Breaking Barriers: How Sunday Swim Created a Community of Warriors | Brendan Cooke

0:00 when I'm in that, when I'm at the beach in the cold, I turned to the beast. Like it's, it's, it's hard to tap into it until it, it wakes up in you. You don't always get to choose when it, when you wake it up. So like, I mean, if you come to that beach, I promise you, I will not disappoint. Welcome to the New Age Human Podcast, where we empower conscious creators, entrepreneurs, and empaths by diving into subjects like alternative health, mindfulness, and innovative technology. I'm your host, Jon Astacio and in today's episode we're talking with Brandon Cooke, the founder of Sunday Swim, which is a holistic health company on a mission to change the world through exposure to the cold, specifically cold water.

0:42 Now, if you're looking for ways to improve your mental health, physical health, and find out how he turned a passion into a growing movement, including gaining the attention of New York Times and Fox News, this is an episode you don't want to miss. Now, if you want to support the show, please leave a five star review on Apple Podcasts. It helps us out a lot. And head over to NewAgeHuman. com so you can join our newsletter and get sneak peeks and heads up on future projects. Now with that said, thank you for joining us today. Let's get started. So, yeah, I want to, well, first thank you for coming onto the show. We, reconnected again. And I know that, we finally did a cold plunge into the lake when we reconnected at an event recently and that was an awesome experience, but thank you for coming on the show, Brandon I appreciate you, I want to know, uh, what, why cold plunge?

1:33 A lot of people talk about cold showers. A lot of people hate cold showers. You started Sunday swim. Where did that come from? Why? So, when I was in college, I was dealing with, I would say even in high school started, I was dealing with some mental health issues. I didn't know how to manage stress. I would party a lot. You know, I would take my anger out on things and I didn't like the person I was becoming or the trajectory that I was going. And I had like a three day span where like everything kind of just. Fell out of control. I was, you know, my longterm relationship at the time ended, my grandmother passed like the next day.

2:16 And it brought a lot of shame on me because I, I didn't go to her 90th birthday party because I spent it studying for work and and, and that test that I ended up studying for was like this big exam that I, cause I wanted to work on wall street. I w I was, I was really good in finance. And I failed to, and it was just like, yeah, it was crushing and like. I didn't see any hope like the future was unclear like I couldn't see past the day like it was really like a terrible time and day, it just happened to come along. Okay. Okay. you know, I was in a bad place for a little while, but then, you know, you got two options. You sink or you swim. I say it all the time. And I've always prided myself on being a guy when he falls down, he picks himself back up. So.

2:57 I reassessed the situation where I was in my life, why I got to this point. And I sat down with it for a little bit. I wanted to understand why I lost, not just jump back real quick. And part of my healing process and, I was studying a lot and, but it was new things. It wasn't finance anymore. It wasn't the typical, what college wanted me to study where. I thought that they wanted me to go get a regular job and be unhappy. Just chasing the dollar. I, uh, I came across Wim Hof, the Dutch extreme athlete, the ice man. He he's, you know, he's my, he's my inspiration, my love. And I, I just was scrolling on the internet one day. It just happened to come across him and he was shirtless.

3:41 And in some snowstorm and he had this great beard and this passion in his eyes and you could see how much he was filled with joy and love and how inspired he was and I said if I could just get a little taste of this. You know, I could be good. And, uh, his, his message on changing the world, making a happier, healthier lifestyle, I absolutely fell in love with it. And I started studying his method. I was reading his book. I was doing the breathing work. I was practicing the cold therapy. And, uh, it was really difficult when I first started He was like, you didnt just dive right in?

4:24 No, I mean, like the first time I went in, I was, I probably lasted like 30 seconds and I was just yelling the whole time, stay hard, stay hard, stay hard. Cause I thought I was David Goggins, you know, like I was actually with like four people. Yeah, it wasn't really, so I was understanding what I was still doing at that time. I was just doing it, but I wasn't mentally prepared or accepting of the challenge. I was still fighting it. And then as I continued to study the process, I was starting to feel better. Like, you know, I was, I was starting to feel more confident. I was getting my swagger back and, uh, me and my brother went together in October of 2021 and when we went in that water, man, like I understood what Wim was talking about, like the bond that was created between me and my brother in that moment was like.

5:17 We were inseparable and, uh, I understood him and all of his pain and all his struggling and We got out of that water and we chased each other around like we were kids like it was crazy I was jumping attacking him playing around like like animals, you know I was like an animal boy like they bite each other a little bit and it was so fun we had such a good time and I realized like damn this cold water is no joke like and I made it my mission to show the people, because you know, at the end of Wim's book, he puts up a call to action, saying that we can change the world, and I heard him, loud and clear. I understood what he wanted to say, and I, I knew that God had a purpose for me, and uh, that made me excited, to understand, like, cause, When I was going through that tough time, I, like, I was like, what am I doing here?

