My guest today is Matt Sturm, a guide and writer dedicated to the evolution of masculinity. His offerings include psychotherapy, psychedelic-assisted work, sacred sexuality, and men’s retreats. He is the author of two books—The Organic Masculine and Primal Drives—and the creator of the Living Kosmos tarot deck.

(You might also remember Matt from when he joined Deus and I to discuss eros & intimacy in men’s ritual space).

After a decade working in the corporate climate sector, Matt left his dream job to embark on a spiritual path that led him deep into yoga, tantra, and the mythic roots of masculine identity. His work bridges archetypal psychology, developmental theory, and sacred embodiment, inviting men into a more integrated and life-affirming expression of their power.

In this conversation, we explore the crisis and rebirth of masculinity in a time of global unraveling. Matt shares his framework of the "organic masculine," and how the primal drives of aggression and sexuality—when unintegrated—fuel much of the world’s destruction. We look at the role of rites of passage, the death-rebirth journey of the hero, and the challenge of moving from domination to deep relationality.

We discuss the symbolic power of myths like Hercules and the Hydra, the collective adolescent psyche behind our social and environmental collapse, and how reclaiming the warrior archetype can support a shift from violence to sacred protection.

Together, we ask: How might men transform their primal drives into devotion? What kind of masculine presence is needed to meet the polycrisis of our time? And how do we embrace the monster within so that it becomes an ally rather than an adversary?

This episode is a call to enter the depths—where masculinity is not conquered or discarded, but composted, reimagined, and reborn in service to life.

The Mythic Masculine is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

MATT’S LINKS

* Website

* Essay: Masculinity & The Polycrisis

ADDITIONAL EPISODES

If you like our conversation, check out my earlier complimentary conversations:

Greetings friends.

By now you have likely heard about, if not already listened to, Aubrey Marcus’ podcast “A New Pattern for Sacred Relationship.”

If you haven’t I would recommend at least check out the first 30 minutes.

Last weekend I listened to the whole thing, all 2.5 hours. I've also read and watched a number of responses to it (and there are many).

Some folks call him a "false king" who is not a "real man". Others say the women (his wife and their lover) are being manipulated and have lost their own inner compass.

Marc Gafni, their mentor (also featured on the podcast) calls them "evolutionary lovers in a field of erotic mystics" ... or something.

It seems to have hit the cultural zeitgeist on sex, relationships, monogamy/polyamory, spiritual bypassing, divine union, cults, psychedelics, all of it.

Just that alone has been fascinating to witness.

A few days ago I posted an initial response on my Facebook.

I also sent the episode to my friend and collaborator Deus Fortier, and he responded with is take here.

I felt inspired to jump on a call today and record an emergent conversation between us. Enjoy!

As named, you can stream my film The Village of Lovers.

And check out Deus and I’s upcoming men’s offerings here:

* Awaking the Wild Erotic (In-Person)

* The Deep Masculine (Online)

SHOW NOTES

* 00:00 – Opening and framing: why this conversation matters now

* 00:50 – Who is Aubrey Marcus? Context on his influence and subcultural position

* 02:45 – Summary of the podcast episode: divine union, polyamory, and the “radical monogamy” claim

* 06:50 – The Egypt “download”: Aubrey’s call to impregnate both women

* 08:00 – Mark Gafni’s role as spiritual mentor and the atmosphere of unquestioned affirmation

* 10:30 – Deus shares his initial unease and what made the episode feel “off”

* 13:30 – The concept of krivda: when truth is wrapped in distortion

* 17:00 – Power dynamics, spiritual bypass, and concerns about lack of transparency

* 22:00 – Reflections on biological imperative and cultural conditioning around monogamy

* 31:00 – Lessons from Tamara: embedment and forum as collective relational technologies

* 40:00 – The danger of personal downloads without communal discernment

* 44:00 – Deus’s personal journey of erotic healing, trauma, and moving at the speed of trust

* 50:00 – How to offer better relational support to each other

Last week, I sat down with Chris Kyle, co-founder of the upcoming Big Tent Summit, a gathering for men & woman who are involved in the stewardship of healthy masculinity today.

