speaker 4: You can. 765 00:40:04,760 --> 00:40:08,520 Speaker 1: We only write your monkey drawing nice anyway. And I 766 00:40:08,719 --> 00:40:22,000 Speaker 1: must paint and update that bad boy now products we're back. 767 00:40:23,280 --> 00:40:26,560 Speaker 1: So I've just read two different claims or versions of 768 00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:32,360 Speaker 1: the story of Whim's wife, Oliah's suicide, and this brings 769 00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:36,000 Speaker 1: me to a fella named Scott Carney. Now, in addition 770 00:40:36,040 --> 00:40:38,920 Speaker 1: to having a funny name, Scott is an American journalist. 771 00:40:39,120 --> 00:40:42,480 Speaker 1: He is an author and anthropologist who, in my opinion, 772 00:40:42,600 --> 00:40:45,640 Speaker 1: made some serious moral lapses as a reporter when he 773 00:40:45,680 --> 00:40:47,759 Speaker 1: started writing about whim Hoff. We'll be talking about that 774 00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:50,840 Speaker 1: in more detail in Part two. He says that he 775 00:40:50,960 --> 00:40:53,800 Speaker 1: met wim while working on a book about the Enlightenment 776 00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:57,040 Speaker 1: and the spiritualism grift industry. This is a critical book 777 00:40:57,120 --> 00:41:00,640 Speaker 1: about like guru grifters, right, like the guy and the 778 00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:03,200 Speaker 1: guy that wim Hoff is, right, who's writing this book. 779 00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:06,719 Speaker 1: But he becomes kind of enraptured with women, particularly with 780 00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:09,799 Speaker 1: how well his breathing technique works, so he writes an 781 00:41:09,880 --> 00:41:13,320 Speaker 1: article and then eventually a book on wim In Scott's 782 00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:15,560 Speaker 1: work like writing on whim is a big part of 783 00:41:15,600 --> 00:41:18,840 Speaker 1: like why wim Hoff becomes famous, right he Scott plays 784 00:41:18,840 --> 00:41:21,080 Speaker 1: a significant role in sort of the birth of him 785 00:41:21,480 --> 00:41:24,760 Speaker 1: as a major media figure. He has come to regret 786 00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:27,840 Speaker 1: aspects of the role he played here, largely because of 787 00:41:27,880 --> 00:41:32,080 Speaker 1: all those deaths. Well, the people definitely died. It's alleged 788 00:41:32,160 --> 00:41:35,720 Speaker 1: that wim Hoff's training has as and there's fourth cases 789 00:41:35,800 --> 00:41:39,320 Speaker 1: currently continuing. So he seems to have come to regret 790 00:41:39,400 --> 00:41:41,920 Speaker 1: some of this, and he wrote a blog post recently 791 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:44,760 Speaker 1: called the Rise and Fall of the wim Hoff Empire, 792 00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:47,640 Speaker 1: which we will be referring back to several times in 793 00:41:47,680 --> 00:41:52,600 Speaker 1: these episodes. That article includes a very different story about 794 00:41:52,600 --> 00:41:56,799 Speaker 1: Oliah's death and particularly what happened after. So again in 795 00:41:57,160 --> 00:41:58,959 Speaker 1: you know, just going back to the book, he says 796 00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:02,400 Speaker 1: that you know, well, he was devastated obviously after his 797 00:42:02,400 --> 00:42:05,040 Speaker 1: wife committed suicide, and he devoted himself to caring for 798 00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:07,560 Speaker 1: his children and like teaching other kids in the park 799 00:42:07,640 --> 00:42:10,680 Speaker 1: and whatnot in order to deal with his grief. And 800 00:42:10,719 --> 00:42:13,279 Speaker 1: then later whim we married and had another son. That's 801 00:42:13,719 --> 00:42:16,000 Speaker 1: