This is Theseus Lodge.

September 6th-12th, 2026

A weeklong men’s contemplative retreat near Boulder, Colorado.

Build the Lodge. Contend with the Mountain. Connect with Truth.

Theseus Lodge is a contemplative masculinity retreat for men who want to become more capable, honest and alive. This September, 15 of us will gather on Storm Mountain, north of Boulder, CO. We will build a temporary ceremonial lodge, learn wilderness skills, hike, wrestle, meditate, and deeply examine what it means to live in integrity. We will also learn how to fight wisely within our intimate relationships, talk to women without fear of shame or judgment, and stand strong in the face of our deepest fears surrounding masculinity.

Build the Lodge

At the center of the retreat is Theseus Lodge: a temporary ceremonial structure we will raise on Storm Mountain. Designed to resemble an ancient Greek trireme, this building evokes the Ship of Theseus, a mythical vessel, a famous philosophical experiment, and the retreat’s namesake.

Much of the Lodge will be constructed in advance and then broken down into modular parts. On the mountain, we will assemble those parts and build our own unique part of the structure together, using a temporary woodshop. Participants will work with timber and power tools and learn basic construction methods.

Once raised, the Lodge becomes the ceremonial center of the retreat: a place for fire, contemplation, brotherhood and truth-telling.

At the end of the week, we will take it down. The Lodge is temporary, but not disposable. The intention is to raise it again in future years, replacing and changing its parts while asking what allows something to remain itself through change.

Contend With the Mountain

Theseus Lodge takes place on Storm Mountain, a 10,000-foot peak northeast of Rocky Mountain National Park.

We will camp in tents, hike through the surrounding wilderness and train for realistic backcountry situations. The wilderness curriculum includes practical skills for responding when someone becomes lost or injured, including first aid, protection from the elements, shelter, navigation and signaling for rescue.

But the mountain is not merely an obstacle to overcome. Wilderness practice is also about perception: learning to pay attention, adapt to conditions, recognize our dependence on one another and become more responsible participants in the natural world.

On the final morning, we will leave before dawn and summit Storm Mountain together. We will then return to camp, strike the Lodge and close with a feast.

Wrestle With Brothers

Participants will receive basic instruction in a safe, but intense, modified form of sumo wrestling. They will also get the opportunity to take part in a tournament later in the week.

Sumo creates a direct encounter with strength, balance, commitment and another man’s resistance. The rules are simple, the boundaries are visible and the result is immediate. There is no room to hide behind performance when someone is trying to take you down.

Practice Presence

Meditation, movement and contemplative practice will be woven throughout the retreat. Contemplative fitness helps us become more aware of the land, the group and our own reactions when we are tired, uncertain, frustrated or unable to control what happens next.

Competence matters. So does the ability to stop, pay attention and act from a place deeper than habit.

Tell the Truth

The Lodge will hold evening discussions, masculinity seminars and radical-honesty circles.

Participants will be asked to speak plainly about what is happening in the group and within themselves. We will make room for parts of male life that are often discussed indirectly or carried alone: friendship, rivalry, purpose, ambition, shame, responsibility, fear and the question of what kind of men we are becoming.

You should expect disagreement. Men will bring different histories, beliefs and visions of masculinity. The purpose is not to force agreement or establish a single approved model of manhood. It is to practice remaining honest, curious and responsible when something real is at stake.

You will be asked to examine your own worldview as seriously as you examine anyone else’s.

Carry Responsibility

Theseus Lodge is built through mutual service.

Participants will establish and maintain the camp, assemble the Lodge, care for shared spaces, contribute to the practical work of the retreat and help strike the camp at the end of the week.

There is no room for consumers at Theseus Lodge. Your participation is what makes it possible.

Leadership will therefore not be treated only as a subject for discussion. Every man will fill a leadership role at least once during the week. Other men will rely on your attention, judgment, effort and follow-through.

Scholarship participants will take additional volunteer shifts involving meal preparation, general labor and work during camp setup and strike.

