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Ryan Duey’s Motorcycle Crash in Thailand Jumpstarted His Entrepreneurial Journey!
Ryan Duey calls a head on motorcycle accident in Thailand his “greatest gift”.
This near death experience catapulted Ryan into a journey of self inquiry, leading him to the jungles of the Amazon, the inside of a float tank, and a commitment to entrepreneurship in the Health and Wellness industry.
He is the owner of Capitol Floats and Co-founder of Plunge. He shares a common passion for cold plunging,
floating, and building win-win relationships with his business partner, Michael Garrett.
Their mission is to make cold plunging as common as coffee.
Brett Gilliland 0:52
Welcome to the Circuit of Success. I’m your host, Brett Gilliland, and today I’ve got Ryan Duey with me, Ryan, what’s up, man?
Ryan Duey 1:00
Just hanging out at HQ here in Sacramento, California and excited to dive in with you. I love it. Man. You are the co founder of cold plunge. and founder of capital floats, man, it’s it’s amazing. That cold plunge. I watched you guys on Instagram and social media and what you guys have done. We originally connected April 6 of 2021. And I think you said a lifetime has happened since then. Man, yeah. When you said that I was like April 2021. We were.
Man, I think we were doing some of our first like, quote unquote, celebrity drop offs.
You know, from, from a facility standpoint, we’ve moved into, like three different facilities since then, just like scaling up in size wise. So it’s like, I’m like, wow, we were in this, you know, little 3000 square foot facility back then.
Companies really
grown up a lot in a lot of different ways. We were still very young. But yeah, really, in that last year and a half. It’s been it’s been a wild ride. And we you know, went on Shark Tank since then. I mean, it’s been a lot.
Brett Gilliland 2:07
Yeah, that’s awesome, man. So how did that go? So talk to us about that. Before we go there. Let’s talk about plunge and what your company is and what you guys are about. I mean, I think you need to be under a rock right now, if people didn’t know at least what this cold plunge was or the ice bath or the Wim Hof Method, right. I mean, this stuff’s everywhere, but you guys, in my opinion, have taken it to a whole other level and what you guys have what your product is, it’s amazing. Tell us a little bit about that. And we’ll dive into all this other stuff.
Ryan Duey 2:36
Yeah, so us as a company, we launched September of 2020 out of my co founders garage.
You know, just start building a few emails some of our other customer base we started delivering those hand units in Northern California and then the company’s just kind of grown like I was talking about earlier. We we build assemble, manufacture cold plunges. We ship them all over the world, mostly servicing in the United States.
But yeah, man, Cold is having its moment. Like it’s, you know, Wim Hof definitely paved the way in making this a much more credible thing, not just some crazy person thing.
And what’s cool is like, this isn’t that radical of it’s like, people will get in cold water for millennia. You know, this is like a very, like, human, human thing. And now it’s just technologies met some kind of ancient, it’s like a new, you know, ancient ancient modality with a new technology. And that’s what we put together. And it’s so cold to have and it’s mobile, where people are people are using it, people are checking it out.
And I think what’s happening is, it’s hit a point where, yes, you have the Dr. Andrew Haberman, it’s the Rhonda Patrick’s that are doing, you know, have done and done some studies, some research is coming out obviously what Wims done, but now more people are doing it and the actual like, like benefits are coming out firsthand.
Like people aren’t seeing the documentary of some one person doing it, their neighbors done it and their neighbor saying dude, I’m doing this thing. And they’re sharing their benefits and that you know, it’s radical. The benefits that happen. I go through our reviews all the time. It’s like we get these reviews every day. And I’m like they blow my mind. They literally blow my mind into like, the impact that cold water is having on people’s lives of, you know, whether it’s disease or ailments they’re facing or just more of like a mental health like, making people be a better human like a more happier, vibrant human.
Brett Gilliland 4:31
And what why is that? Do you think so? I mean, if those that haven’t it, let me just kind of paint this picture. I’ve done this numerous times. I’m terrible at it. It absolutely is, horrific. It’s painful. Let me back up. It’s not painful. It’s uncomfortable. And, but man every time I’ve done it and I get out, it’s like this euphoric feeling right that you have.
us through I’m getting, I’m getting an A, in your example a tub a cold plunge waters can be anywhere from what 33-60 degrees, whatever it is people like and prefer, you’re gonna, I’d probably recommend starting a little warmer and back in your way and i’m assuming you agree with that.
So I would say so imagine yourself getting in his bathtub full of ice or just really, really cold water, and not being able to breathe for a while walk us through that, because I will tell you, not to name drop here, but this is a pretty well known name.
I was talking to Joe Buck. And he said of all the things that he has, getting into an ice bath like this, is the one thing he does that he actually feels different. When he gets out of it.
Right, which I think is that’s a pretty big testimonial is to say that I feel different.
Because you may not feel different after you work out you may not feel different if you take that vitamin or whatever it may be. But he said I feel different.
So what do you, what do you, what do you think about that?
Ryan Duey 5:57
I completely agree. I think it’s it’s one of the most unique modalities that you can get that
mood, energetic, hormonal, chemical change in two to three minutes. You know, it’s like, you could do deep breath work, you know, if you want to go in and do some heavy breath work, you could feel different after but you’re exerting a lot of energy.
That’s a totally, not everyone’s doing that, you know, workout. I feel better after a workout, if I go do a hard workout for 45 minutes to an hour.
But again, I’m 45 minutes to an hour, I’m actively moving my body, it’s like, uh, you know, there’s a lot of work that goes into it, a cold plunge is one of those I gotta do is get in it.
Like you said, it’s hard, it’s uncomfortable, and you have to be uncomfortable for the period of time that you’re doing it.
But you just got to get at it. You know, I’m not asking you to swing a kettlebell, I’m not asking you to go boxing, I’m not asking you to do the craziest breathwork you’ve ever done. It’s just you just got to get in there and find some level of, of comfort in the discomfort.
And I think that’s so I think, to your original question. I think it’s such a quick shift, you go from one state to the other. You’re getting this massive dump of adrenaline into the body. But you’re learning to kind of control it, you’re getting like, you’re it’s, you know, when adrenaline fires up, your body fires up, you you all your circuits turn on like you, you were in a fight you would turn on. And that’s how it is.
But this is like in a very controlled environment. So you get this complete light up of the whole circuitry in your body. And your dopamine is just rushing in, and you go in and then but you just lay there and you get it and then you come out and every single time you get this, you are on a euphoric mountain like that’s, that doesn’t stop I’ve been doing I’ve been cold plunging every day for two years.
Brett Gilliland 7:48
Does it get easier?
Ryan Duey 7:50
No, it like..
Brett Gilliland 7:52
He’s like, No!
Ryan Duey 7:53
It does. It does in the sense that, you know, just like any habit that starts to get formed, you just build better consistency with it.
My, my excuses. I still make excuses every day. And they are just a little less strong. You know, I can see the I can see through them a little bit more. So
you know, in the temp, I still adjust the temp here and there like I was down to 43 and I actually just updated about a week ago to 45 and I’m kind of, I play with my temps a little and kind of where I’m at, I feel a little, a lot on the plate right now, a little stressed out.
And so I’m like, kind of play with my stress levels because it is a stressor. It is something you want to be mindful of what’s your, but it’s one of those healthy stressors again, you know, like Huberman talks about and some of these,
it’s like adrenaline’s actually, like if we can control our adrenaline that’s actually like really, the major input for a high immune system. But it’s like, you know, you get a lot of people that are running on high red all the time, and then they go on to vacation and they get sick, it’s like well, they don’t have really have a balance of the parasympathetic and the sympathetic, it’s ultimately a nervous system that their body is in one or the other, but you kind of need a dance between the two and cold plunging is that activation that allows you to get a really intense get in that sympathetic state.
But it will teach you to breathe and calm your breath down lower your heart rate in a very intense environment. And you do that enough the body starts to adapt to stressful situations.
Brett Gilliland 9:23
So talk to us about the science benefit behind it obviously you’re I don’t think you are I’m not a doctor, you’re not a doctor but there’s plenty of science around it. You know, I wear a whoop every day. The whoops, you got ice bath is one of the exercises, if you will, that you can add and so you can see what your heart rates doing, what it’s doing for your stressors your body but, but for our listeners, what’s the science behind this that, even if they don’t, say I’m not gonna go out and buy a cold plunge like the actual tub thing, but I’ve got a bathtub at home. I can throw some cold water and air through some ice. What’s the science that makes this successful for us?
Ryan Duey 9:55
Yeah, I mean, I think there’s different levels that, your consistency, how often you do it, you can
Get in a cold shower, you know, and turn your turn your shower cold and get that
that’s going to that’s going to be a type you, like you said the trough and filling up with ice, you probably can’t do it as consistent but on a one-off getting in there, getting into cold water or you know, you get a plunge-type with a filtration system, and you can do it more often.
