'Dan the water man' beats the heat, sells 150 ice cold waters in Coney Island
Daniel Hale lives with depression and bipolar disorder—conditions that once kept him inside, isolated and overwhelmed. But selling water on the boardwalk gave him purpose and brought him back into the world.
As a dangerous heat wave scorches the city, thousands of Brooklyn residents are finding relief at Coney Island beach. But amid the packed boardwalk and the sound of crashing waves, one man is making a splash of his own—armed with 150 frozen Poland Spring bottles and a booming voice.
Daniel Hale—better known as Dan the Water Man—has become a familiar face (and sound) on the boardwalk.
“Ice water! Frozen water! $2” he shouts, drawing sunbaked beachgoers his way.
Every day, Hale hauls cooler after cooler of frozen bottles through the heat, clocking in by 8 a.m. and walking the length of the boardwalk—without air conditioning, without shade and without complaint.
“They’re still frozen and I’ve been out here since 8 a.m.,” he says, proudly holding up a bottle. “I keep a rag soaked in water on my head, and I’m still fresh as a daisy.”
He’s been at it for more than five years. And while most of us would rather chill under an umbrella in this kind of heat, Hale says he finds his joy right at the beach —on the move, among the people.
“It’s good to see all these people as happy as they are,” he says with a smile.
That happiness, he admits, hasn’t always come easy.
Hale lives with depression and bipolar disorder—conditions that once kept him inside, isolated and overwhelmed. But selling water on the boardwalk gave him purpose and brought him back into the world.
“Now I’ll stay out even if the water is gone,” he says. “Because I enjoy the people.”
And they seem to enjoy him right back. Dan says he’s made plenty of friends just by doing what he does—sometimes even grabbing a soda and swapping stories with regulars who’ve come to admire the man behind the call.
So, the next time you’re soaking up the sun at Coney Island and hear that unmistakable voice—you’ll know it’s more than just a sale. It’s Dan the Water Man, staying cool in more ways than one.
