Wim Hof on Mindset Training, Power Breathing and Brotherhood with Lewis Howes

I think what's really— we're seeing here in the breathwork is something else that's really special and powerful, and that's the release of emotions that have been stored. The second round here today, I was so happy that I started crying because I recognized how often in my life I'm not that happy. We're in a room Poland. We're sitting with Wim Hof, who just led us through a breathing exercise, if that's what you want to call it. More of a spiritual experience. And we just finished, and we wanted to share our experience, what opened up for us. And before we do, can you share in a couple of minutes context of what we actually did and what it's— the purpose of it, why you do it, and how it helps people heal themselves. The breath, we have shown in science as the first ones to reach into the autonomic nervous system, thought of inaccessible by humans, and now we are. So we are using the breath not only to go into these deeper systems of ours, to bring it within our willful control. We are here to show that the breath actually is the carrier of consciousness. And with that consciousness, we are able to go any place in our bodies, in our brain, the, the seat of the mind. And with that, you get a comprehension of what is the soul in the moment. Right here, right now. Nothing abstract. Feeling. Feeling is understanding. So I see you guys here coming, all big guys and influencers and all. So great. It is great. I got some new insights. I always keep on learning. I'm very thankful that we have come together. And to show that we as big men are able to become very vulnerable. There is the strength to not be in need to stay in control, to go past the control into vulnerability because you want to venture into something else than is given us by our schools, our teachers, our doctors, and so forth. That's why we have come together, and I would love to hear what is your experience and the biggest thing that opened up for you during either this session or the first 2.5 days. So gratitude, why you decided to come experience this with Wim, and what opened up for you so far in this breathing or this time. Well, I mean, one of those questions is really easy because this was an easy yes. I mean, this is, not only did I know a couple people here already that I consider friends and brothers, but I've got to spend time with Wim Hof himself and Einem as well, and got to meet his family, and have been practicing the method. It's not as much as I will after being here, because I think this is one of the big lessons that I've learned is, you know, I have a lot of the tools, and I've been on the path of learning, discovering my soul, my spirit, like what that essence is, consciousness, your higher self, whatever you want to call it. There's a million words that inadequately describe the ineffable essence of who we really are. And I've been on the path of seeking that. But I don't always remember that. I forget it often and I forget it easily. And to be reminded that it's just a sequence of breaths away. And to be able to do that in an environment with people that are becoming brothers, some came in as brothers like yourself, Louis, and now everybody becoming brothers, it's— I'm happy. I'm happy. And I don't know if I'm always happy, to be honest. And like, this now is showing me that happiness is not something that's ephemeral, it's not something that it just comes to you or it doesn't come to you based on some external thing. Like, you can create it. And you created the container by bringing all these people together. And then we're creating the internal state with our own breath. And it just gives control back to something that I think society and the world has told us is out of our control. And so we get our control back by using the method. And it's just the best, you know. And then you look at the priorities of your life and you're like, huh, like what am I doing everything I'm doing for when everything I'm doing is not yielding this kind of happiness that I've had here, you know, with this group of men, this method in a couple days. And it's just a great reminder about like what's really important and which way to steer life from here forward. I'm just incredibly grateful. Grateful for life and grateful for our bodies and grateful for teachers like Wim Hof that can help us get back and remind ourselves who we really are and how to get back in touch with the animal and the spirit that's inside all of us. Nice, nice. Steve? I'm super thankful for, for tribe, you know. I mean, I grew up my entire life an athlete, and then when you retire, it's it's not built in for you. So to just to become here and, and to, uh, you know, to tribe up with, to tribe up with a lot of people, uh, that I haven't met before. I really only needed to know like one guy was coming and that was you, Lewis. But it's cool to see what you've created, um, in this tribe and we'll never have another experience like this. So, uh, for me, um, the actionable steps I'll take, you know, with this experience is for me to be better at keeping the main thing the main thing. Because I think a lot of us with the big dreams and the big desires of our heart, we go so deep and obsessive towards that. And as husbands and as fathers, dude, when I get home and I put my truck in park, I walk in the door, I'm bringing that stuff with me. You know, I don't want to, and I don't want to show up that way. But that's the world we live in, man. We're trying to get things done. We're trying to create legacy and that does create, that does require obsession. But just super thankful, Wim, that you've used your whole life to figure this thing out and now, you know, it's like a popular cool thing to do what you've essentially delayed your entire gratification of your life and now people are finally starting to listen. So, just honored to be here and to help spread the word. Over on the west side, man, because we need the help. So thanks for having us. Thanks, Bailey. You're welcome. Um, I'll go the other way around. I, I, I came because I didn't want to come. When you sent that text message and you said, hey, getting a bunch of guys and going to see Wim Hof, and then Googled Wim Hof, and I was like, hell no. And then in the back of my head's like, that, that's a hell yes. Your fears are a compass, right? It's got to Gotta let you know where you gotta go. So I said yes before I could change my mind. Bought the ticket before I could change my mind. It's been such an amazing thing. I think the gratitude I have, and I've heard a lot of people express it, is brotherhood. This is a brotherhood that is being formed not simply because we're all in the same room together, it's because we're sharing unique experiences together. We've had You know, you never forget your first. That was the first time I jumped in water. Wow. Ever. Water? Cold water or water? Water. Water? I've never jumped in a pool. What? I have never jumped in water. Wow. I can't swim. Wow. And I was telling some of the other guys. That's huge. And I've backed out of it and I've not regretted backing out of it. And this time was the first time I was in a— I was surrounded by people that were just completely encouraging. Walking up and Mike immediately being like, the secret is don't think about it, just get to the edge and jump. And I didn't take his advice and I overthought it and I heard your voice