Science, I mean, really what, to me, the one of the big things that it’s showing is its rate, it’s lowering inflammation like that at the core thing. So everything that comes off of the lowered inflammation is, that’s more optimized people.
But the other cool stuff that it is showing is that it’s raising it’s actually raising our baseline dopamine levels.
So you know, dopamine into a you know, dopamine can we can receive dopamine from all different activities. It’s the activities that are truly beneficial to us, is when dopamine can actually play a factor and be and be a positive, be a positive chemical for us.
So that’s going to be like your focus your motivation. So when people come out of a cold plunge, it’s like you get to hear these comments all the time. Like I feel okay, not even just coming out. This is sustained. If you’re doing this consistency, it’s like I feel capable, I feel more confident, I feel more clear, like that, that’s, that’s dopamine talking in your body. So that to me, is like a massive benefit for people. Um, you know, for me as a guy.
Two years ago, right when I was starting to company really kind of in the it was a very stressful time in my life. That was covid. You know, we were six months into the COVID, COVID world.
I had my all my, bloodwork done, my testosterone levels were in the dump, like really, really low. Only thing I changed, I did cut out stress, but then I cold plunged, I had a cold plunge in my life, I cold plunge every day.
Raised that by 70%. So
Brett Gilliland 11:46
wow,
Ryan Duey 11:46
like,
Brett Gilliland 11:46
just by doing that a couple two or three minutes a day, and cutting out the stress. Of course,
Ryan Duey 11:51
that was that was just a very natural way that I tested exactly almost a year later, and that it increased.
You know, I had my true age, I’m 36. My immune system within my body with the, through the testing was at 30 years old. So that to me was like another another sign of like having a really healthy robust immune system.
You know, another cool one, I did a video recently on Instagram about this, but there’s a study out of Sweden that came out. And it was using cold exposure for as a cancer treatment.
And this study was basically looking at, and had been kind of interesting, and no one had really studied it for a while. But they were saying, basically cancer lives off of glucose, so lives off of sugar, you know, the high sugar diet is, you know, the big cause of cancer, if you have cancer don’t want to be taking sugar, and that feeds, that’s what feeds the cancer cells.
Anyways, by activating the brown fat one of the fastest ways to activate our brown fat which is like the, it’s babies have, it gives us our big energy. By activating the brown fat within our body, it’s strictly, cold water is one of the fastest ways to turn that on within our body. A lot of this, a lot of us have that suppressed.
Well anyways, when you turn on the brown fat within our body, that just starts sucking up glucose. So they found it actually as a suppression, they were testing, they started in mice, and they tested mice and cold conditions and non cold conditions with cancer. They had like a 70, was like a 70% reduction in tumors in the cold mice, to the non and then they brought it into humans.
And they saw the very similar thing. And you know, and asterisk with this is that was with a sugar free diet.
So again, you know, it’s sucking up the glucose in the system, but you also don’t want to be putting sugar back into your body. So with that again, but that study just came out and they were like, we are actually at a spot where we would recommend this as a treatment for cancer. Like
Brett Gilliland 13:54
wow
Ryan Duey 13:54
that’s a, that’s a massive statement. So, you know, we all have cancerous cells in our body, it’s at what point is it become like a major impact in our body.
So I look at this as a great, like, it’s a great way of prevention in its own way. Whether you have cancer, you’re not like diagnosed with it or not. It’s a great way in our body to you know, have healthy, healthy, healthy cellular levels.
Brett Gilliland 14:14
Yeah.
Ryan Duey 14:20
like this isn’t really I mean the science there is science on this more that I can’t articulate as well. But it really just teaches us to be calm in stress.
You know that’s this is stress is, western world, we have a lot of stress. We have a lot of things coming into us and inputs. And you know, you’ve been in the cold plunge, you kind of said I’m not great at it, but it’s like, you do it you start to learn how to just okay, what,
I call it a jungle gym, or a gym, for your nervous system.
We go to the gym to get our muscles strong, when you get in a cold plunge to get your nervous system regulated, and learn how to control that and get back into more of a, you know, a homeostasis that between those what they call the parasympathetic and sympathetic systems.
Brett Gilliland 15:18
Which have been even the workout though, you talked about doing a 45 minute workout, you talked about reducing inflammation, I mean, it’s also going to speed up your recovery time, for sure. Right?
Ryan Duey 15:27
That that is massive. It’s funny, it’s like you just brought that up. And I wasn’t even thinking that that’s like, one of the biggest, I look at that, it’s probably the most like known, but I almost put it down is like six or seven, like you’re gonna get you’re gonna get these muscle recoveries, you’re gonna get the, the, you know, inflammatory reduction.
It is, there is an interesting conversation here, though, of like, people cold plunging. Like, do you do this right after your workout?
And I think that’s, that’s an interesting, it’s kind of the one subject matter, it’s a little debatable right now of like, do you do it right after because you do want that inflammatory response, after lifting weights, you want your muscles to have a reaction to that.
It’s kind of what you’re doing, you’re tearing them down, and then they grow back stronger. So there is this talk that getting in cold water immediately after, could reduce that could recruit, reduce some of the gains that are out there.
So anyone listening, if you’re like, super into working out, like strength gains, I would, you know, try and go maybe two hours after a workout,
Brett Gilliland 16:25
okay,
Ryan Duey 16:25
and then do a cold plunge.
And my caveat with that, and I would put myself in this category I like, like to work out. I’m a kind of, you know, self proclaimed athlete, but not training for anything special.
My goal is to get up and work out again tomorrow. So, you know, I’m not as concerned of maximizing every day, and I want to feel good, yes, I want to build strength. But I also want to recover and be ready for tomorrow. So that’s not an area that I’m concerned. That’s more of like, let’s say bodybuilders, or maybe even pro athletes into what they’re trying to, I would say pro athletes not in season. I don’t think it’s as big of a deal but pro athletes out of season. They’re trying to maximize. They want, I dont know, want to put in a couple hours between a workout in cold plunge.
Brett Gilliland 17:07
Yeah. So what do you think about from a cold therapy versus heat therapy? You know, like, I’m a I have an infrared sauna in my home. I believe in it. I love it. I sweat. It’s it feels great. I mean, what do you what do you like between the cold versus the hot therapy?
Ryan Duey 17:24
I love I love them both. You know, I’m not an expert in the heat side of it, of what it’s exactly doing to the body. I mean, there’s just the actual what I love about heat, is I love doing, like, we now have a salt.
We have a sauna, at our facility here at headquarters, and it’s become this like ritual, everyone to get off work. And everyone gets in the sun. It’s like the greatest thing like sitting there and you’re sweating. And it’s like, you have really good talk.
So it’s like,
Brett Gilliland 17:53
yeah!
Ryan Duey 17:53
outside of the science and actually what it’s doing, I think it’s a great community piece to like, go and do a sauna with someone, invite a friend over and connect that way. I mean, heat. Yeah, there’s the, if you’re going to mix them both, that’s a, that’s like a very active recovery day. So, I would like anyone that’s like doing cold plunging and saunas, or just even, that’s still a big metabolic process on your body.
Like your body is going through kind of a intensity. So I want people to know, it’s like, that’s a calorie crunch. That’s like, that’s a there’s an intensity to that. So it’s a great way to do it on a recovery day.
But I mean, I think he is you know, there’s there’s a plethora of benefits. I think Rob Patrick’s probably the leader in that space. Yeah,
Brett Gilliland 18:44
yeah, I did cryotherapy for the first time about two weeks ago. And man, I mean, that was like, I did it for, I can’t remember was it three minutes, maybe, I think was three minutes. I thought I was gonna die the first minute, you know. I’m like, literally and then I get out three minutes later, I had to walk down these stairs, my legs wouldn’t bend.
But again, that same euphoric feeling, kind of came about the after that. So I went from there, straight to a stream, steam room straight to a sauna.
And it was a phenomenal recovery day. My wife and I did it together on her anniversary, and it’s kind of like a little Day-date. And it was incredible. So same kind of thing with cryotherapy.
Ryan Duey 19:23
You had to fill so, I mean, I love steam after cold.
Brett Gilliland 19:26
Yeah,
Ryan Duey 19:26
steamer after the cold is justice, like magical.
Brett Gilliland 19:30
no, it
was man. We like had lunch. So again, a crowd therapy steam rooms and an infrared sauna. And then we did this launch at this place we’re at I’m like, oh my god, this is unbelievable. This feels, you know? Then eat healthy. I’m like, I’m feeling good about myself.
But we can talk about this stuff all day, man and I, on my research, you know, I saw that you called a head on motorcycle accident, your greatest gift. Talk about that man.
Ryan Duey 19:56
Yeah, it’s , I had that about 10 years ago. It’ll be 10 years this December 30. I was out in Thailand, was out traveling with a buddy, head on collision two nights before, the night before New Year’s Eve. We ended up spending about three weeks out in a Thai hospital with the kind of reconstructive jaw surgery, a pretty big concussion, had amongst other injuries.
