How Taking an Ice Bath Brought Me Closer to My Son

There is a new type of Guy.

There’s always a new genre of Guy. Historically, but especially in the past five years, men have begun to coagulate — merge, if you will — around singular, unified identities that bond them in spaces both real and virtual. 

We have Video Game Guys. Craft Beer Guys. Reddit Guys and Jiujitsu Guys. We even have [shudder] Hat Guys. An endless procession of… Guys. More recently, in 2022, we were introduced to Wife Guys. 

Now, I’d like to introduce you to the final boss of Guys: Ice Bath Guys.

If you’ve spent any time on social media, particularly Instagram or TikTok, you will have seen this Guy in his natural habitat. At 4 a.m., he emerges from his cave. He stands — usually semi-naked — next to a tub, or a bucket, or an overpriced barrel packed full with ice and water. He sets up his camera, because they always have a camera. He makes communion with this camera, in platitudes, about the grind, about winning the day, about fighting his base instincts to not wake up early and partake in unhinged behaviors.

Then he plunges — fully submerged in the ice…