The Schedule:

The current program is organized around a progression of work, wilderness, physical contact, contemplation and integration:

Sunday: Travel to Storm Mountain, camp setup and initiation
Monday: Work, quality and integrity
Tuesday: Wilderness and flexibility
Wednesday: Sumo and nobility
Thursday: Wilderness, integration and masculinity
Friday: Cohort work, sumo tournament and the final Lodge circle
Saturday: Summit, mastery, camp strike and feast

This may be for you if…

You are tired of encountering masculinity only as discourse and want to put your ideas into practice.

You want to become more competent with tools, construction, wilderness and physical challenge.

You want brotherhood grounded in service, honesty and shared effort rather than instant intimacy or shared ideology.

You want contemplative practice that remains connected to work, nature and the dignity of ordinary responsibility.

You are willing to be useful when you are tired, uncomfortable or not in charge.

You are willing to tell the truth to yourself and other men.

You want contact with men who will respect you without buying your bullshit.

You are prepared to question your own beliefs as seriously as you question anyone else’s.

Participation Conditions

Participants must be over 18 and have been born male.

You should have enough baseline fitness to complete a five-mile hike. You do not need to be athletic, but you should be prepared for tent camping, uneven terrain, mountain weather, moderate physical exertion and shared labor.

Construction, hiking, sumo and the other physical components of the retreat can be adapted or declined if necessary for matters of health or disability. Modified programming is available for participants with different abilities. At the same time, we ask every participant to take part to the full extent of his ability and to communicate honestly about his limitations.

The retreat includes power tools, physical contact, wilderness travel and other activities carrying inherent risks. Every participant must review and sign the Theseus Lodge Release, Waiver and Assumption of Risk. The signed waiver must be returned by 1 September 2026. We will e-mail this to you upon purchase of a ticket.

What this is not

Theseus Lodge is not an anti-women retreat, a culture-war seminar, a military boot camp, a wilderness-survival fantasy or a week of performative toughness. It is not organized around resentment, domination, humiliation or proving that one kind of man is superior to another.

It is a demanding communal retreat organized around work, wilderness, contemplation, honesty, service and brotherhood.

Host

Gabe Broussard, AKA Vivid Void, is a counselor, former Marine, longtime martial artist, meditation practitioner and culture writer.

He has trained in martial arts for sixteen years and studies Zen and contemplative practice. His work brings together Western psychology, martial philosophy, wilderness practice and sustained inquiry into how people meet conflict, suffering, responsibility and meaning.

Theseus Lodge grows out of those same concerns: how men develop real competence, use strength responsibly, become more honest with themselves and one another, and build forms of brotherhood that can withstand difficulty.

Practical Details

There will be one Theseus Lodge cohort in 2026, limited to a maximum of 14 participants.

Participants traveling to Colorado should plan to arrive at Nameless Mountain on Saturday, September 5th. The group will travel to Storm Mountain on Sunday, and the mountain retreat will run from Sunday, September 6th through Saturday, September 12th. Participants should plan to depart in the afternoon or evening on Sunday, September 13th.

Lodging at Nameless Mountain for the surrounding arrival and departure period is included. Nameless Mountain supplies:

All meals

All retreat transportation

All camping gear

Participants bring their own packs, clothing and footwear. A detailed personal packing list will be provided before the retreat.

The retreat takes place at a remote mountain camp with limited access to electricity, showers and a kitchen.

Participants attend alone. We cannot accommodate partners or children.

Tickets

Regular ticket: $2,000

Includes meals, lodging, retreat transportation, camping gear and the full program.

Benefactor ticket: $3,000

Benefactor tickets help make scholarship places available to men who could not otherwise afford to attend.

Scholarship ticket: $750–$1,500 sliding scale

Scholarship participants take additional volunteer shifts involving meal preparation, general labor and work during camp setup and strike. Scholarship availability is limited and increases as Benefactor tickets are purchased.

A place is reserved only after the appropriate application and full payment have both been received.

You can apply here.

Refund policy

Tickets are non-refundable because ticket revenue directly funds the construction, equipment and operating costs of the retreat.

If you are unable to attend, the value of your ticket may be transferred as credit toward a future Nameless Mountain event.