And anyways, it was, it was just one of those moments that like as soon as it soon as I came back,
Brett Gilliland 20:30
yeah
Ryan Duey 20:31
to like, from my concussion that night. I remember turning to my buddy I was like, is the best thing I needed.
And it was just one of those moments of like, I don’t really know why I said that at that time. But I sensed that this was going to be this major opportunity to, you know, just go to like a deeper look into my life, what do I want out of life, like kind of, wasn’t in a bad place, I enjoyed my work that I was doing.
I like, I was happy with who I was as a person. But it just accelerated some things that I wanted to do in life that were kind of set off into the future. And it just it shook me and put me on a, on a course that was kind of where my life’s at today.
Brett Gilliland 21:10
And so, you know, I’m saying, quote unquote, normal job. I think you’d agree me now as an entrepreneur, as a founder of a company, it’s a little bit not normal, right? It’s not your go to work at eight and get off at five and go home and not think about it.
You think about it. 24/7 365.
And so was that a catalyst for you to start these things like you’re the founder of capital floats, which again, we didn’t even talk about, but as the floating you know, you’re sitting in a in a pod, it’s got the, and you would explain it better than I.
But you’ve started that and then you were the co founder of Plunge, for these cold plunges. And so is, was that the journey? That thing that made you go do that? Or what was it?
Ryan Duey 21:47
Totally, it was, it, I worked for. I worked for the San Jose Earthquakes and professional soccer cool gig. Just kind of a middle management position there. I loved it. I really enjoyed it.
Anyways, I came out, I had really wanted to go down to the jungles of Peru. This was like this big adventure that I had wanted to do to actually sit and work with Ayahuasca’s psychedelic medicine, that’s probably been heard of these days, a little more common, but back then it was a very, very kind of taboo, like not many people were talking about it, it was really weird.
I could it, was really uncomfortable, even bring it up to a lot of people in my circle. Anyways, this that was an experience that I had really been wanting to do. But I just like, Oh, you’ll do that later in life. And anyways, this accident was like, No, you’re gonna go do that, like that was it. And I started to a float tank to kind of heal my body from some of the injuries that I had faced from that accident, when I got back to the US.
Like they had to kind of work through that to go into my recovery mode. So I started floating, but I was also going to float for more of an introspection, kind of connect to myself, like I’m gonna go down to the jungle, do this very kind of like intrapersonal work down there. And I was like, I need to spend some time in a float tank.
And so that was the start. And then very quickly, in the float tank, it was like, Oh, my God, like I love being around this facility. And this environment. It started less as like a, like a great, awesome business idea and more of, I would just love to create this environment and be in it all the time and be around these people. I really was like, I wanted to build this community.
And so that was that, you know, very early doing that it came to me I wanted to start this company, but I didn’t I didn’t I didn’t act on it for about a year and a half I went down to the jungle, had a, you know, to say the least, mind blowing experience and just really learned a lot about myself and you know, coming back and yeah, I thought I was gonna go down there quit my job and go start a float center.
Well, I got down to the jungle and it was like, no, no, you got, your job is the least of our worries right now we’re going to do some other things to work on.
So anyways, I came back, stuck around with the quakes are about and then I started cap float, six months later moved to Sacramento. And that was kind of the beginning of the entrepreneurial journey.
And that that was that was a crazy road because that’s how I met Mike. Mike’s the co founder with me on plunge. He’s the inventor of the product. He owns reboot float & cryo, and he has a very similar story.
It’s very wild. And, you know, he opened exactly one year before me in the Bay Area. And I was in Sacramento, we just became these float brothers, like, you know, not many floats around and we start hanging out and then we become best buds.
And then he just happened to move to Sacramento in April of 2020. And he starts like, you know, we got some time businesses are shut down, this is California. It’s like, you know, this is
Brett Gilliland 24:41
right,
Ryan Duey 24:42
close your doors, like everyone go home. And so, you know, he started setting out building this product. He’s a world class engineer and starts, you know, building this product in the garage and, you know, so it’s definitely like, this whole journey of like, you talked about that accident.
Taking it back there, It was, it was definitely, it’s just interesting how these experiences can you have no clue how it’s gonna play out? Right? But you, you make these declarations, you make these commitments that and just changed the whole trajectory.
And I sit here now and it still blows me away sharing the story of like, Wow, all the kinds of synchronistic things that happened along the way.
Brett Gilliland 25:20
Yeah, but don’t you think you also gotta be kind of be mindful and paying attention and be willing to take the risk? Because I would assume it would be easier to stay with the soccer team, get a normal job, get a normal paycheck every two weeks, probably some health insurance, probably a 401k.
But to trust your gut, leave that go to the uncertain and build something and maybe it works. Maybe you sell a ton of it. Maybe you don’t.
Ryan Duey 25:45
I agree. I think the first ones the hardest, like when you when you don’t know what’s on the other side, I think that but as I’ve gone, to me, it’s a bigger risk to not do the thing.
Like you know what you’re getting right now. Like, I know what my life is right now. Like, right. So that’s kind of what I’ve, I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve learned. But yes, I think there is.
I think it’s really difficult, you know, you know, you could be in a job you make 100k. And it’s like, you got health insurance. It’s like, Man, that’s a good life. That is that and there’s nothing wrong, like, you know, that’s great if you’re, if that works, and there’s there but there’s always sometimes people with that other edge of like, but it’s scary when you kind of have those, you know, it’s things are comfortable and things are stable.
But I you know, I think as I’ve gone it’s like that’s such a, it’s such, that’s just not true. Like there’s you know, like, we adapt to the next thing it doesn’t, you don’t just go here then 10 steps down the road. You just take the next step of the direction you want to go and life will, you’ll adapt. We all adapted what we’re really good at as humans.
Brett Gilliland 26:50
That’s right. Yeah, we are we are but I’m going to be cold plunging tonight.
Speaking of soccer. I’m going to, St. Louis has an MLS team starting in here and next season and so they have a first game ever, their MLS St. Louis City II, like, I guess I call it their minor league team is playing tonight. So, it’ll be about 29 degrees at about game time. And it’ll be outdoors, nice and cold plungey for about an hour and a half, two hours tonight. But
Ryan Duey 27:15
that’ll be great. I’m excited for that club to go out there. I mean, the stadium looks incredible.
Brett Gilliland 27:20
Yeah!
Ryan Duey 27:20
I think it’s, you know, well, well funded team looks like it’s coming together. Well. I’m impressed with what they’re doing.
Brett Gilliland 27:27
Yeah, we’re excited. So your mission is to make cold plunging as common as coffee. I read that, I love that, you know, my mission is you can see on my microphone, the future greater than your past.
That’s what I want to wake up and do every single day is help people have a future greater than their past. I think that’s what you’re doing through cold plunge.
But your mission is to make cold plunging as common as coffee. How are you doing that? So let’s kind of get in the weeds a bit from the business standpoint. If I follow you around from a business standpoint, what am I seeing you do day in and day out to follow your mission?
Ryan Duey 27:59
Yeah, I mean, more you ask him personally, or more from a company level?
Brett Gilliland 28:04
I think I mean, I kind of it for me, I see it both right, you are the person that’s in the company, obviously, there’s people around you, there’s team, there’s employees, but you’ve got to do something to drive business every day and drive the mission of cold plunging as common as coffee.
Ryan Duey 28:20
I think I think from a real practical company level, we’ve really tried to find partners that are aligned with our mission and values.
So you know, when I say that, it’s like influencers? Like who are the people out there that we think are putting really good content out there that are impacting people they’re connected to?
And I think we’ve done, we’ve done well. And that’s just a big part of what we do. Like how do we get how do we tell a story?
I think that’s, that’s the other piece to it is like, we are shifting a bit as a company like everything, everything’s very focused on the two to three minute punch experience. It’s cool, it looks good. It’s it’s it works and but we’re really focused on like, Why do you cold plunge?
Like, what? Why would you get in that bath and feel uncomfortable for three minutes? And it’s like, well, maybe you want more energy with your kids. Maybe you want to be a better father, maybe you want to, you know, you know more intimacy with your wife. So testosterone, like all it’s like, what are the stories we’re trying to tell?
Like, maybe you have, mental anxiety is a massive thing. You know, we just did a piece with a woman that got off prescription medication, and because she just she wanted to and she started plunging and she plunges two times a day. And this is what she does.
And so it’s like,
Brett Gilliland 29:33
Wow, that’s incredible.
Ryan Duey 29:34
Really. It’s incredible. So it’s, you know, I think for us, like what are we doing day out? We’re trying to tell the story of how we’re still in this realm of education, and it is still such a blue ocean, like yes, people have heard about it, but most people don’t have cold plunges. I mean, not even most like almost every single person.
Brett Gilliland 29:51
You’re absolutely right. I mean, it’s very, very few right? And I feel like I’m in this world where I see that and I don’t really know anybody that has one. But I’m hearing more in the last even six months of the normal person talking about cold plunging that you didn’t hear a year ago or two years ago.