like, all right, Humble, you can do it. Let's go. 3, 2, 1. And I didn't jump. Okay, Humble, you can do it. And there wasn't any shaming. I didn't feel like I was surrounded by a bunch of alpha males who were trying to peer pressure me. And I think that brotherhood I see in my history 'cause I grew up with only sisters, how often I got myself in trouble chasing a brotherhood, looking for it in all the wrong directions. And to be in a circle of self-aware, honest, super strong, and I think as Wim said, true strength is vulnerability. And to be in this room and to see super strong people and have these conversations, the spectrum is it crosses everything. We're talking about the silly fun stuff, and we're talking about the deep stuff, and we're shedding tears, and we're getting technical. And I think to have access to that is just— I'm forever grateful for it. And, you know, I've received so much that it is my privilege but my responsibility to— I got to put it out there now. You got to put it out there on a local level with my peoples., but also with my community and the folks that look to me. And it's just, it's overwhelming. And this experience of breathing, as Aubrey said, it's almost unfair how lucky we are to have all these tools. And they're there, and it's nothing mystical. I've been in some form of meditation since I was 8, and often it's sit quietly, close your eyes, because your mom will slap you because if you move and To see this is, you know, and to hear Wim just say, hey, let it, let it figure itself out. And the pressure, the shoulders relax and the pressure goes away and it makes room. And to say even simple things like, we're going to build it up or tear it down, whatever needs to happen. I think so often we're told this is the way to do things and we get in our own way. And I think just, I'm so grateful for this opportunity to to clear some of that. As I was saying yesterday, the ice melted our anxieties. Yeah. You know? Well, I don't wanna speak for you, but I love how you said you've never had, been around a group of guys who were supportive without pressuring you or saying like, come on, don't be a wussy or don't be a whatever. Like jump in the water, don't be scared. And you said you've never experienced that where it was just like supportive encouragement. A friend yesterday, he's like, oh, I see, I see on Instagram you're with a bunch of interesting guys. Hopefully that makes you interesting, or hopefully that turns you interesting. And I think, you know, and again, it's just, it's how they were raised as tools. And I got out of that and I'm grateful for it. But I noticed here too, a lot of people here may be family rich and resource rich and experience rich, but as another much more talented bearded poet said, people don't grow on trees. Yeah, I'm so grateful that all these people came across. You can't, you can't buy brotherhood, right? It's true. You can't buy brotherhood, and you can't, you can't form a brotherhood by force. You got to sit in that ice together and let it develop one freezing second by one freezing second. So thank you again, Lewis. Thank you so much for having me. Wim and everybody, thank you for being here. Snakebite in the building. What's up, Michael Robert Herion Posner, Detroit, Michigan? Well, I'm saying, what you're grateful for. Good. I'm grateful for, um, why I came. Why you came, and the biggest lesson so far. I'll start why I came. Um, it's similar to Aubrey. It's an easy, easy yes. And Jesse texts me, he's like, man, it's a once in a lifetime, bro. I was like, I know. And, uh, By the way, I was pressuring Jesse to come. I was like, dude, he's like, I got a speaking engagement, I gotta move. I go, dude, you gotta move it, dude. I'm in 100%, come on, you in. And a few days pass and he texts me back, double the insurance policy, I'm coming to Poland. But, uh, yeah, man, it was a, it was an easy yes, man. Um, I heard about your work for years, Wim, and the opportunity to come learn from you firsthand in an environment like this, such a small group, um, it's just, you know, exactly what Jesse said, once in a lifetime opportunity. Um, and I knew that the, the practices would help me, like, some of the projects I'm working on in the short term, but also in the long term for my whole life. So, um, I would say, flipping into question 2, I'm grateful for the opportunity, 100% grateful for you, Wim. I think Steve said it really well. I mean, you spent decades alone in that fucking ice. Nobody was with you, man. Yeah, and you've just figured it out on your own. There was no book. So I think everybody that learns Um, from you could be grateful that, that you had the courage to, to spend that time alone, figure out, figure out your own shit, figure, tear yourself down, build yourself up. Because without that, none of us would be here learning this amazing stuff. And biggest lesson for you? Biggest lesson? Um, yes, it does feel like unfair, almost silly, how how powerful this stuff is that requires no anything. Everybody that's alive has their breath, pretty much, unless they're on like a life support. So yeah, the fact that we're able to go that deep as we just went, um, without taking a drug, without fasting, without— it's like, like Aubrey said, like a few minutes away. It feels almost like cheating. Um, but hopefully that could become a part of more people's daily lives. And, um, for myself today, uh, man, yeah, I just— I feel like I went to a whole different state of consciousness. This is a different place, different mind state. Hard, hard really to explain. Um, when I finished doing the breathing exercise, I started crying, but I couldn't really tell if I was laughing or crying. And it was really interesting because it was absolute— Jesse asked me, what, what were you thinking about when you're crying? I was thinking about absolutely nothing. It was absolutely no mental story or memory attached with my emotions. Just like, I don't know if that's because it's just pent up in there or what. Maybe Wim could tell us, but it just came out was really, um, it was really powerful for me. And again, like, um, Humble said, man, this group— and Aubrey said, man, I feel happy too, bro, just being around you guys. It's been amazing, amazing. So yeah, thank you, Louis. Thank you, Wim. Thank you all you guys showed up. Appreciate you. Thank you, guys. I don't know, for me personally, I just— I don't want to be the 80% version of myself. When I look back when I'm 85 years old and when this thing is all over, I don't want to be like, "Yes, man, I was 80% of what I could have been." And when you have the opportunity to learn from the best in the world at what he does, there's 7 billion people on the planet and one guy stands out, you have to grab that opportunity. And for me, I'm super aligned with the way Wim thinks as it relates to nature. When I was a kid and I went outside, my mother was like, bundle up, put a scarf on, put a jacket on. My teacher's like, don't go in the water, it's too cold. Don't go outside, you're going to get us sick. And here's a guy through science, innovation, mindset has proven the opposite. And in a world where everyone's getting sick following directions of the scientists and the leaders and the pharmaceutical people, whatever, Out comes one man who says there's a different way. And with 1 out of 4 American men getting cancer and all the illness, I'm drawn to that energy. I want to learn from