I’m in awe of how us humans have learned to adapt to nature so well that we can now control the temperature pretty much everywhere we are. It’s remarkable. On these trips I also learned that we have the ability to adapt and thrive in really uncomfortable situations. The safety procedures and the skills were actually the easy part. Most all of us can learn how to layer clothing, build a fire, work together, etc., but the harder skill set is all internal.
My career has been wide ranging, but the core of adventure and human growth has always held steady. After college I spent over 600 days as a wilderness therapy guide and led groups of struggling young men up mountains, down rivers, and across frozen lakes. Along the way I absorbed and learned a ton about the process of mentoring and what it means to be a man in our culture today.
An Evryman Open Source retreat is very straightforward. It is 40 guys and 10 leaders coming together with the simple agreement to set aside cultural norms and be transparent, honest, and vulnerable with each other for a weekend. We use simple communication protocols as a large group, in small groups, and in pairs to reach deeper and deeper within ourselves to stop holding back who we are. We do hikes, sometimes in silence, and we create time for everyone to have some quiet time in nature. We do a service project, one that involves labor and getting dirty--not to be MANLY--but to come together as a group and feel the benefit of teamwork and giving back. We eat amazing food and have a badass talent show, and we leave feeling like we shed 30 pounds of emotional baggage and with a new group of deeply caring brothers and friends.
WHAT IF I'M NERVOUS?
You should be nervous. This is a challenging, intense experience. You are asked to be more real and honest than maybe you ever have in your entire life, and you're being asked to trust us and this group of strangers. However, although that's true, we take immense care into making this as approachable and supported as possible. One things that makes us different is that our process is incredibly simple, straightforward and transparent. We don't believe that there needs to be secrecy, harshness or mumbo jumbo to create change and brotherhood. In fact we believe all of that obscures what we're really working toward.
If we simply brought 40 guys together for a weekend in nature without anything else, it would be a helpful, restful, growing experience. Our deep goal at all times is to create an environment that allows us to all relax and be ourselves all the way through. There is no better example or teacher than nature. A tree is a tree and a bird is a bird. In nature we literally have air to breathe, space to roam, and subconsciously we get more deeply connected to ourselves and each other.
Founder, EVRYMAN
Dan Doty is a husband, father, writer, filmmaker, coach, host of the Evryman Podcast, and founder of Evryman. He spent many years leading groups of struggling young men through the wilderness and later had a successful career as a director and producer of wilderness-based television and film. All told he has spent close to 1300 days leading groups in wilderness settings. His mission is to help boys and men be themselves all the way through and to experience the full spectrum of experience that life has to offer.
founder, EVRYMAN
Sascha is the CEO and co-founder of Flavorpill Media and the co-founder of Evryman. Sascha has been included in Silicon Alley's Top 100 list by Business Insider and sits on the board of The Lineage Project, a nonprofit that brings mindfulness practices to vulnerable youth. Fun fact: Sascha is a former Knicks ball boy.
leader, EVRYMAN
Owen Marcus realized after healing much of his dyslexia and Asperger’s Syndrome he was still disconnected from his emotions and others. With resistance, he started his first men’s group in 1995. From there he went on to design a new model of men’s groups and how men successfully connect emotionally with others. Owen lives in the forests of Sandpoint, ID, with the local bears and moose.
Feeling grateful from the power and collective effort to push through our shit, dive deep, and expand our hearts together. Holy cow. Feeling like a weight of fear and anxiety has been lifted. Feeling more comfortable in my own skin, more confident in pushing into the unknown in love, life, and work. This retreat pushed me in ways I had never felt before, and I know without a doubt I am changed because of it.
Heading to the Open Source retreat back in December, I was completely in the dark about what to expect, but thought at the very least I'd have quality male bonding time with some new, interesting men. I was totally blown away by how quickly our group connected to one another, and the deep and trusting space we created for each other. Shit got real. I learned to listen to people speak in a way I never knew before, and I found that I was heard at a completely different level as well. My perception of masculinity in our society was shaken up and invigorated and I left the retreat more proud to be a man than ever before.
Men in this day and age often have walls around our emotions that keep us from connecting to others and our purpose. The Open Source Men's Retreat allowed me to break through those barriers in a true and profound way over the course of a single weekend, with lasting results. It is the single most effective self development course or technique I have ever encountered.
The Open Source Men's retreat was one of the more profound and eye-opening weekends of my life, and this is from someone who's long been a student of men's work. The combination of a safe space held by committed and wise facilitators, a thoughtful and vulnerable but still masculine energy, extensive in-depth engagement, and nature, was exactly the right recipe for powerful work.
