Jacob Sartorius is the quintessential Gen-Z star: lip-sync master, musician, actor, and social media force. He was huge on TikTok before it was even called TikTok. (Now he has 24 million followers.)
But he is also a typical 19-year-old existing on social media and living life online for an audience of peers—with the not-so-typical task of navigating cyberbullying on a celebrity scale. Recently, he had to take a full year off from work to address anxiety and depression. In the course of that work he discovered Dutch guru Wim Hof, who preaches a routine of controlled breathing and cold water immersion. An online video became a daily breathing practice—and now the two have teamed up for a compelling odd-couple documentary, Breathe, which is going up on YouTube on January 12th.
Ahead of the launch, GQ caught up with the Oklahoma-born Sartorius about cold showers, his rules around social media, and the rest of his daily routine.
For Real-Life Diet, GQ talks to athletes, celebrities, and everyone in between about their diet, exercise routines, and pursuit of wellness. Keep in mind that what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.
GQ: Tell me about your breakfast and morning routine.
Jacob Sartorius: So before I even eat anything, the first thing when I wake up in the morning is Wim Hof breathing on an empty stomach. From there, I like to take a cold shower—even before I have breakfast it's just a freezing cold shower for about two minutes. And then, a protein shake will follow right after. After that, I like to get some fresh air, journal, record music, hit the gym, communicate with friends, and then it's on to lunch and dinner.
Did your dedication to mental health change how you eat based on how it makes you feel?
Absolutely—that's something that I'm starting to do a little bit more of now, be a lot more conscious of what I'm eating and how it affects me every morning. And this is something that's become a very routine thing. Part of the program is having a liquid protein shake every morning, along with working out. That helped me so much with energy and assisting my body with nutrients. A lot of times in the morning, I'm not in the mood to eat a big meal, but drinking a protein shake really helps me with my energy. And if I don't do that, I oftentimes need to take a nap later on in the day.
Do you have a favorite protein shake recipe, or do you go out and buy it somewhere?
It’s basically some whey protein, strawberries, bananas, and some multivitamins. I make it at home with a Bullet blender. Also, sometimes we'll go to Robeks, and they've got this thing called the Muscle Max, and that pretty much has most of those ingredients as well. So the smoothie has enough calories for almost half of the day.
I used to forget to eat and I would be so low energy. I would get to 4 p.m. without eating anything and I might not even realize it. I'm so busy working. I'm on tour or doing things, and I just get so sidetracked—I'm so worried and in my head that I forget to do something as basic as eating. So it's important for me to try to make sure I have something towards the beginning of the day.
Do you have a favorite protein brand, or do you just get whatever?
It really is whatever, honestly, but I do prefer whey protein. And with the cold shower and the breathing and the protein shakes and working out regularly, I don't need to take the creatine or anything like that.
What's your take on coffee or tea? Do you drink either?
About six to eight months ago I was a huge coffee fan, like shots of espresso all day, going crazy with coffee, but I noticed that I got pretty jittery. I think subconsciously it did increase my anxiety in life, but it did, you know, keep me awake. I think it's more of a personal preference, whatever floats your boat, but it’s been five months since I’ve had any.
What do the rest of your meals look like?
It really is flexible. Sometimes it will only be one more meal after that big protein shake, which is about 1200 calories. And then after that, it normally is one more meal—sometimes two. It could be anything from pizza to chicken. But I also just like soup.
How did you find Wim Hof breathing?
I remember one of my therapists saying, “yo, Jacob, I really think you would benefit from trying this with breathing,” and he sent me a link to a guided Wim Hof breathing session on YouTube.
And I was so lost and hurt and confused and anxious emotionally that I was willing to try. Basically, anything to find some peace, I was like, sure, if you want me to take some deep breaths. I can do that. In a matter of about two days I was already feeling the effects, and I really did start doing it every day. I set aside time every morning, about 30 minutes, to really just break through my conditioning and get my body alkaline.
OK, now I know you’re a fan of visualizing meditations. I want you to imagine you're on a desert island. If you had to choose three snacks from anywhere in the world to have with you, what would they be?
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Wow, okay. I would say a banana. A Pop-Tart and a —
What kind of Pop-Tart?
I would have to say the cinnamon sugar. It would definitely be those two, and probably some good old trail mix. I love trail mix. The Planter’s nuts and chocolate trail mix.
So you’ve been rescued from the desert island. You can eat anything now, but there's a catch. Now, it's your last day on Earth. Describe the perfect eating day, based purely on enjoyment.
(Laughs) Amazing. Wow. That would be a big chocolate sundae with a brownie, like the biggest brownie ever. It would have to be warm and it would just be the best thing ever. I'm picturing it.
Is there anything else that you would include on a perfect last day on Earth of eating?
Well, you know, maybe some spaghetti, like some good old spaghetti with meatballs. And then I think I'd have to call it a day.
I want to know about your social media diet. Do you go on your feed, or do you just post your own stuff and leave?
I have a rule with myself where for the first hour of the day there’s no social media. I've followed that for pretty much over six months. It helped me not get caught up, and not get my anxiety going too early. And most of the time I’m posting my own stuff. But, of course I'm guilty of scrolling for hours on some days.
Fair. Do you have a routine you could share for when the comment section gets too much that could help other people who also experience cyberbullying?
Definitely. I’ve experienced a ton of cyberbullying, and I'd be lying if I said I don't read some of the comments and what people say about me. One of the things I try to do when I see something that gets me triggered or I feel overwhelmed after reading, I try to honestly look at the comment more.
The reason why is because the more that you look at the comment, you start to almost find sympathy or compassion for the person commenting these things, because you realize that the only place that some of these comments come from is a place of hurting or place of pure frustration or jealousy. And you have to be able to kind of look at that.
Tell yourself: I'm spreading a positive message. And this person was obviously hurt or threatened by what they saw, and kind of just take it for what it is. Sometimes if you run from it the monster gets bigger. I've learned when you avoid things they can become bigger in our minds, and we can build them up to be something that they're not. If we're able to look at it for what it is, which is obviously somebody hurting on the other side, and have compassion for somebody that's actually hating on us, it can be a pretty powerful thing.
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By Christopher Cason