the version that the book gives, broadly in line with 802 00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:19,200 Speaker 1: what he usually says in interviews. Most versions of the 803 00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:21,680 Speaker 1: wim Hoff story make a big deal about the fact 804 00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:23,880 Speaker 1: that his wife commits suicide and he is left to 805 00:42:24,080 --> 00:42:27,560 Speaker 1: raise their four children alone as a single father. Obviously, 806 00:42:28,040 --> 00:42:30,359 Speaker 1: that is a noteworthy thing about anyone's life who has 807 00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:33,160 Speaker 1: a similar cher. I can imagine very few experiences or 808 00:42:33,160 --> 00:42:36,920 Speaker 1: in situations more difficult in demanding than being left as 809 00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:39,279 Speaker 1: a single parent to raise four kids alone. That's a 810 00:42:39,560 --> 00:42:42,200 Speaker 1: very difficult thing to deal with, very much worth mentioning 811 00:42:42,200 --> 00:42:45,440 Speaker 1: in someone's biography, I would say, much more impressive than 812 00:42:45,480 --> 00:42:52,440 Speaker 1: hiking up a mountain in shorts. Yes, perhaps more beneficial, yes, yeah. Now. 813 00:42:52,680 --> 00:42:56,160 Speaker 1: In a video interview with WMX Presents, currently about two 814 00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:59,200 Speaker 1: point one million views, wim says this about his wife's 815 00:42:59,239 --> 00:43:01,680 Speaker 1: death children. I had with my wife, and I was 816 00:43:01,719 --> 00:43:03,400 Speaker 1: to be with her forever. She was the love of 817 00:43:03,440 --> 00:43:06,279 Speaker 1: my life. She died, She suicided. It's a black hole 818 00:43:06,320 --> 00:43:08,920 Speaker 1: within yourself. It breaks your heart and you don't know why, 819 00:43:09,200 --> 00:43:11,040 Speaker 1: but the train of daily life is going on and 820 00:43:11,080 --> 00:43:13,359 Speaker 1: you've got to catch up otherwise you lose it. So 821 00:43:13,440 --> 00:43:15,680 Speaker 1: I had to be there for my children. And yes 822 00:43:15,760 --> 00:43:18,280 Speaker 1: we created a new nest. My children made me survive 823 00:43:18,320 --> 00:43:21,400 Speaker 1: in that time, but nature healed my wounds. So again, 824 00:43:22,280 --> 00:43:25,160 Speaker 1: very focused on the idea that he bravely takes on 825 00:43:25,280 --> 00:43:27,880 Speaker 1: his kids and they help each other heal after this. 826 00:43:28,560 --> 00:43:30,880 Speaker 1: That is not the version of the story that Scott 827 00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:34,960 Speaker 1: Carney gives in this ride up quote. After his wife's death, 828 00:43:34,960 --> 00:43:37,280 Speaker 1: he began a relationship with a woman in another city 829 00:43:37,320 --> 00:43:39,560 Speaker 1: and left his kids to survive alone in a squat 830 00:43:39,560 --> 00:43:43,160 Speaker 1: house in Amsterdam. The eldest Innam was only fifteen years 831 00:43:43,160 --> 00:43:46,520 Speaker 1: old when he became the family's surrogate dad. Eventually, Hoff's 832 00:43:46,520 --> 00:43:48,960 Speaker 1: relationship with the woman ended, and he found himself with 833 00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:51,960 Speaker 1: a thirty thousand euro tax debt that seemed to be 834 00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:56,160 Speaker 1: the impetus to reconnect with his family. Ah there we go, Oh, 835 00:43:56,360 --> 00:43:59,000 Speaker 1: there we go. Now we got some of that classic 836 00:43:59,080 --> 00:44:01,879 Speaker 1: bas abandoning your family and then coming back to get 837 00:44:02,239 --> 00:44:07,239 Speaker 1: pay your tax bill. Ah, there we go. That's that 838 00:44:07,400 --> 00:44:09,600 Speaker 1: good ship you feel that deep in your that's like 839 00:44:09,840 --> 00:44:12,120 Speaker 1: as like the spiritual equivalent of a nice bowl of 840 00:44:12,160 --> 00:44:14,640 Speaker 1: gaspacho right where you just feel it filling you up, 841 00:44:14,760 --> 00:44:19,520 Speaker 1: nourishing you. Yeah, I love it. 842 00:44:19,680 --> 00:44:21,439 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's what I think about when I think about 843 00:44:21,480 --> 00:44:22,880 Speaker 3: someone abandoning that children. 