Ryan Duey 30:08
And I think that’s where it’s going. It’s obviously a bigger purchase, it’s not something you just would add, you know, like, on a whim, you’d go purchase it. So, you know, people need to be sold, like, why am I actually going to use this? Like, is this really worth $5,000 to go impact my life?
And what’s really cool is like, we get people that purchase. And yes, that is a big purchase you save for it, or whatever it is to you in your life. It’s rare, I mean, almost non existent where that is. It’s like, we get the we get the testimonies of like, I can’t believe I didn’t do this sooner. I can’t believe I did, I was questioning this.
Like, like, the stories are, and that’s what fuels me. I mean, every day, it’s like, you know, running a business. You know, it’s like, there’s challenges. There’s all sorts of things that come and then, you know, I go check our reviews. Literally, that’s what I do. And it’s like, okay, this is cool. This is why we got into this. Yeah.
Brett Gilliland 31:06
What’s your favorite story? Any of them come off top of mind, or maybe some recent ones? It was like kind of a mind blower for you?
Ryan Duey 31:13
Jeez. Um, well, there’s one cool one we had. I mean, I think of we hired this guy recently.
His name’s Michael, he’s to come onto our team really recent. Anyways, he has multiple sclerosis and he has MS.
So he, major autoimmune disorder. And he started cold punching has completely got it under control. Come to find out he’s locally with us. He was like blown away that the company was in his backyard, he got a job with us. He’s been on with a couple months. And he’s like a rock star.
And it’s like this. And he’s like, on a mission of his life. And it’s like, to me, that’s just one of the coolest. It’s just, I see it every day. I see him in here every day. You know, I did that cancer post, I did that thing on Instagram at a number of people make comments on there of like, like, it was almost like we’ve been doing this, like not knowing, like we’ve been getting in cold water and my cancers went into remission.
Like that was a cool one, we had a guy. You know, we’ve had a number of like, COVID, long haulers that like really are struggling, like really having some long term issues, like, you know, no medication, in studies, they’ve come out of it into, you know, I’ve never just having my cold plunge for the short window of time, I’ve seen these results that I hadn’t, I hadn’t gotten from my whoop scores, my whoop scores are now in the green.
You know that that’s a massive one.
We’re doing a study right now with about 30 people were getting all their levels tested prior and then they’re plunging for 90 straight days. And then they’re getting every, all their bloodwork done again.
We’re just starting to get some some of the first group coming through. So we’ll have more of a release of what’s going on there. But life changing, like life changing testimonies of what these people are sharing of, you know, things that are happening for them, but I mean,
Brett Gilliland 33:15
like not much other stuff, changing their life, like literally, they’re eating the same, they’re exercising the same, they’re drinking alcohol the same or coffee the same, whatever, right? They’re doing all that and just this one addition, is life changing.
Ryan Duey 33:26
And it’s one of those that cause, it’s a ripple, you know, it’s like plunging the great way. It doesn’t have to be the ultimate, you’re so far down your fitness journey, and now you start cold plunging, like cold plunging could be one of the first things in your fitness journey, and it could actually accelerate all your other stuff that you’re working on.
You know, it’s great for metabolism and fat loss. You know, and it just, you Your days are different when you cold plunge so it’s going to set you want a little different trajectory of maybe saying no to the thing that you’ve been struggling with or you know, it’s not a cure all.
Definitely don’t want to sell is as that but it does, It is, yes, it is a great I’d see it as you know, the story I want to tell is like this is a great starting point for people on a fitness journey.
Not someone that’s already kicking ass on on fitness.
Brett Gilliland 34:17
Yeah
yeah, so last few questions here. And you know, so if I followed Ryan Dewey around what am I seeing on your habits from a personal development side?
From a maybe a personal growth side like personal development, but also exercise and business habits?
What am I seeing kind of no-miss items that happen every day for you?
Ryan Duey 34:38
Yeah, I think it’s cold plunging. I have a trainer that has been a huge hack for me, grateful I can do it. I have a trainer that shows up in my house every morning now. So, that’s been like, first thing in the morning, I have that.
Brett Gilliland 34:50
And then you
get a different plan for – You’re gonna do this way, you’re gonna do this cardio thing, you’re gonna do that movement type deal.
Ryan Duey 34:56
Yep, he rocks it for me and you know, it’s one of those Uh, I always feel like we have so much brain power a day. And I like to put it all to plunge and you know, to some of my personal life and weights is something that’s like I just show up and he puts me through it and I do my workout. So that’s a that’s a key, key piece to me. You know and then
Brett Gilliland 35:20
sorry to interupt, but that allows you, you believe, that the plunge and then you’re working out, that allows you to be a better, you know, founder of a company and a better leader, a better whatever in your personal life.
Ryan Duey 35:31
Totally. It’s one of those it’s just those wins. You know, mornings are such a crucial time. I kind of can slug around in the mornings mornings can be tough for me.
Well, it’s just like, I’m accelerated, I’m accountable, I have a trainer that’s there I got to get out of bed. The plunge, you know, three minutes in there boom, I’m ready to go like. So, that, those two things are essential.
You know, business like groups I just joined like an executive coaching group that was yeah, I’m really excited on and kind of some other founders in E-comm, health and wellness space.
So that’s kind of a spot for me. Mike and I really work hand, you know, it’s nice to have a co founder so I could really bounce you know, we co CEO, the company so bounce a lot of stuff off of him.
And then yeah, I mean, outside of that, like the days can fluctuate you know, I’d say we’re looking at an actual calendar Tuesday, Wednesday. These days are packed, you know from basically 9am I don’t I don’t attribute, me, I don’t look at anything before nine, it’s like a big thing for me kind of like my time that I work and then.
But nine, to nine to five is I’m locked in and then I like to leave like Mondays and Fridays more for creative days. That’s what I’m working more on the storytelling I’m talking about partnership conversations. So it’s kind of how the current flow of the week is and I’m always adapting and trying to try to evolve it a bit more
Brett Gilliland 37:01
Yeah, that’s awesome man so what our listeners find more of you where our listeners find more of your your your company, Plunge, where can we find that?
Ryan Duey 37:10
Yeah Plunge, just type in Cold Plunge, we should show up but thecoldplunge.com is the is the domain. We’re on Instagram as the cold or just typing cold plunge will pop up. I mean, anywhere you type in cold plunge we should show up.
t’s an interesting thing the company’s called plunge we’re actually going through a bit of a rebrand right now to kind of really bring clarity on that because we’ve been cut, you know, it’s like a cold plunge, cold plunge or plunge so company name Plunge but typing cold plunge we’ll show up.
And then you know, we have for me personally, Ryan, Ryan Duey on Instagram. It’s k ind of where I’m most active have a podcast called the journey with Ryan Duey. So that’s, that’s going, you can find that on, you know, Spotify, Apple, wherever that’s at. So yeah, those are the spots and yeah,
Brett Gilliland 38:02
I love it, man. So last question for you got this person listening right now. They need a little pep talk, then they need a pep talk, man, they need the locker room speech, they need to get fired up to go out for the second half of their life.
What do you tell them? That person that you maybe you wish you knew 10 years ago? What advice are you telling them on how to bet on themselves? And in areas like that?
Ryan Duey 38:24
I mean, I’m going to talk to myself right now. It’s like, you know, what are you waiting for, like, whatever the thing is that you even think you want to go do like, literally this could end tomorrow, like it, it could end tomorrow, and any it’s all gone.
And whatever you think you have to lose, it’s never it’s never quite what you think like, you know, if you got a family, you got to like, the biggest thing with struggle is if your kids didn’t see you go after something like that’s something I always think about, like with my family that I grew up in.
And the last piece that I say to anyone that like is questioning like, do I know enough? Am I there? Do it!
It’s like having been talking to some very high level. It’s like nobody knows what the hell’s going on. Like, and, you’re, everyone’s just figuring out the person you admire, the person you think has it all figured out.
They’re just figuring it out as they go. Like, they might think they have this incredible plan but nobody actually knows what’s going on. And anyone that thinks they have the best plan. They’re just adapting as they go.
So I say that more is an encouragement to not get like caught up into this perfectionism place like that’s just the game you’re gonna go figure it out. You can go figure it out!
Brett Gilliland 39:39
Amen, brother. Amen to that well Ryan It’s been awesome having you on the circuit of success podcast man and if you’re ever in the St. Louis area stop by we’ll take the cold plunge
Ryan Duey 39:49
I should be out there
Brett Gilliland 39:50
when?
Ryan Duey 39:51
I’m gonna be actually be out there next weekend. That’s crazy.
Brett Gilliland 39:55
Well, you look me up, man. Let’s connect. Well, after we record here, we’ll connect here for a minute but man has been awesome.
Having you on the Circuit of Success brother
Ryan Duey 40:02
Awesome man appreciate it!
