Announcing: The Path of Manliness

Reclaiming Strength, Stability, and Community Through Tradition

Welcome to the Path of Manliness, a space dedicated to exploring the wisdom of tradition and the practical skills that build capable, confident men. I'm excited to share this journey with you.

Why Now?

In a world increasingly defined by digital distraction, disconnection, and confusion about how to be a man, men find themselves adrift. The cultural moorings that once guided men have been systematically questioned, dismantled, or abandoned altogether. Men are seeking something more substantial than what modern culture offers—something with deeper roots and more enduring value.

Over the past decade of running events like the European Men's Gathering, boot camps, and accountability groups, I've witnessed a consistent pattern: when men reconnect with traditional frameworks and classical man skills, they discover a sense of purpose and belonging that transforms their lives.

Last year, I began writing a book to distill these experiences and identify the principles that have proven most transformative. Through false starts and reconsiderations, I eventually recognized that what men need isn't just another philosophical treatise on male identity—they need a practical, time-tested path forward.

The Path of Manliness emerged as the central framework that brings clarity to everything I've learned and observed in this work.

My Journey

This platform was born from my own search for meaning. Like many men today, I spent years exploring many different paths. Having spent my 20’s and 30’s climbing corporate ladders, travelling the world and chasing intense experiences in big cities and at festivals, I found myself successful at the things I set out to do, but strangely hollow—increasingly fragmented and disconnected from stable human relationships and meaningful work.

I realised that our understanding of how to be a man amongst men is central to the way we act in the world. Thus began my journey with questions about male identity. Our nihilistic culture has successfully disrupted foundational understandings of sex and identity. Being a man was no longer something I could take for granted; it required deliberate investigation and understanding.

This quest became my spiritual journey. I spent months living in Thailand and India exploring Eastern traditions. I immersed myself in the explorative, hedonistic Burning Man community, becoming Denmark's regional contact. I looked everywhere except Christianity, which I had dismissed as part of my past rather than my future.

Coming Home

The turning point came on a mountaintop in South Africa. Having experienced how bewildering and chaotic existence was, I had grasped that faith was inherent in every worldview. And it was clear, that my materialist agnostic faith was falling short in explaining reality. Thus, as I sat on that mountain, after a visit to my father’s church, I sheepishly attempted to exercise the neglected muscle of faith I had denied for so long—I said a prayer to Jesus.

What happened next I best describe as awakening from a drunken daze—I suddenly becoming aware of reality in a fundamental way I couldn't remember experiencing before. The difference was that it suddenly became clear to me, how all things were infused with spirit. God was in and over all things. And at the same time, there were other spirits that were active, not all of them benevolent.

This experience made me realise that I needed to stop building on shifting sands, and instead to build strength, stability and community on something solid and trustworthy. What followed was not merely a series of transformative choices, but a chain of events that flowed naturally once I found the right foundation.

The foundation was recognizing that the faith in the Christian Holy Trinity of my fathers was indeed true—that I'd spent much of my life in childish rebellion against my own heritage and foundation as a man. The experience on the mountain, and my subsequent desire to find the true root of Christianity, led me to the Orthodox Church.

This spiritual rediscovery opened the way for everything else. God is in control, and I could trust life again. Learning to trust naturally led to marriage and starting a family. Having found the foundation for manhood, I could step onto the traditional path of manliness. As a single man, I had to figure everything out myself. With the right foundation firmly in place—faith, church, and family—life became for more meaningful and simple.

One blessing led naturally to the next. Today I am the father of three sons. Four years ago we moved to a 360-year-old homestead in the countryside. I am learning animal husbandry and the various skills required for the repairs and maintenance required here. I joined the Home Guard to go through the most rigorous military training I could find. We have a far more natural way of life, connected to each other and a strong local community.

I am still on the journey, and it is one I expect I will never master. But I have found something valuable, which I want to share with men who are on a similar trajectory to me.

Why "The Path of Manliness"?

My experiences revealed something surprising for me: the most profound answers to our “masculinity crisis” aren't new or revolutionary. They were traditional, time-tested approaches to manhood that have guided generations before us.

Here was my conundrum though: I had built a business around supporting men on the spiritual journey to find manhood. Now I had found a source—the Orthodox Church and its Holy Tradition. Next to this institution that had sustained civilizations for thousands of years, my offerings are insignificant and flawed.

But if I instead decided to build on this foundation of manhood, I realized I could redirect my own focus. Rather than attempting to address the deepest questions of manhood and spiritual being (which the Church does better than I ever could), I could concentrate on something more immediately practical: manliness—the concrete skills, virtues, and behaviours of capable men.

This distinction between manhood (what you are) and manliness (what you do and how you live) clarified my purpose. The Path of Manliness offers something tangible and accessible while acknowledging the deeper question of manhood which manliness is grounded on.

