Wim HofInstructor and teacher, Wim Hof Method

Marine Corps Officer experiences the Wim Hof Method

13 Sept 2019 · 3 min

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2:45

Brad Carson, a former Marine Corps officer, recounts his severe service-related injuries—including a crushed hip, dislocated pelvis, and multiple spinal disc damages—that left him in chronic pain and dependent on various pain medications. While serving and after discharge, he also faced significant mental strain from writing condolence letters, leading to depression, anxiety, and addiction. Carson turned to the Wim Hof Method, incorporating daily breathing exercises and ice baths as his sole pain-management strategy. By gradually tapering off pharmaceuticals, he now relies only on these practices for pain relief. He emphasizes the method’s profound cognitive benefits, describing how controlled exposure to cold stress rewires his brain to handle stress, improve relaxation, and enhance overall resilience. Carson also praises Wim Hof’s humility, noting that Hof positions himself as a guide rather than a guru, which deepened Carson’s appreciation for the method.

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Hi, my name is Brad Carson. My background is as a Marine Corps officer. I served on active duty for several years. I had a catastrophic injury while I was in the Marines. I fell coming down a rope and essentially jammed my left leg back up to the hip socket. I tore all the cartilage in my left hip. I dislocated my pelvis. I crushed two bottom discs in my spine. I have two other discs in my neck that are essentially crooked. I've used the Wim Hof Method as my sole method of pain medication. I used to take a number of pain pills. I mean, you name it, I was on it while I was on active duty. And then even after I got out, I was still taking Advil and Naproxen and Tylenol every day, multiple times a day. One of my other responsibilities was as a writer, and I wrote condolence letters. So anytime a Marine was killed, it was my job to compose a letter, let's notifying families of their loved ones passing. For a very, very long time, I didn't realize how much that impacted me. I had no idea of the mental strain that I was putting on myself and couldn't understand why I was going through everything that I was going through— depression and anxiety and addiction. I didn't have an answer. And for me, the Wim Hof Method provided me with an outlet not only to teach myself to relax, but it gave me practical, usable exercises that I could do every single day. When I started doing the ice baths, when I started doing the breathing, I started tapering myself off of medication, and now I no longer take anything for pain other than just breathing and taking daily ice baths. By far my best takeaway from the Wim Hof Method was the cognitive or mental benefit. The ice bath is a wonderful training tool. It affords you the opportunity to go into that stressful situation. You're training your mind and rewiring your brain to then learn how to relax or de-stress or be stronger in any other possible situation. Once I learned how to do that, life got exponentially easier. Wim's been an amazing support, and it's funny that he says, you know, I'm not your guru, and I don't look at him like that. To me, that's the best thing about Wim, is he doesn't put himself above anyone else. And one of the things that he, you know, preaches is kind of, you know, anyone can do this. And his humbleness and his, you know, big heart just kind of took me right in, and I really appreciate that. So thanks, Wim.