Chilling previous of ‘Iceman’ Wim Hof – and the insane stunts that ought to have killed him… however made him tens of millions
Vondelpark stretches southwest, away from the canals and bridges that slice through central Amsterdam. Behind the ornate, gold-embossed metal gate, ponds weave between a rose garden, restaurants and an open-air theatre.
It was in this bucolic setting, in 2008, that Wim Hof – the infamous Iceman – came closer to death than any of his previous extreme stunts had brought him.
Having being estranged from his son, Michael, for about a decade, the pair had arranged to meet at this spot.
It’s said that Hof’s second marriage had ended, and he was struggling with debts of more than $30,000, perhaps prompting the reunion.
But the Dutchman arrived early. So he went for a swim and made his way over to a fountain.
Wim Hof is known as ‘The Iceman’ for his death-defying challenges of cold endurance
His aim? A DIY enema. To clean out his insides. Or, as the father-of-four once put it, to get ‘all my s***’ out. ‘You feel good,’ he once insisted. It was a familiar routine and he was in his favorite position – directly above the spout.
There was only one problem. Park rangers had turned up the pressure. And so the water ‘cut through his intestines like a knife’, flooding his bowels. It’s claimed blood and feces began to seep out of his body as he scrambled for safety.
Hof’s intestines ruptured; he went weeks without food. Doctors were forced to open up his stomach, clean him out and then sew him back together. He still has a giant scar down his abdomen.
Some believe it was an ‘unconscious’ suicide mission. ‘You get a feeling that you want to kill yourself and want to end the story,’ Hof later told author – and former devotee – Scott Carney.
But Hof survived – just – and this became only a grim, rarely mentioned footnote in a remarkable life. It wasn’t the only time the unconventional guru almost died.
The Dutchman nearly killed himself while swimming in the ponds of Vondelpark in Amsterdam
The celebrated Wim Hof Method centers around breathing, cold therapy and commitment
Back in 1995, Hof’s wife Olaya – who had been struggling with schizophrenia and was self-harming – leapt eight floors to her death, leaving him to look after their four children.
A few years later he remarried, but Dutch reporter Anneke Stoffelen alleges that his new wife didn’t get along with the children, so he ‘abandoned’ the youngsters – aged 18, 16, 14 and 12 – in an Amsterdam squat.
They were living – according to Hof’s brother – like refugees in war-torn lands: ‘traumatized’ kids, huddled against the cold, barely speaking, barely a meal in the fridge.
These days, those four children help power a multi-million dollar empire that has turned the 65-year-old from a ‘circus’ act into a global icon; a ‘breathwork Jesus’ and ‘miracle’ maker.
He is a popular but polarizing figure whose fans include celebrities such as Liam Hemsworth, Oprah Winfrey, Orlando Bloom, Gwyneth Paltrow, David Beckham and Justin Bieber.
The Dutchman is pictured alongside Oprah Winfrey, one of his many celebrity supporters
Laura Hof, the daughter of Wim Hof, has helped to build his multi-million dollar empire
But not much has remained constant through all this chaos – except Hof’s dates with danger.
The Iceman’s techniques for surviving freezing water and extreme temperatures have allowed him to run a marathon in the desert – without taking a drink – and climb Mount Kilimanjaro in just shorts and sandals.
No matter that, following his botched enema, doctors told him his days of pushing boundaries and chasing records were over. He proved them wrong within months.
By 2022, his best-selling book, The Wim Hof Method: Activate Your Full Human Potential, had been translated into 44 languages.
The method, which centers around breathing, cold therapy and commitment, is a way to ‘keep your body and mind in its optimal natural state’. It has allowed Hof to defy science.
It can, he believes, increase awareness, reduce stress and give people control over their immune and cardiovascular and nervous systems. It could also, he once claimed, help prevent ‘almost all diseases’.
The 65-year-old was recently accused of physical violence and sexual abuse by his ex-partner
The Dutchman’s wife of 15 years, Olaya (pictured) tragically took her own life in 1995
Hof was just a teen when he first started testing himself against the elements. But he began to find true peace – and deep, philosophical answers – in the cold following his wife’s suicide.
‘I didn’t know all this then,’ he said of his methods. ‘I could have (saved her).’
Now, the goal of his mission is ‘to bring back love to the world,’ he says.
More than once, however, he has flirted with the dark side.
In March 2000, he set the world record (since broken) for swimming under ice, when he made it 188 feet in Finland.
But he almost died on the first attempt, when he decided to swim twice the planned distance without telling the safety crew.
‘The first time I went under the ice, the water was as sharp as needles,’ he told Vice. After swimming for 35 meters, his retinas froze. ‘I couldn’t see nothing, I couldn’t breathe.’
