A dad-of-two who blew nearly £3,000 a month on cocaine, booze and gambling has revealed how he swapped his destructive habits for a new obsession – plunging into freezing ice baths.
Harry Beattie spent more than a decade hooked on drink and drugs, wasting around £80 a day on cocaine, £20 on alcohol and thousands more on gambling binges.
At his worst, he once deposited over £6,000 during a six-day binge, wagering a staggering £154,000 in less than a week.
The 33-year-old’s life spiralled as his addictions wrecked his relationships, career and health.
“I lost my business, subsequent jobs and was unable to obtain employment due to my addiction,” he told Need To Know.
“It got so bad that I would sometimes be crying in pain, trying to snort more drugs, but being unable to do so due to the damage in my nose.
“The smallest things would trigger me to react in ways I’m not proud of.
“I found the only way I was calm was when I was using – and the only time I was happy was when I knew I was on the way to meet a dealer.
“I would sometimes use it for three to four days at a time with no food, water or sleep – causing me to have hallucinations, dark thoughts and erratic behaviour.”
Harry’s addiction became so bad that he lost contact with most of his family, didn’t see his son for five years, ran his own glazing firm into the ground and blew through countless jobs – often using until 4 am before clocking in.
At his lowest, Harry, of Waterlooville, near Portsmouth, was unemployed, spending his entire Universal Credit on drugs and racking up rent arrears.
He said: “I often woke up feeling depressed, anxious, emotionally dysregulated and very angry as I probably would have used cocaine and alcohol the night before.
“I would look at my phone to see a host of unpleasant messages from drug dealers, family, friends and my partner due to either ‘ticking’ the drugs or hounding my family for money to fund my habit.
“I’d then promise myself I’d never do it again. I’d eat perhaps one meal, try to shower, try to clear my nose and attempt to stay clean.
“The feelings of anger, disgust, shame and depression would eventually become too much, and I’d spend the next few hours trying to get money together to get more drugs and alcohol.
“I’d manage to con someone into giving me some money, and the feelings of depression would lift as I grew to enjoy the chase of getting the drugs more than actually doing them in the end.
“I’d meet the dealer, buy drugs, get home, do them and then realise I was back in the same cycle, having to try and find ways and means to get more. This could carry on for hours or days, depending on how much money I could get my hands on to carry on using.”
After more than 10 years of chaos, Harry finally decided to get clean last summer.
The breakthrough came when he was sent a free ice bath.
Curious, he gave it a go – and discovered that the freezing plunge gave him the rush he had always chased from drugs and alcohol but without the destructive aftermath.
Now one year sober, Harry – who had previously tried rehab but never managed to stay clean – credits ice baths with giving him the discipline, mental clarity and natural high he needed to finally break free.
He now uses them daily to reset his mind, boost his energy and keep his recovery on track.
He said: “I woke up in the morning and was sick and tired of being sick and tired and finally decided to show up for myself.
“I wanted to get clean for myself this time and not for everyone else.
“In being sent a free ice bath, I felt like I had something to try that would replace the dopamine I was lacking due to prolonged cocaine abuse.
“It was this lack of dopamine, amongst other things, that always led me to relapse after a couple of days.
“The ice bath, along with a genuine desire to get clean for myself, became the turning point.
“It was, in a word, life-changing. Even though I was only a day clean, I felt amazing when I got out.
“I felt clarity for the first time in years, and all I wanted to do was do another one.”
Harry, who now lives with his partner Felicity, their baby daughter, and shares custody of his seven-year-old son, Travis, has since launched his own ice bath brand and built a huge online following by documenting his journey.
The motivational speaker, known as Ice Bath Harry, now has more than 165,000 followers on TikTok, 81,000 on Instagram, and tens of millions of views across his social media accounts.
He hopes to inspire others by sharing his story, with dreams of working with schools and even the criminal justice system to help young people avoid falling into the same traps he did.
He said, “You have to be willing to surrender and admit that you are an addict and will do whatever it takes to stay clean for you, not for anyone else.
“That’s why this time, along with the ice bath, I have finally got the message of recovery.
“I feel complete, whole, accomplished, proud and cold.”
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