6:09 What, what, I have no purpose. I'm just messing around, having fun, doing whatever I want. Like, that's not living life. And once I felt that purpose, up every day excited again, because I understood that if I could just help one person, then this is all been worth it. And uh, For 20 weeks straight that year, 2022, we went into the ocean every single week and week by week, you know, we'd get some new faces, we'd have some returning ones, you'd even have a week or two where there was like only two people, but I knew that if I stuck to the plan that people would see it. Because the cold water is a, you know, it's a positive energy. You leave feeling better.

6:49 I know that this product doesn't miss. Yes. It's hard. So sometimes it's scary to come back. And, but I knew that I had something here, whether it was one person, two people, 20 people, and this year we made it a real company and week one. We had like 150 people show up and it was like one of the coolest days of my life. It was so awesome. And I was able to like lead us out into the water and just watching everyone run out of that water with smiles on their face. That meant the world to me. It was like a whole two years of hard work and, and people called me crazy. Like people really thought like we lost on my mind and they were judging me. And yeah, cause you know, people didn't understand the cold when people don't understand stuff.

7:32 They don't, uh, They like to label it as something because they're not okay with just saying it just is like when people go in that cold water, they say it's so cold, so cold and something that really helped me is. Just is. You don't have to label everything. It can just be something. And, man, this year was like a wild ride. We, next thing you know, it took off. And we were in New York Times, we were in Fox News twice, we had a follow up. Interview with Wim Hof, she was like, everything came full circle and it that's insane. What was it like to have that interview with Wim Hof?

8:12 Can you, like, go into that? Because I know that you said you had, you published an article with him, but I didn't know you interviewed him, So no, I wasn't there. So I wasn't there. So like, yes, upsetting a little bit. I was a It's a step further. it was like, yes, we're still, listen, we'll, we'll make sure, I'll make sure it happens one day. Okay. So like, I had mixed emotions on this too, because it was, it was so big and to not be able to be there was upsetting to me. But Angelica Stabile, the one who wrote the article. I met her this year and she's a gem. She is such a good person. She has such a warm heart. She came to the swims cause she figured that if she was going to be the one representing like Sunday swim and doing the interview, she should understand it too.

8:58 Right? So she even the week before plunged with us to ask us questions. We went over the book and the topics. So it went away. I felt like I was there through her. So it was beautiful. And at some point, you know, you got to drop the ego. Who am I? Like, what does it matter if I meet him? Like, to be honest, where I'm still spreading so to be clear, she came to you guys and she's like somebody that works within his company. Is that what's going on? so, so we had our first interview. She's actually from my hometown, but works for Fox news. And she came to the swim, she heard about it. So she wrote a whole article that was like, just us. It was a great piece.

9:39 It was like cold therapy can change your life, something like that. And then she reached out to Wim Hof's team and was able to secure an interview. So the way that they did it was like a followup of that first one on cold therapy. Which now, okay, we've talked about cold therapy. Well, where did this start? Who's the Iceman? And then it went into like the Iceman, Wim Hof, and then the article kind of went like, and this is how it's inspiring other people to push the message. So it was kind of like that. But, she did have a point where she was able to send, like, a message from me, like, saying, so there's a clip saying that Brenda Cook wants to thank you for, like, saving and changing his life.

10:20 And he's like, wow, that's so beautiful, love and power. So, like, now I love to always say love and power, because it's just, like, something so beautiful. And, uh, you know, maybe I didn't get to speak to him, but I, I do think I You, you got... And, uh, Your name. Someone came out to you. That's, That's, like the beginning. Like, think about it. Before, you would have been like, I'm your fan. I'm gonna shoot you an email. I started a company. After just your, your practice. And even then, he might have, right? But, you actually have someone that came to you that was local. Got inspired to to add you to a story. And then mentioned you by name to him.

11:01 And if you have access, do you have access to that video? I do. Yeah, I could send it to you. I could yeah, yeah, yeah, that would be cool. But I was asking, that if you wanted to reach out and to connect or, uh, communicate with him, right? That's a tool you could use under your belt. Like, hey, you know what? We're doing some big things and it's all because of you and that, that person, that's me and I would love to connect with you. I can only, like, that would be a crazy story, even, right? That's actually a great idea. Yeah. And I might have to do that right after we hang up this call. I think I'll get, I'm getting I'll do that. Yeah. Yeah. Me too, man. You know, the only part that upsets me is that Wim Hof, when I came across him, the people who are running his page were like epic.

