By Catherine Austin Fitts, Ulrike Granögger, and the Solari Team

Last year, Scott Carney— journalist and author of the bestseller What Doesn’t Kill Us about the Wim Hof Method (WHM)—published a strange video hit piece titled “The Rise and Fall of the Wim Hof Empire.” In May 2024, Dr. Mercola published his own critique of the method, citing Carney’s video as background evidence.

Over 4,200 people have posted comments in response to the Carney video; the vast majority dispute his conclusions and express gratitude for the Wim Hof Method, and some question Carney’s motivations. We cannot explain why Carney would choose to present this attack on Wim Hof, his work, and his Inner Fire family business, but based on our experience with Wim Hof and his team, we agree with many of the commenters that what Carney has put forth does not meet the standards one expects from investigative journalism.

The Wim Hof Method has become extremely popular and widespread in the Western world. The three pillars of the method are breathing, cold therapy, and commitment. This means that the method doesn’t cost a penny, but instead uses tools that are readily available to anyone. Wim Hof, his certified WHM instructors, and the online WHM resources have helped hundreds of thousands of individuals get in touch with their inner strength and freedom, and master daunting physiological and psychological challenges—challenges for which traditional medical approaches often fall short. The Wim Hof Method also addresses people’s self-responsibility and brings back control of breath, emotion, and mind in a way that is profoundly empowering.

It is predictable that such a simple and successful approach might attract envy and attempts at ambush. It is unfortunate to see those attempts come from Carney, who has profited immensely from his association with Wim and from a bestseller based on Wim’s life and work.

Here is the gist of how Scott Carney’s claim sounds to us—that the Wim Hof Method is a deadly technique invented by a madman and propagated by a corrupt family business.

Carney focuses considerable attention on what he calls “shallow water blackout.” However, everyone who has ever attended a WHM course, listened to one of the numerous online video demonstrations by Wim or certified instructors, or used the free app provided by Inner Fire knows it is Rule Number 1 to never ever do the WHM breathing while in or under water, in a sauna, when driving, or during any other activity that requires full attention and capacity of the senses. Whoever does not heed that admonition is either deaf or willfully irresponsible.

Because the number of people practicing the Wim Hof Method has increased enormously since 2015, the possibility that people who knew of or practiced the method might experience an emergency situation in water is almost a mathematical given. However, statistics are not the right response to the tragic death or exigent experience of any individual. And when Carney tries to hold Wim responsible for a wide range of accidents, far more is required than mere association. It is also worth noting that the uptick in deadly drowning accidents since 2021 coincides with a global mass vaccination program now known to cause excessive blood clotting and heart failure even in the fittest of athletes.

Wim Hof is a great man and a generous soul. Yes, he challenges himself and does things that other people with less courage might think are “crazy,” but in everything he does, he takes full responsibility for his actions and teaches others to do the same. He never claimed to be the inventor of breathing techniques and cold exposure. Both have been practiced for millennia, and this is how he was guided to use them for his own healing in the first place. Wim Hof, however, developed a teachable and effective technique that is a unique combination of cold and breath, and he is the first to put them to the scientific test.

We stand by Wim. Wim Hof was Solari Hero of the Year in 2021, and he is still a hero today. Carney’s coverage—lifting the Solari Report’s powerful portrait of Wim from the cover of our 2021 Annual Wrap Up for his video thumbnail without permission—cannot damage Wim’s towering character and lifetime achievements.

Note: In October, Dominique Stulens, a Belgian osteopath and experienced Wim Hof Method instructor, published an excellent video rebuttal to Carney’s video. Stulens’ balanced response and explanations of the two breathing techniques involved are well worth watching.

