The idea of taking a dip in freezing water would leave most people cold. But for Swedish TikTok sensation Erik Fellman, it’s a case of icy come, icy go.
He plunges himself into icy water almost every day, every winter, in his local partially frozen swimming lake. He even relaxes during his dips with rubber ducks and sucks on ice lollies.
What’s more, he wears only shorts and a T-shirt on the snowy 15-minute walk there.
Erik documents his swims on TikTok, with his shockingly cool videos earning him a total of 21.9million likes on the app and over 310,000 followers. ‘Welcome to Sweden,’ the 38-year-old says in one popular clip as he emerges from the glacial waters.
Speaking to MailOnline Travel about his icy adventures, he says: ‘I feel the cold. I’m just not freezing.’
Erik Fellman, 38, enjoys year-round dips in a partially frozen lake just outside Stockholm and documents his swims on TikTok. He spoke to MailOnline Travel about his icy adventures
Erik relaxes during his dips with rubber ducks and sucks on ice lollies. His shockingly cool TikTok videos have earned him a total of 21.9million likes on the app and over 310,000 followers
Erik reveals he can spend up to 20 minutes in the frigid waters at Huvudsta Strandbad, a communal swimming lake outside Stockholm.
He even swims there at night – and lights candles on the ice.
Erik explains that he’s ‘always had a lifetime tolerance to the cold’, but says he began cold dipping five years ago as he wanted to swim all year round.
Dr. Naheed Ali from www.sleepbubble.com explained that cold immersion ‘retrains our physiology for resilience and promotes deeper sleep’.
Erik reveals that it does indeed help him sleep at night, but adds: ‘People say there are a lot of health benefits to ice swims and there might be but I’m not sure. I hope there are but even if there weren’t I would still do it anyway.’
How long should you stay in there?
Erik says: ‘You shouldn’t try to break any records.’
He continues: ‘Just get to know your own body and how it reacts when it gets in the cold water.’
Erik sometimes brings candles to accompany his night-time swims
Erik walks to his local swimming lake in shorts and a T-shirt. He reveals that the icy swims help him sleep at night
Sharing some tips to first-time ice-bathers, he says: ‘Don’t do it alone and make sure to bring a lot of clothes with you.
‘And the best way to get warm afterwards is to move around. I get my temperature up by walking home. If you sit still you won’t get as warm.’
For more from Erik, visit him on TikTok here – www.tiktok.com/@fellman85