11:48 They made him look like a beast and I think they have a new like marketing team cause he doesn't actually run his Instagram page. kind of dropped the ball a little bit. Like you have this guy who is 26 Guinness world records. And they don't even like post about it, and they post about it, you know, just regular people, like just regular people like me, like, yes, it's cool to see us, but I already get so much that I want to see him, I want to hear his voice, I want to hear his, yeah, on his, on his social media. So, I think they could do a lot more than they currently do Do you mean to say that his social media doesn't show him and you wanna see more of him and that was kind of a letdown for you? Yeah, no, it is because yeah, they, I just think that they've been, they could do a better job.

12:29 I mean, I think I could do a better job like with his, just to be honest, I have a good social media team. I think we can do a better job showing how epic and powerful and, uh, you know, what I love about him too is I think there's a big issue right now between, uh, you know, like the divine femininity and masculinity and we're, uh, people are like afraid to show that to be masculine. Yeah, it's like a bad thing to be masculine. I don't think it is. It doesn't mean that we're not in touch with like, you know, our feminine side as well, but they put you down. I almost for being masculine at this point. Like it's a negative thing. And I, I think society works better when we're both in our roles for the most part.

13:11 But Wim Hof, you know, he's like masculine side. I don't think they show as much that power and the vigor in his body and like the roar. I love that about him on top of, you know, how sweet he is and gentle. Cool. Like, I love that power behind him, like a And I can totally see you putting that into your communication with him saying, like, I want to see more of you and I would like to bring that out in a conversation with you. You know, like, who knows? Keep me posted on that, man. That's gonna be cool. So I want to rewind back. I think you're doing really big things. I mean, You. if you don't mind me asking, how old are you? Just turned Uh, just turned 24. And you're doing a lot of this stuff.

13:52 And the funny thing is for anybody listening or watching, when we were getting this set up, Brandon's like, I'm not that tech savvy. So and we were just talking about how like, that's. Part of your personal persona is you're, you're all in for nature. You're all in for the real world. And when someone says, I'm not tech savvy, like I have an extra space for that person because I'm like, they get it right. They get it. That it's the, you know, we, we want to watch 4k 8k, but just go outside. That's like yeah, But I want to rewind back to Sunday swim and how. That grew. Can you elaborate on how you grew that?

14:35 All right. So October that October, 2021, that was the first time I went with my brother. I do I, the next day I came up with the name Sunday swim. I said, hell yeah, this rocks. Like we swim on a Sunday. Sometimes you got to keep it simple. You know, it doesn't like, I want people to on a good name. People can remember it, recognize it. And they feel like connected to it, right? They understand what it is. Sunday swim, simple, boom, you swim on a Sunday. That's easy. So once I came up with that, it was like, it's like, all right, you know what? Let's, let's make this something like, it was just an idea in my head. Cause I already created a car company before that. So I knew that I could, I knew I could do it. Like I ran a company before.

15:17 But this one was a lot more complex. Like, this is a system I still haven't completely figured out revenue streams for, you know, I've been working on it for two plus years now and I make very little money on it. But I understand that this is a big picture. The goal isn't to make money, right? I don't do things to make money. I do things because God put me here for a higher purpose and that he wants me to be doing this currently. And I think. Just by the laws of nature, the more you give, the more you get to. So I think one day we'll be able to work that out, I feel like I do want to interject. As, as someone listening to you talk about how you wanted to be on Wall Street.

16:00 Like, that's just like money, money, money, money, money, money. and and then for tragedy to happen and like life hits you and you just Now, would you ever thought that you would say those words like I've been doing this for two and a half years. I'm turning this from a passion project into a business that's going to thrive and generate revenue, but I'm not stressed about the money right now. That's what happens, man. Once you hit rock bottom, it's, all fear goes away. Like, that was a big part of it, just go off that. Was, I was scared of, uh, I was scared of where I could possibly go if I didn't pass these tests or if I didn't make this amount of money.

16:43 I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid to die. Like, I'm not, I'm afraid to not have fulfilled my purpose and made this world a better place while I've been here. I think it would be selfish for me to go out. And get a job, work on wall street and make that much money. Or what, you know, just say if that happened, even if I could make a ton, like, did I make the world a better place? I don't, I don't know. I don't think so. So I think this is where I'm supposed to be. And I just have faith. I have faith that it's going to work out. And, uh, you know, I get rewarded by smiles like that too, but it's brought my family together, even, which has been a. One of the coolest parts, I would say, you know, me and my dad and my brother connected so close over this because it's something it's only three minutes a day.