that energy. So that's why I'm here. And I'm a big believer in the more you experience, the more you have to offer. The more compassion you have, the more empathy you have, the more you can share. And I recently sat with a financial advisor and he asked me, if you could leave your kids a boatload of money or a boatload of experiences, what would you want to give them? Of course you want to give them experiences. Man, what in the world is a better experience than coming to Poland with 13 self-starters and 13 guys that are eager to learn? And as you get older, I'm the oldest here other than Wim, as you get older, it's hard to create newness in your life, man. Like, how do you get newness? You have to work towards newness. And this was something that was new, extraordinary, and to get an opportunity to learn from a guy who's, you know, in some ways a hero and someone that's taking on the establishment, you know, and for me that translates beyond cold water. It translates to business, how I raise my kids, what kind of friend I am, what kind of husband I am. And what this man has really done, and I've learned in a short amount of time, it's not about cold water, man. It's about your mind and how can you take that out of the cold water and apply it to your daily life. So the lessons that I've learned are, and I'm on a quest for more. I'm an ultra runner. I'm a dad. You know, I'm on a quest for more. My biggest fear is I don't live up to my potential. And what he has taught me is that the potential is bigger than we all thought. If we tap into what we can control. And for that gift, I thank you, Wim, and Lewis, and everybody else. And the last thing I just want to say is, this is 5 days in 1. Every 1 day is like 5 days. If I stayed here for 40 years, I'd live to be 200 years old. So I might move to Poland and be the oldest man in history to live. But thank you for hosting. How does this compare to— you, for those who don't know, you've done tons of endurance races, you've got your own mountain adventure race, you've done Last Man Standing, you've done so many different challenges, extreme physical and mental challenges. How does these first couple days compare to all the different challenges you've done? They're all unique in their own way. What's special about this is, is what Wim brings to it, and there's so much conviction and Conviction can take you a really long way. I built my career on conviction. And he just reemphasizes that. But what's different about this is the 13 guys in this room. Yeah, it wouldn't be a special if it was just 1 or 2. No, and the challenge with this for all of us is when we go home and, you know, Audrey's got a humongous, you guys got big followings in this room, Matt, you, Lewis. My everybody, is trying to— how do you even convey the experience? And you can't. But what's amazing about experiences is 40 years from now, if I see Steve or I see Humble, Mike, whatever, I'm rooting for all you guys. I'm sure you guys are rooting for me. I hope. It's unbreakable, man. It's unbreakable. So I'm just excited to stay— Ansel, you too. And you came outside. You'll get your chance. I don't want to hog the mic here. It's unbreakable. And you don't get that in a fucking textbook, man. You don't get that watching the Kardashians. You get that by going out in nature, suffering, experiencing, etc. The last thing I want to say is the best part of this is the fear. Like we talked about the cold water and I was scared to— all this stuff, it's the buildup and then getting over the hurdle. And it's no different than starting a business or whatever. It's the fear, getting over it, and setting your standards really high. Wim has set his standards higher than high. He hasn't even— there is no standard. It's just like if you told me Wim Hof landed on the moon with his own arms because he flapped his arms really fast, I'd be like, "I believe that." And that's the standard we should all strive for. It's like, how far can we push the limits? Before we're in, you know, before it's over, because nobody here signed up for 80% of themselves. Um, I'm grateful for the opportunity and the health to be able to come and be with you guys and, uh, the experiences with you guys. And, um, I'm also grateful for the fact that all you guys, as we are men and alpha, we thought to be like tough, that you guys have been vulnerable enough to open yourself up to be, you know, not so alpha and just let your, your emotions go. And why I came is several reasons, but all play into one. Since I was a kid, I've always felt like, you know, I can't explain my journey. I just always feel like, you know, it's just guided by a higher being. For example, when I was a kid, I told my mom I was going to play in the NFL at 8 years old, and she said, you're going to— that only 1 in a million kids play in the NFL. And I'm like, well, I'm going to be that one at 7 years old, you know. It's just a It's something that guides you. Um, and going into like when I was younger in my teenage years, um, I always knew that I wanted to have twin boys. I didn't— I just like, I want to have twins, I want to have twins. And ironically enough, I have twin boys, and it's just crazy, it's crazy, it's insane. Um, and, uh, and also in the place they play into the reason why I came here is because You know, as a kid, um, I, I was teased and bullied a lot and As a dad and as a father, you want to be able to shield your children away from that. So, and it scars you as a kid, you know, you take that with you as you get older. And I want to find out my faults so I can teach my kids not to take the same path that I took. You know, my wife called me yesterday or she texted me yesterday and she said one of my boys is at school and a kid at school was teasing him, telling him he had curly hair and that it wasn't cool and it's only cool to have straight hair 'cause my wife is white and my kids are biracial. And you know, when I heard that, it incensed me, it enraged me. And I wanted to let him know that, you know, and not to sound boastful, but my kids are very good looking kids and you know, very good-looking kids and let them know that, you know, it doesn't matter. As I learned in life, what people think about you doesn't matter because you only got so many, so much, so much time on this earth that if you waste your time thinking about what everybody thinks about you, it's not— you're going to waste your time and your energy. So that's one of the main reasons why I came was that I'm trying to find myself and my faults so I can, you know, find, see the faults of my kids because my kids, my twin boys, One is built like me physically, one is built like me mentally. You know, so I have to, I can see everything in them and I want to be able to show them the right way. And the biggest lesson that I've learned is that you don't need all this crazy stuff. You don't need all this technical stuff to advance yourself and make yourself feel better and improve yourself. What you need is inside of you. And it's very simple. You know, breathing, it's simple. You know, um, so that's the biggest lesson I learned is that you already have the tools. God put you into this earth with the tools that you need to be successful. It's on you to find a way to access them and to put it out into the world. So I'm very thankful for that. My name is Matt, um, AKA Caesar as Lewis calls me. Um, I'm grateful for the opportunity simple as that, to be surrounded