WILD WILD WEST

Bear-hugging somebody you’ve never met is not natural, regardless of social-distancing rules. Certainly not in a city like London, where you don’t even make eye contact with strangers. Yet, a little while before lockdown, Tony Riddle, also known as “the Natural Life-Stylist”, greets me openarmed outside Highgate Men’s Pond. The rising sun is glinting orange off the frost-covered grass. I’m glad of the body heat.

I’m no stranger to ice baths and cryotherapy, which have become cool in fitness circles. Still, I’m apprehensive. The regulars at the Pond are doubtless bemused by the sight of us sitting in the open-air changing area, inhaling and exhaling in time with a meditation app in order to “down-regulate” our systems.

I can’t help but notice that Riddle is in terrific nick for a 45-year-old. In September 2019, to raise money for green causes, he ran the length of the UK in 30 days, which is equivalent to more than a marathon per day. And he did it barefoot. Despite running on tarmac – and once, glass fragments – his feet, which went up two sizes from hypertrophy, are remarkably smooth.

Under Riddle’s instruction, I descend the ladder into the chilly water until all but my head is submerged, suppressing my gasps by following the breathing pattern that we practised. This is what Riddle calls a “micro-hit of adversity”, and its aim is to rebalance my disproportionate response to perceived threats, such as an impending work deadline, or the prospect of an icy dip – which, after the initial