17:31 You're at least with them like once a day. And my brother doesn't live here anymore, but he was actually home for the weekend. But, uh, anytime I get to spend with them is a true blessing. And I've been so thankful that. This has brought us together. But, but yeah, besides that, yeah, it is, it is interesting that I could go from being someone who lets, you know what it was though, it was the ego. I had a big ego. I thought a lot about what people thought about me. And I think that's where my anxiety stemmed from. Yeah. and I just thought like maybe, okay, you know, like being a small goal, growing up being like a tiny guy, you know what I mean? I'm not a big guy. I don't have this big persona, but like sometimes that gets in your head and whether you realize it or not.

18:13 And I think You try and prove things to other people, like, Oh, I'm this tough, ba, I'm this, this, I'm this, I'm that. Once you hit that rock, you see the world completely different. And it's And you're humble too, I mean, I'm like, this is Zac Efron right here, he's jacked. Like leading the crowd, Like screaming, like, there was testosterone like everywhere, it was nuts. That was cool. That was a good day. That Yeah. Do you feel maybe going back to, like, growing that that organization or just growing that following? Right? Sorry. I just had to interject before. No, no worries. That's my job. No, I just wanted to highlight in the past. Like, like, this is great. Like, you went from one direction to another.

18:56 And it's amazing how life can change and how much happier you are with a completely different. Direction. And now you have this growing community and you're leading the charge. Literally, I felt like I was going to war. I will tell you that I think you appreciate this. I was the friend that was the last to go into the pool. Everybody would jump in and if it was too cold, I would just kind of like put my toe in then put my ankle and sit on the edge because if I were to get it like really cold, like I turn blue. I start chattering. It's like with my teeth. It gets nuts. And that day you're like, let's go. I'm like, And we just like I if I could I would have dove in right and That's epic, and I slid on I thought you appreciate that And then I there was like this metal railing and I was I was like, oh i'm gonna be cool I you slide down it?

19:50 but then You know, I had dry pants and it was just like not working. Did you get caught? I went like, yeah, the camera footage. I gotta check you're gonna see, I slid down like halfway. And then like, I was like, I'm going to get caught. This is gonna be bad. And so I just, I jumped off and then like, I slid, uh, like I landed on the edge of the stair and the stairs were. Or a stone and so I just slid hit that and then we just went off and everybody swimming right? And then we went on to uh, just, just as a, as a reference to anybody listening. I'm like, I'm in, I'm in there. I didn't, I wasn't even giving a reference. There was a recent recharge retreat that we both went to and it was a great event.

20:35 And I think candlewood lake Connecticut and at the very end. Brandon just led the charge and we just like, it's what? It's, it was September at that time, but anyways, it was, it was 50 degree weather water and he just convinced like seven, uh, like a good amount of people, like half of the people to just run into this water. And, uh, some people weren't even prepared and they went in. In their boxer briefs anyways, that's how much you inspire them and I'm going nuts, right? So that's like a background. So the reason why I tell you that is when we got out when I when we got out of the water I I had so much adrenaline.

21:16 I forgot that I cut myself Trying to jump in there. So I'm like my heels all bleeding and but like Oh, the power of adrenaline Yeah, It's strength, right? but I Yeah, I, I just wanted to share that with you, but I'm, I'm curious, everybody's wanting to know, like, how did you grow this? Like this Okay. So I get sometimes I get sidetracked because I get so excited, but let me stay focused on this one. Okay. So, I started the first year. The first year was both years were difficult so far. So it said we had like 2 years of work, but the 1st year was just me being. Not per se, like a business owner, you know what I mean? It was just doing my thing, making sure we can get people to go to the beach and, uh, healing ourselves.

22:00 But, uh, the first one I went, I had four people join me. And that's pretty much because they slept over my house after New Year's Eve, like partying it's okay, and I dragged them with me. But then they, they felt how good they felt. I think a big part of it was always just reassuring people or not reassuring. Well as getting some Helping people understand how good that they're going to feel after they do something hard, and promoting that instead of this crazy thing that we're about to do, just, hey, like. You go do this, you're going to feel incredible. Your life is going to be substantially better through science. So week by week, I set up my phone every single week on the floor of the sand, I put a shoe up and I would film it.

22:46 And I figured, you know, you need to be on social media. You need got to keep the eyes, get people watching. And it's something epic. Cause you know, I really believe in like vibrations and frequencies. And I understood that this was like a high. Vibration thing that people would be attracted to if they just caught their eye on it and it does help You know, we have some attractive people there like it just does like and I figured if I could highlight that We could start getting more and more people And week by week, I was clipping up videos, you know, the sand would be messing up the audio. I didn't know how to edit anything. Like you're talking to a guy who couldn't even figure out how to get headphones into like a computer.

