Is the Wim Hof Method a Cult?
I wanted to clarify my position on this subject lest anyone get the wrong idea.
In the broader culture, "Cult"" carries some pejorative, or even sinister, connotations--for instance, Jim Jones's People's Church and Heaven's Gate which both ended in a mass-suicides, or the Manson Family which committed mass murder. Other cults in this vein would be David Koresh's movement in Waco, or the sex-scandal beset group NVIXM. As I mentioned in my video "The Rise and Fall of the Wim Hof Empire" as well as in the story I posted here, I do NOT believe that The Wim Hof Method or Innerfire are anywhere near as extreme.
Frozen Out
A few days ago I put out a YouTube video titled "How Wim Hof Lost His Method" that started an important conversation about the business practices of all things Wim Hof. Within hours of the video going online, Wim Hof's son Enahm Hof started issuing copyright take down and privacy violation notices through YouTube's legal complaint system. Right now about half of my YouTube channel is offline, but the video has been mirrored in a few places including on my Instagram account and on the Internet Archive. Enahm is systematically attempting to remove my presence from the internet, has issued me threatening letters, is impersonating his father and (I think) his sister in online forums, and is generally not being a nice guy.
What 12 Years Doing the Wim Hof Method Taught Me
It's hard to believe that I began my journey with Wim Hof 12 years ago next month. I had no idea that my attempt to debunk an eccentric ice-guru in the mountains of Poland would so profoundly change my life. That week at his dilapidated training center ultimately spawned 2 books, stopped me from getting canker sores ever again and gave me tools to tackle depression and anxiety. More than that, it opened me up to a really great community of fellow ice seekers.
But after 12 years of (nearly) daily practice I also have a few thoughts about the overall direction of InnerFire and the official Wim Hof Brand as well as some observations about how some effects of the method seem to trail off after extended practice. So I put together an off-the-cuff video where I only drop a few bombshells.
Finding a Wedge for Anxiety in the Time of Social Distancing
Many of us are struggling to find our bearings in a world that feels out of control. While we can't change the events of the moment, we DO have a measure of control over how our bodies deal with the stress.