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°CRYO Hong Kong's Benjamin Liu & Mark Tan On Why Recovery Is the Third Pillar of Health
HONG KONG
Long hours, crowded commutes, late-night calls across time zones: in Hong Kong, the stress, stiffness and restless nights can start to feel normal. °CRYO Hong Kong, in the heart of Central, wants to change that. Its non-invasive treatments use cold, heat, light and air to help the body recover, from a -140°C cryotherapy chamber to hyperbaric oxygen therapy and red light therapy. CSP Times spoke to owners Benjamin Liu (@_bennyliu) and Mark Tan (@mr.marktan) about what a first visit involves, who is walking through the door and which myths they hear most.
All images are courtesy of °CRYO Hong Kong.
°CRYO Hong Kong's founders Benjamin Liu (@_bennyliu) and Mark Tan (@mr.marktan)
Could you tell us a little about °CRYO Hong Kong and the story behind its founding?
°CRYO Hong Kong began with a simple belief: feeling good in your own body shouldn't be a luxury, or something you only get back when you're on holiday.
Hong Kong asks a lot of us. Long hours, crowded commutes, late-night calls across time zones, whole days spent hunched over a desk. Little by little, the stress, the stiffness and the restless nights stop feeling unusual. They simply become normal.
We wanted to change that. So we brought world-class, non-invasive recovery, longevity and cryotherapy treatments into the heart of Central, right where people already work, train and live. It's a calm space to pause, reset, and give your body what it needs to recover.
What wellness treatments and services do you offer, and what makes your approach different?
Everything we do comes back to one idea. Our bodies are remarkably good at healing themselves when they're given the right conditions.
We use the natural elements of cold, heat, light and air to create those conditions, and to equip the body with the tools it needs to do what it does best.
Here's how that comes together across our four areas:
Recovery & Fitness: Whole Body Cryotherapy in our signature °CRYO chamber, which reaches down to -140°C, plus Localised Cryotherapy, Compression Therapy, Stretch Therapy, Sports Therapy and Physiotherapy.
Wellness & Longevity: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT), Red Light Therapy and Infrared Sauna.
Beauty & Aesthetics: Signature °CRYO Facials, HydraFacials, XE'LHA Peel, OligioX and collagen-boosting Tanning.
Body & Contouring: °CRYO Muscle Toning and °CRYO Slim Body/Facial treatments.
Together, these treatments care for you inside and out. Our recovery and longevity therapies work from within, helping your body heal, restore and perform at its best. Our beauty and contouring treatments work on the outside, so the way you look reflects the way you feel. We believe true wellbeing means feeling healthy and looking your best at the same time.
What makes us different isn't only the technology, though we're very proud of it. It's how we use it. No two people walk through our doors with the same body, history or goals, so no two programmes look the same. And we want every visit to feel like genuine care, in a setting that feels like a world away from the city outside.
How do you help clients decide which treatments are best suited to their individual needs?
It always starts with a conversation. Before anyone steps into a chamber, they sit down one-on-one with one of our trained specialists.
We want to understand what's really going on for you. It might be sore muscles after training, joints that ache in the morning, jet lag that never quite lifts, skin that looks tired, stress that won't switch off, or simply wanting to stay strong and well for longer.
We also take time to go through your medical history, lifestyle habits and how you handle the cold, so we know every treatment is safe for you.
From there, we build a plan around you. That might mean pairing Whole Body Cryotherapy with Red Light Therapy to support your metabolism and cells, or combining Sports or Stretch Therapy with Localised Cryotherapy to work on a specific injury.
What are some of the main benefits people can expect from your treatments?
Many people feel something straight away. Whole Body Cryotherapy triggers a release of endorphins and adrenaline, so people often walk out feeling lighter, clearer and full of energy.
With regular sessions, the deeper benefits start to build. Joints feel less stiff, muscles repair faster, and soreness that has lingered for months begins to ease.
Red Light Therapy and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy support energy production inside your cells and help tissue heal faster, while also supporting deeper, more restful sleep.
Who typically visits °CRYO Hong Kong, and what are they hoping to achieve through their wellness journey?
Honestly, it's a wonderful mix of people.
Busy professionals and executives who want to manage stress, think more clearly, sleep better and bounce back from jet lag between trips.