23:26 But I did it every week. I'd write beautiful captions from the heart. I, where I was so afraid for people to see that side of me. I. Let go and I would just write everything I was feeling that week And I was unafraid of what I was about to say. I was unapologetic with being authentic in myself And I think people were attracted to that You know, not many people like to talk about their losses or the stress that they dealt with in their life I don't know why I I really don't understand. I don't think it's that big of a deal. I think we're all one Like, there's no, we're not separate entities, I believe we're one being, we're brothers and sisters of the same human race.

24:08 So like, it's okay, the pain you felt, I've felt that pain. You know, that happiness, the joy that you've experienced, I've also experienced that. But right now I'm going through this time in my life, and I need someone to share that with or to at least like, it helped myself with my healing to be able to share that with other people and then hear that, you know, they've dealt with similar things and that they've been able to. Conquer it because it gave me hope again. And, uh, I started really focusing on creating a story and pushing that story as we were building a company the first year. So I was able to utilize social media and the power of the tongue, I would say were the two things as well as getting some influential people to the beach that one of my.

24:57 This girl I met, she I caught wind that she like, liked what we were doing, and at this point in time everyone was still laughing at us, but they liked it, like, people like, enjoyed watching it, but they were like, what the hell are these guys doing, and she was big time, she had a ton of followers and stuff, very pretty girl, successful business woman, and like, so I reached out to her, and we were able to get her to like, kind of like, talk about like, what we were doing too, and that helped out a lot, you know what I mean, because, Now they see someone else enjoying it and catching interest in it. And when people see that it becomes a trend, they hop on it real quick. We had different people every week, but on average it was about like 10 people per week.

25:40 So it was like, yo, like, cool. got back to us. Yeah. I was like, all right. Yeah. But the last one of the year, I think we finished with like 20 people. Which was like really cool and it was an epic day There was a sandbar in the middle of the ocean where you had to swim pretty far out Like you couldn't really see it from from the beach, but you knew was there and it was so foggy That's why you couldn't really see it So it was like you were entering like a new world and it was one of the most awesome days ever So we finished a year off great last year people were excited and I I focus a lot of my attention after the, the swim season. So we go from December one, like the first, the closest Sunday of that to Memorial day weekend.

26:25 But after I finished the swim season, the first year, I was focusing a lot of my car company, trying to keep that going building. And, uh, once it got back to like October, that's usually when I started like the preseason, get things back together this year, we handle things differently because we're taking it seriously now. Doing but I started getting people in the tubs again. Like inviting them over to my home, welcoming them as family, making sure that they know that I care about them and want to push them. So again, I was utilizing our social media. We build up the hype. I did a countdown to get people there for the week. I was telling people there was going to be a hundred plus people for months. And I had no idea if we were going to have 20 people.

27:05 I was just manifesting these things. I figured, you know, people want to show, let's give them a show. Or if it don't happen, it don't happen, but I'm going to, I'm gonna do my best to make it happen. And then we connected with these two guys, Brandon, Kenny, and Devon Scott, shout out my boys. They helped us take this super seriously and really build the company so they are also from my hometown. They are just, they're a few years older than us, but they're hustlers and they saw that same hustle in us and they wanted to connect with us. So they were sponsoring our, they offered to offer, uh, they offered to sponsor our event.

27:49 They got videographers like professional and cameraman to show up to the week one. So we were able to highlight the The day that we had and it was epic. It was really cool I was so scared to speak in front of everyone because the first year I only spoke like once in front of people but I would challenge our other friends to a lead out speech because I knew that it was uncomfortable for them And I wanted them to be uncomfortable as possible as like, as part of the process. You overcome it, you know, it's practice. And, uh, I wanted it that way. Like I was always the guy that would be sweating in front of, if I had to speak in front of everyone, I was terrified.

28:31 Like I would have panic attacks. I'd blackout. I wouldn't be able to do it. Like I was. I would panic because I was so afraid of what people are gonna say and this time I just said fuck it like let's do it and Took that flag and I just stamped it in the ground and everyone went out and I think my confidence went up since then Like wait, so you had a flag and then, Yeah, I got my brother got me a flag Yeah, and I nailed in the Gratis Sunday Swim. We bring it everywhere we go pretty much. Like, it's sick. I'll show you. It's dope. Yeah, my brother. He's the man. He's awesome. He supports me you had this, uh, and that's awesome. I mean, like, bringing family closer together, people supporting you, people finding out, it's building, you stayed focused, you said it's gonna be, you had 20 people behind you, and you're like, it's gonna be 100, 150, and they're like, let's go, and you're like, yeah, it's gonna, which is awesome, it's awesome, that's like, you manifested it, you literally manifested it, Yeah, yeah, you did.

