Depending on when you ask him, Wim Hof claims to have between 21 and 26 Guinness World Records, but try as I might I've never been able to see any official accounting of what they were . . . until now. After years of trying, I FINALLY got Guinness to respond and now know the truth. The answer surprised me. See the official list of Wim's World Records that Guinness Sent me.
Read MoreOn Labor Day in 2019, Andrew Encinas, a 27-year old social media entrepreneur shuttled back and forth between his new office to set up his desk with a fleet of new computer monitors and the party at his brother’s house in Anaheim Hills, California. Like his business idol Gary Vaynerchuck, Encinas thrived on the challenge of starting a new business and constantly looked for ways to optimize his performance. His favorite technique for dealing with stress was a breathwork and ice immersion protocol called “The Wim Hof Method.” Around 6:30 in the evening, Encinas made his last trip back from the office. His brother Adam invited him in for ice cream and a football game on TV.
“Sure,” he said, “But first I want to do my Wim Hof in the pool.” He asked to borrow a pair of swim trunks. This wasn’t unusual. Over the years Encinas had learned that the Wim Hof method had an almost miraculous calming effect on his nervous system. He watched videos of Hof swimming under Arctic sea ice and teaching influential social media stars to hyperventilate to the point of passing out. Encinas preferred to practice alone and often did four or five rounds of breathing in a single day. Video of Andrew doing the breathwork in the water a few months earlier focused on the peaceful expression on his face. He texted his friends that the method “works really well in the cold.”
A few minutes after Andrew went into the pool, Adam started to wonder when he would finish up and rejoin the family. Then, according to the coroner’s report filed in Los Angeles County, children at the party noticed Andrew appeared to be sleeping in the shallow end of the pool. Adam ran outside to find his brother in a “meditative position” underwater with his hands clasped in front of his chest and unresponsive. Adam dragged Andrew out of the water and performed CPR to get his heart beating again. “But when we got to the hospital there was no brain activity. He was already a goner," says Adam Encinas.
The circumstances around Encinas’s death are far from unique in the world of the Wim Hof Method and stem from a common conflation of two of its pillars: submersion in icy water and Hof’s characteristic hyperventilation breathwork. When practiced separately, those pillars can confer the benefits Encinas was seeking. When practiced together, they add up to an incredibly efficient method to drown.
Read MoreIn this week's explosive interview, a researcher at Wayne State university who helped me hone the idea of neural symbols in the The Wedge told me that he doesn't want to be involved with Wim Hof or Innerfire anymore because it's "become all about the money."
And that's not all he told me.
Read MoreInvestigative journalist Scott Carney explores true crime, cult psychology, biohacking, fitness revolutions, climate change calamities, organ trafficking and whatever else seems interesting at the moment. The first episode, The Enlightenment Trap just came out this week. I don't have a publication schedule set up yet, but expect amazing exclusive content to show up here.
Read MoreIn What Doesn't Kill Us I alluded to how Wim Hof's son, Enahm Hof, created and ran his father's business affairs, and that he was often more of an obstacle to spreading the message of the revolutionary breathing and ice bathing techniques. When I first writing about Wim Hof back in 2013 I had a feeling that I would eventually have to look past just the techniques and into the business practices of the organization itself. As Wim Hof grew into an international brand that generates millions of dollars a year, along with movie deals and celebrity appearances, it has become harder and harder to ignore Enahm's influence on Wim's message. A few weeks ago I began digging into corporate records and interviewing eyewitnesses to the inner workings of Innerfire. I was shocked by what I found.
This week's video is a full exploration of Enahm's Wim Hof empire where nothing is as it seems. Indeed, Wim Hof has no control over his social media presence, no ownership stake in the company itself and doesn't even own the trademark to his own name. By his own admission the man who does, doesn't even regularly practice the breathwork or cold exposure. Wim is little more than an employee of the business that literally owns his name.
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