I am a master engineer, a former highly performing C-level Executive who has operated in various innovative High Tech companies. Some as an employee, top manager, and for others as a founder or co-founder, most often acting at a strategic level, accustomed to Executive Committees, Boards of Directors, and other acronyms reserved for “C-level.”
Add to that a background as a highly competitive athlete, driven by competition, a certain level of cognitive and physical hyperactivity, and you get the stereotype of the egocentric white man, thriving successfully in a society where he is widely favored.
So, like any good A-Player, director, C-level executive (or simply boss), I was galvanized by stress, a source of challenge and self-improvement. To the point where I fell into acute and recurrent stress that slowly cooked me, like the fable of the frog boiling in a pot, unable to escape when it realizes the water is too hot. The consequences on my performance, health, and body were severe, and the fall was devastating.
Like others before me, the cold saved me! Deliberate Cold exposure, hormetic breathing, and a long personal introspection, sprinkled with numerous philosophical readings.
So, I experienced daily stress firsthand and paid a heavy price after nearly 15 years of a frantic pace. Despite regularly achieving success, I almost couldn’t enjoy it due to health reasons.
Unfortunately, I am far from being alone in this situation, and that is why Captain Givré was born.
Neither a coach nor a guru nor a lecturer, I am simply the captain of my own ship, which I trained with a frosty discipline toward the path of resilience against the stresses of modern life. I continue my journey with daily ice baths.
