A couple of years ago, I started an Etsy store to sell t-shirts Iโd designed.
There were tees for all sorts of niches โ vanlifers, behavioural science nerds, hairstylists, pun lovers, and accountants.
But the range that outsold everything else?
Cold plungers. People who ice bath.
Part of the success was timing. Unlike the cluttered vanlife market, I was early to the trend. But more than that, two things made the cold plunge tees take off:
1. Identity Signalling
Thereโs a certain pride that comes with voluntarily stepping into freezing water. It signals grit, resilience, and a tolerance for discomfort. Wearing that identity, quite literally, becomes a subtle way of saying โIโm the kind of person who does hard things.โ
2. In-Group Design
Across my ice-bath options, the best-seller by a mile was a minimalist shirt with just three icons: a bathtub, an ice block, and a flexing arm.
To insiders, it was instantly recognisable. To outsiders, it was intriguing enough to ask about.
That shirt didnโt just express identity, it said โIโm part of the tribe.โ
The cold plunge tees reminded me that people donโt just buy products. They buy identity. They buy connection, belonging and validation.
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