OUTSIDE OF LOVELAND, Colorado, about 90 minutes north of Denver, sits a ranch at the foot of the Rockies known as Sylvan Dale. More than 3,000 acres of grasslands, canyons, and tree-topped foothills, plus a barn where a team of wranglers oversee a herd of 40-plus horses. When we arrived, the first assignment was to gather in a small cabin: 10 men warily sizing one another up before settling into a ring of chairs. A wealthy businessman, an architect, a long haul trucker. Mostly American, mostly straight, mostly white. At 46, I was the youngest, though I'd been told they'd had men in their 20s. The mood was perplexed and defensive we knew why we were there, but not exactly how our lives had reached a point where we'd pay for an intensive four-day break from society known as the Confident Man Ranch Retreat.
The United States doesn't lack for men's retreats. Many of them emphasize chest-thumping catharsis. The ManKind Project offers "new warrior training." Evryman is "CrossFit for your emotions, according to The New York Times. The Confident Man Ranch Retreat offers something else: group therapy for guys who might not otherwise be game for it, conducted at a setting straight out of an old Western.
The organizers looked like a mismatched pair: Steve Horsmon, a gruff cowboy type in boots and denim, lived in the mountains in a house he built by hand. Tim Wade might've passed as a downtown psychologist: Hokas, jeans, T-shirt, plus many bracelets he fiddled with as he spoke. Outside the retreat, both work independently as life coaches. They met in 2015 when Tim walked into a men's group Steve ran in Fort Collins and soon after decided to collaborate on something bigger: a mash-up of equine therapy and empathy training for small groups. In 2017, the retreat's first year, they didn't know if anyone would come; nine retreats later, 10 as of October, it sells out every time. (The retreat currently costs $3,600.)
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Make Your First Electric Car an Old Ford Bronco
In a former naval shipyard outside San Francisco, one start-up is cooking up cars for the next century-just not the kind you think.
A Watch Is More Than Just a Pretty Face
As collectors look to make their grail watches stand out, they're turning to unique vintage bracelets and paying thousands on thousands for straps on the secondary market.
Wes Lang's Heroes of Love..
This month, LA-based artist Wes Lang unveils The Black Paintings, a monumental series of works that play like storyboards to a raucous midnight horror movie and a spiritual quest. Here, GQ collaborates with the artist on a fashion story that brings his stylish characters off the canvas.
The Miraculous Resurrection of Notre-Dame
In 2019, a fire nearly destroyed the crown jewel of France-and the nation set a breakneck five-year deadline to bring it back from the ashes. This is the story of how an army of artisans turned back centuries to restore Notre-Dame by hand, and wound up reviving something even greater than the cathedral itself.
GET RICH SLOW - GQ ANSWERS ALL YOUR PERSONAL-FINANCE QUESTIONS
THIS MAGAZINE talks a lot about money. Not explicitly, but implicitly. Clothes. Watches. Art. Travel. You know, the good life. So for once, we wanted to take your money questions head-on. Over these 10 pages, we'll talk about how to save, invest, and-yes-spend the GQ way. Tackling everything from ETFs and Roth IRAs to whether or not being really good at sourcing watches or betting on sports qualifies as \"investing.\" So if you're wondering: Can I make smart money choices without giving up all the cool, stylish, indulgent things I love? The answer is yes. As long as you do it right.
Can Anyone Catch LAMAR JACKSON?
THERE IS AN awestruck, almost mythical way that folks discuss Lamar Jackson. Teammates, coaches, and fans talk about the Baltimore Ravens' incandescent 27-year-old quarterback like he's the football version of Paul Bunyan, if Bunyan ran the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds.
"IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING PERFECT. IT'S ABOUT BEING REVOLUTIONARY"
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter talks business, legacy, art, and family.
Healthy Protein Can Help Shrink Your Gut - Being a trainer, bodybuilder, and nutrition expert means that companies frequently send me their products and ask for my stamp of approval.
Like my father always said, "What you put inside your body always shows up on the outside." One protein shake that I received, that will remain nameless, was touted as 'the next big shake' but really had a list of gut destroying ingredients. Everywhere I read I saw harmful artificial ingredients, added sugars, synthetic dyes, preservatives and cheap proteins; the kind of proteins that keep you fat no matter how hard you hit the gym, sap your energy and do nothing for your muscles.
THE FUTURE SOUNDS LIKE AT EEZ
The Coachella-slaying, multi-language-singing, genre-obliterating members of Ateez are quickly becoming load-bearing stars of our global pop universe.
Inside the undercover adventures of a full-time fraud sleuth.
HOW TO MAKE A FORTUNE AS A PROFESSIONAL WHISTLE-BLOWER