Dierks Bentley Kicks Off 2016 With Annual Polar Plunge [Watch]

Dierks Bentley began his 2016 with a group of friends by engaging in a somewhat unusual annual ritual.

The "Riser" singer marks the beginning of every new year by taking a freezing jump into a lake in Nashville, no matter what the temperature is outside. He was joined by a group of friends for the teeth-chattering excursion this year.

The 40-year-old country star admits he's not really sure why he feels the need to kick off each year in such a chilly fashion.

"Lake jump 2016. This is ridunkulous but we're doing it anyway," Bentley says in the video above, which he shared with People. "I don't know why we do this, but we do it."

"We do it to wash off the old and breathe in the new," one of the other jumpers chimes in.

According to People, Bentley and company have been doing the annual lake jump for 14 years now. From the looks of the video above, it doesn't get any easier as time goes on. In the clip, the singer-songwriter looks apprehensive as he enters the chilly water, but finally seems okay once he's submerged to his shoulders, after which he dunks his head.

"2015's gone ... 2016 lake jump is complete," he announces.

Bentley announced his Sounds of Summer Tour with 2015's lake jump by getting his support acts, which included Maddie & Tae, Kip Moore and Canaan Smith, to participate. Moore retaliated by trashing Bentley's beloved pickup truck, Big White, touching off a prank war that extended through the tour.

After a huge run of success in 2015, Bentley is looking forward to new career vistas in 2016. He was recently announced as Luke Bryan's co-host for the 2016 ACM Awards, replacing Blake Shelton in that role.

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