Twitter boss Jack Dorsey reveals unusual diet and fitness habits
The Twitter chief executive has spoken of his fasting and mediation regime.
Twitter boss Jack Dorsey has revealed that he takes daily ice baths and only eats one meal a day to help him focus on running two companies.
Speaking on a fitness podcast, Mr Dorsey, who is also head of financial services firm Square, said meditation was also a key part of his regime and has the “biggest impact” on his mental health.
He was criticised last year for publicising details of a meditation trip to Burma but failed to mention widely reported allegations of violence against the Muslim Rohingya minority in the country.
Mr Dorsey also revealed that he only eats one meal a day – an evening dinner – which consists of meat or fish with salad or green vegetables, followed by either mixed berries or some dark chocolate.
He admitted that the first two weeks of the regime had been difficult but claims he has since noticed changes.
“During the day, I feel so much more focused … You have this very focused point of mind in terms of this drive,” he said.
“Certainly, the time back from breakfast and lunch allowed me to focus more on what my day is.”
He also claimed it had helped him sleep better, adding that he can “go to bed and actually knock out in 10 minutes, if not sooner than that”.
Mr Dorsey said his fasting also extends to the weekend, and he does not eat between Friday night and Sunday evening.
“The first time I did it, like day three, I felt like I was hallucinating,” he said.
“It was a weird state to be in. But as I did it the next two times, it just became so apparent to me how much of our days are centred around meals and how — the experience I had was when I was fasting for much longer – how time really slowed down.”
The Twitter co-founder said he currently tries to meditate for two hours a day and also walks the five miles from his home to Twitter’s offices every day.
“I might look a little bit more like I’m jogging than I’m walking,” he told Ben Greenfield’s Diet Fat Loss and Performance podcast.
“It’s refreshing … It’s just this one of those take-back moments where you’re like ‘Wow, I’m alive’.”
The social media executive’s routine also includes using saunas and ice baths in the evening.
He said he first sits in a barrel sauna for 15 minutes, before switching to an ice bath for three minutes, a process he repeats three times.
He also revealed that he starts each day with an ice bath.
“Nothing has given me more mental confidence than being able to go straight from room temperature into the cold,” he said.
“Especially in the morning, going into an ice-cold tub from just being warm in bed is — it just unlocks this thing in my mind and I feel like if I can will myself to do that thing that seems so small but hurts so much, I can do nearly anything.”
Earlier this week it was revealed that Mr Dorsey received a total salary of just 1.40 US dollars from Twitter last year, a nod to the site’s former 140-character limit on tweets.
However, Mr Dorsey does hold a sizeable amount of Twitter stock, and also earns money from his second role as chief executive of Square.
Taking a ceremonial minimal salary is common practice among corporate bosses and in the tech world, with Mark Zuckerberg and Snapchat boss Evan Spiegel among those who also take only a dollar a year in official salary as a way of showing their faith in the success of the company.