29:34 So like, okay, so then moving forward, I'll speed it up. So what we focused on was believing in the community, right? I didn't want to monetize right away because I It's like a home. You can't build a sturdy home without a strong foundation. So I thought that, what really are we? You know, the cold water itself is its own product. You know, I don't have to worry about that selling or anything. It's going to deliver every time. So I just focused on making sure that our community was happy and healthy and strong. And I used them as an example to show to other people that, Listen, if you come here, you can be happy and healthy like these other people. And. They kept coming back. They kept coming.

30:14 And that was the hardest part is like, okay, now that I delivered for two weeks in a row or three weeks in a row, and we started getting some new beginning in the news coverage, those first three weeks I was like, shit, yo, I got to do this for 20 weeks, like get people to come back. So how can I keep it entertaining? How can I keep it fresh? How can I keep it new? So what we started doing was reaching out to health and wellness, um, people in our, on Long Island. So we started bringing in like some yoga teachers to hold classes, breathing coaches before the events. And we were just, kept expanding our community. And. We really developed a good core of people that I would do anything for. I love them. Some college teams, you know, a lot of athletes we have too.

30:56 And we finished the year off strong. And we even started pushing ourselves to the limit, like signing up for races. Like I just signed up for a half marathon, did it like banged it out. I did good, it out, you know Yeah, I just banged it out. And then we did a triathlon, and I just banged it out. Like, it's just, and we, but that's what the thing is, is like, what I love about Sunday Swim is that it's dynamic. It's, uh, it's ever changing, but it always comes back to its core of, like, you know, the cold therapy, the mental health, and it's, uh... And then like, you know, the Wim Hof method and, but he talks about pushing himself. So I always try and push ourselves as a company to its limit and see where we can go from there. So now moving into this next season, I'm focusing on building those revenue streams, continuing to further our, uh, communications with gyms, wellness centers across the island.

31:47 So now I'm pretty well connected with a ton of them. Like we have a solid network and we were going to open a gym. Last month, but then, you know, we, we decided to put a pause to it and stay alert, but listen, that's not really who we are at our core. Yes. That is something we do. And we believe in it might be down the line, but right now I want people to understand that we are like a holistic health brand, you know, with an edge, we do it a little bit our way. You know, we believe in mental health and being physically strong and healthy. And, uh, I'm excited for this new year and we're going to build out those revenue streams without, you know. Penny pinching from our community.

32:27 Cause that's not where I want it to come from, but I will, I will find a way to start building this real business and being able to, cause now we've got a real strong team. I got like five guys of that work with us effortlessly. Marcio's bread. Sure. My guy, Brandon Kenny was one of our sponsors who is now acting as our nice And then we have Fernando who was started off as our cameraman and he just. He worked effortlessly and didn't even ask for a dollar near the end because he just knew that what we had was a long And that's those people are crucial to the people that see the vision before it happens, yes. And helped me see the vision too, because, you know, I saw it to a point, you know, I completely knew where I wanted to build it to, but we're kind of at the point where I first saw, you know, that first vision I had, like, that was what I wanted.

33:16 I wanted hundreds of people, maybe thousands one day. I want those beaches to be filled. I want people to be, I want to show up like Braveheart one day on the horse, like getting the people going and running the water. Yeah. It was so cool. Just spreading love and positivity. And, uh, again, it's dynamic is ever changing. So we're going to, we're going to guide it the best we can and take it to the limit. I don't see where it can go. I mean, I think we could do a lot of things with it. So, and hopefully we can get you out there one of these weeks this uh, actually I was gonna ask you, Do you have any body or any story of somebody sharing how much it changed them Yeah. My father.

33:57 like maybe the something that and the audience would really appreciate like did not expect that like something unexpected I'll give you know, it's actually incredible that you asked that question because I just this is crazy I don't know if you saw this on my page the other day, but about a week before Sunday swim started my father It's tough because it's like fine line. So I Just got tiptoe the line with what I say here My father told me to check my hidden messages for whatever reason he just knew to Instagram and told me to like Check it, guess he sent something there. And when I checked it, I saw I had this other message.

34:39 And it was this long message from some kid I guess I went to high school with that was a few years younger than me. told me that he was really struggling with drug addiction and he lost, like, you know, people close to him and was going through and didn't know if he could make it, like, another day and it's just, he saw what we were doing and we inspired him to keep, like, just trying at least and he still was not sober at this point in time and he was like, it was a reach, it was a cry for help. I, I just came across this message and I, I called him. I tell like, send me your message. I called him. We spoke on the phone for a while. He was crying. He was crying. And like, it was making me emotional. And I told him that I would be there for him, anything that he needed, I would, I would help him see it through.