Brett Gilliland 40:12
*Outro*
View all episodes
By BEYOND Media Group
4.8
3737 ratings
Ryan Duey calls a head on motorcycle accident in Thailand his “greatest gift”.
This near death experience catapulted Ryan into a journey of self inquiry, leading him to the jungles of the Amazon, the inside of a float tank, and a commitment to entrepreneurship in the Health and Wellness industry.
He is the owner of Capitol Floats and Co-founder of Plunge. He shares a common passion for cold plunging,
floating, and building win-win relationships with his business partner, Michael Garrett.
Their mission is to make cold plunging as common as coffee.
Brett Gilliland 0:52
Welcome to the Circuit of Success. I’m your host, Brett Gilliland, and today I’ve got Ryan Duey with me, Ryan, what’s up, man?
Ryan Duey 1:00
Just hanging out at HQ here in Sacramento, California and excited to dive in with you. I love it. Man. You are the co founder of cold plunge. and founder of capital floats, man, it’s it’s amazing. That cold plunge. I watched you guys on Instagram and social media and what you guys have done. We originally connected April 6 of 2021. And I think you said a lifetime has happened since then. Man, yeah. When you said that I was like April 2021. We were.
Man, I think we were doing some of our first like, quote unquote, celebrity drop offs.
You know, from, from a facility standpoint, we’ve moved into, like three different facilities since then, just like scaling up in size wise. So it’s like, I’m like, wow, we were in this, you know, little 3000 square foot facility back then.
Companies really
grown up a lot in a lot of different ways. We were still very young. But yeah, really, in that last year and a half. It’s been it’s been a wild ride. And we you know, went on Shark Tank since then. I mean, it’s been a lot.
Brett Gilliland 2:07
Yeah, that’s awesome, man. So how did that go? So talk to us about that. Before we go there. Let’s talk about plunge and what your company is and what you guys are about. I mean, I think you need to be under a rock right now, if people didn’t know at least what this cold plunge was or the ice bath or the Wim Hof Method, right. I mean, this stuff’s everywhere, but you guys, in my opinion, have taken it to a whole other level and what you guys have what your product is, it’s amazing. Tell us a little bit about that. And we’ll dive into all this other stuff.
Ryan Duey 2:36
Yeah, so us as a company, we launched September of 2020 out of my co founders garage.
You know, just start building a few emails some of our other customer base we started delivering those hand units in Northern California and then the company’s just kind of grown like I was talking about earlier. We we build assemble, manufacture cold plunges. We ship them all over the world, mostly servicing in the United States.
But yeah, man, Cold is having its moment. Like it’s, you know, Wim Hof definitely paved the way in making this a much more credible thing, not just some crazy person thing.
And what’s cool is like, this isn’t that radical of it’s like, people will get in cold water for millennia. You know, this is like a very, like, human, human thing. And now it’s just technologies met some kind of ancient, it’s like a new, you know, ancient ancient modality with a new technology. And that’s what we put together. And it’s so cold to have and it’s mobile, where people are people are using it, people are checking it out.
And I think what’s happening is, it’s hit a point where, yes, you have the Dr. Andrew Haberman, it’s the Rhonda Patrick’s that are doing, you know, have done and done some studies, some research is coming out obviously what Wims done, but now more people are doing it and the actual like, like benefits are coming out firsthand.
Like people aren’t seeing the documentary of some one person doing it, their neighbors done it and their neighbor saying dude, I’m doing this thing. And they’re sharing their benefits and that you know, it’s radical. The benefits that happen. I go through our reviews all the time. It’s like we get these reviews every day. And I’m like they blow my mind. They literally blow my mind into like, the impact that cold water is having on people’s lives of, you know, whether it’s disease or ailments they’re facing or just more of like a mental health like, making people be a better human like a more happier, vibrant human.
Brett Gilliland 4:31
And what why is that? Do you think so? I mean, if those that haven’t it, let me just kind of paint this picture. I’ve done this numerous times. I’m terrible at it. It absolutely is, horrific. It’s painful. Let me back up. It’s not painful. It’s uncomfortable. And, but man every time I’ve done it and I get out, it’s like this euphoric feeling right that you have.
us through I’m getting, I’m getting an A, in your example a tub a cold plunge waters can be anywhere from what 33-60 degrees, whatever it is people like and prefer, you’re gonna, I’d probably recommend starting a little warmer and back in your way and i’m assuming you agree with that.
So I would say so imagine yourself getting in his bathtub full of ice or just really, really cold water, and not being able to breathe for a while walk us through that, because I will tell you, not to name drop here, but this is a pretty well known name.
I was talking to Joe Buck. And he said of all the things that he has, getting into an ice bath like this, is the one thing he does that he actually feels different. When he gets out of it.
Right, which I think is that’s a pretty big testimonial is to say that I feel different.
Because you may not feel different after you work out you may not feel different if you take that vitamin or whatever it may be. But he said I feel different.
So what do you, what do you, what do you think about that?
Ryan Duey 5:57
I completely agree. I think it’s it’s one of the most unique modalities that you can get that
mood, energetic, hormonal, chemical change in two to three minutes. You know, it’s like, you could do deep breath work, you know, if you want to go in and do some heavy breath work, you could feel different after but you’re exerting a lot of energy.
That’s a totally, not everyone’s doing that, you know, workout. I feel better after a workout, if I go do a hard workout for 45 minutes to an hour.
But again, I’m 45 minutes to an hour, I’m actively moving my body, it’s like, uh, you know, there’s a lot of work that goes into it, a cold plunge is one of those I gotta do is get in it.
Like you said, it’s hard, it’s uncomfortable, and you have to be uncomfortable for the period of time that you’re doing it.
But you just got to get at it. You know, I’m not asking you to swing a kettlebell, I’m not asking you to go boxing, I’m not asking you to do the craziest breathwork you’ve ever done. It’s just you just got to get in there and find some level of, of comfort in the discomfort.
And I think that’s so I think, to your original question. I think it’s such a quick shift, you go from one state to the other. You’re getting this massive dump of adrenaline into the body. But you’re learning to kind of control it, you’re getting like, you’re it’s, you know, when adrenaline fires up, your body fires up, you you all your circuits turn on like you, you were in a fight you would turn on. And that’s how it is.
But this is like in a very controlled environment. So you get this complete light up of the whole circuitry in your body. And your dopamine is just rushing in, and you go in and then but you just lay there and you get it and then you come out and every single time you get this, you are on a euphoric mountain like that’s, that doesn’t stop I’ve been doing I’ve been cold plunging every day for two years.
Brett Gilliland 7:48
Does it get easier?
Ryan Duey 7:50
No, it like..
Brett Gilliland 7:52
He’s like, No!
Ryan Duey 7:53
It does. It does in the sense that, you know, just like any habit that starts to get formed, you just build better consistency with it.
My, my excuses. I still make excuses every day. And they are just a little less strong. You know, I can see the I can see through them a little bit more. So
you know, in the temp, I still adjust the temp here and there like I was down to 43 and I actually just updated about a week ago to 45 and I’m kind of, I play with my temps a little and kind of where I’m at, I feel a little, a lot on the plate right now, a little stressed out.
And so I’m like, kind of play with my stress levels because it is a stressor. It is something you want to be mindful of what’s your, but it’s one of those healthy stressors again, you know, like Huberman talks about and some of these,
it’s like adrenaline’s actually, like if we can control our adrenaline that’s actually like really, the major input for a high immune system. But it’s like, you know, you get a lot of people that are running on high red all the time, and then they go on to vacation and they get sick, it’s like well, they don’t have really have a balance of the parasympathetic and the sympathetic, it’s ultimately a nervous system that their body is in one or the other, but you kind of need a dance between the two and cold plunging is that activation that allows you to get a really intense get in that sympathetic state.
But it will teach you to breathe and calm your breath down lower your heart rate in a very intense environment. And you do that enough the body starts to adapt to stressful situations.
Brett Gilliland 9:23
So talk to us about the science benefit behind it obviously you’re I don’t think you are I’m not a doctor, you’re not a doctor but there’s plenty of science around it. You know, I wear a whoop every day. The whoops, you got ice bath is one of the exercises, if you will, that you can add and so you can see what your heart rates doing, what it’s doing for your stressors your body but, but for our listeners, what’s the science behind this that, even if they don’t, say I’m not gonna go out and buy a cold plunge like the actual tub thing, but I’ve got a bathtub at home. I can throw some cold water and air through some ice. What’s the science that makes this successful for us?
Ryan Duey 9:55
Yeah, I mean, I think there’s different levels that, your consistency, how often you do it, you can
Get in a cold shower, you know, and turn your turn your shower cold and get that
that’s going to that’s going to be a type you, like you said the trough and filling up with ice, you probably can’t do it as consistent but on a one-off getting in there, getting into cold water or you know, you get a plunge-type with a filtration system, and you can do it more often.
