Living Connected Lives
Out of the work of thousands of men and the latest research, MELD evolved.
What It Was, What It Became, and What Is Next
EVRYMAN helped thousands of men. That part is true. But like many good things, its deeper story is more complex and more human.
Before EVRYMAN ever became a name, a brand, or a movement, there was a men’s group in a small town in northern Idaho.
In 2005, I started the Sandpoint Men’s Group (SMG) to meet a personal need; I wanted a real connection with men. Not performance, not bravado, not therapy. Just men learning how to be human together. That experiment turned into a local movement. The group grew, the work deepened, and men started coming from across the country just to experience it. One of those men was Dan Doty.
Dan spent a summer in SMG and was profoundly moved by the work. We stayed connected. I trained and mentored him over the following years, including flying to New York City to run live workshops for the men he had gathered. Dan later co-founded what would become EVRYMAN, and eventually asked me to join. I said yes because believed in the mission.
I brought in what I had developed over decades of somatic teaching, group facilitation, and men’s development. What followed was a surge of interest, impact, and momentum that few of us saw coming.
Building the Heart of EVRYMAN
During my time at EVRYMAN, I developed and led 95% of its live and virtual programs. These were not cookie-cutter self-help events. They were immersive, body-based, emotionally honest experiences that changed lives.
The testimonials said it all.
Men reached out months, and often even years later, to tell us that a single retreat, a single group, or a single moment in an EVRYMAN program had fundamentally shifted their relationships, their work, and their sense of self.
That kind of transformation is rare. And it is contagious.
The passion and precision of the training team I assembled became the heartbeat of the brand. It was not long before more men wanted to do what we were doing, not just experience it, but facilitate it. That’s when I built EVRYMAN’s first skill-based training tracks and professional certification program. Coaches, therapists, and men from all walks of life came to learn the art and science behind this new form of men’s emotional leadership.
Some created new professions. Others started their own powerful men’s groups. Word spread. Google brought us in. The therapist and best-selling author, Esther Perel, one of the few women to attend our training, publicly endorsed the work. It was clear: we had created something different. Something functional. Something for which men had been waiting.
When the Work Outgrew the Business
But impact does not always translate to infrastructure.
As the programs thrived, the business side of EVRYMAN struggled. Leadership turnover, inconsistent operations, and eventually an acquisition by Palm Ventures Studio created instability that could not be papered over with vision alone.
Despite a million-dollar investment and a total debt write-off, the new ownership struggled to build on what had been created. Programs disappeared. Memberships declined. Key leaders and contributors, many of whom had built EVRYMAN from the inside out, began to leave.
By the end of 2023, EVRYMAN’s core team had stepped away.
The Legacy Lives in MELD
But the work did not stop. It evolved.
Those of us who had shaped EVRYMAN’s programs, culture, and reputation came together to form something new: MELD. It is not a replacement. It is a refinement. A return to what worked, and a progression of what is possible.
Many men who were once deeply committed to EVRYMAN — members, facilitators, and alumni — are now active in MELD. They are co-creating the next chapter: a global movement grounded in physiology, emotional integrity, and true community.
The truth is, EVRYMAN gave birth to something real. It just could not sustain it.
But what we built inside it — the heart of the work — still beats.
And it beats stronger than ever inside the bootstrapped MELD.
You Are Not Lost. You Are Early.
If you found this page because you were searching for EVRYMAN, or because you once attended a program that stayed with you, you’re not alone.
This page exists because the internet does not always tell the whole story. We wanted you to hear it directly, from one of EVRYMAN’s creators, facilitators, and stewards.
The men’s work we pioneered is not gone. It is growing. And you are invited.
Explore what is next at MELD.community, or reach out to reconnect with what you felt was real.
You are welcome to reach out to me to see how I may help you on your journey.