Who plunges, and why.
The athletes, scientists and public figures shaping modern cold therapy — with the specific protocols they follow, what they target, and what each tells us about how cold practice actually gets applied in the wild.
01
Founder / pioneerWim Hof
“The Iceman”; founder of the Wim Hof Method
Why cold: The founder. Multiple Guinness World Records for extreme cold exposure. His personal practice is the foundation of the global cold-therapy revival.
Reported protocol: Daily extensive cold exposure including ice baths, ice running, cold-water swimming. WHM breathwork practice on land before cold exposure. His personal protocols are extreme by design and not what he recommends for general practitioners.
Wim Hof brought cold exposure into global mainstream awareness in the 2000s and 2010s. Born in 1959 in the Netherlands, he's held world records for the longest swim under ice, longest direct full-body contact with ice (over an hour), and several other extreme cold demonstrations.
His real contribution wasn't the extreme performances — it was the structured method (cold + breathwork + mindset) that made cold practice teachable. The Kox 2014 PNAS paper validated the method as a credible inflammatory-modulation intervention, moving WHM from fringe performance to scientifically interesting practice.
Worth knowing: his personal practice is extreme and not a model for general use. His method is the framework; the dose is meant to be calibrated to the individual practitioner. R1SE incorporates WHM-style breathwork into Guided Fire & Ice and Wellness Experience sessions without forcing the brand.
Source
Multiple interviews; Kox et al., PNAS 111(20): 7379-7384 (2014); The Wim Hof Method (book, 2020).
02
ResearcherSusanna Søberg
Researcher at University of Copenhagen; author of Winter Swimming
Why cold: Author of the most-cited modern cold-immersion research. Quantified the minimum effective dose — 11 minutes per week — that became the global standard.
Reported protocol: Personal practice in line with her own research findings: 4–5 cold sessions per week of 2–3 minutes each at 4–7°C, integrated into daily routine. Year-round outdoor swimming in Danish waters.
Dr Susanna Søberg's 2021 Cell Reports Medicine paper is the most influential modern cold-therapy research. By quantifying the minimum dose for sustained metabolic adaptation (11 min/week at 4–7°C), she gave the field a defensible answer to the question every cold-curious person asks: “how much do I need to do?”
Her book Winter Swimming (2022) extended the research into accessible practical guidance. She's become the go-to academic voice for cold-and-metabolism science — appearing on Huberman's podcast and across European media.
Her framing is the philosophical counterpoint to WHM's “more is more” aesthetic: specific, dose-quantified, evidence-led. Her work is what makes modern cold therapy defensible as a wellness category rather than a stunt.
Source
Søberg et al., Cell Reports Medicine 2(10): 100408 (2021); Winter Swimming (book, 2022); Huberman Lab Podcast appearances.
03
Science communicatorAndrew Huberman
Stanford neurobiology professor; Huberman Lab podcast
Why cold: The most influential modern translator of cold-therapy science. His podcast episodes on cold exposure have shaped popular understanding more than any other source.
Reported protocol: Personal practice in the Søberg minimum range — multiple short cold sessions per week, scheduled around deep work for the dopamine elevation. Cold showers daily; ice baths several times weekly.
Huberman's podcast episodes on cold exposure (notably episode #66 and several follow-ups) have done more than any other media to bring rigorous cold-therapy science to popular audiences. He covers the Šrámek catecholamine data, the Søberg dose work, the Yankouskaya fMRI findings, and the practical protocols in detail.
His framing is unusually careful for the wellness space: mechanism-first, dose-aware, honest about what's established versus what's emerging. Members who come to R1SE having heard Huberman discuss cold therapy typically arrive with realistic expectations rather than overclaimed promises.
His Stanford academic position adds credibility but he's explicit that he speaks personally rather than for the university. The educational impact has been enormous — cold therapy as a category is far more mainstream and well-understood thanks to his podcast.
Source
Huberman Lab Podcast episodes on cold exposure; Stanford Medicine faculty profile.
04
Science communicatorRhonda Patrick
Biomedical researcher; FoundMyFitness podcast
Why cold: Detailed scientific analysis of the cold-therapy literature. Strong advocate for the metabolic and longevity applications.
Reported protocol: Cold exposure several times per week, particularly post-exercise. Has discussed her personal use on podcast appearances. Pairs cold with sauna for thermal cycling.
Patrick covers cold therapy extensively on FoundMyFitness, including interviews with Søberg and detailed breakdowns of the catecholamine, BAT, and immune literature. Her analyses are typically the most academically rigorous in the wellness podcast space.
Her platform has been particularly influential in mainstreaming the “cold + heat” thermal cycling story — the protocols come from her FoundMyFitness episodes as much as from Finnish sauna culture. She's also documented the relationship between cold practice and hormetic adaptation more rigorously than most wellness communicators.
Worth noting: she's a scientist communicating science, not a brand or a method founder. Her recommendations tend to err conservative and evidence-led, which makes her influence durable even as the wellness marketplace gets noisier.
Source
FoundMyFitness podcast episodes on cold therapy; interviews with Susanna Søberg.
05
Recovery / wellnessJoe Rogan
Podcast host; UFC commentator
Why cold: Among the most influential mainstream voices on cold therapy. His home cold-plunge use has driven significant cultural awareness of the practice.
