While each man’s story is unique, we share many similar struggles. We want to deepen our connection to our purpose in life, strengthen our bonds and relationships, and increase our ability to be present and aware, especially when faced with adversity.
Your path has been one of success and challenges, of highs and lows. You’ve navigated the complexities of modern life, balancing professional ambition with personal fulfillment. Maybe there’s a voice within seeking more – more depth, more connection, more authenticity. Maybe there’s a profound amount of pain that pushed you to finally reach out, and brought you here. Men like you, from all walks of life, come to MELD seeking a space where their experiences are not just heard, but deeply understood, valued, and shared.
The journey to effective leadership is both a personal and a collective endeavor. For over 30 years, we’ve developed our approach, crafting a path that combines the wisdom of experience with the clarity of scientific understanding. MELD is not just another leadership program – we’re a movement towards emotional fluency and relational depth.
Shared Journeys: Meet men who share your aspirations and understand your struggles. Here, every story matters, and every voice adds to the richness of our community.
An Exclusive Methodology: Before there was EVRYMAN, there were the foundational teachings and trainings that are now uniquely housed within MELD. These proprietary methods developed and refined over decades are registered with the United States government. No other organization offers what MELD provides—a scientifically framed journey, uniquely tailored to foster real growth and genuine connections.
Beyond Conventional Paths: You’ve tried the usual routes to personal growth and found them lacking, or the relief temporary. MELD offers something different – a journey framed in science and backed by decades of experiential refinement.
Real Growth, Real Connections: It’s not just about attending sessions or programs; it’s about genuine transformation and building lasting, authentic relationships from having an emotionally safe space to be yourself.
You Are Good Enough: It’s common to feel that while others succeed, the same paths might not unfold for us. At MELD, we understand this doubt. But here, you’re equipped with tools uniquely tailored for your journey and a supportive community to practice alongside. We’re here to affirm that this journey is for you, as much as it is for anyone.
Our approach is a bottom-up approach where we help you develop skills that transform your stress response into a connection response. We don’t tell you what you should do or who you should be. We help you get connected to resources buried within you.
MELD was founded to address the lack of effective emotional wellness programs for men. Our programs are designed based on decades of leading-edge research, the successful life experiences, and the professional expertise of our founders, catering specifically to the unique challenges men face.
Unlike generic wellness programs, MELD specifically addresses the unique challenges and societal pressures faced by men. Our community-based approach ensures sustainable personal growth and a supportive network. We don’t use the traditional model of masculinity in men’s work; we ground our work in what is natural for our bodies, emotions, and relationships.
Our long-term goals include expanding our reach to help more men worldwide, developing additional innovative programs, and conducting research to continually validate and improve our methodologies. We are on a mission to give men the tools we never got so all men can succeed. Part of this includes training men to train and support other men.
No.
At MELD, we are proud to carry forward the legacy of innovation and leadership in men’s emotional wellness, originally pioneered by Owen Marcus, a founder of both EVRYMAN and MELD. Owen and the MELD team crafted the core content, methods, programs, and retreats that defined EVRYMAN’s success. Today, these foundational elements are exclusively owned and further refined by MELD, ensuring that we continue to offer the most effective and transformative experiences. We are dedicated to providing an evolved platform that builds upon this rich heritage, making it even more impactful and accessible for all those seeking growth and connection.
After developing and leading three cohorts of EVRYMAN’s professional training, we saw what was needed to take it to a new level. Our goal is to give men more than skills that they can’t get anywhere else, but also training how to turn those skills into a successful career as other graduates of our previous trainings have done.
Yes. We lead programs for NGOs and companies such as Google.
MELD traces its roots to the late 1970s in Boulder, CO, where Owen Marcus immersed himself in studying somatic therapies. He received post-graduate training from luminaries such as Peter Levine, PhD, and Ron Kurtz, pioneers of somatic psychotherapy. In Scottsdale, AZ, Owen utilized these practices at his Rolfing and integrated medical clinic, demonstrating the profound impact of this work. Over two decades, he refined his somatic approach after his move to Idaho, leading to the establishment of the Sandpoint Men’s Group (SMG). This initiative quickly gained attention, inspiring a documentary film and Owen’s book Grow Up: A Man’s Guide to Masculine Emotional Intelligence. He also was invited to do a TEDx talk on his work.
