Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, uses a sauna and ice bath for "mental clarity" every evening. Photo / Getty Images
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, uses a sauna and ice bath for "mental clarity" every evening. Photo / Getty Images
The chief executive of Twitter has revealed he takes daily ice baths and eats just one meal a day, in an interview about his extreme fitness routine.
Appearing on a fitness podcast, Jack Dorsey said the "biggest impact" on his mental health had been meditation, but said he also fasted during weekends to give him the focus and energy to run two companies.
The 42-year-old has been meditating for 20 years and spends an hour each morning and evening on the spiritual practice, he told the Ben Greenfield Fitness podcast.
He came under fire last year for attending a 10-day meditation retreat in Burma, with Twitter users accusing him of ignoring the country's human rights abuses. He later said he needed to "learn more".
Dorsey, who co-founded Twitter and mobile payments company Square, said his daily routine included fasting for 22 hours a day and walking the 8km commute to his office.
Jack Dorsey, who co-founded Twitter and mobile payments company Square, said his daily routine included fasting for 22 hours a day and walking the 8km commute to his office. Photo / Getty Images
The daily walk allowed him to spend time thinking or listening to podcasts.
"I might look a little bit more like I'm jogging than I'm walking... I try to get as much sunlight as possible and then I begin the day," he said.
The tech chief said skipping breakfast and lunch frees up his day and makes him more productive. His dinner usually consists of meat or fish accompanied with a salad or green vegetables, followed by fruit or dark chocolate.
"During the day, I feel so much more focused... the time back from breakfast and lunch allowed me to focus more on what my day is," he said, adding that it allowed him to sleep better.
Dorsey also said he used a sauna and ice bath for "mental clarity" every evening. He sits in a barrel sauna set at 104C for 15 minutes, followed by three minutes in an ice bath set at 2C.
Rather than easing up on the weekends, Dorsey said he has carried out 48-hour fasts from Friday to Sunday evening and only drinks water.
"The first time I did it, like day three, I felt like I was hallucinating. It was a weird state to be in.
Got you. Here’s my setup. I work from home Tuesdays. In my kitchen. Tweetdeck. No one here with me, and no one connected to my tweetdeck. Just me focused on your questions! #Karajackpic.twitter.com/6fHigDXmWC
"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, when I was fasting for much longer, how time really slowed down," he said.
Earlier this week it also emerged that Dorsey received a total salary of just US$1.40 ($2.07) from Twitter last year, a nod to its former 140 character per tweet limit.
"As a testament to his commitment to, and belief in, Twitter's long-term value creation potential, our CEO, Jack Dorsey, declined all compensation and benefits for 2015, 2016 and 2017.
"And in 2018, he declined all compensation and benefits other than a salary of $1.40," a section of the company's filing stated.
However, Dorsey owns 2.3 per cent of the company's stock.
He was also believed to have made an estimated US$80 million ($118m) after taxes from selling 1.7 million shares in his second company, Square, according to Forbes.