844 00:44:23,239 --> 00:44:26,200 Speaker 1: That's the exact noise I make. That is why I 845 00:44:26,280 --> 00:44:29,200 Speaker 1: do this podcast. Yeah, the joy that spots in your 846 00:44:29,200 --> 00:44:32,399 Speaker 1: eyes was really made it for me. Now that's that's 847 00:44:32,520 --> 00:44:36,200 Speaker 1: bad person shit, right, Yes, look a douche move. I 848 00:44:36,280 --> 00:44:39,000 Speaker 1: have a lot of empathy for someone who loses a spouse. 849 00:44:39,320 --> 00:44:41,400 Speaker 1: There's a lot of bad behavior, even that can be 850 00:44:41,560 --> 00:44:45,839 Speaker 1: justified by just the madness of grief. But abandoning your 851 00:44:45,920 --> 00:44:48,280 Speaker 1: children to go shack up with somebody else and leaving 852 00:44:48,320 --> 00:44:50,680 Speaker 1: them alone in a squat with your fifteen year old 853 00:44:51,000 --> 00:44:55,080 Speaker 1: not acceptable behavior. You have a possibility to do better 854 00:44:55,120 --> 00:44:59,680 Speaker 1: than that for your kids. Oh wow, Yeah, and then 855 00:44:59,719 --> 00:45:02,440 Speaker 1: you just admit that from all his own rent should 856 00:45:02,480 --> 00:45:05,520 Speaker 1: just start know we saved each other man, you were 857 00:45:05,520 --> 00:45:10,279 Speaker 1: fuck you bounced Tomy. Now it gets even weirder than that, though, 858 00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:12,680 Speaker 1: because once he decided he needed to get back in 859 00:45:12,719 --> 00:45:15,799 Speaker 1: touch with his family, he asks his second oldest son, 860 00:45:15,840 --> 00:45:20,480 Speaker 1: because his oldest son is pissed about being made dad suddenly, yeah, 861 00:45:20,560 --> 00:45:23,279 Speaker 1: he asks his second oldest boy, Michael, to meet him 862 00:45:23,280 --> 00:45:27,240 Speaker 1: in the Vandell Park in Amsterdam. Quote, haff arrived early 863 00:45:27,280 --> 00:45:29,000 Speaker 1: and went for a swim in the park's pond. While 864 00:45:29,000 --> 00:45:31,319 Speaker 1: he was waiting, he paddled out for a fountain and 865 00:45:31,360 --> 00:45:34,800 Speaker 1: positioned himself over the spout to give himself an enema 866 00:45:34,920 --> 00:45:38,400 Speaker 1: he thought would cleanse out all of his destines or is. 867 00:45:38,440 --> 00:45:42,799 Speaker 1: He often likes to say, get the shit out. Well, yeah, well, 868 00:45:42,840 --> 00:45:45,520 Speaker 1: first off, you're a bastard for doing that in a 869 00:45:45,640 --> 00:45:49,200 Speaker 1: public fountain. You don't give yourself an innima in a 870 00:45:49,440 --> 00:45:53,560 Speaker 1: public fountain. You're gonna get your shit everywhere. You fucked 871 00:45:53,640 --> 00:45:54,319 Speaker 1: up that soil. 872 00:45:56,160 --> 00:46:02,759 Speaker 3: Oh, that literally hurts everyone involved, Like what who does that? 873 00:46:03,120 --> 00:46:06,680 Speaker 1: A fucking piece of asshole, A bastard. 874 00:46:07,120 --> 00:46:08,880 Speaker 3: That is not a normal maneuver. 875 00:46:09,320 --> 00:46:12,239 Speaker 1: I'm going to continue that quote. A recording of one 876 00:46:12,239 --> 00:46:15,600 Speaker 1: of our conversations in twenty thirteen, Hoff recounts that he 877 00:46:15,640 --> 00:46:18,280 Speaker 1: had done the park fountain enema at least one hundred 878 00:46:18,400 --> 00:46:32,279 Speaker 1: times to work ray but unbeknownst but that unbeknownst to him, 879 00:46:32,400 --> 00:46:35,120 Speaker 1: the park Service had changed the spigott on the fountain 880 00:46:35,120 --> 00:46:42,359 Speaker 1: to spray the narrower gauge some water, cutting through his 881 00:46:42,440 --> 00:46:47,080 Speaker 1: intestines like a knight filling his bows with dirty water. 