MEN'S WORK | JUNE 18-21 UPSTATE, NYWARRIOR COUNCIL x MICHAEL CHERNOW PRESENTS:RETURN TO SELF
A 4-day rite of passage designed to strengthen your sense of self and direction, clear emotional weight and connect with purpose-driven brothers.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Modern life has pulled us away from who we truly are.Most men carry invisible burdens—unprocessed emotions, stress, and a quiet hunger for something more.
They’ve achieved success, endured hardship, and kept going. But underneath the armor... something is missing.
Men are starving for real brotherhood, sacred challenge, and embodied initiation.
THE TRANSFORMATION
This retreat strips away the noise and expectations that have shaped you from the outside in.Through nature, breath, ritual, and honest inner work, you drop the armor and reconnect with your primal energy and inner stillness.
You’ll be witnessed, held, and challenged in real brotherhood—so you can meet yourself without performance or pretense.
You don’t leave fixed.
You leave clear, grounded, and rooted in your purpose—carrying a deeper sense of personal power you can actually live from.
WHAT YOU’LL EXPERIENCE
ELEMENTAL CONNECTIONEarth-based living—camping under open sky, tending sacred fires, and sharing nourishing meals made with intention. Connect to clean spring water, wild spaces, and simple rituals that return you to what’s real.
SOMATIC HEALING & RITUALMove through breath, sweat, sound, and stillness to release what your body has carried for too long. Through modalities like Rebirth Breathwork, Mental Emotional Release®, purification ritual, and kambo (optional), we clear the noise and come back to center.
EMBODIED MASCULINITYExplore your personal myth and the archetypes that shape you. Through movement, writing, voice, and story—we'll reclaim what it means to be a man walking with presence, clarity, and strength. This is your return to grounded, authentic expression.
YOUR GUIDES
MICHAEL CHERNOW
Host & Lead GuideMichael helps men create radical change through discipline, daily rituals, and embodied leadership. As a coach, entrepreneur, and father, he guides men to break destructive cycles and replace them with habits that build strength, purpose, and integrity. With a story rooted in overcoming addiction, launching successful businesses, and embracing full-spectrum wellness, Michael embodies grit, grace, and grounded masculinity.
MICHAEL GAZZO
Breath & TransformationMichael Gazzo helps men shed inherited identities and return to who they actually are. A men’s coach, breathwork facilitator, master NLP practitioner, and platinum music producer, his work builds real nervous system capacity through embodied presence and emotional integration. As a husband and father, he guides men toward steadiness, self-trust, and integrity in how they show up for their lives, relationships, and families.
DAVID BROWN
Music & MysticDavid aka DEVA RUNA helps men awaken their divine potential through sacred music, mythology, and sound ritual. As a recording artist, multi-instrumentalist, and co-founder of Bird Tribe, he channels the wisdom of the Eagle and Condor prophecy to activate remembrance. With 13+ years of study in global traditions, his work bridges vibrational healing, spiritual ecology, and ancient stories that guide us home to harmony and co-creation.
ERICARDO BALDONADO
Sweat & EarthEricardo aka “Ricky” supports men at the intersection of body intelligence, spiritual ecology, and ritual. A certified Tantra yoga educator, sweat lodge leader, and co-founder of Environmental Resiliency & Advocacy (ERA), he bridges Vedic science with indigenous wisdom to restore harmony in body and soul. With decades of experience in community building, permaculture and ceremony, he empowers men to walk with rhythm, reverence, and be in rite relations.
ANTHONY ESCOBAR
Word & InitiationAnthony helps men reclaim their voice, power, and purpose through ancestral wisdom and deep presence. A transformational artist and guide, he blends NLP, shamanic arts, somatic healing, and sacred storytelling. With two decades of global study—from the Amazon to Africa—his work centers around masculine initiation, emotional liberation, and the sacred creative force of the word. As a father, he’s devoted to stewarding the next generation of conscious men.
SCOTT MCDONALD
Food & PresenceScott helps men reconnect to their bodies and to the earth through the rituals of breath and food. A Chopped champion and Michelin-trained chef turned breathwork facilitator, he now guides healing through elemental nourishment, movement, and presence. His mission: to bring men back to regenerative, heart-centered living—where food, breath, and brotherhood become portals of transformation.
WHY THIS RETREAT IS DIFFERENT
This is not another “push harder” men's retreat. And it’s not soft, disconnected spiritual bypassing either.
This is the Middle Path:
Where warrior training meets emotional mastery.
Where being a man is lived, not just talked about.
Where men return to truth, power, and prayer.
If you're ready to do the real work—this is your moment.
Day OneWe arrive, settle into the space, and step into the work together. This opening phase sets the tone—honest, grounded, and direct. We begin naming why we’re here and what we’re ready to face, building trust through shared presence and truth.
Arrival & Grounding
Check-In10:00 – 1:00pm
open circle1:00pm
BREATHWORK I3:00pm
HOT/COLD ROUNDS5:00pm
Dinner6:00pm
FIRESIDE COUNCIL7:30pm
Day TwoWith the container set, Day Two invites deeper release. Old emotional weight, guarded patterns, and held tension begin to move. As space opens internally, men reconnect with clarity, intuition, and a felt sense of truth beneath the noise.
Release & Reconnection
KAMBO CEREMONY7:00am
BREAKFAST9:00am
HOT N COLD ROUNDS1:00pm
DINNER6:00pm
FIRESIDE COUNCIL7:30pm
BREATHWORK II11:00am
LUNCH2:00pm
YOGA/SOMATIC writing 4:00pm
Day ThreeThis day is about bringing insight into the body and into relationship. Strength, presence, and honesty are tested and refined. The work becomes lived—through movement, challenge, and shared responsibility.
Purification & Embodiment
SWEAT8:00am
BIG FEAST12:00pm
BREATHWORK III4:00pm
DINNER6:00pm
FIRESIDE COUNCIL7:30pm
Ruck hike2:00pm
Day FOURThe final day closes the ceremonial arc. What has been released is honored. What has been remembered is integrated. Men prepare to return home grounded, clear, and accountable to what they’ve touched.
Closing & Integration
Sunrise yoga8:00am
Breakfast & close10:00am
*NOTE: ALL TIMES AND STRUCTURES SUBJECT TO CHANGE*
IS THIS FOR YOU?
This retreat is for men who are ready to drop the mask and show up real. It’s for those who crave sacred challenge over surface-level conversation—men who’ve done the inner work and are now ready for a true rite of passage.
It’s not for those who are seeking a quick fix or spiritual bypass. If you’re unwilling to be held accountable, challenged, or stretched—and if you’re not open to emotional depth, ancient practices, and real brotherhood—this isn’t your path.
THE LAND
Just 30 minutes from Albany, nestled in the heart of Upstate New York, this sacred gathering unfolds on 70 acres of wild, untamed beauty—Michael Chernow’s private land. Here, you’ll be held by fresh water ponds, forested trails, open meadows, and the kind of stillness that speaks directly to the soul.
Each day, we’ll gather around firelight for real conversation. We’ll breathe with the land—barefoot, heart-open, and fully present. And each night, you’ll rest under the stars in spacious safari-style bell tents, immersed in elemental living.
This isn’t a venue. It’s a living, breathing invitation to remember where you come from.
UPSTATE NY | JUNE 18-21APPLY NOW
This is a high-level, all-inclusive retreat limited to 20 men. Spots will go fast. If your heart is stirred, trust that.
Investment: $4500
Accommodations, meals, and all experiences included.
Payment plans available — as low as $200/month via Klarna
Serious applications only. This is sacred space.