by a group of guys who are passionate, wise, loving, vulnerable. I run Lewis's business, School of Greatness Podcast, and I just appreciate, you know, every single one of you just embracing me and just allowing me to be me on this trip. And it's been a powerful experience for me. Um, why I'm here? Duty requirement. I mean, at the end of it, Lewis said, you're going. So he's, he's like, there's no two ways about it. And my mom, my wife, they're all freaking out. You're jumping in these ice baths, you're going to be jumping into a freezing cold river. What are you doing? Do we have enough life insurance? You know, you're going overseas, you have medical insurance, all this, you craziness, and Lewis just said, "You're going." And I acknowledge you and appreciate you for pushing me out on the skinny branches. You know, we need friends like that. We need to support each other and allow each other to see what's possible in our lives. So my biggest takeaway is that this method, Wim Hof Method, is— and I can attest to it in my short experience here— is supportive both mentally, for your mental health, and also physically, for your physical health. Uh, I, I had a feeling for mentally because I had done Wim Hof Method before in the States with Lewis. Um, but physically, you know, I'm sitting here with the dog and my, my dog allergy is gone. Really? Fuck you. Yeah. Wow. I'm sorry. He's never been able to touch dogs, and I love dogs. I absolutely adore dogs. I love them dogs since I was a kid, but my parents couldn't get one because I was allergic. And I've never been around animals. Now I can be around dogs. I could take— I mean, after this exercise, I could take full breaths, whereas I would have had to go outside, get away, take a shower. He couldn't touch a dog without, like, it swelling his face and sneezing. And so, yeah, it's the same thing with the fibromyalgia. The histamine, yeah, is out of control. Hey, you gotta ask That's incredible. Wow. Paid him $500 to say that. Bad joke. Yeah, it's good. Great. Yeah, so I'm grateful to be here. Wow. And I'm going to pass it to Einar, my man. To me? I can pass it through. No, I want to hear it. What are you grateful for? Wow. Why are you here? Biggest lesson so far from this group of guys being here? I'm here because I wanted to protect all of you guys from this man. No, no. So, um, with Lewis, um, uh, we have been a couple of times on his podcast. And, um, the last time we were there, there was like— Lewis, the way he received us, the way he, he, he let my dad come forward, and, and, and it's, it's an art to, to also to, to have the best come out of someone, right? And, and it's there. And I, I, my dad said, hey, let's do some event, and I was like totally open for it because normally I'm very closed and behind the scenes. I'm, I built a big wall to, towards these kind of, of things, um, because yeah, we're busy working with my dad for 9 years and, and you get to see a lot of of bullshit out there. And, uh, that being said, here I normally never participate in anything. I wear a scarf right now because, hey, it's nice, comfy, you know. I don't care about what that says. But yesterday, going into the ice bath, and I was like, also, I don't take ice baths, you know. It's like a far, far off my bed show with my dad. Yeah. Is anyone doing here what their dad is doing? I don't know, but me not. And I was there with you guys in the ice bath and it was like insane. When so— I don't know what happened there, but if I go in 2 minutes or 3 minutes, I am with my dad, you know, the biggest motivator and teacher with the ice. I get like painful as fuck. But with you guys, it was like a piece of cake. And maybe not a piece of cake, but, but, um, I felt confident. I was there, endured it, and, and it was a great feeling. I saw a different Einam yesterday. Yes, yeah, yeah, amazing. I loved it. Yeah, so, and also with this group of, of guys, this, uh, you know, I, I've, I haven't looked into it too much But now I'm adding all of you and I'm seeing a certain thing coming forward on the social media and on, and on the anything. And what I see here is, is, man, you guys are great with your social media, but what I see here is even better, man. And you guys are the real deal. And that's— I'm very grateful for that. So it's— yeah, it's just blown my mind. So you guys say it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Fuck that, man. Anytime you guys want to do something, we're here. So thank you for being here and opening up. It's insane. Could you share with us the different— like you said your son was different yesterday. I'm very intrigued by that because I have a similar relationship with my son and I try to motivate him and he's— he doesn't take it from me, but he'll take it from my friends. So what was our tribe able to bring out in your son that you hadn't seen before? Energy, power, empowerment. Just that. He never does this with me. He never does it. But that's the only— you know, you can heal anything with this except for father-son's relationship. And yesterday, you guys You guys brought it to him. Because you guys are, you know, he's also a big guy, like in his way, handsome and things, no inhibitions, making big business and shutting out everybody with a lot of success. I had 12 managers before him. And I had only $30,000 or euros of tax debt. That's what I had. Of those 12 managers. Then he came in and he took it all on. Now we got so much and it's all coming. I don't care, but what I see in him, how he is for the first time yesterday changed, that he's a different man now. And I think he's gonna take— he wants to take me on. You know, it's good, it's good if the son wants to take on dad in I got more power, then I did a good job. So 2 or 3 minutes, it's going to be 20 minutes. I don't know what he's going to do. I thank you guys because you guys got the quality and the energy, the power and good looking. So you got him convinced where I could not. You also just looked really happy in the ice. You were just smiling. You were like this energy radiating from your, you know, you know, your chest and your face. I normally look at everything from outside, you know, and I like that position. I like to have the, the overview. Um, yeah, I'm not used to this stuff, you know. I like to have the overview. I like to see things out outside. We had a couple of conversations here. I say, yeah, why are you not doing the breathing exercise? Yeah, fucking man, I need my traumas because I need to— you need your trauma form. I need to— yeah. Why do you need your traumas? Well, um, like I said, um, these things make you like— I don't think fear is a bad thing. It makes you like, um, uh, cautious about things. And my dad always talks about love, and he's— we're creating something beautiful. To break that down, it's like, uh, can go really quickly. To break— to build something up, it takes years. So I always want to be not in the middle of— I need to be outside of that. I don't want to be walking around like a hippie hugging everyone. That's what this does, man. Yeah, it's like— and it's beautiful, but I need to be like— I have a role within all what we do, and I need to maintain that role. That at least that's the way I feel it, and that's why I built these walls. But yesterday I could break that wall down for a moment, and that's why I was smiling and being happy. Super happy. Yeah, it was. Yeah, I felt like at ease. Wow. And that's