The Men Without Masks Retreat didn’t come to life by chance. It is the culmination of many different experiences happening in my life that warranted me constructing a retreat event that I would want to attend as a man on the path to his full potential. I just couldn’t find anything when looking out there for something that inspired me, and believe me I have looked! Whilst I’ve had incredible experiences I didn’t find anything that I was 100% happy with, especially something that would hold attention for a 5 day retreat. That’s not to say there aren’t any other events out there that are good, there are plenty, but not the ones that were as a complete experiential retreat as I was searching for.
I have been evolving my methodology and work for the last 3 decades. Much of my professional life has been in High Performance sports, most notably professional rugby, at the highest level, where I honed my skills with men that were what many would call ‘manly’ men. These men have the usual every day pressures of life, but also the super attuned and intensified pressures on the pitch, which multiply not just the good aspects of scoring a winning try or goal, but also the failures of losing and managing their emotions.
These environments where I grew my work weren’t just spent in the sports locker room motivating guys and telling them ‘it’s ok’ – I had to be a lot smarter than that and investigate the depths of mind and body like never before. Over the past decade I have explored every facet of human behaviour and turned to many other experts and methodologies that have come before me in order to understand their teaching and to eventually model my own.
A list in no particular order of my studies and personal experiences over this time include investigation and accreditation in: Behavioural Psychology, Holistic Nutrition, Neuro-Linquistic-Programing, Life-Coaching, Spectrum Emotional Coaching, Shamanic Practices, Fasting, Mankind Project, Shadow Work Facilitation, Yoga in all its forms, Meditation in all its guises, Dark Retreats, Mindfulness, Tantra and Shadow Work, to name but a few.
Mastering these elements enabled me to have, what I believe to be, a more complete way of helping men to optimize their performance in all areas of life, leading to an inspired life of meaning and true potential. This learning is what prompted me to build the Men Without Masks Retreat as a five day route to breaking down and understanding what it means to be a man in today’s world.
In working with sports team’s I then started working with individual Coaches, as I have a reputation for mentoring others, it seemed a very natural fit. Coaches in all walks of life are high pressured minds, and of course the work I do with them, as with all men, is totally transferable to all other areas of performance, including business, fatherhood, relationships and more. I help men to turn inwards to find the inspiration that will drive them into their true potential. The retreats are a natural and progressive way to examine and mentor 12 individuals, releasing them back to their lives prepared and energised.