882 00:46:47,719 --> 00:46:50,640 Speaker 1: He managed to make it back to store to shore 883 00:46:51,000 --> 00:46:54,920 Speaker 1: while blood and feces leaked from his rectum. Hoff's first 884 00:46:54,960 --> 00:46:57,160 Speaker 1: words to his son in a decade where that he 885 00:46:57,239 --> 00:46:58,799 Speaker 1: needed to go to a hospital. 886 00:47:05,680 --> 00:47:07,640 Speaker 3: I would not welcome that man back into my life 887 00:47:07,680 --> 00:47:10,200 Speaker 3: at that point. I'm just gonna say that walk away. 888 00:47:10,360 --> 00:47:13,600 Speaker 1: Your dad bounces to shack up with somebody you don't 889 00:47:13,640 --> 00:47:16,240 Speaker 1: know and leaves your fifteen year old brother in charge 890 00:47:16,239 --> 00:47:18,640 Speaker 1: after your mom kills herself, and the first time you 891 00:47:18,680 --> 00:47:21,839 Speaker 1: see him, he's crawling across the ground, blood and shit 892 00:47:21,960 --> 00:47:25,080 Speaker 1: looking out of him because he gave himself a fountain 893 00:47:25,160 --> 00:47:28,800 Speaker 1: in a up before hanging out. Yeah, better off done, 894 00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:35,319 Speaker 1: like did walk away? I like to hospital by Yeah, 895 00:47:35,320 --> 00:47:39,000 Speaker 1: this is all you, buddy. I love the Dutch park 896 00:47:39,080 --> 00:47:42,000 Speaker 1: service employee who saw this ninety nine times in red 897 00:47:42,080 --> 00:47:45,399 Speaker 1: lights wasn't going to be one hundred deep and then 898 00:47:45,520 --> 00:47:49,879 Speaker 1: to that shit immediately. I do love ye adding that story. Yeah, 899 00:47:49,960 --> 00:47:51,000 Speaker 1: I want to hear him. 900 00:47:51,400 --> 00:47:54,560 Speaker 3: Someone to a pr for the man who replaced that spigot. 901 00:47:54,760 --> 00:47:57,920 Speaker 3: He's giving on cool people next week. 902 00:47:58,360 --> 00:48:02,480 Speaker 1: So Scott climes that he pressed whim about, like, why 903 00:48:02,520 --> 00:48:05,319 Speaker 1: did you really decide to give yourself a fountain enema? Right? 904 00:48:05,760 --> 00:48:05,840 Speaker 4: Like? 905 00:48:05,960 --> 00:48:08,359 Speaker 1: Because Scott doesn't believe that he would have accidentally hurt 906 00:48:08,440 --> 00:48:11,640 Speaker 1: himself on the fountain without knowing it could be dangerous. Quote. 907 00:48:11,960 --> 00:48:14,239 Speaker 1: I asked Kauf if he had an inclination that the 908 00:48:14,239 --> 00:48:17,440 Speaker 1: fountain maneuver might hurt him, and whether hurting himself before 909 00:48:17,480 --> 00:48:19,439 Speaker 1: meeting his son might have been a way to show 910 00:48:19,440 --> 00:48:22,440 Speaker 1: his remorse for abandoning his children for a decade. You 911 00:48:22,480 --> 00:48:24,400 Speaker 1: get the feeling that you want to kill yourself and 912 00:48:24,400 --> 00:48:27,680 Speaker 1: want to end the story, not deliberately, but unconsciously, stop 913 00:48:27,719 --> 00:48:29,960 Speaker 1: this shit, even if you have to die. Something like 914 00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:35,360 Speaker 1: that was going on. Hoff said, so either if you 915 00:48:35,440 --> 00:48:37,720 Speaker 1: take kind of what they're saying, he felt so bad 916 00:48:37,840 --> 00:48:39,440 Speaker 1: that he felt like he had to do this to 917 00:48:39,520 --> 00:48:41,719 Speaker 1: kind of like express the sorrow in his heart, and 918 00:48:41,760 --> 00:48:45,000 Speaker 1: because he was so guilty for his failures. I kind 919 00:48:45,040 --> 00:48:48,799 Speaker 1: of think maybe he knew that his kids had very 920 00:48:48,880 --> 00:48:53,160 Speaker 1: valid reason to be angry at him, and he fucking 921 00:48:53,239 --> 00:48:58,440 Speaker 1: decided that the best thing he could do was injure 922 00:48:58,520 --> 00:49:01,959 Speaker 1: himself in order that they would feel bad for him, 923 00:49:02,000 --> 00:49:05,760 Speaker 1: so that he wouldn't have to deal with the actual 924 00:49:05,800 --> 00:49:08,600 Speaker 1: guilt that he has for failing them. Like I kind 925 00:49:08,600 --> 00:49:11,200 Speaker 1: of think this was another emotionally abusive thing by him 926 00:49:11,200 --> 00:49:13,359 Speaker 1: where he's like, well, yeah, if I fuck myself up, 927 00:49:13,360 --> 00:49:15,600 Speaker 1: then they can't be angry at me, right because they'll 928 00:49:15,640 --> 00:49:17,880 Speaker 1: have it will have to be dealing with this health problem. 