priceless. Wow. Yeah, that's great. Thanks. Nick. Hi, Nick. Yeah, I'm Nick. I'm here for you guys. Lewis texted me and said we're going to have this retreat in Poland. I'm like, I've been to Poland. And, uh, he said, well, you know, Wim Hof's gonna be there. I'm like, oh cool. He kind of gave the rundown. I'm like, dude, Lewis, you could throw this thing at the LA County dump and I'd be there. Like, I, I'm so grateful for this beautiful setting, and I've had a chance to explore the, you know, just the beautiful mountainside around us, but I'm here for you guys. And I mean it. If, if this was, uh, if this was anywhere else, I would have been on the next flight because, um, I think I expressed that, you know, I struggle with some self-doubt from frequently, and I'm on Instagram, I'm stalking you guys, and I'm like, God, these guys, not an ounce of self-doubt. These are, these are, you know, buildings. They're snake bites. These are bigger than life human beings, serial killer, and I need to be there to understand why these people are so perfect. Like, talk about be the person that you want to be, you know, like imagine yourself in that scenario, imagine yourself in those shoes. And I'm like, I want to be like these guys. I need to go and see what makes them tick. And, you know, we're downstairs and there's 15 of us and energy's going back and forth. And it's easier for me to sit down with Jesse one-on-one or Mike one-on-one and pick up something from you. And then it's almost like it's overwhelming and I have to go process it. So like just talking with Mike and when he said, you know, I walked across the United States because I wanted to be the version of myself that I wanted to be. I just like, it was so overwhelming I had to just throw my hiking boots on and go walk for an hour because like, that's maybe it's the loneliness of the long-distance runner, but that's kind of how I center myself. It's just going out and being in my own head for a little while. And I seriously, for yesterday, for 90 minutes, just thought, what does that mean? And what does that mean for me moving forward? How do I apply it to my own life? So I feel like I've had a chance to at least sit down with every one of you for whether it's 5 or 10 or half an hour, and I've just taken a nugget, you know, one nugget from each of you that is just almost overwhelming. And I have to just throw my hiking boots on and go process it. But I'm so grateful that every one of you came out here because it's really impacting me and helping me in a major, major way. So that's the gratitude. And if I— if there's one thing that, that I've really learned in 2 days here, the commonality between the breathing exercises and the ice baths it's that we've got monkey brains. Like, at the end of the day, we're just— we're animals. And as soon as I go into holding my breath, or as the second I went into the ice bath, I'm like, fuck this, this sucks, I want oxygen, or I want to get the fuck out of this cold bath. That's my monkey brain. And then as soon as I push through that first 15 seconds in the breath holding, or as soon as I push past the first 2 minutes in the ice bath, I settle into this really neat, happy, comfortable place. It gets bad again, like, you know, at 3 minutes or at 7 minutes in the bathtub, it gets bad again. But it's maybe a lesson to not always avoid painfulness, not always avoid discomfort, that there's a real happy place that can be found if you embrace it initially. So I'm trying to like, I'm trying to apply that lesson in more areas of my life. Love that. I love that, I love that Nick was looking at all of us thinking that we're hot shit when he's a two-time Olympian, US national champion. I was like, why the fuck is Lewis inviting me to this? Did you run out of people to call or something? So no, I love your energy, man. Thanks. You're an inspiration to me. So appreciate that. Um, and before you go, what was the exact line that you said about why you crossed, uh, America? We'll pass the mic back to Mike. I think it was a great— because I think it was a great line and we all really resonated with that. The reason you walked across? Yeah, you know, I had to actually do my walk to get to this answer. When people ask me before I did, I didn't really know what to say. I just knew I needed to do it. But, um, there's a lot of time to think out there. But, uh, yeah, when people ask, you know, why did I walk across America, I would say I walked across America to become somebody I'm actually proud of. You know, the person that I want to be. He did that walk, so let me go try to become him. And it's really the same idea as what Jesse was saying earlier, just different words, you know. It's like if somebody asks me who, who my hero is or who inspires me, I love all you guys, but I don't want to fucking say all you guys. So I loved— I don't want to have to say Jesse, I don't have to say Wim Hof, I don't have to say Aubrey. I want, I want to be able to say fucking me. I inspire me. So I try to organize my life to where that, that, that dream, that superhero version of me becomes real me. It's a never-ending mission. That's great. It's kind of like Snoop Dogg. I got tired, I got tired of watching podcasts and docs of inspiring people and not being one of them. I was like, fuck that, man, you know. You are. Yeah, I'm trying, trying to. Thank you, bro. Thank you, bro. I love that Snoop Dogg speech where he was like, I want to thank me. Yeah, for all the hard, the hard work I put in, for all the late nights I put in, for the effort. I want to thank me. That's right. Uh, hey guys, I want to, uh, definitely thank everyone in this room for like bringing me in and tell you how grateful I am to be here. I It almost feels like an understatement when I say that because I honestly feel like the most fortunate person in this room right now. The talent and inspiration here is like, it's moving. And thank you, Inam, for probably letting me slip through the cracks on this email and get in here because I don't know how else I would have made it in here. So like being in a room full of guys who like you know, just want to see you get better is like worth all the money in the world. So I appreciate all of that. I definitely came here like looking for performance and, and along those lines, I'm really interested in it and really interested in all the things Wim's done. And I think what I got out of it was just how much, like, baggage I've put up over the years and levels of, like, stubbornness that I've just layered on. And so after today's session, I feel like I was able to peer into somewhere where I haven't been in a long time. So, yeah, thank you, Wim. Yes, sir. Thank you. My name is Taylor. Uh, Lewis brought me along to help document this experience and, uh, help tell the story for you guys. Um, it's been incredible to watch all of you high performers, thought leaders, just incredible human beings, um, go through this experience and, and rally for each other. Seeing you all chant in the ice bath yesterday and Mike singing some crazy notes and everybody smiling and having a good time and pushing through that pain together and developing that brotherhood in such a natural and powerful way. It's been incredible to watch, and I feel so grateful that I'm here to help tell that story and share. I think my biggest takeaway is that this stuff is powerful, and we're so privileged, and we've been given the responsibility