35:22 Because again, we're brothers and sisters. When you, when you hurt, I hurt. I want you to be happy and healthy. And, uh, was really there for him at that point in time. I spoke to him a lot. I had him come over to my home. I got him in the cold plunge, and we helped him get sober. And he just celebrated nine months, actually, a couple days ago. And, and he sent me this beautiful message. He's changed. He's really, he's a good kid. And I, I think he's a modern miracle. You know, that's what it's all about. He's a beautiful story. He's a beautiful soul. And... Yeah, he was telling me that we talked about changing the world and and that's what I mean by that I'm not saying we're gonna do something like, you know, cure world hunger I I'm just gonna do my part and if I can make an impact on someone's lives that I come across And that's changing the world and he was telling me that now He was able to help some kid get sober and he's got a few months and he's like there's people that You will never say hello to you will never shake their hand You will never understand them, but you made the difference in their life and that was like fuck Yeah, man, like that rocks like that's rock star shit.

36:39 He had me like tearing up the other day and Yes, this has changed people's lives and it's, it's more than even the cold therapy he's done it a few times, but he never really like bought in completely on the cold therapy. But it was it was, it's, it's a sign of hope. It's people that believe that there is, Mm-Hmm. from themselves, more from this world. And people that care about them and love them and, uh, want to see them bounce back. You know, we don't all have the, uh, we've made mistakes in the past. I've made a hundred of them. Like I wasn't always my greatest person, you know, like I don't claim to be some amazing person, but I just know that I'm trying to be the best that I can and make a difference.

37:27 And, uh, I'm so blessed that I was able to help him in his time of need. And, uh, Yeah, that was cool. So the viewers, that was a Yeah. Thanks for sharing that. That says a lot too, and I'm sure that fuels you to do stuff that you don't want to do and, uh, I can only imagine, right? Like that makes you think if, if, how many people have a similar situation and don't say anything. But still follow right and so that that's what made me think about what you're doing and for all those people that are watching right there watching and they're doing their part and they're saying one of these days. I'm going to go there.

38:08 I'm just going to show up and he'll never know that I was following him for like years and taking cold showers. So when, when, because I'm, I'm considering going because I had fun, but like, are you worried about like, Like, how long are you in the water for, in... Uh, about three to five minutes. Your body can handle, your body can handle up to 20 minutes without even signs of, uh, Any wrongs about to Cause you guys swam out to a sandbar and came back... no, that was just one time. That was, that was when we were a little more in our I was like... When we, our first season, this, this last year, we did it a lot more. It was a lot more structured this year.

38:48 So we had a set time. We would go in every single week. Uh, it was 12 o'clock every single week, unless it was mother's day, you know, mom's come first. So we had to change it that week. We go there. You know, you say your hellos, you gather up on the beach, we have the music playing, you do some like, you know, flips, tricks, whatever you want to do. Just having fun, keeping warm while, while we're waiting for everyone to show That's Then if. Yeah, yes, you got to keep warm a little bit on the beach while Do you have a cutoff time? Cause like... 1155 we're getting ready to go on the water. So that's why we have the set time So it show up as early as you want, you know If you can handle it show up two minutes before sit in your car before like, you know, they could don't matter to me then typically do?

39:32 We'll If we have a speaker, we'll do that earlier and we'll let people know. So that way we're not keeping them at the beach for hours, you know? But then I'll give a little speech, get us excited to go out. We go in, we, we, everyone's got to go head under, you know, we say you have to, but obviously no one has to do anything. And then once we get in there, you know, we're all conscious of the people around us, making sure they're okay, doing all right. For the most part, you're only up to your waist, like in that water. So it's, it's almost. Easier, I'd say, than an ice bath where you're smudged fully, submerged fully, but we'll, we'll circle up. Everyone in the water will go and circle up, hold hands, and then we dunk together. And then once you do that, you're free to, like, you're done.

40:13 Like, so then once we come out of the water, we do the horse dance to warm up. We make sure everyone's okay. And, uh, we haven't had any issues yet with anyone. But it is a real possibility, so we just have to be careful at all times and make sure we're following correct protocol. But you know, uh, this isn't for the weak. Like, I'll tell you that. This is for savages and anyone that wants to change. So, so like, I'll, you know, plunge at your own risk, but it's, we are savages. You have this family being interviewed on TV and they're asking, Oh, why'd you do this?

40:54 And then the kids like takes the mics like we're savages and I can see you doing that. Like we're savages and then just disappear. You know, I, I, think, uh, a good way to end it off. First of all, all your, all of your information, how to reach you and everything will be in the show notes for anybody that's wondering how to communicate with you and contact you. But, could you do us the honor in sending us off as if we're going to jump into the cold plunge? Give us a nice, Alright, yeah, yeah, like we're, we're on the I gotta tap Yeah, yeah, tap in and maybe I'll give you the scene, right? We just got out of our cars.