Science, I mean, really what, to me, the one of the big things that it’s showing is its rate, it’s lowering inflammation like that at the core thing. So everything that comes off of the lowered inflammation is, that’s more optimized people.
But the other cool stuff that it is showing is that it’s raising it’s actually raising our baseline dopamine levels.
So you know, dopamine into a you know, dopamine can we can receive dopamine from all different activities. It’s the activities that are truly beneficial to us, is when dopamine can actually play a factor and be and be a positive, be a positive chemical for us.
So that’s going to be like your focus your motivation. So when people come out of a cold plunge, it’s like you get to hear these comments all the time. Like I feel okay, not even just coming out. This is sustained. If you’re doing this consistency, it’s like I feel capable, I feel more confident, I feel more clear, like that, that’s, that’s dopamine talking in your body. So that to me, is like a massive benefit for people. Um, you know, for me as a guy.
Two years ago, right when I was starting to company really kind of in the it was a very stressful time in my life. That was covid. You know, we were six months into the COVID, COVID world.
I had my all my, bloodwork done, my testosterone levels were in the dump, like really, really low. Only thing I changed, I did cut out stress, but then I cold plunged, I had a cold plunge in my life, I cold plunge every day.
Raised that by 70%. So
Brett Gilliland 11:46
wow,
Ryan Duey 11:46
like,
Brett Gilliland 11:46
just by doing that a couple two or three minutes a day, and cutting out the stress. Of course,
Ryan Duey 11:51
that was that was just a very natural way that I tested exactly almost a year later, and that it increased.
You know, I had my true age, I’m 36. My immune system within my body with the, through the testing was at 30 years old. So that to me was like another another sign of like having a really healthy robust immune system.
You know, another cool one, I did a video recently on Instagram about this, but there’s a study out of Sweden that came out. And it was using cold exposure for as a cancer treatment.
And this study was basically looking at, and had been kind of interesting, and no one had really studied it for a while. But they were saying, basically cancer lives off of glucose, so lives off of sugar, you know, the high sugar diet is, you know, the big cause of cancer, if you have cancer don’t want to be taking sugar, and that feeds, that’s what feeds the cancer cells.
Anyways, by activating the brown fat one of the fastest ways to activate our brown fat which is like the, it’s babies have, it gives us our big energy. By activating the brown fat within our body, it’s strictly, cold water is one of the fastest ways to turn that on within our body. A lot of this, a lot of us have that suppressed.
Well anyways, when you turn on the brown fat within our body, that just starts sucking up glucose. So they found it actually as a suppression, they were testing, they started in mice, and they tested mice and cold conditions and non cold conditions with cancer. They had like a 70, was like a 70% reduction in tumors in the cold mice, to the non and then they brought it into humans.
And they saw the very similar thing. And you know, and asterisk with this is that was with a sugar free diet.
So again, you know, it’s sucking up the glucose in the system, but you also don’t want to be putting sugar back into your body. So with that again, but that study just came out and they were like, we are actually at a spot where we would recommend this as a treatment for cancer. Like
Brett Gilliland 13:54
wow
Ryan Duey 13:54
that’s a, that’s a massive statement. So, you know, we all have cancerous cells in our body, it’s at what point is it become like a major impact in our body.
So I look at this as a great, like, it’s a great way of prevention in its own way. Whether you have cancer, you’re not like diagnosed with it or not. It’s a great way in our body to you know, have healthy, healthy, healthy cellular levels.
Brett Gilliland 14:14
Yeah.
Ryan Duey 14:20
like this isn’t really I mean the science there is science on this more that I can’t articulate as well. But it really just teaches us to be calm in stress.
You know that’s this is stress is, western world, we have a lot of stress. We have a lot of things coming into us and inputs. And you know, you’ve been in the cold plunge, you kind of said I’m not great at it, but it’s like, you do it you start to learn how to just okay, what,
I call it a jungle gym, or a gym, for your nervous system.
We go to the gym to get our muscles strong, when you get in a cold plunge to get your nervous system regulated, and learn how to control that and get back into more of a, you know, a homeostasis that between those what they call the parasympathetic and sympathetic systems.
Brett Gilliland 15:18
Which have been even the workout though, you talked about doing a 45 minute workout, you talked about reducing inflammation, I mean, it’s also going to speed up your recovery time, for sure. Right?
Ryan Duey 15:27
That that is massive. It’s funny, it’s like you just brought that up. And I wasn’t even thinking that that’s like, one of the biggest, I look at that, it’s probably the most like known, but I almost put it down is like six or seven, like you’re gonna get you’re gonna get these muscle recoveries, you’re gonna get the, the, you know, inflammatory reduction.
It is, there is an interesting conversation here, though, of like, people cold plunging. Like, do you do this right after your workout?
And I think that’s, that’s an interesting, it’s kind of the one subject matter, it’s a little debatable right now of like, do you do it right after because you do want that inflammatory response, after lifting weights, you want your muscles to have a reaction to that.
It’s kind of what you’re doing, you’re tearing them down, and then they grow back stronger. So there is this talk that getting in cold water immediately after, could reduce that could recruit, reduce some of the gains that are out there.
So anyone listening, if you’re like, super into working out, like strength gains, I would, you know, try and go maybe two hours after a workout,
Brett Gilliland 16:25
okay,
Ryan Duey 16:25
and then do a cold plunge.
And my caveat with that, and I would put myself in this category I like, like to work out. I’m a kind of, you know, self proclaimed athlete, but not training for anything special.
My goal is to get up and work out again tomorrow. So, you know, I’m not as concerned of maximizing every day, and I want to feel good, yes, I want to build strength. But I also want to recover and be ready for tomorrow. So that’s not an area that I’m concerned. That’s more of like, let’s say bodybuilders, or maybe even pro athletes into what they’re trying to, I would say pro athletes not in season. I don’t think it’s as big of a deal but pro athletes out of season. They’re trying to maximize. They want, I dont know, want to put in a couple hours between a workout in cold plunge.
Brett Gilliland 17:07
Yeah. So what do you think about from a cold therapy versus heat therapy? You know, like, I’m a I have an infrared sauna in my home. I believe in it. I love it. I sweat. It’s it feels great. I mean, what do you what do you like between the cold versus the hot therapy?
Ryan Duey 17:24
I love I love them both. You know, I’m not an expert in the heat side of it, of what it’s exactly doing to the body. I mean, there’s just the actual what I love about heat, is I love doing, like, we now have a salt.
We have a sauna, at our facility here at headquarters, and it’s become this like ritual, everyone to get off work. And everyone gets in the sun. It’s like the greatest thing like sitting there and you’re sweating. And it’s like, you have really good talk.
So it’s like,
Brett Gilliland 17:53
yeah!
Ryan Duey 17:53
outside of the science and actually what it’s doing, I think it’s a great community piece to like, go and do a sauna with someone, invite a friend over and connect that way. I mean, heat. Yeah, there’s the, if you’re going to mix them both, that’s a, that’s like a very active recovery day. So, I would like anyone that’s like doing cold plunging and saunas, or just even, that’s still a big metabolic process on your body.
Like your body is going through kind of a intensity. So I want people to know, it’s like, that’s a calorie crunch. That’s like, that’s a there’s an intensity to that. So it’s a great way to do it on a recovery day.
But I mean, I think he is you know, there’s there’s a plethora of benefits. I think Rob Patrick’s probably the leader in that space. Yeah,
Brett Gilliland 18:44
yeah, I did cryotherapy for the first time about two weeks ago. And man, I mean, that was like, I did it for, I can’t remember was it three minutes, maybe, I think was three minutes. I thought I was gonna die the first minute, you know. I’m like, literally and then I get out three minutes later, I had to walk down these stairs, my legs wouldn’t bend.
But again, that same euphoric feeling, kind of came about the after that. So I went from there, straight to a stream, steam room straight to a sauna.
And it was a phenomenal recovery day. My wife and I did it together on her anniversary, and it’s kind of like a little Day-date. And it was incredible. So same kind of thing with cryotherapy.
Ryan Duey 19:23
You had to fill so, I mean, I love steam after cold.
Brett Gilliland 19:26
Yeah,
Ryan Duey 19:26
steamer after the cold is justice, like magical.
Brett Gilliland 19:30
no, it
was man. We like had lunch. So again, a crowd therapy steam rooms and an infrared sauna. And then we did this launch at this place we’re at I’m like, oh my god, this is unbelievable. This feels, you know? Then eat healthy. I’m like, I’m feeling good about myself.
But we can talk about this stuff all day, man and I, on my research, you know, I saw that you called a head on motorcycle accident, your greatest gift. Talk about that man.
Ryan Duey 19:56
Yeah, it’s , I had that about 10 years ago. It’ll be 10 years this December 30. I was out in Thailand, was out traveling with a buddy, head on collision two nights before, the night before New Year’s Eve. We ended up spending about three weeks out in a Thai hospital with the kind of reconstructive jaw surgery, a pretty big concussion, had amongst other injuries.