to to share this, and it needs to be out in the world. And so I'm excited to see moving forward, watching all of you guys support this mission and support this work, and really grateful that we have this experience together to share it with the world. So quick story, me and Lewis in April got a workout in together, and I asked him, I said, you know, who's been inspirational in your life? You know, what are you doing this year that's pretty crazy? And he says, well, someone that I really love, up to is Wim Hof, and I'm actually gonna go to Poland with him in next January, so now, and do some Wim Hof experience with him. And I let no air in between that sentence, and I said, I'm in. Yeah, I didn't invite you yet. That was it. I was it. I flat-out said I'm in. I said I'm in because just like, just like you two said, like, there's not gonna be a day or a week or a month that goes by that I'm not gonna see the Mitch Matthews that I know I'm on earth to become. No chance. It's just not going to happen. And so hearing guys who are a little bit older than me say that, it's like, I'm already there. I'm in. You guys were going on a run yesterday and I was in the bathroom or something when y'all came up with this idea and I sprinted upstairs. I'm in. Because I'm not going to let someone twice my age go get a run in and I'm not freaking in. And so I'm here to maximize my potential and give everything I have to everyone. But I'm grateful for everyone's vulnerability. Freaking billionaire families here. There's guys that have started crazy businesses. There's humongous influences in this room, but to be able to hold each other in bear hug position and pass out with each other is pretty spectacular. You know, to have that vulnerability is pretty spectacular, and I'm grateful to see that. And in my life, I look for challenges. I've created my own challenges with, you know, working out twice a day, healthy eating for 10 straight weeks, and things like that. And challenges like this. I'm looking for those opportunities, but I'm grateful, Wim, for you in challenging us to create something like an excursion or some record-breaking thing that we're going to do. I'm in. That's what I say to that. I'm in. I want to help you get this out because it's changed me. It's aligned me. Usually when I go on vacations for 3 or 4 days, I get like almost anxiety, like I have to get back to work. I'm going to go back to work and back to my business and have anxiety that I'm not here with you guys being vulnerable and changing myself. So it's just realigned me to what's really important. So thank you, everybody, for being here and for letting me be all in with you. I'm Matthew Hussey. In terms of what I'm grateful for, I truly am just grateful to be considered an energy that's worth having on the— on this week. I— this is rarefied air, um, and to be around you guys, the greatest compliment I can receive is that you thought I would in some way contribute to this, because I know you wouldn't have invited me if you didn't feel that, right? It's just the accent, right? Yeah, he said we need someone who sounds intelligent, um, so I, I I truly am just grateful to be in, in the company of you guys. In terms of, um, uh, why I came— I had a really difficult year last year. Uh, it was really tough. I didn't know what I would get out of this, but I did know for sure it would shake things up. Even if I had a terrible time, I'm like, they can't not shake things up. And I had a pretty terrible time in several ways last year. So I thought, well, it's not gonna, you know, another terrible time can't hurt me that bad. And one of the— before you go to the next thing, one of the reasons, you know, I chose each person here for a specific reason, right? You all have an energy or some reason why I thought you would contribute to the group, the collective group. And the reason— one, we're close friends, we've been friends for years, and we hang out in LA a lot. But two is because I was with you through the pain of last year, many different occasions, and I just knew that if I could get you here, maybe it's not gonna solve all your problems, but it's gonna give you a lot of tools to support you in overcoming the pain better. That's right. You know, even if it's for a week or two of relief, I knew it would give you something to clear the energy, clear the mind, and move into a better year and a better decade without the baggage of the past. And so that's That's why Matt was in and then he was out. And then he— I was like, dude, I want you here because I know this will help you. Yeah. Yeah. And the reason that I was in and then I was out was because, I mean, I literally— Lewis texted me and said, hey, I've got this thing. I was in a— I was in like a happy holiday mindset at the time. I'm like, yeah, let's do it. And then I actually watched some stuff. I sent him the link. It's not an exaggeration to say I did not sleep that night. I just thought, what on earth have I done? Now I've got to embarrass myself by going back to Lewis and backing out, and now how am I going to remove myself from this thing? But you know what? One of the big reasons I came, and maybe the biggest reason I came, was when you said this to me, and I had such a visceral, really like deep, deep fear. I didn't just think this would be uncomfortable. I— it terrified me. And that was enough to keep me up at night. And I thought, how often in my life do I actually genuinely— I'm always telling people, my audience, I'm always doing programs getting people to go and do things that scare the shit out of them. How often in my life do I actually do something that scares the fucking shit out of me? Really? Like, you know, I mean, in my whole life, because the easy answer is You know, I used to do things that scared me, and then I built this successful business and this audience, and, you know, I did all these uncomfortable things to get there. Now that I'm here, I've not taken a risk in a while. That's the easy answer. But the truth is, even the things I did to build my business weren't terrifying to me because I was good at them. Like starting business, going out and persuading people, going and giving speeches, going Those are things I knew I could be good at. Even when I wasn't good at them, I had some belief that if I do this, I kind of think I have an ability here. So even those weren't truly scary. This was something I have— I hate the cold. And I grew up, like, we would go on skiing trips where mine, out of my family, my fingers, you know, you nicknamed me Extremities this week. My fingers were the first thing to send us back home to— because they were just numb and white. Uh, and so I thought, this is, this is not something I can go and be like, I'm going to be one of the best in the group. And I rarely ever, ever, ever put myself in situations that are genuinely terrifying. It's always a fake terrifying. Oh, this is uncomfortable, but really I'm still good at that shit. So that was a big reason I came, uh, was to genuinely scare myself so that I have credibility when I do a retreat this year. In going to my audience, and I know they're genuinely terrified of coming to my retreat because they're going to deal with real vulnerable stuff, that I have credibility standing there and telling them to confront that. Um, in terms of what I took from it, it's a self-help cliché that peer group is important, and I think in a way clichés are dangerous