“I wanted that rush, that adrenalin from cold water”: Man dips in wheelie bin every morning

In the Unconventional Brits series on Shots! TV, we follow the real lives of some of the most extraordinary people, hobbies and places in the country. In this episode, we discover a man who uses his wheelie bin for cold water therapy.

Martin has taken a dip in cold water every morning for the last 222 days. But he’s using a slightly different approach to the standard ice bath.

”I’d seen a few posts with wheelie bins or ice baths, and I didn't want to go and spend 100s of pounds on an ice bath. I had a spare green wheelie bin that had never been used. So I just filled it with cold water.”

Martin said his coldest bin dip was just under 1 degree and that the wall of the bin iced up on the inside.

“I actually went in and broke through the ice to get in. I’ve brushed inches of snow off the bin to get in some mornings in pitch black. Nothing but the stars.”

Martin read about the benefits of taking cold water dips on social media. He started off having cold water showers as part of his good morning routine.

“I didn't really get on with cold showers very much. But I kept doing it. Then I started seeing people swimming in the sea, and rivers and cold water therapy. Jumping through ice holes and things like that.”

Martin started taking cold dips in a lake, but found that getting there wasn’t always practical.

“On days that I couldn’t get to the lake, it really got me down. I wanted that rush, that adrenalin from cold water. Because it really is an adrenaline rush.”

He added that not being able to go to the lake on certain days really had a negative impact on his state of mind. Using his wheelie bin at home allows him to take a dip every day.

“PTSD wasn’t the main drive towards me going for cold water therapy. I had things before I joined the air force.”

He said that being in the Armed Forces can cause people to hide from their issues as they’re always busy and having to focus on new tasks. Adding that there’s no time to be still and work through any issues you may have.

Watch the full episode to hear more stories from Unconventional Brits. You can also tune into Freeview channel 262 and Freely channel 565 for more true crime, football, and quirky UK content . Keep up with our latest videos by signing up to Shots TV! Newsletter here.