Athletes and fitness lovers, from marathon runners and HYROX competitors to CrossFitters and martial artists, who want to recover faster between training blocks.
People thinking long-term about their health, who want to look after their bodies now so they can age well and stay active.
Skincare and aesthetics clients, both men and women, who want firmer, brighter, more hydrated skin and a more contoured shape without surgery.
Different goals, but the same hope underneath: to feel good in their own bodies, and to keep feeling that way.
For someone visiting for the first time, what can they expect from the experience?
First and foremost, calm. From the moment you walk in, we want you to feel looked after, in a quiet, hotel-like space that feels far from the rush of Central outside. Your visit begins with your one-on-one consultation, so we understand your goals and your lifestyle before anything else. Then, when you try your first treatment, one of our specialists is right there with you, talking you through each step. If it's your first time in the cryo chamber, feeling a little nervous is completely normal. That's exactly why we take things at your pace.
And it doesn't end after one visit. Our team stays alongside you, checking in on your progress and adjusting your programme as your body changes.
Wellness trends are constantly evolving. Which treatments or wellness practices are becoming increasingly popular among your clients?
The biggest shift we see is in how people think about health itself.
For years, being healthy meant two things: exercise and nutrition. Now more people are realising there's a third pillar, recovery, and that it matters just as much as the other two. You can train hard and eat well, but if your body never gets the chance to repair, you'll never quite get the results you're working for.
Within that, a few things really stand out:
Combining treatments. Clients rarely come in for a single, isolated session now. They pair Whole Body Cryotherapy with Red Light Therapy or HBOT so each treatment supports the other.
HBOT and longevity care. With so much global interest in longevity, people want to get more oxygen to their cells to help with fatigue and focus.
Non-invasive beauty. Treatments like HydraFacial, the °CRYO Facial and °CRYO Slim are growing quickly among people who want visible results without surgery or downtime.
Are there any common misconceptions about the treatments you offer that you would like to clear up?
A few come up again and again.
"One session will fix everything." I completely understand why people hope for this, and that first session really can feel amazing. But the aches, tension and wear we carry have usually built up over many years. It takes consistency and a little discipline to help the body unwind and repair that damage. The people who see the biggest difference are the ones who make recovery part of their routine, not a one-off treat.
"It must be painfully cold." Because cryotherapy uses very dry, cold air, it doesn't have the biting, painful feeling of an ice bath. A session lasts just three minutes, so it's easy to tolerate and genuinely invigorating.
"It's only for elite athletes." Elite athletes do rely on it for recovery, but over half of our daily clients are office professionals, busy parents and people who simply care about their skin. They come for better sleep, stress relief, brighter skin and a lift in mood.
"A cold shower does the same thing." Sadly, it doesn't. A cold shower simply can't get cold enough to trigger the body-wide responses, such as the release of cold-shock proteins and the body's natural anti-inflammatory pathways, that a true -140°C cryotherapy environment does.
How do you ensure your treatments are safe and that the benefits are supported by science?
Your safety comes before everything else.
Our chamber uses medical-grade technology, with precise digital temperature sensors, emergency shut-offs and continuous air-quality monitoring.
Every member of our team is trained to our headquarters' standards and protocols. And because every journey starts with a health screening, we only ever recommend treatments that are right for your body.
What's next for °CRYO Hong Kong, and how do you see the wellness industry evolving in Hong Kong?
Hong Kong is moving away from pampering for its own sake, towards care that keeps people well and delivers real, lasting results.
A big part of our mission is education. Too many people accept pain, poor sleep and exhaustion as part of getting older or living in a busy city. We want to show them that a long life, lived well and free of pain, isn't a pipe dream. It's real, and it's something we all deserve.
That's why we're in the heart of Central, with treatments that are quick, convenient and effective, so there's no reason not to make recovery part of your routine.
We also have exciting developments coming soon, designed around the jet-set lifestyle of our clients, so they can recover and feel their best wherever their travels take them. Watch this space.
Location: °CRYO Hong Kong, 18/F One Chinachem Central, 22 Des Voeux Road Central, Central, Hong Kong | Phone: 2117 9618 | Instagram: @cryohongkong
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