Best of luck in Lake Michigan on NYE. I still do cold showers, even in Winter. No ice Lakes where I live. After a few years you get used to it. Summer can be worse than Winter if the water is cold and your Body is used to warmth. Little tricks like start on the Legs and Butt before immersing Chest n Back etc. Flex the core to keep heat around the vitals. First few times are such a buzz afterwards. They say it builds emotional durability, but so would a kick nuts too probably.
The issue I've always had with Wim Hof is that he never represented anything I ever wanted to be. In other words, there's really nothing exceptional about his overall health and appearance that I find desirable. It's not like he's super shredded for his age, and his face appears very leathery and weathered, no doubt from being exposed to the cold so much. Yes, he has established quite the tolerance to cold conditions over the years but I don't see how that has manifested itself in any desirable way other than actually being able to tolerate more cold. I know the current buzzword these days is "autophagy", meaning that the cold somehow causes the body to do some house cleaning by removing old cells and regenerating new healthy cells, but I know a lot of guys in their sixties that look way better, younger, and more vibrant than Wim Hof, that's for sure, so the autophagy aspect seems like a bunch of bullshit honestly.
I think he is more than just the cold exposure. He also is into meditation through his form of breathing method, and the cold is just a part of his practice. They have done studies that indicate the breathing meditation and cold exposure can aid the body in health aspects. I don't necessarily buy that one practice helps alone. He also has done marathons in the desert with no water. With cold exposure there seems to be more studies coming out that indicate it can have a positive mental and physical benefit. I think in general he is somewhat an outlier in human physiology, although I am a believer in meditation and the benefits of the practice. Personally the cold showers feel good to me and I come out in what I feel is a better frame of mind after the initial suck. Does he look great? No I agree there, but I don't think that is the point he is trying to get across. He seems more concerned with mental well being and the overall changes that may be provided via the breathing meditation and cold exposure. It certainly hasn't improved my looks, and that is why I keep my wife drugged up at all times. From what I gather some of the over hyping of the whole thing is his brother making money off of him. He is the one that runs the programs and website.
I don't think his weathered leathery skin is from the cold exposure, pretty sure it is from good old sun exposure. He does most of his stuff like climbing Everest to 20000 ft in shorts and no shirt.
Well no wonder he doesn't need a coat when he's hiking. His tough leathery skin from the sun and cold is the only coat he needs. Why wear a leather jacket when there's one already attached naturally?
Probably. But he trained others to do endure cold exposure climbing mountains underdressed, and regulate their immune system after being injected with endotoxins. And the latter under lab conditions and supervision.
https://www.healthline.com/health/wim-hof-method#benefits As for your other observation, I don't think the WHM is a beauty regimen. He's a year younger than I am, but looks older. In addition to what tango29 said about sun exposure, there's also the function of genetics. Not everyone ages in the same way. Doesn't mean you don't play the hand you're dealt as best you can. Some of the benefits may be a bit overblown, but I think there's still value in what he does. As I noted earlier, I read a book by Scott Carney, an anthropologist and investigative journalist who wanted to out Hof as a charlatan. He ended up becoming something of a devotee:
Breathwork of all types and patterns has been taught in the Yogic sciences for thousands of years, and in no way am I trying to diminish the impact and benefits of that activity. But the fact of the matter is that his so-called method isn't anything new at all. But I guess if he can bring the benefits of breathwork to a different group of people that wouldn't get exposed to yoga or similar meditative practices otherwise, then that's a good thing.
In his own book, Hof didn't suggest it was new. If memory serves, he referred to breathwork going back many, many years. He simply adopted a version of it and maybe tweaked it a bit, and combined it with the cold exposure. He himself doesn't claim ownership, but rather sees himself more as a missionary spreading the word. The guy is downright evangelical about it.