Bristol Bears stars' ice baths to help men's health

Two Bristol Bears rugby players have teamed up with a local men's group to help promote good mental health.

Teammates Harry Thacker and Jake Woolmore run a small business offering saunas and ice baths at Leigh Court near Bristol.

They have started working with Ice Breakers, a group which specialises in using cold water to support men and improve their mental and physical wellbeing.

The front row pairing said they had long been aware of the benefits of putting the body through the extremes of hot and cold temperatures.

"Physically we've used saunas and ice baths through our career, but as time goes on and as you get a little bit older and life gets on top of you we're always trying to get our mental state a little bit better," said Mr Woolmore.

Mr Thacker added: "With sport we just use it purely for recovery, but when you get a bit older you find value in switching off for 10 or 15 minutes - just being in your own thoughts."

Josh Abbot runs the Bristol Ice Breakers group, which meets every Sunday morning for a cold water swim at Conham River Park at Hanham regardless of the weather.

"We look forward to the colder, wetter days, you get more of a pay-off then," said Mr Abbot.

"It's an ego-free zone. There's no amount of time you have to be in the water – you go in for as long as you want."

Mr Woolmore felt that their firm Sivo Wellness could work well together with the men's health group.

He said: "We got in touch with the Icebreakers community and the wonderful things they're doing - like getting people together talking around mental health - the values are very similar to what we wanted to do."

"Men don't traditionally talk as much as women," added Mr Thacker. "Even just getting out and sitting with a group of lads around the fire after an ice bath, that's enough for some people.

"Other times, it just naturally flows into something else – you just get to know people on a deeper level."

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