After years of building and running successful marketing companies—including co-founding First 10 and Smart Insights—I hit a wall. Burnout had crept in, and I needed a reset. That’s when I discovered ice baths and experienced firsthand their incredible ability to heal and restore.
During that time, every plunge into my self-made chest freezer in my garage brought clarity. I knew I needed a change. Eventually, I made the difficult decision to step into something new.
I also realised that while cold therapy was incredibly effective, it wasn’t easily accessible. People didn’t have a simple way to experience its benefits whenever they needed it. That’s when the idea took shape: a way to bring this powerful tool into everyday life.
That was the turning point. My own experience with burnout, my passion for cold exposure, and a drive to make it available to more people all came together—leading me, alongside my brother Dale and Chris Soame, my business partner from the agency days, to create Brass Monkey.
Tell us about the business – what it is, what it aims to achieve, who you work with, how you reach customers and so on?
Brass Monkey, at its core, is about democratising access to the transformative power of cold therapy. We're building the most powerful and intelligent ice baths on the market, designed to bring the benefits of cold exposure into people's homes, as well as gyms and spas. It's more than just a product; it's a tool for enhancing both physical and emotional well-being. We aim to empower individuals to take control of their health, manage stress effectively, and build resilience from the inside out.
Today, Brass Monkey is a multi-million pound company, and we're incredibly proud of the growth we've achieved. We've been fortunate enough to work with some incredible people, from sports clubs, with athletes like Cristiano Ronaldo to wellness advocates like Joe Wicks and entertainers like Shirley Ballas and Spencer Matthews. But our customer base extends far beyond celebrities. We're reaching everyday people who are seeking a natural and effective way to manage stress, improve their sleep, boost their mood, and enhance their overall well-being.
Reaching our customers is a multi-faceted approach. We leverage social media to connect with our audience, share educational content about cold therapy, and showcase the Brass Monkey experience. We also collaborate with influencers who align with our values and can authentically share their experiences with our ice baths. Of course, word-of-mouth has been a significant driver of our growth. People who experience the benefits of Brass Monkey often become our biggest advocates, sharing their stories with friends and family. We also have a strong online presence through our website, where customers can learn about our products, read testimonials, and make purchases.
How has the business evolved since its launch?
Upon launching in January 2021, Brass Monkey was a very personal project, something I started in my garage. I poured my experience in branding and marketing into this new venture, combining it with my commitment to my own health and well-being. I wanted to create something that wasn't just functional, but also beautiful, a premium product that people would be proud to have in their own space.
Ever since then, Brass Monkey has grown into what it is today: a leader in the ice bath industry, having enjoyed double-digit growth every year, to £5.5M turnover this year, selling products to numerous high-profile customers, including professional athletes and celebrities - ultimately redefining cold therapy with cutting-edge, patented technology.
Tell us about the working culture at Brass Monkey?
We have the idea (both for taking an ice bath, and for everyday life) that when we’re challenged, we’re changed. We’re always challenging ourselves to do more and be better. From product R&D through to sales and marketing, we want to be the brand that sets the pace and the standard for others to measure again.
How are you funded?
We self funded for the first 18 months between us, and then received a seven figure expansion investment from Pitalia Capital in April 2023.
What has been your biggest challenge so far and how have you overcome this?
Building Brass Monkey has been an incredible journey, filled with valuable lessons, significant achievements, and inevitable challenges. One of the most difficult hurdles we’ve faced stemmed from a sourcing decision made early on.
In the interest of efficiency, I chose to source a key component for our Barrel & Chiller product from an international third party. At the time, it seemed like a practical solution that would streamline production. However, the decision quickly proved to be a mistake. The component failed to meet our standards, leading to quality issues, inconsistencies, and unforeseen costs. Addressing the problem required a complete redesign and rebuild of a critical part of that product.
This experience reinforced a few crucial lessons: quality cannot be compromised and things are cheap for a reason. To maintain the highest standards, we needed full oversight of our processes. While a challenging setback, it ultimately strengthened our commitment to excellence and led to the development of an even better product.
How does Brass Monkey answer an unmet need?
Brass Monkey was created to address more than just a gap in the market—it was built to meet a fundamental, unmet need in modern wellness. In today’s fast-paced world, stress, overwhelm, and disconnection are common challenges, yet many wellness solutions focus solely on the body, neglecting the crucial role of the nervous system and, consequently, emotional well-being.
At Brass Monkey, we’re not just selling ice baths—we’re providing a powerful tool for nervous system regulation and a pathway to better emotional health. Cold therapy, when applied correctly, has been proven to support mental resilience, reduce stress, enhance recovery, and even improve mood. By calming the nervous system, regular cold immersion can help individuals better manage their emotions, fostering a greater sense of calm and control. Our patented ice creation technology takes this a step further, offering a controlled and consistent cold immersion experience at temperatures as low as 0°C (32°F).
By removing the barriers to effective cold therapy, Brass Monkey makes it easier than ever for people to integrate this powerful practice into their daily lives—supporting both body and mind, and crucially, fostering improved emotional well-being in a way that traditional wellness solutions often overlook.
What’s in store for the future?
The future for Brass Monkey is all about growth—both in expanding our reach and deepening our impact. Our products are not cheap, so we want to democratise access by growing in the commercial market. We’ve already made great progress in the commercial space, working with gyms, spas, and hotels to integrate ice baths into their offerings, and this is an area we’re excited to develop even further.
At the heart of everything we do is our mission to improve people’s health and fitness by making cold water immersion more accessible. We’re committed to bringing the benefits of ice bathing to more people nationwide, whether that’s through our home units or by partnering with businesses to create high-quality cold therapy experiences in shared spaces.
This next phase for Brass Monkey is about scale, but without ever compromising on quality or the experience. We’re continuously innovating to ensure that wherever someone encounters a Brass Monkey ice bath—at home, in a gym, or at a wellness retreat—they get the very best.
What one piece of advice would you give other founders or future founders?
Having a passion for something isn’t enough when things get hard. So know your “why”, what’s important about the idea, how might it change the world in its own way, and why will that matter to you specifically. When you know why, you're congruent and it’s not just work anymore.
And finally, a more personal question! What’s your daily routine and the rules you’re living by at the moment?
My daily routine is very simple. I exercise most days, stretch and of course ice bath most days. Sauna is important too and I love to combine with the cold several times per week. Time with family every day matters more than I ever realised, they are my biggest reason to take care of myself.
I’m 50 this year, and that’s been a scary thought, so I made a decision to make 2025 the year of stopping things that don’t serve me. Because I have a clear “why,” I’ve found it fairly easy so far to stop alcohol and sugar, two things that cause havoc on the body. I see that continuing now.
Danyl Bosomworth is the founder of Brass Monkey.
