Submitted by Viral NationAgency IPI Score 74/100

Normalizing Cold Tub Recovery for the Everyday GOAT

Influencer Marketing

Viral Nation used 18 creators across TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook to reposition cold therapy from an elite-athlete ritual to an everyday wellness choice for Michael Phelps Chilly GOAT Cold Tubs.

5MViews
169KEngagements

About the campaign

Michael Phelps Chilly GOAT Cold Tubs, launched by Master Spas in July 2023, carried a built-in paradox: the brand's equity rested on the most decorated Olympian's long-documented use of ice baths for recovery, yet that same elite-athlete association made cold therapy feel inaccessible or unnecessary to everyday buyers. Viral Nation set out to reposition recovery as a flexible, community-driven lifestyle choice for the audience the brand calls GOAT-getters, working from the brand truth We simplify holistic wellness and the premise that seeing peers rather than professional athletes use a product makes it feel relevant and attainable.

From October 2024 to May 2025, 18 creators spanning fitness professionals, outdoor enthusiasts and lifestyle voices, including Noelle Lambert and Cody Miller, produced platform-native edutainment content on physical recovery and mental toughness across TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, while the agency simultaneously managed the brand's owned channels with a steady posting cadence and 721 proactive community engagements designed to convert creator-driven traffic into followers.

Across the seven-month campaign the agency reports 5 million views, 169,000 engagements, 556 posts published, 1,700 net new followers representing 9.2 percent growth, and a 100 percent action rate on proactive community engagements; all figures are self-reported.

Case in 60 seconds

Cold therapy carried a strong association with elite athletic performance, making the Chilly GOAT cold tub feel inaccessible or unnecessary to everyday buyers. The brand needed to shift that perception while educating potential customers on product ownership and broader wellness value.

The brand's own equity, built on Michael Phelps's long-documented use of ice baths and cold plunges for recovery and mental benefit, was also its barrier: consumers associated cold therapy with Olympic-level training, not daily life.

Viral Nation reframed recovery as a flexible, community-driven lifestyle choice for the audience the brand calls GOAT-getters, positioning Chilly GOAT's social presence as a supportive, bold voice rooted in holistic wellness built around the brand truth 'We simplify holistic wellness.'

18 creators spanning fitness professionals, outdoor enthusiasts, and lifestyle voices — including Noelle Lambert and Cody Miller — produced platform-native edutainment content across TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook from October 2024 to May 2025. Viral Nation simultaneously managed the brand's owned channels with a steady posting cadence and 721 proactive community engagements.

The agency reports 5M views, 169K engagements, 556 posts, 1.7K net new followers (9.2% follower growth), and a 100% action rate on proactive community engagements across the seven-month campaign. All figures are agency self-reported and have not been independently verified.

Strategy Breakdown

The primary strategy-learning section — interpretation, not a press-release summary.

The primary audience was health-conscious everyday consumers — the brand's self-described 'GOAT-getters' — alongside fitness professionals, outdoor enthusiasts, and lifestyle audiences who were open to cold therapy as a wellness routine rather than an athletic recovery tool. Per the Viral Nation case study, the campaign aimed to scale platform engagement while educating new followers on the benefits of cold tub ownership.
Cold immersion had been culturally coded as the domain of elite athletes, reinforced by the brand's own origin story: Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, using ice baths as professional recovery. That credential was also a category barrier, making the product feel aspirational but not personally relevant to the average health-conscious buyer.
The Chilly GOAT cold tub launched in July 2023 as a premium full-submersion at-home product. The category challenge was twofold: shifting the perception that cold therapy is only for elite performance, and educating consumers on what ownership, use, and day-to-day wellness value actually looks like, per the campaign brief.
Based on the available evidence, the brand was positioned as a simplifier and democratiser of holistic wellness. The stated brand truth, 'We simplify holistic wellness', gave creators a clear platform from which to speak to both physical recovery and mental resilience without requiring an elite athletic context.
Per the Viral Nation case study, when people see peers — rather than professional athletes — using a product as part of their ordinary routine, the perceived relevance and accessibility of that product increases. A range of creator voices can broaden a category's perceived audience faster than brand-owned messaging alone.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • Platform-native creator videos on TikTok
  • Platform-native creator content on Instagram
  • Platform-native creator content on Facebook
  • Owned Chilly GOAT social channel posts (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook)

Partners

  • Viral Nation (lead agency, influencer campaign management and community management)

Participation mechanic

  • Creator-led edutainment posts showing personal cold therapy routines and recovery stories
  • Proactive community engagement on owned channels (721 engagements reported)
  • Steady owned-channel posting cadence to convert creator-driven traffic into followers

Creator role

  • 18 creators including Noelle Lambert and Cody Miller served as lead content drivers, producing platform-native content on physical recovery and mental toughness
  • Creator mix spanned fitness professionals, outdoor enthusiasts, and lifestyle voices to address multiple audience segments simultaneously

Results & Evidence

MetricValueResult typeConfidence
Total views5MReachAgency reported
Total engagements169KEngagementAgency reported

Why Viral Nation's strategy worked

  1. 1

    When a product category is associated with a narrow user stereotype (elite athletes), activating a diverse range of creator profiles — fitness professionals, outdoor enthusiasts, and lifestyle voices — can broaden perceived relevance to everyday consumers faster than brand-owned messaging alone, as the Viral Nation case study illustrates.

  2. 2

    Running owned-channel community management in parallel with a creator push gives audiences arriving from creator content a reason to stay and engage. The reported 9.2% follower growth and 100% action rate on proactive engagements suggest this dual approach supported audience conversion beyond passive reach.

  3. 3

    Platform-native edutainment — combining information about product use and wellness benefits with authentic personal stories — appears suited to categories where potential customers need to understand the product before they can want it. Cold therapy requires some level of education before purchase consideration.

  4. 4

    Pairing a high-profile founder athlete (Michael Phelps) with non-celebrity everyday creators can democratise a product's perceived accessibility. The brand's heritage provided credibility; the creators provided relatability.

  5. 5

    A consistent posting cadence on owned channels, alongside creator activity, likely reinforced frequency and aided recall across the seven-month campaign window, contributing to the follower growth reported by Viral Nation.

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