because you forget how true they can be. Um, And to be around you guys, I realize how little of peer group I've genuinely fostered in the last decade of, of my life. I've been working, seeing maybe the same two friends, spending time with family, maybe a girlfriend, and, and that's it. And I tell myself that's enough, and it's a very ignorant perspective because I'm here and I see just amazing people and insights and people who have done things and people who just put me to shame in all different ways in my life. And I'm like, How ignorant have I been in the last 10 years that I haven't done more of, of this and create and spent more time on peer group? So it's a cliché. I even talk about it being important when I do programs. How much of it have I really done in 10 years? So that's, that's been huge. The importance of physiology and how, you know, we, we always think we're going to think our way into a better emotion. Um, you know, let me logically process why this isn't a big deal, why I should— but actually, just to change your physiological state with something radical like this and the effect that that can have reminds me sometimes we just overthink everything and we give feelings way too much importance instead of just shocking our system, whether it's working out, ice bath, breathing, that's going to change our state automatically without us having to think our way into it. And lastly, I— there's a— speaking of hypocrisy in my own work and things I need to do a better job of living up to, There's a story that I tell on my retreat every time that this program, this experience has made unbelievably viscerally real to me. There's a moment in the movie Lawrence of Arabia where Lawrence is lighting matches and letting the flame burn all the way down to his fingertips. And when it gets to his fingertips, It goes out. And one of the other officers looks at him and he can't— he's like, how does he do it? How does he do it? How's he doing that? So when Lawrence isn't looking, he grabs the matches and he lights one up and he lets it burn all the way down to his fingertips. When it gets to his fingertips, he goes, and it burns him. And now he's angry. So he looks at Lawrence, angry now, and he says, "Go on then, what's the trick?" And Lawrence says to him, "The trick is not minding that it hurts." And that to me this week could not have been more of a representation of is that We spend so much of our lives trying to avoid pain, but the trick isn't avoiding hurt, it's not minding that it hurts. So thank you for making that not just a story to me, but something very, very real. Yes, sir. Nice. Well, I'm definitely grateful to be part of this. I must say I'm still a little bit starstruck being surrounded by these people. This here, speaking— but you are a star of yourself. What is your name? Peter. Hey, Peter, the star, the camera guy. Uh, this actually, this talking to, uh, like, uh, a lot of people is my ice bath. Like, I don't really feel comfortable, uh, doing that stuff. That's why I chose for a life behind the lens. But we all got to learn and do things that are scary, and this is one of the things. And I'm, uh, I'm grateful for spending these days with you and that we're gonna climb a mountain tomorrow. It's gonna be awesome. And, uh, big lesson, big lesson so far for you, uh, from the last few days, from either what you've witnessed watching behind the camera, but also you've experienced and participated as well. So both sides for you, maybe. Well, it's not something from the last few days, but just opening up, being vulnerable has been a thing for the last— from the last few years. Like, I've definitely learned that from working for the company with Wim. And yeah, vulnerability is key. Yeah, it's great. Thanks. Awesome. I actually just met Lewis like a week before this trip. So this is definitely like new for me, but I'm super thankful that I got to meet all you guys. And I think for me, like in high school, I heard this quote that was like, leave the world a better place than you entered it. And for some reason, I've like always remembered that, and that's kind of been my goal in life. So I think being 21 years old, like I don't really like a lot of kids my age. I think a lot of them are lazy and entitled. So Like, if I can be that example that proves that wrong and shows them, you know, like just how powerful being vulnerable is and how, you know, where hard work can get you, I would love to leave the world a better place than I entered it. And I would love to be an example for my generation and spreading, you know, just more love and peace. And I don't know, that's kind of just my mission. And I do that through telling stories through video. I like to capture stories and document experiences like this. And I get to learn a lot by being behind the camera and editing and watching these clips through 100 times. So yeah, and I think my biggest takeaway as of now is to be more vulnerable, the power of community, and to rest a little more. I overwork myself a lot, so this has given me a lot of anxiety the first few days, like not working at all. But when I get back, I can't wait to like make this a monthly thing where I go with friends and, you know, rest and talk and be open. So yeah, thank you guys, and I feel very grateful to be in the presence of all you. So awesome. Yeah, I found brothers. They are not looking up to me. Are you still looking up a little bit to me? No, no shit. I mean, I'm a simple guy. I'm humble. I want to change the I changed the world and now I'm going to change the world together with all of you. It's like almost boring because I do it as a mantra. I'm a man on a mission every day. And when I have the ability to reunite with bigger forces, bigger powers, then I'm the first one to take it on and tell the story again. If I go into an Uber I'm into the stories. I'm into the mission. And when he drops us off, it's always embracing, always hugging, because we end up in love and changing the world. And until it's not done, things like this need to happen. And being vulnerable? I'm fucking vulnerable. I'm getting older and I'm still doing this shit. Yeah, man. I'm still doing this shit. But now, seeing you here empowers me. I thank you, not only from the heart, but yeah, let's make a lot more happening from here, and it's happening already. So actually, sometimes I do not need the need of words to tell that I love this. I love this, and the world needs change, and we are able to give it. So thank you, thank you very, very much for kicking my ass too, because that's what you do too. I'm always on top of it all, and now I'm, oh shit, man. It's beautiful. Thanks, brothers. I think one of the— I think a lot of people will look at Wim Hof and they'll look at the cold, and that's an important part. It's an important part to be able to push yourself past your fears and recognize that something that's good for you, you may be afraid of, but if you push past that thing, it's gonna be good for you and beneficial. And a lot of focus gets put on that, but I think what's really we're seeing here in the breathwork is something else that's really special and powerful, and that's the release of emotions that have been stored and things that have come up. I do breathwork a lot. The second round here today, I was so happy that I started crying because I recognized how often in my life I'm not that happy. And that came up from the breath. And why was