The most powerful mechanisms in the body for anything are survival mechanisms. 

- Joel Greene. 

I designed the wild men retreat to mimic the “signals” to our bodies and minds when a group of men go into the wild to hunt for food. 

While we won’t actually kill any animals during this experience we will have many of the inputs from what would happen if we did. 

Coming together with small group of men united with the goal to hunt and feed the tribe is missing in our modern world. 

Like many men I could feel that something was wrong but didn't know what it was.

Taking on the roles of a father, a husband and an entrepreneur are part of being a man but not enough. 

The wild man in me craved face to face contact and physical suffering in nature with men I can trust and count on. 

Since I've never been on a backcountry hunt but wanted all the physical and mental benefits that come from one I created an experience as close to possible but with a modern twist.

Here's how it looks.

Mimicking the Ancestral Pattern of a Mountain Hunter

 

The ancestral pattern of hunting most likely looked something like this.

Days 1 & 2 - Exploring the Unknown

The first couple days we are hungry, cold and walking long distances through the mountains.

Each morning of these first two days there will be a short yoga practice with a meditation followed by sunrise cold dips. 

 

After we head out into the mountains with GoRuck weighted backpacks and our local mountain guide and long term meditator Chris Roy.

The first day we hike Folding Mountain which is right outside our basecamp, the Habitat. (More on this completely unique building I designed in a second)

 

We’ll return back to camp “empty handed” and then sit around the fire with a local indigenous teacher who will give a talk on how the First Nations used to live and hunt in this area. 

The morning of Day is the same as Day 1.

After we will hike Roche Miette which is one of the most striking mountains in the Jasper National Park.

It also known as the MistaPeo. Or the Great Man. This has a lot of relevance to this trip and my own journey in life which you can read more about here

 

Day 3 - The Kill & The Feast

Waking up hungry we will begin our day at the sand dunes next to Athabasca River and the site of the "kill".

We will do intense exercise (deadlifts, sled pulls and sprints in the sand) to simulate the peak moment of killing an animal in the wild.

 

 

Next we will carry the “meat” back to camp (roughly 3 km).

We will use weighted backpacks plus carrying and dragging sandbags together helping each other if needed.

This is the final push before all the hard work pays off. 

 

When we get back to camp the feasting begins.

Indigenous cultures prized organ meats above all else and we will as well. We’ll cook liver, heart, kidney plus a few surprises on the fire. 

Next we will add in heat from the wood fired barrel sauna and after you will feel a massive urge to sleep. 

 

The remainder of the last day is all about rest and recovery. Our primary activities will be sleeping, eating and relaxing.

We achieved our goal and now we will reap the rewards .

We will feast on local meats, potatoes and even a Folding Mountain beer or two if you choose.

Now reading all of this might make you think I am against modern technology.

Here's where it gets interesting. 

My approach is to use technology in a way that benefits our health rather than to only increase comfort.

We aren’t going back to a Hunter Gatherer lifestyle so the question proposed by Christopher Ryan in his book Civilized to Death is "how do we build a better zoo”. 

This is the problem I have been working on for the last 10 years and what motivated me to build the first building of its kind in North America.

A Wild Man Habitat

The quote above is taken from Joel Greene's Immunity Code where he called it “the Habitat problem”.

He basically says that if we move back to our natural habitat then a large part of our health problems will be solved. 

I don't know about you but this isn’t happening for me.

Many people romanticize nature as only this nourishing force when in reality a lot of the time nature wants to kill you. 

I’ve lived next to the forest my whole life and I’ll tell you that I sleep better a night knowing there is a wall between me and the bears. 

Now that doesn’t mean I want to be immersed in EMF from wifi routers plus bathing in blue light and flicker.

It doesn’t mean I want to be disconnected from the earth’s healing magnetic field so my body never recovers and I lose fast twitch muscle. 

Can I have both?  Protection from the dangers of nature plus the benefits of the signals from it? 100%

And that is exactly what I did when designing our basecamp and accommodations - the Habitat at Folding Mountain.

This is the first place of its kind in the world for two reasons

Even if someone else built a building with the features I share next they didn’t do it in this location.

We are at the edge of a wild forest under a sacred mountain, the MistaPeo.

