How did you know when you stopped being a boy and became a man (if that's how you identify)? And if you're raising a son, how will he know when he's a man?

Rites of passage are critical to our development as humans ... but they're sorely missing from mainstream culture. Indigenous cultures and first nations have much to teach here.

A big issue in mainstream culture is that there's little guidance for dads on how to guide boys into becoming the healthy masculine. There's a lot of talk about toxic masculinity; we know what we don't want, but how do we teach boys what we do want?

Today, Luke sits down with Frederick Marx, an internationally acclaimed director and writer with 45 years of experience in the film industry. Frederick shares his insights on rites of passage and how they can help young men transition from adolescence to adulthood. He explains that there are multiple rites of passage that are symbolically meant to help individuals "die" their former identity and be "reborn" into a new sense of who they are meant to be. Frederick discusses the importance of initiation, which he defines as being called out and consciously celebrated through public rituals, and how it has transformational meaning and intent. The conversation also delves into life-honoring celebrations, public vulnerability, and how Frederick has crafted his own rites of passage and initiation in his own life.

In this episode, I talk with Luke Entrup, a leadership coach and teacher that leads rites of passage programs for fathers and their sons.

We talk about Luke’s program, how it aims to connect fathers and sons, the importance of young boys spending time with powerful men, the hero’s journey and how it shows up in men’s work, and the power of tech-free time in nature.