About Gaétan Loubrieu — Certified Wim Hof Method Instructor

My name is Gaétan, I’m from France, and I’ve been living in Estonia for four years now. Since I was very little, I’ve been passionate about sport of any kind — basketball above all, which I’ve played in competition for 25 years. As a kid, my dream was to become a professional player. But as a teenager, when I started testing for a higher level, the coaches would say I was “not strong enough,” “too skinny,” “not athletic enough.” What they couldn’t see was the one quality I did have: consistency and perseverance.

Because of those words, I unconsciously followed the safest path — studying. I graduated from an engineering school in France and started working as a construction site manager, building the new metro station in Paris. I loved the job, but it was too much stress, too many responsibilities, too many hours. Living and working in Paris, it felt like I could never give a rest to my body or my mind.

My very first contact with the cold went back earlier, to my Erasmus in Poland, during a trip to Lapland — going back and forth between the sauna and the freezing water. Stepping into that ice-cold water, I felt something very unique: a mix of fear, power, and calm. I didn’t fully understand it then, but afterward I felt incredibly good. I think that’s what planted a seed inside me.

That seed grew when my partner and I moved to Tallinn. Everything felt slower. I spent more time in nature, more time with myself — and as if by magic, right when we arrived, a friend told me about the Wim Hof Method. I started simple: cold showers, breathing. It unlocked a door. Little by little, it brought me energy, calm, confidence, better sleep, a stronger immune system. It helped me transform stress into strength, and disconnection into connection.