Men today are lonelier, more exhausted, and more divided than ever, and most of them won’t reach out for help until their world is already falling apart. Today I sit down in person with Ian Wendt to talk about why brotherhood is a necessity and not a luxury. We get into the isolation of men, the decline of the institutions that used to bring us together, and why so many guys only show up once their wife has pushed them through the door.
From there, we go into the bigger picture: the forces working to divide us along the most emotional lines possible, why nuance is where the truth lives, how algorithms build our lenses for us, and what it means to be in the world but not of it. Ian also shares what it cost him to speak up when silence would have been easier, and why becoming a father made that choice for him.
Ian Wendt is the founder of Official Patriot Gear and an entrepreneur, content creator, and leader of men. He grew up in a single-wide trailer in upstate New York, one of five kids in a family of seven, with a father who worked three jobs to keep them afloat. After high school he moved to Idaho, studied film, served a mission, and spent the next decade-plus building marketing systems and a personal brand across Idaho and Utah.
When he chose to speak out publicly, Ian knew it could cost him everything he’d built, and it cost him his job. He did it anyway, driven by one question: what would he tell his son if he stayed silent? Today he builds apparel and products, runs a men’s group and retreats focused on brotherhood and accountability, and uses his platform to encourage men to lead, serve, and stop going it alone.
Most men aren’t stuck. They’re scared. And fear rarely takes your life all at once. It takes it one “reasonable” decision at a time: the hard conversation you avoid, the business you never start, the thing you never say to the people you love. This Wednesday, October 14th, at 8pm Eastern, I’m hosting a free live workshop called the WarRoom: Five Fears That F*ck Your Future. We’ll identify the fear that’s actually driving your decisions, look at what it’s already costing your wife, your kids, and your work, and build a plan to beat it starting the next morning. This isn’t a pep talk. It’s a workshop, so bring a pen and bring the thing you’ve been avoiding. Save your seat at orderofman.com/warroom.
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