Chris has been in the exploration for nearly three decades, and he articulates his perspective on the “three waves” of the modern men’s movement: from its mythopoetic roots, to the rise of embodied presence, and now—an integrative call to wholeness.

We speak of the fragmentation many men feel, the seductive pull of the mansophere & adolescent masculinities, and the hunger for a mature, grounded path rooted in a greater cosmology.

The Big Tent Summit, happening May 29–June 1 in Loveland, Colorado, is a gathering of leaders, facilitators, and culture-makers. It will be a place to compare maps, cross-pollinate practices, and connect with others engaged in this work.

Get full info & tickets at BigTentSummit.com

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For more of the history and evolution of men’s work, you’re invited to check out my free webinar An Introduction To Mythopoetic Masculinity.

Today, I’m honored to share a conversation with Minna Salami—author, social critic, and senior fellow at The New Institute.

This exchange was recorded during the Fugitive Futures Summit I co-hosted in February 2025. I’m sharing it here because of the powerful resonance between Minna’s work and the questions we hold on this podcast.

Her book Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone proposes a liberatory way of knowing that’s embodied, relational, and rooted in both thought and feeling. Drawing on African cosmologies and feminist philosophy, Minna challenges the dominance of Euro-patriarchal systems and invites us toward a more holistic worldview.

We explore this sensuous way of knowing—and its deep relevance to masculinity. We speak to the adolescent forms of masculine power so common in leadership today, and ask how a more mature, rooted masculinity might emerge through depth and inner listening.

UPCOMING OFFERINGS

Speaking of pathways of mature masculinity, men are invited to check out my online trainings and in-person events.

The Deep Masculine - 12 week online journey to repattern your relationship to sex, soul and purpose. Begin anytime.

Awakening The Wild Erotic - A men’s ritual initiation into the archetype of The Lover. We have two upcoming weekends:

* July 25-27 - Montreal, Canada

* Aug 22-24 - Vancouver Island

All folks are invited to explore Iron John: A Mythic Story about Men.

Would love to hear your comments on my conversation with Minna! Leave you thoughts below.

Heads up - we’re taking AWE on the road this July!

I’m pleased to share this conversation with my collaborator Deus Fortier, and two colleagues, Paul Simard and Robin Corlux, who are supporting us to bring our men’s ritual weekend to the Montreal region this July.

AWE is more than a retreat - it's an initiation into erotic maturity, focusing on the Lover archetype. This archetype, which emphasizes relational consequence and interconnectedness, is crucial for cultivating a deeper sense of beauty and soul.

In a culture that often glorifies the King and Warrior archetypes, AWE offers a unique opportunity for men to explore the more nuanced and vulnerable aspects of masculinity.

The weekend is a blend of mythopoetic and body-centered therapeutic practices. Participants will engage in rituals, hear mythic stories, and work with symbols to explore their deep psyche, as well as somatic exercises to embody and express their emotional landscape.

The goal is to create a safe and trusting environment where men can de-armor, build non-sexual intimacy with other men, and reclaim a trust and connection to a deeper masculine essence.

The weekend is not just a one-time experience but an entry into a continual process of returning to the wellspring of the Lover archetype.

If you’re in the region (Montreal, Toronto, New York, etc) consider joining us.

Earlier this week, I posted this on Facebook and Instagram and received quite a strong response - so I’m publishing here as well to hear from my readers.

In my recent interview with Tyson Adams, we explored the phenomenon of pornography and its deep, often hidden, effects on men.

You might think it’s not so different from what previous generations faced—but after listening to our conversation, you’ll see we’re living in an era unlike any before.