This place is completely unique because we are not in the Jasper National Park but just outside it. We are are on the the perimeter of the walled garden

Men have always gathered at the perimeter. 

The second reason is the building itself. Here’s what I did that no one else has done.

I call it hacking your habitat. Which means designing your living space so it achieves your health goals.

Heres some of what I've done taken from our website 

1. No EMF Rooms

What many people don’t realize is they are swimming in electro pollution that prevents their bodies from healing. It keep you in a sympathetic state (fight or flight) while you sleep the most important time to recover. 

The habitat is built out of metal shipping containers. All the wiring for the electricity is in metal cable so there is no magnetic fields. Then I didn’t ruin it all with Wifi Router. The result is a room with no electro pollution but still with electricity. I also added kill switches to each room so for extra assurance at night you can turn off all the electricity to the room

This was essential for the next step. 

2. Grounded Beds 

Grounding is what happens to your body when your skin touches the earth.  The electrical charge of the earth activates your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest). I partnered with Earthing Canada to connect all the beds to a dedicated ground. Its important to have an EMF free environment before you do this so you don’t become a conductor. The end result is all the healing benefits of being grounded while still being protected and warm in your bed. But no just any bed. The best in the world. 

3. Organic Beds & Linens

Sleep is where we reset our bodies and minds. For this reason, some of our most important choices were made for right where you lay your head.

As the foundation for your rest, our mattresses are entirely organic. Handmade by Obasan in Ottawa, Canada, using certified GOTS* and GOLS** organic cotton, rubber and wool sourced through extensive world travel, Habitat's mattresses are a centerpiece of our guest experience. With no metal springs, these beds are a continuation of our mission to provide an EMF-free environment, so you can experience a grounding back to nature.

 

5. More Natural Lighting

Among the most physically stressful inputs of modern life is our indoor lighting. Instead of reproducing sunlight, we have flooded our home and workspaces, not only with wavelengths that are damaging to our calm, but with bulbs that create a constant source of flicker.

Ask anyone who is vulnerable to headaches, and they will tell you that even walking into a space lit by compact fluorescents is enough to send them into a dark room for the rest of the day. To continue our goal of bringing you ever closer to a natural state as you rest, we chose lighting that is flicker-free

5. Possibly the Best Water on The Planet

We consider our water a wonder of nature, and for a very special reason.

Not only is the water at Habitat, as well as Jasper East Cabins, fed by an underground mountain spring and then UV filtered, but it naturally contains some of the lowest levels of deuterium, or heavy hydrogen, on the planet.

According to the University of Oregon, drinking Deuterium Depleted Water (DDW) can strengthen the immune system, increase the rate of the body's detoxification and inhibit the growth of cancer cells.

Signal Amplification

I've been into biohacking with food and supplements for at least a decade so when discovered Joel Greene's book and his approach of signal amplification I became obsessed with learning all I could. 

In 2021 I took his first health coaches course. In this retreat we will be applying some of the strategies I learned to amplify signal strength to our cells in the periods of fasting and feasting.

In the first 2 days we amplify the AMP-K pathway. When AMP-K is turned on aging stops. 

On the last day we will amplify the M-Tor pathway. When M-Tor is activated muscle gets added.  

To do this we will use food and supplements in a specific order and at specific times.  This means on the fasting days you will still be eating. Doesn't seem possible right? It is. 

On the feasting day I will also add in a Mens Hormones optimization stack as an added bonus. 

NuCalm

NuCalm is a patented technology that uses sound to change brain states. It was originally used as a medical device but then offered to the public in 2021. you can use it to neutralize stress, restore sleep or elevate performance. We'll do all 3. Learn more here

 

  

 How To Join

The next Wild Mens retreat is Aug 25th (Check in 4:00 PM) till Aug 28th (Check out 11 AM).  This is a pilot which means a test run that we will be filming. It also means the cost will just be my expenses to cover it. I'll take 5 guys max and will run if there is 3. It will include all your food, supplements, accommodations for 4 nights plus guides, teachers and my instruction. 

If you interested in being part of this email me at clint@ekaminhale.com or message me on IG, Facebook or in the Shopify Chat below on the right. 

Clint Griffiths