Ice baths and no food on weekends: Twitter CEO reveals extreme rituals
Billionaire entrepreneurs are sometimes known for their eccentric lifestyles, but Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s is being ridiculed on his own platform.
The 42-year-old’s daily rituals are extreme even by the standards of Silicon Valley.
Dorsey only eats one meal a day, avoids food almost entirely at the weekends and once avoided eye contact for ten days straight while on holiday.
He starts his day with a 5am ice bath, telling the Ben Greenfield Fitness podcast: “I feel like if I can will myself to do that thing that seems so small but hurts so much, I can do nearly anything.”
The extreme rituals are carried out in an attempt to improve Mr Dorsey’s mental “wellness”.
“Nothing has given me more mental confidence than being able to go straight from room temperature into the cold,” he added.
If he’s not satisfied the freezing cold bath has tested his endurance enough he sometimes alternates between three-minute cold dips and 15-minute sessions in a sauna at a scorching 104C.
Once he has finished his extreme wash, he skips breakfast entirely and meditates for an hour instead.
Dorsey criticised over eating habits
The tech boss eats one meal a day, which usually consists of a “really big” plate of fish, chicken or steak with salad, spinach or brussels sprouts.
On weekends he subjects himself to even more intense fasting.
“I won’t have dinner on Friday. I won’t have dinner or any meal on Saturday. And the first time I’ll eat will be Sunday evening,” he told the podcast.
If he sticks to this routine, it would mean he only eats five meals a week.
Those on Twitter have accused him of promoting an unhealthy diet and normalising eating disorders.
Eating disorder expert and executive director at the Eating Recovery Centre in the US state of Texas, Allison Chase, told the HuffPost severely restricted diets could easily spiral into an eating disorder.
I did my meditation at Dhamma Mahimã in Pyin Oo Lwin. This is my room. Basic. During the 10 days: no devices, reading, writing, physical excercise, music, intoxicants, meat, talking, or even eye contact with others. It’s free: everything is given to meditators by charity. pic.twitter.com/OhJqXKInD3
— jack (@jack) December 9, 2018
“Labelling such behaviours as ‘wellness’ gives the false notion that it’s a healthy lifestyle, which it’s not, and can encourage others to follow suit,” she said.
“This can be especially detrimental to those who are battling, in recovery from or predisposed to an eating disorder.”
Mr Dorsey’s intense lifestyle doesn’t stop when he’s on holiday.
During a trip to Burma last year to celebrate his birthday he said he went 10 days without some of life’s greatest pleasures.
“During the ten days: no devices, reading, writing, physical exercise, music, intoxicants, meat, talking, or even eye contact with others. It’s free: everything is given to meditators by charity,” he tweeted.
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