Once upon a time, a young boy’s access to pornography required either cunning effort—like sneaking into his dad’s hidden stash—or sheer luck, like Tyson stumbling across a Playboy in a field.

Today, that mediation is all but gone.

Youth can now access an unending stream of pornographic imagery and videos—24/7, in any variation imaginable.

And the impact has been nothing short of catastrophic.

Martin Shaw, mythteller and rites-of-passage guide, speaks to the mythic loss pornography has inflicted on the male psyche:

“There used to be shadowy areas in the imagination that contained passageways for Aphrodite, Dionysus, and lusty Pan to emerge through and ignite the sexual experience. However, that requires an imaginal flow, not the oddly passive imprint of negotiated image, downloaded into the mind by a jaded computer techie in Silicon Valley. […] Porn provides the picture—a very limited one—that short-circuits the entrance of ‘the mind’s eye’ to the erotic imagination. […] In other words, we fail to develop our own erotic imagery.”

And now, with the advent of AI, we are entering exponential territory.

The involvement of a human woman is no longer required.

Busty, “perfect” AI-generated women now have hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, with legions of adoring men. AI porn platforms allow users to conjure whatever woman or scenario they desire—on demand.

It’s a godlike power, exercised within the confines of a false, synthetic reality.

I can’t help but return to a common thread in many indigenous traditions: that everything has a spirit.

When that spirit is extracted, manipulated, and concentrated, it becomes addictive. Think: sugar cane versus refined sugar. Sacred tobacco versus commercial cigarettes. The same for alcohol, coffee, the list goes on.

Pornography, in this light, makes a promise: connection to the Feminine.

But it cannot deliver.

Instead, it offers a ghost.

A distorted, addictive shadow of the feminine.

So how does a man break free?

The path is not linear—and it involves multiple layers.

One is rewiring the nervous system: learning to seek self-regulation not through porn, but through practices like breathwork, meditation, movement, and creative expression.

Another is healing the shame that clings to so many men’s sexual histories. This is the heart of my work in Stealing the Key: Men, Sex, and the Mother Complex.

And finally, a man must expand his relationship to sexuality itself—reclaiming it as a doorway into eros, the primal force of life.

He comes to realize that sex is just one channel of this vast current, and that when he stops seeking it solely through women—or through substances—he opens to a cosmos teeming with beauty and inherent purpose.

If you're a man who wants to begin this journey, send me a DM.

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I’d also love to hear your comments on this below!

My guest today is Tyson Adams, a trauma-informed IFS men’s coach, somatic bodyworker, and psychedelic facilitator.

After spending twenty years entangled in pornography addiction, Tyson broke free seven years ago and has since dedicated his life to helping men reclaim their lifeforce energy. He co-facilitates men’s leadership intensives, supports couples navigating intimacy, and brings a grounded, embodied presence to the evolving landscape of modern masculinity.

In this conversation, we enter one of the most charged topics in men’s lives today: pornography. Tyson shares his personal path through addiction and healing, revealing the deep cultural silence around male sexuality and the absence of rites of passage for boys becoming men.

We explore the psychological and physiological impacts of porn, the line between eros and exploitation, and the difference between pornography and erotica. Tyson speaks to the healing power of celibacy, mindful self-pleasure, and ‘parts work’, inviting a more conscious relationship with sex.

From AI fantasy to the hunger for genuine intimacy, we ask: How can men reclaim erotic sovereignty in an overstimulated world? What initiations are needed to guide desire into devotion? And how do we plant the seeds of a culture that honors sex as a life-giving force in alignment with life?

This episode is a call to remember eros as sacred—woven with integrity, healing, and soul.

LINKS

* Follow Tyson Adams on IG

* Explore Tyson’s Programs

You’re also invited to check out The Deep Masculine, my 3 month online program for men to repattern their relationship to sex, soul, and purpose.

There are pathways for men and women to explore the masculine through a mythopoetic lens, with weekly lessons, somatic skills, and ritual practices to empower your journey.