- [Jamie] Cool, calm, and collected.

They come from all walks of life to strip down into swimsuits and wade into center lake.

- We call it a celebration, because we found out that a group of polar bears is called a celebration.

I'm like, "That's perfect 'cause we're celebrating.

We're kind of polar bears."

- [Jamie] The group has been dipping in the icy cold water since February of 2021.

- [Shea] I do it because it feels good, it makes me happy.

At first it was just kind of something crazy fun to do.

It was 2021, we were still kind of coming out of COVID.

So it was a fun thing we could do with our friends outdoors.

- [Jamie] The tradition started as a way to step outside their comfort zones and build connections.

Now, it's about mental clarity, courage and comradery.

- I do it for mental health.

It gives you a boost of, what is it, dopamine, or it gives you those happy feelings and stuff.

When you come out, it feels like electricity in your body.

When I'm having a stressful day at home, but when you get here and you get in that water, you have to breathe, so for me, it totally relaxes me.

It helps drain my stress away.

And then afterwards, you just feel alive.

- [Jamie] Plungers chase a five minute goal.

And sometimes they have visitors.

- Things that we've learned about the lake, we've seen creatures that we never knew existed before.

Just in this little lake.

There's freshwater jellyfish here in the summer if it gets warm enough.

Things like that.

Just seeing different plants and nature is kind of one of my favorite things, yeah.

And we like to explore different bodies of water and it's just so fun to see the different things.

Different beaches, rock, sand, different temperatures.

So kind of the learning part of it.

- [Jamie] When the lake is this cold, you've gotta commit.

And as this group showed me as I waited in with them, once you're in, there is no room for anything but the moment.

(water splashes) (group cheering) - Beforehand, everybody thinks we're crazy, but then they come and do it and usually they end up coming back again, 'cause they love it.

They see they can do it.

And maybe the first time they don't go in as far, but then the next time they will.

- [Jamie] From first timers to the regulars, everyone here dips for their own reasons.

- It's a special connection, a special bond, something that we have in common that's special, unique.

And we trust each other.

Like I said, we don't care about seeing each other in our bathing suits and stuff.

Nobody's looking at that.

We just come together and we smile, we laugh, we talk.

We have funny conversations in there, we're serious, we've cried sometimes.

So it was very bonding.

Come watch us, see how much fun we're having.

See if you might wanna try it sometime.

And this lake stays cold for a long time, so I mean, if you come anytime before June, it is gonna be considered a cold water dip.

(chuckles) (upbeat music)