And anyways, it was, it was just one of those moments that like as soon as it soon as I came back,
Brett Gilliland 20:30
yeah
Ryan Duey 20:31
to like, from my concussion that night. I remember turning to my buddy I was like, is the best thing I needed.
And it was just one of those moments of like, I don’t really know why I said that at that time. But I sensed that this was going to be this major opportunity to, you know, just go to like a deeper look into my life, what do I want out of life, like kind of, wasn’t in a bad place, I enjoyed my work that I was doing.
I like, I was happy with who I was as a person. But it just accelerated some things that I wanted to do in life that were kind of set off into the future. And it just it shook me and put me on a, on a course that was kind of where my life’s at today.
Brett Gilliland 21:10
And so, you know, I’m saying, quote unquote, normal job. I think you’d agree me now as an entrepreneur, as a founder of a company, it’s a little bit not normal, right? It’s not your go to work at eight and get off at five and go home and not think about it.
You think about it. 24/7 365.
And so was that a catalyst for you to start these things like you’re the founder of capital floats, which again, we didn’t even talk about, but as the floating you know, you’re sitting in a in a pod, it’s got the, and you would explain it better than I.
But you’ve started that and then you were the co founder of Plunge, for these cold plunges. And so is, was that the journey? That thing that made you go do that? Or what was it?
Ryan Duey 21:47
Totally, it was, it, I worked for. I worked for the San Jose Earthquakes and professional soccer cool gig. Just kind of a middle management position there. I loved it. I really enjoyed it.
Anyways, I came out, I had really wanted to go down to the jungles of Peru. This was like this big adventure that I had wanted to do to actually sit and work with Ayahuasca’s psychedelic medicine, that’s probably been heard of these days, a little more common, but back then it was a very, very kind of taboo, like not many people were talking about it, it was really weird.
I could it, was really uncomfortable, even bring it up to a lot of people in my circle. Anyways, this that was an experience that I had really been wanting to do. But I just like, Oh, you’ll do that later in life. And anyways, this accident was like, No, you’re gonna go do that, like that was it. And I started to a float tank to kind of heal my body from some of the injuries that I had faced from that accident, when I got back to the US.
Like they had to kind of work through that to go into my recovery mode. So I started floating, but I was also going to float for more of an introspection, kind of connect to myself, like I’m gonna go down to the jungle, do this very kind of like intrapersonal work down there. And I was like, I need to spend some time in a float tank.
And so that was the start. And then very quickly, in the float tank, it was like, Oh, my God, like I love being around this facility. And this environment. It started less as like a, like a great, awesome business idea and more of, I would just love to create this environment and be in it all the time and be around these people. I really was like, I wanted to build this community.
And so that was that, you know, very early doing that it came to me I wanted to start this company, but I didn’t I didn’t I didn’t act on it for about a year and a half I went down to the jungle, had a, you know, to say the least, mind blowing experience and just really learned a lot about myself and you know, coming back and yeah, I thought I was gonna go down there quit my job and go start a float center.
Well, I got down to the jungle and it was like, no, no, you got, your job is the least of our worries right now we’re going to do some other things to work on.
So anyways, I came back, stuck around with the quakes are about and then I started cap float, six months later moved to Sacramento. And that was kind of the beginning of the entrepreneurial journey.
And that that was that was a crazy road because that’s how I met Mike. Mike’s the co founder with me on plunge. He’s the inventor of the product. He owns reboot float & cryo, and he has a very similar story.
It’s very wild. And, you know, he opened exactly one year before me in the Bay Area. And I was in Sacramento, we just became these float brothers, like, you know, not many floats around and we start hanging out and then we become best buds.
And then he just happened to move to Sacramento in April of 2020. And he starts like, you know, we got some time businesses are shut down, this is California. It’s like, you know, this is
Brett Gilliland 24:41
right,
Ryan Duey 24:42
close your doors, like everyone go home. And so, you know, he started setting out building this product. He’s a world class engineer and starts, you know, building this product in the garage and, you know, so it’s definitely like, this whole journey of like, you talked about that accident.
Taking it back there, It was, it was definitely, it’s just interesting how these experiences can you have no clue how it’s gonna play out? Right? But you, you make these declarations, you make these commitments that and just changed the whole trajectory.
And I sit here now and it still blows me away sharing the story of like, Wow, all the kinds of synchronistic things that happened along the way.
Brett Gilliland 25:20
Yeah, but don’t you think you also gotta be kind of be mindful and paying attention and be willing to take the risk? Because I would assume it would be easier to stay with the soccer team, get a normal job, get a normal paycheck every two weeks, probably some health insurance, probably a 401k.
But to trust your gut, leave that go to the uncertain and build something and maybe it works. Maybe you sell a ton of it. Maybe you don’t.
Ryan Duey 25:45
I agree. I think the first ones the hardest, like when you when you don’t know what’s on the other side, I think that but as I’ve gone, to me, it’s a bigger risk to not do the thing.
Like you know what you’re getting right now. Like, I know what my life is right now. Like, right. So that’s kind of what I’ve, I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve learned. But yes, I think there is.
I think it’s really difficult, you know, you know, you could be in a job you make 100k. And it’s like, you got health insurance. It’s like, Man, that’s a good life. That is that and there’s nothing wrong, like, you know, that’s great if you’re, if that works, and there’s there but there’s always sometimes people with that other edge of like, but it’s scary when you kind of have those, you know, it’s things are comfortable and things are stable.
But I you know, I think as I’ve gone it’s like that’s such a, it’s such, that’s just not true. Like there’s you know, like, we adapt to the next thing it doesn’t, you don’t just go here then 10 steps down the road. You just take the next step of the direction you want to go and life will, you’ll adapt. We all adapted what we’re really good at as humans.
Brett Gilliland 26:50
That’s right. Yeah, we are we are but I’m going to be cold plunging tonight.
Speaking of soccer. I’m going to, St. Louis has an MLS team starting in here and next season and so they have a first game ever, their MLS St. Louis City II, like, I guess I call it their minor league team is playing tonight. So, it’ll be about 29 degrees at about game time. And it’ll be outdoors, nice and cold plungey for about an hour and a half, two hours tonight. But
Ryan Duey 27:15
that’ll be great. I’m excited for that club to go out there. I mean, the stadium looks incredible.
Brett Gilliland 27:20
Yeah!
Ryan Duey 27:20
I think it’s, you know, well, well funded team looks like it’s coming together. Well. I’m impressed with what they’re doing.
Brett Gilliland 27:27
Yeah, we’re excited. So your mission is to make cold plunging as common as coffee. I read that, I love that, you know, my mission is you can see on my microphone, the future greater than your past.
That’s what I want to wake up and do every single day is help people have a future greater than their past. I think that’s what you’re doing through cold plunge.
But your mission is to make cold plunging as common as coffee. How are you doing that? So let’s kind of get in the weeds a bit from the business standpoint. If I follow you around from a business standpoint, what am I seeing you do day in and day out to follow your mission?
Ryan Duey 27:59
Yeah, I mean, more you ask him personally, or more from a company level?
Brett Gilliland 28:04
I think I mean, I kind of it for me, I see it both right, you are the person that’s in the company, obviously, there’s people around you, there’s team, there’s employees, but you’ve got to do something to drive business every day and drive the mission of cold plunging as common as coffee.
Ryan Duey 28:20
I think I think from a real practical company level, we’ve really tried to find partners that are aligned with our mission and values.
So you know, when I say that, it’s like influencers? Like who are the people out there that we think are putting really good content out there that are impacting people they’re connected to?
And I think we’ve done, we’ve done well. And that’s just a big part of what we do. Like how do we get how do we tell a story?
I think that’s, that’s the other piece to it is like, we are shifting a bit as a company like everything, everything’s very focused on the two to three minute punch experience. It’s cool, it looks good. It’s it’s it works and but we’re really focused on like, Why do you cold plunge?
Like, what? Why would you get in that bath and feel uncomfortable for three minutes? And it’s like, well, maybe you want more energy with your kids. Maybe you want to be a better father, maybe you want to, you know, you know more intimacy with your wife. So testosterone, like all it’s like, what are the stories we’re trying to tell?
Like, maybe you have, mental anxiety is a massive thing. You know, we just did a piece with a woman that got off prescription medication, and because she just she wanted to and she started plunging and she plunges two times a day. And this is what she does.
And so it’s like,
Brett Gilliland 29:33
Wow, that’s incredible.
Ryan Duey 29:34
Really. It’s incredible. So it’s, you know, I think for us, like what are we doing day out? We’re trying to tell the story of how we’re still in this realm of education, and it is still such a blue ocean, like yes, people have heard about it, but most people don’t have cold plunges. I mean, not even most like almost every single person.
Brett Gilliland 29:51
You’re absolutely right. I mean, it’s very, very few right? And I feel like I’m in this world where I see that and I don’t really know anybody that has one. But I’m hearing more in the last even six months of the normal person talking about cold plunging that you didn’t hear a year ago or two years ago.
