He’s freezing the day!
A Brooklyn model has spent nearly every morning with a bone-chilling dip in the icy waters of Coney Island for decades — and this weekend’s monster Winter Storm Fern wasn’t changing his plans.
Stephen Niese, of Flatbush, wore nothing but his swim trunks when he swam his usual 100 yards along the iconic coastline, where the blistering 36-degree water temperatures were paired with a 22-degree wind chill ahead of this weekend’s snowstorm.
“It’s like a rush. You feel superhuman after you come out of the cold,” Niese, 62, told The Post after what he called a relaxing dip.
The swim was on the easier side for Niese, who has faced much more intense temperatures — including on Wednesday, when not even a brutal negative 2-degree windchill and ice-covered rocks could stop him.
It did, however, take him more than the typical two hours to get the feeling back in his toes.
The model — who has several TV credits to his name — has been doing his year-round, daily dunks at Coney Island for a decade, preceded by another two at Rockaway and Atlantic beaches for both the physical and mental health benefits.
The roughly 100-yard swim between the two jetties in front of the Coney Island amphitheater is similar to the more-popular ice baths, with Niese saying it gives his immune system a boost and stops inflammation.
It’s also meditative — the self-described “King of Coney Island” spends two hours before his swim beachcombing for seashells, coral and beach glass, and tries to only focus on the open blue sky above him as he backstrokes through the waves.
“It clears your mind,” Niese explained, adding that he loves “the freedom of it.”
“How can you not push yourself when you’re healthy?”
Plus, he’s had some incredible experiences — a few weeks ago, a small seal popped up beside him and floated nearby for his entire swim.
That’s not to say there aren’t days Niese wonders: “What the hell am I doing?” — even though his Wisconsin roots may have him primed to withstand the temperatures.
Last year, the model nearly got frostbite from walking barefoot through the 4-inches of snow that blanketed the beach, and he still says a prayer every time he dives under the first wave.
“You have to make yourself do things you don’t want to do. Most people have a comfy life and when you’re comfortable all the time, you don’t know what it’s like to feel uncomfortable. You get settled in a certain life, so it’s good to push yourself a little bit,” Niese said.
“It’s good just to do something out of your realm.”
The Brooklynite began posting his daily dunks on TikTok last year in hopes of boosting his professional career, but instead slowly began picking up a loyal fanbase who are amazed at this determination.
He also gets plenty of real-life gawkers who take their own videos, and some who approach him to tell him how crazy they think he is.
But Niese loves the thrill and won’t let anything stand in his way — even as forecasters predict that the fast-approaching monster winter storm could batter the city with up to 18 inches of snow through Monday.
“I really don’t want to do it, but I’ll probably come out and do it,” Niese said, relenting that he’ll change his swimming location to one with a shorter walk to the bathrooms to cut out the time in the wind.
“I’m not going to kill myself!”
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