During that period, he was one of the first members of the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy. Owen went on to form the 501(c) (3) nonprofit corporation, Men Corps, to support men, men’s groups, and research.
As a co-founder of EVRYMAN, Owen led the development of all programs, including the foundational Fundamentals, which have now expanded to be Core at MELD, which was validated through extensive research. Today, all copyrighted programs created at EVRYMAN have been incorporated into MELD, continuing to evolve and impact men’s lives.
MELD’s methods are based on proven scientific principles from psychology, emotional physiology such as Polyvagal Theory, and neurobiology. We stay updated with the latest research to ensure our programs are effective and evidence-based.
Privacy and safety are our top priorities. We adhere to strict confidentiality policies and create a secure environment where all members can feel safe to explore and express their emotions without judgment – we know without safety, we don’t heal or grow.
We welcome involvement through various roles, including volunteer opportunities, community leadership, or even becoming a facilitator. Interested individuals can contact us through our website for more information.
I resisted getting into this work. It was only that my pain was greater than the fear that got me to start my first men’s group in 1995 in my clinic in Scottsdale, AZ.
The conventional approach to men’s groups began to feel inadequate for the deep, transformative work I wanted. After completing my straw bale home in the forests of Idaho, I decided to take all I learned and developed in my practice that I knew worked to create a new model. It was a leap of faith, and to my surprise, when I reached out to eleven men to join by the middle of 2005, we had a thriving group.
What began as the Sandpoint Men’s Group (SMG) grew beyond my wildest expectations. It boasts over 500 alumni and more than 60 active members. This journey led to the birth of my nonprofit, Men Corps, Evryman, and now MELD, each step an evolution of my initial vision.
Throughout the years with SMG, Evryman, and now MELD, I’ve encountered challenges that have shaped me in unforeseen ways, fostering immense personal growth. Like many of our men, looking back, I now see the deep satisfaction of what being myself and caring for others can do in aiding other men to transform. I was given a precious gift I love sharing with others. Some part of me continues to be surprised by how other men want to grow and how much fun it can be when we do it together.
At age nine, a devastating cough led me to meditation as a means of listening to and being in relationship with my body. At age ten I began a life-long descent into the power of rhythm and drumming, a way to feel embodied, tap into my creative energy, and achieve a flow state amidst a strong tendency to dissociate. Music and meditation fused as a means for me to feel safety and immeasurable freedom, and to connect with something bigger, something deeper, a surging resource flowing below the surface.
I’m co-founder and Head of Operations at MELD, coming to somatic men’s work through my work in experiential and digital production, as well as environmental sustainability – noticing a pattern that the folks who were able to engage with the planet were those who had the personal safety and security to do so. This realization, that the basic human needs of safety and connection must be met before a person is capable of taking on something bigger, has been a game-changer. Knowing that working on myself – so that I can feel better and do better – allows me to manifest grander aspirations, and makes everyone else around me feel better and do better too, that is the greatest gift I’ve ever received.
I’m driven by the belief that true sustainability is accomplished at the smallest of circles: a healthy man makes a prosperous family, a prosperous family contributes to a thriving community, and thriving communities create a flourishing planet. As a father, I see the direct impact this work has, through me, on my son. By raising resilient and connected children, we are able to quite literally shape the future.
Growing up, I watched many men in my life suffer in silence. Their inability to feel emotions and share ultimately led them to divorces, loneliness, addiction, estrangement, and chronic illnesses. Luckily, I had male mentors in my life who demonstrated and taught me self-acceptance and courageous vulnerability.
I knew I wanted to work with men after being an educator for 10 years. There is a shortage of positive male role-models in young people’s lives today, and I want that to change. It quickly became my purpose to help men heal. Men “doing the work” not only benefits our young people but also our community, society, government, economy, and so on.
I am the man I am today because of the men who have held brave spaces for me. And today, I get to train men to be that man for others.
In the last 17 years, I’ve helped hundreds of men worldwide transform their lives through coaching, men’s groups, retreats, and online programs. There’s a leader in every man, and at MELD, we’re training men to be emotionally fit, somatically aware, and live with vitality.
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