Hof’s daughter Laura (pictured) defended her father following accusations of abuse
Fortunately, a rescue diver noticed that he’d already passed the exit hole and grabbed an almost unconscious Hof by the ankle, pulling him back to the surface, saving his life. Others weren’t so lucky.
Hof’s brother reportedly considers him responsible for the death, by drowning, of ‘at least 13’ people who followed the Wim Hof Method.
In 2022, a $67million lawsuit was filed against Hof and his company over the death of a 17-year-old girl, Madelyn Metzger, in California. Her dad’s lawyers claimed Hof’s methods have ‘a proven track record of leaving deaths and drownings in their wake’.
In July, an LA court found he was not responsible for the teen’s death, but swimming safety campaigners say they continue to see a rise in tragedies, with one believing this is because ‘many famous people talk about his method’.
In January, Carney claimed there were now 21 deaths involving disciples.
The mother of Nova Xavier, who drowned aged 23 in a pool at his family’s home in July last year, called Hof’s book ‘a guaranteed death sentence’ for her son.
To add to Hof’s troubles, last month, a documentary about his life, with Joseph Fiennes signed on for the title role, was put on hold after his ex-partner, their son, and her other children made bombshell allegations against him.
A planned book, called Exposure, has also been pushed back.
Caroline Hak told Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant that, during their decade together, Hof was guilty of physical violence, sexual abuse, and manipulation. He had, she claimed, issues with drink and ‘delusions of grandeur’.
Hof, who has a giant scar on his abdomen, is pictured with Hollywood icon Jim Carrey
‘The first time I went under the ice, the water was as sharp as needles,’ Hof previously said
He is accused of making death threats, of rape and of trying to kick her in the stomach while she was pregnant. She alleges he grabbed her throat and left her ‘very close to dying’. Her children claim they were punched and elbowed and even doused in hot coffee.
The couple met in 1996 and began living together five years later, after Hof fell into debt and was at risk of homelessness. Caroline became pregnant the following year and that’s when the ‘serious physical violence’ began, she says.
In 2012, Hof was hit with a restraining order, was sentenced to community service and handed a fine in relation to an allegation that he assaulted Caroline’s eldest son, Christiaan.
But her claims only came to the surface again recently after she was approached by the makers of the Fiennes biopic.
The Dutchman immediately hit back at the ‘false accusations’, branding them a ‘character assassination’. He is suing De Volkskrant – for defamation and slander.
Yet the allegations persist.
Now Hof is fighting to save both his personal and professional reputation.
He has around 6.5 million followers across YouTube and Instagram. Many fans take cold showers and online courses, or pay thousands to become an instructor and spread the word. The Hof empire is reportedly worth $18 million.
By 2022, his best-selling book ‘The Wim Hof Method’ had been translated into 44 languages
The Dutchman defied science and dodged death long before profiting off his challenges
For many years, however, he was just a man defying science and dodging death. The Win Hof Method was not even his idea. Instead it was his eldest son, Enahm, who convinced his father to turn this ‘circus act’ into a money-making machine.
The same son – as a teen – reportedly became the ‘surrogate father’ to his siblings after Hof left them in Amsterdam. The same son didn’t see his dad for a decade and has been branded – by Hof – an ‘a**hole’ and a ‘shark’.
Enahm recently said in court, per De Volkskrant: ‘The Wim Hof Method did not exist. My father was someone with a training routine. I put it on paper and gave it a name.’
During the same case, Hof claimed to have no knowledge or involvement in the company’s website, the Wim Hof Academy, or the techniques of instructors.
Hof’s brother has suggested Enahm is profiting off his father in revenge for his upbringing. He was once accused of threatening to charge $215,000 for a single interview.
‘(Dad) wants to spread love and I have to make sure he doesn’t do everything for free,’ Enahm has said.
But while his four eldest children have all worked in some way for the company that has turned their father into a global icon, they all insist he was never violent.
In 2022, Hof claims, a company in England offered him $50,000 to give a 60-minute talk
Hof now lives in Australia with his partner Erin.
Caroline Hak hasn’t seen him for a decade. But she still refuses to turn off the lights or the radio as ‘silence and darkness feel unsafe’. Their son Noah claims to have ‘enormous’ chest pains – ’caused by fear and stress’ – several times a day.
When Nova Xavier tried out Hof’s methods in a swimming pool with his mother, she asked: ‘Is this safe?’ ‘Of course,’ he told her. ‘It’s Wim Hof.’
He was dead soon after and a year on, his mom is ‘plagued with trauma’ and suffers from nightmares and panic attacks.
Now 65, Hof has endured ice and snow and freezing temperatures. He has beaten skepticism and financial strife. Time will tell if the Dutchman finally succumbs to this latest challenge to his character and his methods.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Hof’s representatives for comment.
