Freeze The Fear With Wom Hof’s | Interview with Holly Willoughby

How did you first hear about Wim Hof?

I first heard about Wim Hof through a friend of mine who is very much into fitness and mental health. He gave me Wim’s book and was initially talking about the breathing and how he found it really, really helpful. So I originally read it because I was interested in that and then you discover ‘the Ice Man’ and that there’s this other side to him as well. I tried the breathing and I instantly felt the benefit and couldn’t believe how powerful it was. Something as simple as breathing, which you’ve been doing since the day you were born. 

How long have you been following his methods and why do you like them so much?

I’ve dipped in and out of it really. It’s not something I’ve done religiously. I do find the cold shower thing really hard. I have done it, but I don’t like it although I do feel better afterwards which makes it really annoying that I can’t commit to it. If I go away on holiday or something, I’m like ‘right I’m going to go and do it then’. I find it much easier if it’s the summer or if it’s sunny, but Wim would tell me off for that because you can’t be a fair-weather Wim Hoffer.

Wim is very well known through social media and his podcast etc but what is he like in-person and how does he gain the trust of the celebrities?

He is larger than life, there are no two ways about it! But when someone has dedicated their life to a passion like this, and a passion that they know can help so many people, you can understand it. This is something for him that was born out of real sadness. He lost his wife, he had to bring up his children by himself, so he has kind of dedicated his life to making sure that people have a toolkit to be able to look after their own mental health and cope and it means everything to him. I think that is so infectious – when you’re around him you can feel it and it’s really powerful. So I think the reason you gain his trust is also because what he’s teaching you is really simple and you can really feel the benefits; you can start with the breath work and within moments, you go ‘oh ok I understand that’ or ‘I can feel the difference’ and I think the moment you can actually feel something changing, then you trust in the process more.” 

What were the challenges of the environment?

Lee and I didn’t actually have to do any of the major challenges, but it didn’t mean that we didn’t get cold. It was freezing. Some days, it was minus 5 or 6. I had heat packs in every layer of my ski suit possible. I know, poor old me ha!

It’s not a competition so no-one gets eliminated, but did any of the celebrities feel like dropping out at any stage?

I don’t think any of them felt like dropping out, but I think this experience is very different because it’s also alright not to do something: nobody is being forced to jump into the frozen lake or to abseil face first down the side of a mountain. All those things were like ‘this is your choice’. It was really putting the power in their hands, this wasn’t down to a load of producers going ‘no actually we’re forcing you to do this and if you can’t you get kicked out and have to leave’. The power was with the person. It was a choice. I think that the moment you have the power to say yes or no you don’t want to quit. You don’t have to leave because it’s ok, tomorrow there might be something you can do. And also, you learn through not doing stuff as well. That idea of failing to do something, there’s a lesson within that as well.

Were there lots of emotional moments?

Yes, there were. Funnily enough, the breathing exercise which I think the celebrities thought initially was going to be like going to the spa for the day, just a real chilled out ‘yeah let’s go do some breathing’, was such an emotional release for a lot of them and took them to places I don’t think they thought they were going to go to. There was a lot of healing and it’s extraordinary to watch because you’re thinking ‘I can’t quite believe that just by breathing, you can achieve something like this’and I loved it and literally wanted to join it. But you’ve got Lee who is a little bit more wary of these types of things and even he said that if he was watching this on TV, he wouldn’t believe it. But actually being there and seeing it unfold with his own eyes, he was like ‘I just want to stress that this is absolutely real’.

What was it like working with Lee for the first time?

I loved working with Lee. I’m a huge fan of his anyway. One of our favourite shows as a family is ‘Would I Lie To You?’ so we love him, but spending time with him, we had such a laugh. He is relentless in his ability to just make me giggle constantly, so it was really good fun.

How did you both cope with the cold and how involved did you get?

We did get involved in one game which we demoed to the contestants, so we did give it a go and that one was a challenge and a competition. It was a bit of a race, and you’ll have to watch to see who goes first, but all I’m going to say is that I was quite pleased with myself. 

Do you think you’d be able to tackle the challenges that the celebs did and how did it feel watching them progress through them?

It’s funny because you watch it and think ‘ugh I couldn’t do that’ and then when you’re there and you’re listening to Wim, I think that’s when he comes into his own. The moment he tells you to do something and talks you through it he makes you feel in control and powerful, then you go ‘right, I could actually do this’ and I think the experience that they had actually doing cold water therapy with Wim Hof is such an opportunity. I’d absolutely jump at the chance of doing it, yeah of course I would. 

What do you hope viewers will take away from the series?

I think the viewers will actually discover a few techniques that may help them in their own lives. Because a cold shower is something everybody can do. I came away with a feeling of being more in control of my own mind, listening to the chatter and thinking ‘is that mine or is that fear speaking? How do I really feel about this situation?’ So there is a shift and there is a mind-set change that comes with being around someone like that.

Any funny anecdotes from filming?

Yes, a ridiculous number of funny anecdotes…. There are loads about Lee, but I don’t know if he’ll want me telling them. It is like working with Frank Spencer – he loses everything. He lost two sets of car keys and had to get somebody out to break into his car. Loads of stuff like that.