CONEY ISLAND – FLATBUSH RESIDENT STEPHEN Niese, age 62, isn’t breaking from his decade-long daily jetty-to-jetty swim routine off of Coney Island, despite the threat of Winter Storm Fern, the New York Post reports. Niese, a model, endured 36-degree waters and a brutal -2-degree windchill last week, as the storm bore down on the city, touting the health benefits of and saying he welcomed the challenge – but adding that it took more than two hours to be able to feel his toes again.
“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 told the Post, crediting his Wisconsin birthplace for his cold-weather tolerance.
Niese planned to take the plunge as usual on Monday morning, snow or not, but said he’d be swapping to a spot closer to shelter, just in case.
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