If you are interested in exploring the distinction further, I've written more about manhood vs. manliness here.

What We'll Explore Together

The Path of Manliness book I am writing places tradition as an alternative approach to men stuck in dysfunctional “Nice Guy” or “Bad Boy” patterns. It focuses on four traditional roles every man must navigate:

The Son: Learning humility, respect, and your place in the generational chain

The Brother: Building authentic male friendships as vital support in all aspects of life

The Husband: Learning to love and lead through service as a man coming to know a woman

The Father: Providing, protecting, and passing on wisdom to the next generation

Alongside these foundational roles, we'll develop practical skills that not only served our grandfathers well, but remain the core competencies which make men genuinely attractive and respected in today's world:

• Self-defence: Gain the quiet confidence that comes from knowing you can protect yourself and those you care about when situations turn dangerous.

• Hands-on craftsmanship: Gain the satisfaction and respect that comes from being the man who can fix anything in your home, build what your family needs, and transform your living space with your own hands.

• Physical capability: Develop the functional strength and endurance that commands presence in a room and demonstrates your readiness to face life's physical challenges—qualities that people instinctively recognize and value.

• Self-reliance: Cultivate the independence and security of earning your own money, maintaining your own equipment, and solving problems without depending on others—the foundation of being a provider others can depend on.

• Social leadership: Build the charisma and social intelligence to lead groups, resolve conflicts, and create community—skills that distinguish you as someone worth following in your professional and personal life.

These aren't merely hobbies or nice-to-have abilities—they're the concrete capabilities that have always separated boys from men, and continue to be the unspoken qualities that draw others to a man of substance and capability.

The Summer Gathering

After a break from running big events, I am now ready to put together a men’s gathering again. This will be our 2025 Man Skills Summer Gathering the 31st July to 3rd August at my homestead in Denmark. Registration opens after Easter for this transformative experience where men will:

• Learn classical man skills - Gain the foundational skills of manliness through hands-on instruction in the core competencies that build confidence and capability in every area of life.

• Forge meaningful bonds with like-minded men - Build lasting brotherhood through shared work, challenges, and purposeful conversation around the campfire with men on the same journey.

• Gain clarity and renewed purpose - Step away from the noise of modern life and rediscover your authentic direction through physical work, traditional wisdom, and the perspective that comes from reconnecting with what matters most.

• Experience natural living - Immerse yourself in the rhythm and reality of a 360-year-old family homestead, reconnecting with the organic patterns of life that have sustained men for generations

This gathering isn't just a festival—it's an opportunity to re-calibrate what it means to be a man in the modern world, grounded in the natural practices that constitute manliness.

Visit our website to secure your place, and make sure you are subscribed to this Substack for priority notification, and exclusive content leading up to the gathering.

What Sets Us Apart

Countercultural But Rooted - We don't offer rebellion for rebellion's sake. Instead, we present a rooted alternative to a nihilistic mainstream culture. Our grounding on Christian tradition, despised by a radically progresssive culture, provides ancient wisdom which has stood firm through centuries of fads and ideological storms.

Living What We Teach - The Path of Manliness isn't an philosophical talk club or online ranting. I'm walking this path alongside you, working through the same challenges in my daily life with my family on our homestead. What you'll read here comes directly from the soil of our garden, the wood in our workshop, the prayers in our home, and the real struggles of raising boys to become good men. This isn't theory—it's lived experience that you can witness and even participate in at the Summer Gathering.

Seasoned in the Work - Since running my first men’s workshops in 2015 and the first Nordic Men's Gathering in 2017, I've dedicated my life to understanding and supporting men. This isn't a side project or passing interest—it's my vocation and the way I provide for my family. I've spent thousands of hours in men's circles, witnessed breakthroughs and breakdowns, celebrated victories and navigated failures. Through economic ups and downs, COVID, cultural shifts, and personal challenges, I've remained committed to this work. When you engage with the Path of Manliness, you benefit from years of practical experience focused on one mission: helping men reclaim their strength and purpose.

Join Us on the Path

Each week, I'll share insights, practical skills, and wisdom from tradition that you can immediately apply to your life. For now, all the content will be free for all.

If you're drawn to:

• Building practical competence

• Finding stability through time-tested traditions

• Creating meaningful brotherhood and community

• Growing through the traditional roles of manhood

...then this is your invitation to join us.

Subscribe now to receive our upcoming posts on traditional roles, practical skills, and announcements about the summer gathering. Together, we'll rediscover the path to strength, stability, and community that men have walked for generations.

With purpose, Paul

P.S. If you know other men who might benefit from this journey, please share this with them. The challenges men face today are best overcome in community, not isolation.