Episodes

WARNING: This episode discusses suicidal thoughts and attempts. If you are in a crisis, do not listen to this. Please call or text 988 to be connected to trained counselors who are part of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network. If you are outside of the US, please search for suicide prevention in your country. You matter! Please choose life. After a year-long gap, much of it spent in a deep depression and with lots of suicidal ideation, I'm back. The best way to prevent suicide is ...

Men and women deal with emotions differently, but we all have them. And any man who believes that stuffing and denying their feelings are the path to a happy and successful life - all I can say is that is NOT my experience, nor is it the experience of anyone I've ever met. One of the most painful things a man can experience is the betrayal by his spouse. Today is part 2 of Recovering From Betrayal, focusing on a man betrayed by his wife. My returning guest, Vanessa Cardenas, is your truste...

If you notice today's episode looking and sounding different, I'm on the road and don't have my usual setup. Are you comfortable being alone? Can you enjoy your own company? Often men will feel uncomfortable emotions if they are alone and in silence. I am an only child, so I'm used to being alone, but I'd always have music or a TV playing in the background. I wasn't a fan of absolute silence because I wasn't a fan of some of my thoughts. Over the years and with lots of work and growth, I'm...

Since men are human, they can make mistakes. One aspect of life we make mistakes in is our relationships. Since so many studies show that a strong prediction of happiness and longevity is the quality of our relationships, betraying our partner is a significant issue. Google says that nearly half of individuals in monogamous relationships admit to having an affair. Close to 25% of marriages stay together after an instance of cheating. My guest today, Vanessa Cardenas, is your trusted adviso...

Last Sunday, a man reached out to the Real Men Feel page on Facebook and said - I would like to appear on your show and debate "cultural appropriation in MKP." That man, B Crittenden Freeman, is my guest today. Crittenden has been a member of the ManKind Project for 30 years holding multiple positions, Center Director, Elder, Leader In Training, and Recording Secretary for the MKP USA Board. He was responsible for the occurrence of the 1st NWTA Urban Adventure. Initially, I thought this subjec...

I love to give any man who is being of service a platform to share his message. I met today's guest, Dustin Bakker, in an online program and was immediately impressed by his willingness to be authentic and vulnerable and his desire to help other men. After losing his sense of happiness, Dustin began changing his life and slowly became aware of what his mind, body, and soul were trying to tell him. Dustin did the research, study, and inner work required to discover his happiness. He's gone on to...

When life gets hard, a lot of men withdraw. They talk less. In the face of a health challenge for yourself or a loved one, you might be much more willing to discuss logistics and tasks than the emotional impact. My guest today is not most men. He believes in having hard conversations with people going through trauma. David Richman is an author, public speaker, and endurance athlete whose mission is to form more meaningful human connections through storytelling. With his most recent book, Cycle...

Last weekend I was in Connecticut to staff the New Warrior Training Adventure weekend, a weekend-long rite of passage for men from the ManKind Project. This was the first NWTA in New England in three years, thanks to Covid. I was supposed to staff the weekend last October, but all the NWTAs across the US were halted due to charges of cultural appropriation. The charges of cultural appropriation were from a group of Native American elders called Spirit. I'm not going to rehash everything here....

We are early in Spring, a time of renewal, growth, and, ideally, flourishing. I know that in my life, I've often had to renew, prune my life, weed out the shit in my mind, and reinvent myself to be the best man I can be. My guest, Teddy Woolsey, took action when his life needed an overhaul and created a system that helped him, and now he uses that in service to others. He was 100K in debt, out of shape, depressed, and in a failing relationship to being debt-free, earning 3x as much, meeting his...

Real Men Feel invites you to redefine masculinity in today's world. The only definition of masculinity that matters is yours. We remind men that they are human beings and have the right to experience and express all of their emotions. One of the most mentioned books among Real Men Feel's learned guests is When Boys Become Boys: Development, Relationships, and Masculinity, by Judy Chu. Based on a two-year study that followed boys from pre-kindergarten through first grade, When Boys Become Boys o...

One of the most emotional relationships many of us have is with food, which is often mirrored in a love/hate relationship with our bodies. The best thing I did for my physical health last year was a program called WildFit. In late 2021, I went into a prolonged depression and gained over 30 lbs. Last summer, finally feeling better and taking positive actions, my weight was the final obstacle. That's when I discovered my guest, Eric Edmeades. Eric is a serial entrepreneur with experience in wire...

Some common complaints I hear from men are that they feel disposable, under attack, can't do anything right, and don't know what's expected of them. It may be time for a woman's perspective on what's going on between men & women. My guest today, Reverend Leslie Peters RN, is a Curator of Intuitive & Transformational Conversations and a Trauma-Informed and Spiritual Nurse Leader. She's worked with women for 30 years and told me, "guys can't win!" How women react to men is very dependent on thei...