929 00:49:18,120 --> 00:49:21,200 Speaker 3: I will say, that's why the methodology is still fascinating 930 00:49:21,239 --> 00:49:21,480 Speaker 3: to me. 931 00:49:21,680 --> 00:49:24,800 Speaker 1: Either way. Yeah, it's not not good decision making. Nobody's 932 00:49:24,800 --> 00:49:25,760 Speaker 1: gotta claim that. 933 00:49:25,880 --> 00:49:27,840 Speaker 3: You could get your foot run over or somethink that 934 00:49:27,960 --> 00:49:30,160 Speaker 3: he commit to the bit. 935 00:49:30,600 --> 00:49:34,120 Speaker 1: He sure did so. I was curious as to whether 936 00:49:34,200 --> 00:49:37,080 Speaker 1: or not Whim had discussed his Fountain injury with anyone 937 00:49:37,080 --> 00:49:39,719 Speaker 1: else during his many, many precedents, and I found a 938 00:49:39,880 --> 00:49:43,120 Speaker 1: terrible article in my research from a website called High 939 00:49:43,160 --> 00:49:47,360 Speaker 1: Existence by John Brooks. It is a listical titled thirteen 940 00:49:47,520 --> 00:49:50,960 Speaker 1: crazy facts about Iceman wim Hoff that nobody talks about. 941 00:49:51,400 --> 00:49:54,239 Speaker 1: The cover image is a crude photoshop of Whim's head 942 00:49:54,280 --> 00:49:57,040 Speaker 1: on the Night King from Game of Thrones. Now, oh cool, 943 00:49:58,239 --> 00:50:01,040 Speaker 1: get some good shit. Yeah. I this article and I 944 00:50:01,080 --> 00:50:03,520 Speaker 1: hate John Brooks who wrote it, but it is useful 945 00:50:03,560 --> 00:50:05,760 Speaker 1: for our purposes because it is written by a weirdo 946 00:50:05,800 --> 00:50:08,239 Speaker 1: freak who's obsessed with wim Hoff and has spent more 947 00:50:08,239 --> 00:50:11,759 Speaker 1: time listening to his podcast appearances and video interviews than 948 00:50:11,800 --> 00:50:15,560 Speaker 1: I ever will. Here is entry number six on that listicle. 949 00:50:16,400 --> 00:50:19,160 Speaker 1: In the Becoming the Ice Man subreddit, a user asked 950 00:50:19,160 --> 00:50:21,279 Speaker 1: how Wim got the scar over his belly button. He 951 00:50:21,360 --> 00:50:24,360 Speaker 1: received this reply About fifteen years ago. Wim was swimming 952 00:50:24,360 --> 00:50:26,520 Speaker 1: at a fountain at Amsterdam and decided to give himself 953 00:50:26,560 --> 00:50:28,799 Speaker 1: an enema on the nozzle of the jet. He says 954 00:50:28,800 --> 00:50:30,720 Speaker 1: he has done this before, but a few weeks earlier 955 00:50:30,760 --> 00:50:33,120 Speaker 1: the city altered the jet to have a more powerful spout, 956 00:50:33,400 --> 00:50:35,080 Speaker 1: so when he sat on the hose, the water cut 957 00:50:35,120 --> 00:50:39,240 Speaker 1: through his colon and intestines like a water knife. His son, Michael, 958 00:50:39,280 --> 00:50:41,440 Speaker 1: who he was meeting at the park, took him to 959 00:50:41,480 --> 00:50:44,120 Speaker 1: the er. Whim is a pretty good ability to resist pain, 960 00:50:44,239 --> 00:50:46,240 Speaker 1: so the hospital did not tree as him to surgery 961 00:50:46,360 --> 00:50:49,200 Speaker 1: immediately because they didn't understand as serious the injury was. 962 00:50:49,480 --> 00:50:51,600 Speaker 1: After a few hours, he fainted and they realized how 963 00:50:51,600 --> 00:50:54,040 Speaker 1: bad it was. The doctor stitched him up, but rightly 964 00:50:54,080 --> 00:50:55,839 Speaker 1: feared the risk of sepsis. It took him a long 965 00:50:55,920 --> 00:50:58,359 Speaker 1: time to recover. He says that he used no antibiotics. 