Mike crying? He doesn't really know, but there was something there to be released. Why did Jesse see his face interposed with his child's face, his younger face? Why are these things happening? There's things that are beyond just the cold and just the simplicity of pushing yourself past your limits. There's a deep spiritual foundation here. There's some kind of magic that's happening within the consciousness itself. And he's giving access to that through all the means. And these means are free, you know, free cold, free breath, and like free medicine. And I think that's just beautiful. And I just hope that as everybody shares this message, you share not only the courage to do the things that are hard, because that's kind of easy for a lot of men to do the things that are hard. We've all done things that are hard, but also do the things internally that release and open up those, those spots. Like, you know, hearing Mitch cry yesterday and express that he wasn't proud of himself, like, fuck yeah, man, like, that's amazing. Like, every single person when they do that, like, Mark, hearing you today, man, like, that's, that's the shit. Like, I know you've run some long distances, like, I'm not that impressed, to be honest. But I'm fucking super impressed with you from what you just said there. Like, I admire you for that. Yeah, like, I absolutely admire you for that. And the other stuff's rad too, don't get me wrong. Like, that's dope, but that's the— that's like the special thing. And I think so, it's just not, not looking at that thing that might be the dazzling accomplishment, but knowing like internally the diamonds— always talking about the diamonds. Where's the diamonds? The diamonds in the It's in the fucking heart. It's in the heart. How much can you show of the diamond in your heart? Like, how bright can you let that thing go? And if you have anything obstructing it, any kind of mistruth, any deception, any delusion, any projection, you're gonna be clouding that diamond. So let's polish that fucking thing and let it shine for the world so bright that it's a lighthouse for everybody to see it when ships are crashing. They can look up at the sky and they see it and they know They know that the heart is there and the heart is always going to be there. It's unborn and it's undying. It's untarnishable. It's unbreakable. And we all have it. Nobody's special. We all have it. And that's what we're here to remind people. Yeah. Nice, nice. Is there any final thoughts from anyone or anything else that opened up that they Didn't get to shoot. I know, right? He only said it because he meant it. I think I admired that too. That was great. That was great. That was fucking amazing. What Aubrey finished on, actually, in terms of no one special, is actually interesting because there are certain— nobody's special, but there are certain people who kind of take up the mantle to come into a room and change the energy of that room. And anyone could do that. Anyone could come in and change the energy of an entire dynamic if they chose to. It's— that's what leadership is, right? What's really interesting, Wim, about you is there is a— no matter how afraid everyone is, you walk into a room and everyone sort of feels safer. You're sort of like, oh, we're all right, we're gonna be all right, you know? And, and it is like there are certain things you do this week that are terrifying, and I've watched— it's fun. One of the things that I— some various people have said it this week has been the most fun. Jesse, you said it, has been to watch all these grown powerful men terrified out of their minds at different times. And to see that, it's been cool. Um, but you know, Wim, you walk into a room and your energy sort of announces you as you walk into a room, and you know when you're in that room. And that, I think, is really powerful, and I think it's something we, we should all take back to You know he's in the house. Yeah. And that, you know, whether we go back to, you know, our family, Steve, you know, or our businesses or our audience or our colleagues or our staff, knowing that we are each individually these very important centers of energy and to honor that by, you know, we think so much about ourselves and what I'm afraid of, what I'm going through, what I'm dealing with. And it takes the focus off of how am I changing the energy of the room that I walk into and what am I bringing to that room. And your leadership, Wim, is what makes this experience. The soul. That's it. The soul. The soul is what you are going to bring in every room you're going to get in, and that's going to make all the difference. Yeah. Yes, sir. Nice. Anyone else want to share a final thought? Yeah, I can't relate to that, but I can relate to that with the rest. Right. Okay, the love of the family, the love of the family is the last bit. I did the Kilimanjaro, as you know, with 26 people with cancer, Crohn's disease, all kinds of things. And we did it not in 3 days, we did it in 2 days. More than successful. We did not hear any physiologist Doctors could have had the decency at least to ask, how did you do it? How did you do it? Because we are doctors, investigators in life, we want to improve healing and methods and all. No question, no question. So that— but we did it. And I went to Serengeti after Kilimanjaro, very successfully done, or was already in the pocket. But I wanted to see the biggest elephant in the world, which is 7.8 tons. It's like 16,000 pounds. Is that true? Yeah, something like that. I mean, huge motherfucker. And he is there. I'm able to go with the Maasai. The Maasai, they are able to approach the animals, the lions, without They have no religion, but they have respect for Mother Nature, and they know how to approach the lion because they have no fear. They are divine. And I go with them. They are my friends. We go together, and they let me approach the biggest elephant in the world. And there it is, with these ultrasounds going on there, this presence. It is alive. The being is alive. There you get close. You don't know what's happening. You get these waves over you, the ultrasonic. It gets into your brainwaves, your whole body. You feel it everywhere. And I get close to his legs, even bigger than the building. Columns, man, columns, all alive. This belly, it's a gut I'm feeling, man, God is over there. And, well, slowly but surely I get to the back and I lift up this tail and I see a big black hole. It's a vortex. I mean, they can swallow you fully. They can swallow you fully if you approach it too much. I was struck by awe, completely flabbergasted. Now my yogic control came in and I kept the poise and the control within myself. I went there slowly but surely away from that massive big being, the Loxodonta africana. And I came back in Moshi and I had reception on the telephone and I said, 'Hey, oh, hey, Nam, hey, Nam, we did Kilimanjaro so successful in 2 days.' 2 days, not 3 days old, transformed. And I saw him, the biggest one, the biggest elephant in the world. I saw him and he had a huge asshole. But you, motherfucker, you are still the biggest motherfucker. Biggest asshole. That's the love of the family. We appreciate you, Wim. We're so grateful for your Thanks. Taking the time. Things are going to be done. Exactly. So thank you so much. I'm so grateful you guys are all here. And we got to jump in the hot tub now, right? Yes, yes, hot tub! Let's do it! Uncle Jesse's hot tub!