Although he says on his website that he puts on a bit of weight before Arctic and Antarctic swims, he doesn't look like he has very much of an insulating layer. He makes the comment that "you don't see skinny animals swimming in the Arctic", citing polar bears and seals.

My coldest swim (1 mile across Huntington Lake in the Sierra, wearing a Speedo, but no goggles) was at a measured 57°F. I felt really cold for the first quarter mile, then comfortable to a bit past the half-mile mark, and actually quite warm for the last half - no “anticipatory thermogenises” for me.

I wonder what the antenna and other gear he had on his upper torso was - remote temperature and heart rate monitoring instrumentation?

As my preschooler said when he saw the picture up top, "hey, that looks chilly!"

Here are two other articles about Pugh's anticipatory thermogenises:

"He goes with the floe" in 2005 Times Online:
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/body_and_soul/article591334.ece (why on earth is this in the women's style section?)

"What It Takes: Lewis Gordon Pugh" in National Geographic Adventure:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0605/whats_new/lewis_gordon_pugh.html

Isn't this about the same thing the Tibeten Monks are able to do?

I will try to find a link with some info as I am not informed on the subject, but I saw a program that showed the Monks doing something similar.

Here:http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=technology&res=9E06E1DD123BF93AA35751C0A964948260

I'd forgotten about that. Thanks for reminding us, Trouthunter.

The interesting difference (from my lay person's perspective), is that Pugh can actually raise his core body temperature, versus "just" his surface temperature. Though I'd be at a loss for doing either.

Either way, the ability to raise your temp through mental exercises and preparation alone is very interesting to me, a perpetually cold person.