966 00:50:58,360 --> 00:51:05,400 Speaker 1: Staring recovery a god always a chance for a grift. 967 00:51:05,760 --> 00:51:08,399 Speaker 1: I do love it. They was like, yeah, all they 968 00:51:08,440 --> 00:51:10,239 Speaker 1: say about the fact that this was their first time 969 00:51:10,280 --> 00:51:12,560 Speaker 1: meeting in a decade is his son Michael, who he 970 00:51:12,640 --> 00:51:13,280 Speaker 1: was meeting. 971 00:51:13,080 --> 00:51:16,440 Speaker 3: At the park y Yeah, yeah, are amazing. What an 972 00:51:16,480 --> 00:51:19,440 Speaker 3: amazing way to turn that l into a dub just 973 00:51:19,840 --> 00:51:23,080 Speaker 3: being like, yeah, I owned the self inflicted colon injury. 974 00:51:23,520 --> 00:51:26,560 Speaker 1: And here's the thing, the story we just read about 975 00:51:26,640 --> 00:51:30,399 Speaker 1: him doing this after abandoning his family, that comes from 976 00:51:30,560 --> 00:51:35,320 Speaker 1: Scott Carney's recorded notes, right. Scott also wrote the subreddit 977 00:51:35,360 --> 00:51:40,520 Speaker 1: post that I just read you. Yeah, So here's what 978 00:51:40,560 --> 00:51:42,640 Speaker 1: follows that version of the story in that post on 979 00:51:42,680 --> 00:51:45,400 Speaker 1: the subreddit. How do I know this? I'm Scott Carney, 980 00:51:45,440 --> 00:51:48,040 Speaker 1: author of a book about whim. I didn't include this 981 00:51:48,120 --> 00:51:50,160 Speaker 1: story in the book because how on earth do you 982 00:51:50,200 --> 00:51:53,600 Speaker 1: tell it and not lose track of the main story. Now, 983 00:51:53,960 --> 00:51:57,120 Speaker 1: But that's why you fucking get good at writing, isn't it. 984 00:51:57,360 --> 00:51:59,120 Speaker 1: That's why you get good at writing. Yeah, you don't 985 00:51:59,160 --> 00:52:03,080 Speaker 1: just abandon the fucking story. Like, and again, he's not 986 00:52:03,600 --> 00:52:05,600 Speaker 1: in the subreddit. He's not saying I hid the part 987 00:52:05,600 --> 00:52:07,799 Speaker 1: about him abandoning his family. He's saying I just didn't 988 00:52:07,840 --> 00:52:10,239 Speaker 1: tell about him getting his guts cut up. By a 989 00:52:10,280 --> 00:52:14,480 Speaker 1: water knife, right, But the reality is he hid both 990 00:52:14,520 --> 00:52:17,479 Speaker 1: of those things, right, Scott hides the fact that Wim 991 00:52:17,520 --> 00:52:20,600 Speaker 1: abandons his family and the story about him giving himself 992 00:52:20,640 --> 00:52:23,640 Speaker 1: the death enema. And this is why I think Scott's 993 00:52:23,680 --> 00:52:28,160 Speaker 1: one of our bastards here, right. Yeah, obviously the true story. 994 00:52:28,280 --> 00:52:30,799 Speaker 1: If the version that Scott is now giving is the 995 00:52:30,840 --> 00:52:33,760 Speaker 1: true story, right, we are I have to I assume 996 00:52:33,800 --> 00:52:37,000 Speaker 1: it probably is because Scott is claiming I have this recorded, 997 00:52:37,520 --> 00:52:40,200 Speaker 1: and if he was lying about this, that's a significant 998 00:52:40,239 --> 00:52:42,799 Speaker 1: legal liability, right because Scott's not He's putting this up 999 00:52:42,800 --> 00:52:44,880 Speaker 1: on his blog. He's not publishing this through an outlet 1000 00:52:44,920 --> 00:52:47,160 Speaker 1: even who would be, you know, it would be incumbent 1001 00:52:47,239 --> 00:52:49,640 Speaker 1: upon them to represent him. So he better you know. 1002 00:52:51,320 --> 00:52:56,319 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean yeah, this Connie's Jetty is kind of 1003 00:52:56,360 --> 00:52:58,439 Speaker 3: fascinating and I don't know if you can ever treat 1004 00:52:58,480 --> 00:53:01,120 Speaker 3: him as truly credible. He has his own kind of 1005 00:53:01,520 --> 00:53:03,960 Speaker 3: Oriental origin story that he tells as well. 1006 00:53:04,480 --> 00:53:06,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, and I we're not going to get as much 1007 00:53:06,719 --> 00:53:08,239 Speaker 1: in that. We'll talk more