Related Solari Reports:

Special Solari Report: Cold Therapy and Breath – The Wim Hof Interview

Book Review: The Wim Hof Method

Related:

Scott Carney’s False Narrative on Wim Hof Finally Exposed and Scientifically Debunked (by Dominique Stulens)


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10 Comments

  1. I started WHM in March 2020. It has been an ever growing component of my daily routine (there are always new exercises to work on). I live in the north and I welcome the onset of winter and bracing cold showers during that time of year. During every cold shower I remind myself this is the hardest thing I have to do today. Everything else becomes “easy” in that context.

    I adapted to a daily cold shower for 18 months, but when the “bio-weapon illness” visited my home in late 2021, I couldn’t bring myself to stand in cold water again for a full year. It was as if I had done ZERO cold exposure before. So I had to retrain my body to accept the cold again and it was very difficult. But I’m happy to say I’m back again to enjoying the cold therapy. I’m curious if anyone else had this experience.

    Thanks to Solari for rebutting the hit piece. I hear Wim saying “Go with the flow & Never Force!” I guess Carney conveniently overlooked that part and presumed people aren’t able to think for themselves; ergo the necessity for Carney et al to police the internet and protect the innocent.

    Dr. Mercola remains an enigma to me. He zigs and zags completely contrary to what I would expect from him — I found him in 2009 and loved his content back then. Then the “pandemic!” set in and he became quite excited (spastic might be a better adjective) in a whole new way. I realize he is being attacked on a grander scale than others, which has been documented, but sometimes the things being published on his site are almost without critical thought. I point to the interview Mercola refereed with CAF and the Bitcoin zealot as an example. Seriously, Joe…W.T.F.?

    1. I have that sense of Mercola also. Mercola, RFK, Jr and Bigtree associate with Robert Malone – I wonder if their belief in him causes them to be misled or makes them wobbly. (When Kennedy announced his candidacy he walked all the way around the room, through the crowd, to speak with someone – it was Malone. He was only briefly in view but it was him.)

  2. Smile!

    The Wim Hof method must really work super well!

    I read Carney’s book years ago. He just could not “keep up” with the great Wim Hof. Ego?!

  3. I stand by Wim Hof. As an RN and a mother of a vax injured son I use his techniques all the time. I have witnessed the Wim Hof Method help many people of all health levels gain a sense of control or understanding over their bodies. For my son, the breathing is what we focus on the most. It has changed the way he deals with anxiety, anger and can help him start the day off on a positive note! Everyone is different but we have adapted the Wim Hof method to work for us and so have my friends, family and patients. I think Wim Hof’s knowledge is another quiver in our arsenal to keep us on the road to health!
    Have a great weekend Solari!
    Jen

  4. Thank you Catherine, Ulrike and the Solari Team for this commentary and defense of the Wim Hof Method. The breathing technique has truly been a “game changer” for me since I incorporated it into my daily routine back in January. What I appreciate about it the most, is that it doesn’t cost a penny and is available to use at any moment and location. I once did a round of breathing at a food court in a shopping mall!
    I haven’t read Dr. Mercola’s article but I was surprised that he would critique it, when the method has seemingly helped hundreds, even thousands of people.
    Hearing Wim Hof saying “Breathe in, breathe out, just go with the flow of the breath” in his YouTube guided video never gets old 🙂

    1. AMEN!

      Hearing Wim Hof saying “Breathe in, breathe out, just go with the flow of the breath” in his YouTube guided video never gets old 🙂

  6. Once enough light enters the world, it is the task of evil to profane it. It has always been that way and always will be until humanity no longer needs evil to evolve.

  7. Every morning, after I feed my horse, I walk out to the back of my property, which overlooks a green pasture with grazing cows and snow capped peaks in the distance. The bracing morning temperatures, especially in winter, are my substitute for cold showers, but I combine Wim Hof’s breathing exercises with a few of Donna Eden’s Energy exercises, and it is profoundly “grounding”. I can’t imagine how much I would miss this if I lived in the city. And as someone who has been a healthcare provider for many years, all I can say in response to the criticism, is that “Every body is different.”

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