Married couple brave freezing ice baths to break world record together
An ambitious couple braved icy temperatures to break a record together in an ice bath.
Steven Kittirath (France) interviewed his wife Chloé Frammery (Switzerland) as they sat submerged in freezing water for 21 min 33 sec in order to make their mark on history.
The teeth-chattering chat in Commugny, Switzerland, on 12 October last year was officially the longest interview in an ice bath.
And it did so much more than bring the couple a world record title, it also brought them even closer together.
Steven, 39, is an independent videographer, speaker, athlete, and explorer who runs a YouTube channel where he interviews extraordinary people, including Guinness World Records title holders.
Bringing things a little closer to home, he decided to interview Chloé, 51, about her new book.
The mathematician, mathematics teacher, speaker, and author is the first to admit she runs cold, even joking she was basically one of the ice cubes keeping her bath freezing.
But she took the plunge to tell her husband all about her first ever book La Suisse au Coeur, which translates to Switzerland at Heart.
Steven said: “I asked her about how she wrote the book: why she chose that title, how long the writing process took, what advice she would give to aspiring authors, the main challenges she faced, and the different emotions she went through in order to complete it.
“As neither of us is particularly fond of the cold, this experience was also a way for us to get to know each other better and to go beyond our fears and preconceptions.”
Steven dreamed of breaking a world record in the field of interviewing, but levelled up the challenge by dunking himself and his interview subject in ice baths, despite it being something he and Chloé were totally unfamiliar with.
He said: “This was completely new for both of us. Since we are not fans of the cold, we used this experience as a way to better understand ourselves and to push beyond our own limits.
“To prepare, we regularly took cold showers during the 10 months leading up to the record attempt, in order to condition our bodies. We also discovered the physical and mental health benefits of this practice.
“I would especially like to congratulate my wife, who is very sensitive to the cold and showed incredible courage.”
He added: “The hardest part was undressing outdoors in the cold and entering 14-degree water, with gloomy weather and during an uninviting season.
“For Chloé, the challenge was continuing to speak without her teeth chattering. For me, it was staying in the cold water without speaking while Chloé answered my questions, especially since one of the witnesses added four or five extra ice packs to my bath to ensure the water temperature did not exceed the required 15 degrees.”
Steven initially planned to go for 17 minutes in order to surpass the minimum time required to set the record, but Chloé encouraged him to keep going for over 20 minutes.
“We were very proud of ourselves and deeply moved to have accomplished this together, as a couple,” Steven said.
In the last couple of days, Steven and Chloé have been in Paris attempting another world record.
They say they’re very grateful to everyone who’s helped them in their record-breaking endeavours so far and they look forward to taking on more challenges together.