about him in the next 1008 00:53:08,280 --> 00:53:12,000 Speaker 1: episode though, But like, yeah, the truth, assuming that the 1009 00:53:12,080 --> 00:53:14,640 Speaker 1: version he is giving now is a true story, it 1010 00:53:14,680 --> 00:53:18,919 Speaker 1: paints a story of whom as a profoundly unbalanced man who, 1011 00:53:19,840 --> 00:53:22,160 Speaker 1: whatever else you can say about him, should not be 1012 00:53:22,280 --> 00:53:25,759 Speaker 1: the source of health and wellness advice. I remember one 1013 00:53:25,800 --> 00:53:28,799 Speaker 1: who is habitually giving himself a public enema in a 1014 00:53:28,840 --> 00:53:33,120 Speaker 1: public fountain. That's a man you shouldn't take health advice from. 1015 00:53:33,320 --> 00:53:37,600 Speaker 3: Yeah you, Yeah, you can be involuntarily constrained for doing 1016 00:53:37,640 --> 00:53:38,279 Speaker 3: that kind of thing. 1017 00:53:38,320 --> 00:53:40,160 Speaker 1: That none that should happen to him. I'm not saying 1018 00:53:40,200 --> 00:53:43,759 Speaker 1: you should be, but you shouldn't be a health guru. Yes, yeah, 1019 00:53:43,920 --> 00:53:46,080 Speaker 1: I think if you continue to do that after the 1020 00:53:46,120 --> 00:53:48,840 Speaker 1: first time, you, yeah, you're not giving good advice to 1021 00:53:48,880 --> 00:53:50,839 Speaker 1: the old health Well, you are not someone who can 1022 00:53:50,880 --> 00:53:53,880 Speaker 1: be taken seriously on this sort of thing. Uh, you know, 1023 00:53:54,000 --> 00:53:56,719 Speaker 1: maybe if you try it once when you're dumb and 1024 00:53:56,800 --> 00:53:58,920 Speaker 1: young and you learn what a bad idea issue one 1025 00:53:59,000 --> 00:54:02,120 Speaker 1: hundred times yeah, yeah times. 1026 00:54:02,920 --> 00:54:04,600 Speaker 3: It's only got a one percent fail rate. 1027 00:54:04,719 --> 00:54:10,680 Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, really can you afford not to? But yeah, 1028 00:54:10,719 --> 00:54:13,840 Speaker 1: I think it is kind of damning because it's Scott's 1029 00:54:13,920 --> 00:54:15,680 Speaker 1: article today, Like the one that he's written now, I 1030 00:54:15,719 --> 00:54:17,920 Speaker 1: think is a reasonably good article. It does answer a 1031 00:54:17,920 --> 00:54:21,520 Speaker 1: lot of questions about whim, but the fact that he 1032 00:54:21,600 --> 00:54:26,520 Speaker 1: hides all this is really fucked up, and he I 1033 00:54:26,600 --> 00:54:29,400 Speaker 1: think why he does this is that the business that 1034 00:54:29,480 --> 00:54:31,880 Speaker 1: he knows Wim might do as a wellness influencer is 1035 00:54:32,000 --> 00:54:35,760 Speaker 1: too enticing to risk fucking up by dropping this story. 1036 00:54:36,160 --> 00:54:39,000 Speaker 1: But here is how Scott explains why he had this. 1037 00:54:40,160 --> 00:54:42,440 Speaker 1: The story of Hoff abandoning his children and his near 1038 00:54:42,480 --> 00:54:44,839 Speaker 1: fatal inemin never made it into my own book because 1039 00:54:44,880 --> 00:54:47,680 Speaker 1: both my editor and I wanted to protect Hoff's reputation 1040 00:54:47,760 --> 00:54:49,960 Speaker 1: from evidence of his own madness. It's a role that 1041 00:54:50,000 --> 00:54:52,520 Speaker 1: many other journalists have also fallen into when they might 1042 00:54:52,560 --> 00:54:55,799 Speaker 1: have otherwise doubled down on their fact checking efforts. And like, 1043 00:54:56,239 --> 00:54:58,560 Speaker 1: this is not a fact checking issue, Scott, because he 1044 00:54:58,760 --> 00:55:01,840 Speaker 1: admits to doing. You just have to tell the story 1045 00:55:01,880 --> 00:55:05,719 Speaker 1: he's telling here. Yeah, like they didn't have enough time 1046 00:55:05,760 --> 00:55:08,279 Speaker 1: and money to fact check it. Like and then he's 1047 00:55:08,360 --> 00:55:10,400 Speaker 1: right that other people should maybe have fact checked it. 1048 00:55:10,520 --> 00:55:14,040 Speaker 1: But sure, I'm sure everyone else cited him because especially 1049 00:55:14,160 --> 00:55:16,840 Speaker 1: like health and wellness journalism, let's face it, like this, 1050 00:55:17,280 --> 00:55:21,080 Speaker 1: people aren't fact checking. No, And it's yeah, I think 1051 00:55:21,520 --> 00:55:24,040 Speaker 1: bad of you, Scott. 