Reported protocol: Home cold plunge, used 2–3 times per week. Has interviewed Wim Hof, Andrew Huberman, Rhonda Patrick, and other cold-therapy advocates on his podcast.
Rogan's personal use is fairly conservative — home plunge, several times weekly, no extreme durations. His real influence is reach: The Joe Rogan Experience is the largest podcast in the world, and his repeated discussion of cold therapy has done more to make the category mainstream than any single endorsement.
His interview style brings out detailed protocols from guests — when Huberman or Rhonda Patrick or Bryan Johnson discusses cold therapy on JRE, the conversation goes deeper than typical media coverage. Members frequently arrive at R1SE having heard a JRE episode that prompted them to try the practice.
Source
The Joe Rogan Experience: multiple episodes featuring Wim Hof, Huberman, Rhonda Patrick, Bryan Johnson and other cold-therapy voices.
06
Recovery / wellnessHugh Jackman
Actor (Wolverine, The Greatest Showman, Les Misérables)
Why cold: Recovery from physically demanding film roles. His Wolverine preparation cycles included cold therapy as standard.
Reported protocol: Daily cold-water immersion as part of broader recovery routine during peak training cycles. Less intense maintenance practice between film projects.
Jackman's Wolverine training was famous for its physical intensity. His recovery routine included cold-water immersion as a standard daily practice, alongside structured nutrition, sleep optimisation, and sauna cycling.
At his age (mid-50s) and sustained physical performance across 25+ years of leading-man roles, his recovery practice is a credible informal case study. His cold-therapy use predates the modern science boom but was empirically driven by what worked across multiple production cycles.
Source
Men's Health profiles 2017 and 2024; production documentation for Wolverine roles.
07
Elite athleteLeBron James
NBA basketball; 4-time NBA champion, 4-time MVP
Why cold: Career longevity. LeBron is famously the highest spender on personal recovery in professional sport (reportedly over $1.5M annually), with cold therapy as part of the standard protocol.
Reported protocol: Post-game and post-training cold immersion. Pairs with cryotherapy and other recovery modalities. Used most intensely during the playoff season.
James's recovery investment is one of the strongest informal cases for elite-athlete cold-therapy use. His ability to play at MVP level into his late 30s — when most NBA players have retired — is consistently attributed by him and his trainers to obsessive recovery management.
Whether cold therapy is a primary driver or one of many contributors is unclear, but the commercial investment is real. The Lakers, Warriors, and several other NBA franchises have installed cold plunges and cryotherapy chambers following his lead.
Source
ESPN The Body Issue; Business Insider profiles 2017-22; multiple post-game press conferences.
08
Elite athleteCristiano Ronaldo
Football; 5-time Ballon d'Or; Real Madrid / Man Utd / Al-Nassr
Why cold: Career longevity into his 40s. His Real Madrid era recovery routine was famously rigorous, with cold immersion as a standard component.
Reported protocol: Post-match cold immersion during fixture-congested periods. Real Madrid installed dedicated cryotherapy and cold-plunge facilities at Valdebebas; Ronaldo was among the most frequent users.
Ronaldo's career durability — maintaining elite performance into his 40s — is consistently attributed to his recovery management. Cold therapy is in the standard portfolio alongside compression, structured sleep, ice baths, and specific nutrition.
The Real Madrid era (2009–18) coincided with mainstream adoption of cold therapy in elite football. Ronaldo wasn't the only player using it, but his public profile and obsessive routine made him an influential adopter.
Source
Marca and ESPN documentation of Real Madrid recovery facilities; Ronaldo's own social media accounts.
09
Recovery / wellnessBryan Johnson
Tech founder; Blueprint longevity project
Why cold: Quantified longevity. Cold exposure is part of his Blueprint protocol, alongside aggressive sleep optimisation, structured nutrition, and HBOT.
Reported protocol: Daily cold exposure as part of the Blueprint stack. Specific durations and temperatures tracked publicly. Pairs with sauna, HBOT, red light therapy.
Johnson's Blueprint project documents one of the most rigorously self-tracked applications of evidence-led longevity interventions. Cold exposure is in the standard daily stack, calibrated to Søberg-style dose parameters rather than WHM extremes.
His data is observational (one person, no control) but useful as a real-world implementation case study. The Blueprint protocols influence the longevity-curious community significantly — members occasionally arrive at R1SE specifically interested in replicating elements of his approach.
Source
Bryan Johnson's Blueprint protocol public documentation.
Common questions
Want to follow the Søberg protocol?
4–5 sessions per week of 2–3 minutes at 4–7°C. The most-evidenced sustainable cold practice. Book it at R1SE.
Continue Reading
More from the R1SE Ice Bath Library
Ice Bath Knowledge Hub
Every cold-therapy page on the R1SE knowledge library.
ReadThe Science of Cold
Catecholamines, brown fat, immunity, mood — every claim cited.
ReadThe Benefits of Cold
Metabolism, mood, immunity, recovery, focus, resilience.
ReadMethods: Wim Hof, Contrast, Søberg
Which approach suits which goal.
ReadConditions Cold Helps
Depression, inflammation, insulin sensitivity, recovery.
ReadHow to Cold-Plunge
Temperature, duration, frequency — the 11-min-per-week rule.
Read