This year, I've begun martial arts classes for the first time, and I've been having a blast sparring with guys half my age. My guest today has a bit more experience than that and a very eclectic background. He believes embracing intense and difficult emotions is the road to a fully lived and satisfying life. My guest, Nico Verresen, is a former professional Muay Thai and Mixed Martial Arts athlete with a master's in Psychology. He specializes in resilience, performance, quality of life, and hap...

According to the American Psychological Association, approximately 40-50% of first marriages end in divorce. The divorce rate for second marriages is even higher, with about 60-67% ending in divorce. As a child of divorce, I've only known them to be bitter and spiteful. My guest, Skye Michiels, is out to change that. Skye is a dad, award-winning real estate leader, motivational speaker, and host of The 6AMERS Podcast, which provides inspiration and motivation for developing a healthy mindset, ...

I recently came across a NY Times opinion piece titled Men Need Purpose More Than "Respect" by David French. I don't read enough opinion pieces to know if I've read anything by Mr. French before, but I agreed with the headline, so I dove in. The article was in response to a viral tweet written by another man I don't know, conservative podcaster Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog on Twitter) - Which stated: "All a man wants is to come home from a long day at work to a grateful wife and children who ar...

Before we get going, I want to warn everyone that we will discuss suicide attempts today. If you are in crisis right now - please get help. Text or call 988 in the US. Help is available 24 hours a day. For other countries, visit https://findahelpline.com/ for options near you. The goal of this episode is that our shared experiences as suicide attempt survivors offers hope and encouragement to others, to you. We also want to raise awareness about the importance of mental health and suicide prev...

A semi-regular feature of Real Men Feel is Regular Guy Chats. That is when I have a conversation with an average dude with nothing to promote, just a willingness to share. The first Regular Guy Chat of 2023 features Anthony Scire. Like most men, Anthony wears many hats; personal trainer, father, husband, friend, mentor, and outdoor enthusiast, to name a few. In my experience, Anthony is, first and foremost, a good man. We discuss Anthony's experiences growing up, encountering the "man box," th...

This episode asks the big questions; what drives us, inspires us, and makes us push for more than just our basic needs to be met? So please sit back, turn on your black light and get deep with us. My guest is J. Malik, a spiritual teacher, author, and speaker who emphasizes the importance of spiritual alignment in our careers, relationships, and finances. His mission is to empower men (and women) to develop healthy and prosperous relationships. His personal journey of spiritual development ins...

The introduction of this episode may give you flashbacks to high school English classes, but you'll be fine. Today we explore the power of making a choice; choosing to see the light, being of service, and improving all that you can. My guest is Christian de la Huerta, a sought-after spiritual teacher, personal transformation coach, and leading voice in the breathwork community. He has traveled the world offering inspiring and transformational retreats combining psychological and spiritual teach...

As we are still in the early days of the new year of 2023, ideally - there's lots of introspection, planning, hope, and possibilities to make this year your greatest yet! Let's explore allowing life to drive the show instead of our ego. This week's guest is Dr. Morgan Oaks, a transformational speaker, chiropractor, and high-performance coach focused on men elevating their greatness. His tools include NLP, shamanic healing, and energy work. He believes in listening to our intuition to take inspi...

I have yet to meet anyone who hasn't suffered some form of trauma. It seems that the human experience was made to include trauma. Trauma doesn't just mean physical abuse, sexual abuse, and war. It can be more minor things like not having all your needs met at any point in childhood. The simplest definition of trauma is anything too high in magnitude for you to deal with at the time. My guest today, Greg Wieting, helps leaders and entrepreneurs heal anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and trauma ...

I believe everybody has a mission, a calling, a purpose to their life, and part of life's great joy or frustration is discovering that. I don't recommend my path, which was multiple suicide attempts before I finally got there must be a better way, and I began doing the inner work. Today we are diving into purpose! My guest today is men's mentor Cooper Heller. Cooper is a personal trainer, nutritionist, and life coach who helps men clarify their purpose, upgrade their physical health, and develo...

A couple of days ago, I came across an Instagram post from an account called awake_spiritual, and it was a picture of Dwayne Johnson - The Rock, and it was called Things I Know at Age 45 That I Wish I Knew at 22. It had a list of 14 such things. I don't believe this is anything The Rock said, but maybe it is. It got me thinking about what I would tell my 22-year-old self. I had a few items right away and let my brain simmer with them for a bit. I've got five, and then I'll also share al...

WARNING: This episode discusses suicidal thoughts and attempts. If you are in crisis, do not listen to this episode. Please call or text 988 to be connected to trained counselors that are part of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network. https://988lifeline.org If you are outside of the US, please search for suicide prevention in your country. https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/11181469 Last November - 2021 - I stopped doing all the positive things in my life. I chose to dive st...