1052 00:55:24,120 --> 00:55:26,920 Speaker 3: Yes, yes, I think we can agree. So what a 1053 00:55:26,960 --> 00:55:27,520 Speaker 3: good thing to do? 1054 00:55:28,080 --> 00:55:30,719 Speaker 1: Yeah, to make the claim that other journalists are just 1055 00:55:30,719 --> 00:55:33,520 Speaker 1: as irresponsible as Scott. His next series of quotes from 1056 00:55:33,520 --> 00:55:36,160 Speaker 1: a Joe Rogan interview, and of all the Scott's sins, 1057 00:55:36,200 --> 00:55:38,840 Speaker 1: that may be the greatest. But we're getting ahead of 1058 00:55:38,840 --> 00:55:41,799 Speaker 1: ourselves because James, right now, you know what time? It 1059 00:55:41,840 --> 00:55:46,280 Speaker 1: is anema time. Oh James, we could do an anema 1060 00:55:46,360 --> 00:55:48,120 Speaker 1: right now. Let's do it. Meet in the par you 1061 00:55:48,160 --> 00:55:50,879 Speaker 1: know what. You know what, Yes, James and I are 1062 00:55:50,920 --> 00:55:53,400 Speaker 1: going to go do an enema in a public place. 1063 00:55:54,800 --> 00:56:00,120 Speaker 1: I'm dangering other people. And you hang out until Thursday. 1064 00:56:00,600 --> 00:56:02,880 Speaker 1: You get your own enema, you know. Find a fountain 1065 00:56:02,920 --> 00:56:06,160 Speaker 1: out there. Go to Disney World. Yeah, we're saying, go 1066 00:56:06,200 --> 00:56:06,880 Speaker 1: to the Aria. 1067 00:56:07,520 --> 00:56:11,399 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, the big Yeah, musical fountains. I'd have him 1068 00:56:11,440 --> 00:56:13,279 Speaker 3: lunch week. If you're in Barcelona, they can go to 1069 00:56:13,400 --> 00:56:16,600 Speaker 3: musical fountains. Absolutely, go to Dubai. Give yourself a fountain 1070 00:56:16,640 --> 00:56:19,880 Speaker 3: anima in Dubai. God, I bet that the police and 1071 00:56:19,920 --> 00:56:22,080 Speaker 3: the Emirates will like that. I was going to say, 1072 00:56:22,080 --> 00:56:23,279 Speaker 3: that will not end well for. 1073 00:56:23,280 --> 00:56:28,520 Speaker 1: You, James. What have I got to plood? It's interesting. 1074 00:56:29,200 --> 00:56:32,960 Speaker 3: I am, despite my better instincts, still on Twitter dot com, 1075 00:56:33,680 --> 00:56:36,200 Speaker 3: which you know, James Stout is my name and also 1076 00:56:36,239 --> 00:56:38,680 Speaker 3: my Twitter handle. I do a podcast with with you 1077 00:56:38,719 --> 00:56:42,400 Speaker 3: and some other wonderful people called it could happen here really, Yeah, 1078 00:56:42,640 --> 00:56:48,919 Speaker 3: it happens every day here in your telephone well iPod. Yeah, 1079 00:56:48,520 --> 00:56:51,160 Speaker 3: and so Sophia sometimes joined us. We talk about sheep 1080 00:56:51,280 --> 00:56:56,400 Speaker 3: and chickens and also Turkish drone strikes in the Autonomous 1081 00:56:56,400 --> 00:56:58,960 Speaker 3: Area of North and Eassyria, all kinds of things in 1082 00:56:59,000 --> 00:57:01,640 Speaker 3: that in that broad air. Yeah, so that you should 1083 00:57:01,680 --> 00:57:04,040 Speaker 3: listen to that. I'm writing a book for ak Press, 1084 00:57:04,520 --> 00:57:06,080 Speaker 3: but I'm still writing it, so you can't buy it, 1085 00:57:06,120 --> 00:57:07,920 Speaker 3: but buy some other books from Akpress. 1086 00:57:08,040 --> 00:57:14,120 Speaker 1: Very nice people. Yeah, all right, everybody, Everything's good. 1087 00:57:19,160 --> 00:57:21,880 Speaker 2: Behind the Bastards is a production of cool Zone Media. 1088 00:57:22,240 --> 00:57:25,480 Speaker 2: For more from cool Zone Media, visit our website coolzonemedia 1089 00:57:25,680 --> 00:57:28,880 Speaker 2: dot com, or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, 1090 00:57:28,960 --> 00:57:31,320 Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.