A space for men to share their feelings
PERSONAL GROWTH: At ManTalks, guys are encouraged to open up about life and create new friendships
A Vancouver-based group wants to give men a space to freely discuss their ideas, feelings and experiences.
“People have described it as TED meets Oprah, but for men,” said ManTalks founder Connor Beaton, 32.
“The guys that come out are looking at personal growth and a way to give back to his community at large.”
Those with a dash of cynicism may be rolling their eyes right now, thinking, “Really? Do men need a place to get in touch with their feelings?” Beaton says yes. “There is that stereotype that men don’t need more spaces to connect. That they already have it all,” he said. “They’ve got golf courses. They’ve got bars. They’ve got locker rooms. The issue is the real conversations aren’t happening in those places.
“The idea here is we are helping build better fathers, husbands and business leaders.”
Beaton started ManTalks two years ago after he realized he was not in good shape. An opera singer, Beaton had a “great life on paper,” but says he struggled with depression and isolation.
When he finally fessed up to the truth, he realized other people shared similar stories.
His first ManTalks meeting drew around 30 people. Now 180 attend on a regular basis.
How it works is simple: a ManTalks event has a topic guest speakers address through personal stories. Then, attendees get the chance to share their experiences.
“It was so real,” said Colton Powell.
Powell works for HootSuite, which donates meeting spaces to groups such as ManTalks as part of a givingback initiative. At first, Powell said, HootSuite was a little hesitant to get on board because “the word ‘ManTalks’ sometimes strikes people the wrong way.”
But after some due diligence, they were convinced.
Powell called ManTalks’ approach to networking “a completely refreshing change.”
“The crowd here is just people coming together and meeting friends and creating new relationships with each other. Rather than using it as a business transaction, which a lot of these events sometimes are.”
For 26-year-old carpenter Luke Marek, the ManTalks experience has paid off both emotionally and professionally.
“At a very human level, it is uncomfortable and raw, but the connection you are getting off sharing that with somebody is pretty amazing,” said Marek, who discovered ManTalks when one of his friends signed on to be a speaker.
“It’s pushed me to get my own thing going.”
Marek is working full-time while doing outside jobs in a bid to build his own company.
Though the event is called “ManTalks,” women attend on a regular basis, comprising about 20 to 30 per cent of the crowd.
Alexandra Cattoni, a 30-year-old online marketing entrepreneur, attended her first ManTalks a year ago and is now a regular. She’s even been a guest speaker on the topic of power dynamics in a relationship.
“You know there is a ton of women-only groups in the city, so I was intrigued to see something call ManTalks because I think a lot of people initially thought, ‘What is this, a group of men getting together to talk about how amazing they are?’” Cattoni said.
She discovered it’s a lot more than posturing and procuring.
“It gives people a chance to connect on a topic that might be affecting them, that has been coming up in their life, whether it be relationships, health or business,” she said. “The event really breeds conversations that are authentic and cool, which I think is hard to do.”
ManTalks is expanding to Toronto and Los Angeles soon. It will also host a special event, School of Greatness, with New York Times best-selling author Lewis Howes and HootSuite CEO Ryan Holmes, at the Vancouver Convention Centre April 9 (more info at mantalks.com).
“The goal is to really be the No. 1 resource for men’s growth,” Beaton said.