41:35 It's 1155 AM. The sun is, uh, is out, but there's a cold frost like the sand has like that crunchiness to it and you're just walking through it and you're thinking that snow, but it's not. It's just freaking cold and you got the chills on your feet and everybody's huddled around and they're just looking at you as The hot air comes out of their mouth and feels like the steam of just the body heat and the, so you hear people chattering and you see in their eyes, they're unsure. When does the beast come out? Like, what do you tell those people? Like it's, it's, is it go time? Are we going to, are we going to give up and like, just, Hey, you know what?

42:17 If it's too much, go back in your car. But you know, this is for savages or are we just all going to go for like, where does the beast come out? Like, what do you tell these guys? Well, I believe Well, I believe that we have, in myself, I believe that there's two parts to me. As I said this at the beach, or when we were doing it together. There's the monk, there's the, there's the warrior. like It's time now to be the warrior. We just practice our breathing, we're set, we go in. We do this. It's supposed to be hard. It's not supposed to be an easy thing that we're doing, but you wouldn't be here today if you didn't want to change, if you didn't want to be great.

42:58 So let's go into that water. Let's challenge ourselves, push ourselves to the limit and be fucking great. And then I'd get everyone gone and then we'd run in, but you know, it really, you know, it's hard to like, it's hard to do without being in that setting. Cause when I'm in that, when I'm at the beach in the cold, I turned to the beast. Like it's, it's, it's hard to tap into it until it, it wakes up in you. You don't always get to choose when it, when you wake it up. So like, I mean, it's a little tough for me right now, but if you come to that beach, I promise you, I will not disappoint. Like I will get you guys fired up, but, uh, you know, right now, once the sand's between my toes, I'm, I'm a different person.

43:45 It's uh, they do say that. They do say that. You know what it is though, because I believe in the vibration. I know how to get people to, to be where they need to be, to get, like, set. And we've had days where we've walked in together, holding hands into the ocean. There's some days that are calmer than others. We don't always attack the water. It depends on the day. But when I have a big crowd of, like, people I know, I need their base waking up. Like, I looked at everyone at that event and we just spent a whole day, right, of talking about being great and doing this and doing that. This was a chance to take action on it.

44:26 So I was like, how can I not get these guys fired up? Like, I don't give a fuck if I look like an idiot. I don't care. Like, I, my goal is to get them amped up to go in the water. And sometimes people need to wake that beast up and know that they have that inside of them. Like, we don't tap into it because, again, we're scared to show the masculine or that strength in us. Because some people don't know how to control it. But the cold water teaches you that. It wakens up that beast, and you have to learn how to control it. You have to surrender to it. Like, it's, if you don't surrender to it, it's, you're in trouble. You know, you're gonna be fighting it, and just understand it. Well, yeah, yeah, you're gonna and and what you so you gave us a nice calm like taste So actually that's a teaser like this is a call Go on Sunday when you start you start December, right?

45:14 Yeah, December 31st is our first one of the new year. We're rolling out the red carpet. We're gonna simulate, uh, like a New Year's Eve ball drop party. It's gonna be sick. Dressed to impress, whatever that means to you. I'll probably show up in an old black suit, no shirt, and my coyote hat. You know, something I'm gonna hold you to that That's probably what I'm wearing. I'm like a hundred percent. I always wear something ridiculous cause I think that, you know, fashion is a cool part of it. It's a time. It's like, you show up to that beach, you walk down that boardwalk. We always make sure there's a cameraman there. So you get like your little, your flick of so people wear some And it's like, Oh yeah. Crazy This is I, yeah, I wear like, I wear really weird shit sometimes, but but it's just another way to express yourself. And some people really like to do it that way.

45:56 So for me, I always get excited for the dress up part and like, I don't know, as much as I'm, I'm a beast. I like to be a prima donna sometimes, you know, it's like. Alright, It's just what it is. you know what, thanks for coming on to the, to the podcast, to the show, whatever you want to call it any last words that you want to tell anybody listening here that has curiosity, is kind of familiar or something that you didn't get a chance to say earlier. I just want people to know that you're never alone. If you need someone, I am here for you. You can reach out to me. My Instagram is Brendan. Cook You can also reach out to SundaySwimX If you need anything, we're here for you.

46:41 I believe in you. Never give up. Believe in yourself. And don't be afraid to take a leap of faith. Because that just might be what you need to do. And uh... It's scary going into the unknown. It's a challenge, but I promise you'll come out on the other side better for it And if you can help someone else in turn to Nice. Thanks. do it, even if you have to go out of your way to do it So yeah, that's it. We gonna change the world baby and love and power like How's he do it? How you do what I'm doing He goes like this, right? Love Love and power That's what it is just like that and then we out that's how we do it That's always the clothes, baby.

47:25 I love it,