Nipple stickers at the ready, we try Hong Kong’s first cryosauna – at minus 130 Celsius

Wearing only gloves, socks, diving boots, disposable underwear and nipple stickers, to say I was underdressed for the cold would be an understatement. Especially since it was not 13 degrees Celsius or even minus 13 degrees, but minus 130 degrees – colder than anywhere else on Earth.

In a room in Causeway Bay, as the blazing sun cooks the streets below, my teeth chatter and my body shivers furiously. Three minutes seem to crawl by in the cryosauna. My mind is as foggy as the room, which is becoming clouded by nitrogen fumes from the cryosauna chamber.

Having destroyed my legs in a challenging trail running race the day before, I am curious to see if whole body cryotherapy lives up to its promise of reducing post-exercise soreness and speeding up recovery.

Cryotherapy has been a growing trend in the United States and Europe in the last few years and was introduced in Hong Kong a month ago by new local company Polaris Wellness. Most recently it made headlines as the possible “secret” to Leicester City’s English Premier League success.

Many other international sports stars, such as Floyd Mayweather Jnr, Michael Phelps and LeBron James have also used the technology to keep in peak shape. In Hong Kong, Polaris has had runners, swimmers, rugby players, crossfitters and mixed martial artists try out its sleek, white, 2,000 sq ft facility on the 10th floor of Lee Theatre Plaza.