Ryan Duey 30:08
And I think that’s where it’s going. It’s obviously a bigger purchase, it’s not something you just would add, you know, like, on a whim, you’d go purchase it. So, you know, people need to be sold, like, why am I actually going to use this? Like, is this really worth $5,000 to go impact my life?
And what’s really cool is like, we get people that purchase. And yes, that is a big purchase you save for it, or whatever it is to you in your life. It’s rare, I mean, almost non existent where that is. It’s like, we get the we get the testimonies of like, I can’t believe I didn’t do this sooner. I can’t believe I did, I was questioning this.
Like, like, the stories are, and that’s what fuels me. I mean, every day, it’s like, you know, running a business. You know, it’s like, there’s challenges. There’s all sorts of things that come and then, you know, I go check our reviews. Literally, that’s what I do. And it’s like, okay, this is cool. This is why we got into this. Yeah.
Brett Gilliland 31:06
What’s your favorite story? Any of them come off top of mind, or maybe some recent ones? It was like kind of a mind blower for you?
Ryan Duey 31:13
Jeez. Um, well, there’s one cool one we had. I mean, I think of we hired this guy recently.
His name’s Michael, he’s to come onto our team really recent. Anyways, he has multiple sclerosis and he has MS.
So he, major autoimmune disorder. And he started cold punching has completely got it under control. Come to find out he’s locally with us. He was like blown away that the company was in his backyard, he got a job with us. He’s been on with a couple months. And he’s like a rock star.
And it’s like this. And he’s like, on a mission of his life. And it’s like, to me, that’s just one of the coolest. It’s just, I see it every day. I see him in here every day. You know, I did that cancer post, I did that thing on Instagram at a number of people make comments on there of like, like, it was almost like we’ve been doing this, like not knowing, like we’ve been getting in cold water and my cancers went into remission.
Like that was a cool one, we had a guy. You know, we’ve had a number of like, COVID, long haulers that like really are struggling, like really having some long term issues, like, you know, no medication, in studies, they’ve come out of it into, you know, I’ve never just having my cold plunge for the short window of time, I’ve seen these results that I hadn’t, I hadn’t gotten from my whoop scores, my whoop scores are now in the green.
You know that that’s a massive one.
We’re doing a study right now with about 30 people were getting all their levels tested prior and then they’re plunging for 90 straight days. And then they’re getting every, all their bloodwork done again.
We’re just starting to get some some of the first group coming through. So we’ll have more of a release of what’s going on there. But life changing, like life changing testimonies of what these people are sharing of, you know, things that are happening for them, but I mean,
Brett Gilliland 33:15
like not much other stuff, changing their life, like literally, they’re eating the same, they’re exercising the same, they’re drinking alcohol the same or coffee the same, whatever, right? They’re doing all that and just this one addition, is life changing.
Ryan Duey 33:26
And it’s one of those that cause, it’s a ripple, you know, it’s like plunging the great way. It doesn’t have to be the ultimate, you’re so far down your fitness journey, and now you start cold plunging, like cold plunging could be one of the first things in your fitness journey, and it could actually accelerate all your other stuff that you’re working on.
You know, it’s great for metabolism and fat loss. You know, and it just, you Your days are different when you cold plunge so it’s going to set you want a little different trajectory of maybe saying no to the thing that you’ve been struggling with or you know, it’s not a cure all.
Definitely don’t want to sell is as that but it does, It is, yes, it is a great I’d see it as you know, the story I want to tell is like this is a great starting point for people on a fitness journey.
Not someone that’s already kicking ass on on fitness.
Brett Gilliland 34:17
Yeah
yeah, so last few questions here. And you know, so if I followed Ryan Dewey around what am I seeing on your habits from a personal development side?
From a maybe a personal growth side like personal development, but also exercise and business habits?
What am I seeing kind of no-miss items that happen every day for you?
Ryan Duey 34:38
Yeah, I think it’s cold plunging. I have a trainer that has been a huge hack for me, grateful I can do it. I have a trainer that shows up in my house every morning now. So, that’s been like, first thing in the morning, I have that.
Brett Gilliland 34:50
And then you
get a different plan for – You’re gonna do this way, you’re gonna do this cardio thing, you’re gonna do that movement type deal.
Ryan Duey 34:56
Yep, he rocks it for me and you know, it’s one of those Uh, I always feel like we have so much brain power a day. And I like to put it all to plunge and you know, to some of my personal life and weights is something that’s like I just show up and he puts me through it and I do my workout. So that’s a that’s a key, key piece to me. You know and then
Brett Gilliland 35:20
sorry to interupt, but that allows you, you believe, that the plunge and then you’re working out, that allows you to be a better, you know, founder of a company and a better leader, a better whatever in your personal life.
Ryan Duey 35:31
Totally. It’s one of those it’s just those wins. You know, mornings are such a crucial time. I kind of can slug around in the mornings mornings can be tough for me.
Well, it’s just like, I’m accelerated, I’m accountable, I have a trainer that’s there I got to get out of bed. The plunge, you know, three minutes in there boom, I’m ready to go like. So, that, those two things are essential.
You know, business like groups I just joined like an executive coaching group that was yeah, I’m really excited on and kind of some other founders in E-comm, health and wellness space.
So that’s kind of a spot for me. Mike and I really work hand, you know, it’s nice to have a co founder so I could really bounce you know, we co CEO, the company so bounce a lot of stuff off of him.
And then yeah, I mean, outside of that, like the days can fluctuate you know, I’d say we’re looking at an actual calendar Tuesday, Wednesday. These days are packed, you know from basically 9am I don’t I don’t attribute, me, I don’t look at anything before nine, it’s like a big thing for me kind of like my time that I work and then.
But nine, to nine to five is I’m locked in and then I like to leave like Mondays and Fridays more for creative days. That’s what I’m working more on the storytelling I’m talking about partnership conversations. So it’s kind of how the current flow of the week is and I’m always adapting and trying to try to evolve it a bit more
Brett Gilliland 37:01
Yeah, that’s awesome man so what our listeners find more of you where our listeners find more of your your your company, Plunge, where can we find that?
Ryan Duey 37:10
Yeah Plunge, just type in Cold Plunge, we should show up but thecoldplunge.com is the is the domain. We’re on Instagram as the cold or just typing cold plunge will pop up. I mean, anywhere you type in cold plunge we should show up.
t’s an interesting thing the company’s called plunge we’re actually going through a bit of a rebrand right now to kind of really bring clarity on that because we’ve been cut, you know, it’s like a cold plunge, cold plunge or plunge so company name Plunge but typing cold plunge we’ll show up.
And then you know, we have for me personally, Ryan, Ryan Duey on Instagram. It’s k ind of where I’m most active have a podcast called the journey with Ryan Duey. So that’s, that’s going, you can find that on, you know, Spotify, Apple, wherever that’s at. So yeah, those are the spots and yeah,
Brett Gilliland 38:02
I love it, man. So last question for you got this person listening right now. They need a little pep talk, then they need a pep talk, man, they need the locker room speech, they need to get fired up to go out for the second half of their life.
What do you tell them? That person that you maybe you wish you knew 10 years ago? What advice are you telling them on how to bet on themselves? And in areas like that?
Ryan Duey 38:24
I mean, I’m going to talk to myself right now. It’s like, you know, what are you waiting for, like, whatever the thing is that you even think you want to go do like, literally this could end tomorrow, like it, it could end tomorrow, and any it’s all gone.
And whatever you think you have to lose, it’s never it’s never quite what you think like, you know, if you got a family, you got to like, the biggest thing with struggle is if your kids didn’t see you go after something like that’s something I always think about, like with my family that I grew up in.
And the last piece that I say to anyone that like is questioning like, do I know enough? Am I there? Do it!
It’s like having been talking to some very high level. It’s like nobody knows what the hell’s going on. Like, and, you’re, everyone’s just figuring out the person you admire, the person you think has it all figured out.
They’re just figuring it out as they go. Like, they might think they have this incredible plan but nobody actually knows what’s going on. And anyone that thinks they have the best plan. They’re just adapting as they go.
So I say that more is an encouragement to not get like caught up into this perfectionism place like that’s just the game you’re gonna go figure it out. You can go figure it out!
Brett Gilliland 39:39
Amen, brother. Amen to that well Ryan It’s been awesome having you on the circuit of success podcast man and if you’re ever in the St. Louis area stop by we’ll take the cold plunge
Ryan Duey 39:49
I should be out there
Brett Gilliland 39:50
when?
Ryan Duey 39:51
I’m gonna be actually be out there next weekend. That’s crazy.
Brett Gilliland 39:55
Well, you look me up, man. Let’s connect. Well, after we record here, we’ll connect here for a minute but man has been awesome.
Having you on the Circuit of Success brother
Ryan Duey 40:02
Awesome man appreciate it!
Brett Gilliland 40:12
*Outro*
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