Real Men Feel: Men's Mental Health, Masculinity and Personal Growth

Divine Masculinity: Eight Choices That Make Men Less Effective Host Andy Grant of Real Men Feel explores “divine masculinity” through a Hermetic framework from his Modern Mystery School training, emphasizing an ideal 70/30 masculine-feminine energy mix for men and judging effectiveness by results. He outlines eight choices that make men less effective: choosing emotions over action, sensitivity over honesty, avoidance over strengthening, easy over honorable, drama over substance, vacillation over commitment, fear over bravery, and giving away decision-making. Using examples from Avengers: Endgame, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Lion King, The Matrix, The Good Place, Saving Private Ryan, and Back to the Future, he distinguishes healthy emotional expression from paralysis, kindness from dishonesty, and collaboration from abdication. Grant warns that men’s ineffectiveness can force partners to overcompensate, and he urges listeners to pick one pattern, take a concrete action, and seek support through coaching or his Authentic AF men’s community. 00:00 Action Over Emotion 01:14 Divine Masculinity Framework 03:44 Emotions Into Action 06:44 Sensitivity Versus Honesty 10:07 Avoidance Versus Strength 11:50 Easy Versus Honorable 13:45 Drama Versus Substance 15:33 Vacillation Versus Commitment 17:04 Fear Into Bravery 20:39 Own Your Decisions 23:42 Relationships And Balance 26:27 Choose One Pattern 27:09 Community And Closing CONNECT WITH ANDY: Book a Clarity Call: https://TheAndyGrant.com/align Join us in Authentic AF: https://www.realmenfeel.org/group Instagram: @realmenfeelshow and @theandygrant ABOUT REAL MEN FEEL Real Men Feel explores men's mental health, modern masculinity, relationships, purpose, authenticity and personal growth. Hosted by Andy Grant. #RealMenFeel #EffectiveMen #Success #Authenticity #Masculinitity Real Men Feel ep 427

Ordinary Mystics: Psychedelics, Faith, and Bringing Spiritual Insight into Daily Life Host Andy Grant welcomes back author and educator Matt Zemon to discuss Zemon’s book Ordinary Mystics: Psychedelics, Faith, and the Reclaiming of Direct Spiritual Experience and the idea that anyone can have mystical experiences, with or without substances. Zemon explains psychedelics as catalysts rather than cures, shares how career-driven providing left him lonely, and recounts a mushroom “worm food” vision that dissolved credentials and revealed regret, love, and the need for everyday gratitude and connection. They discuss Andy’s life-changing, substance-free mystical experiences through holotropic breathwork, the importance of discernment and integration, and how community support helps turn peak experiences into a “religious life.” Zemon addresses concerns about legalization, medicalization, and “experience chasing,” outlines source-set-setting risk reduction, engages religious objections, and advocates clearer legal protections for sincere ceremonial use. 00:00 Feeling Disconnected 00:32 Meet Matt Zemon 02:07 Ordinary Mystics Defined 04:22 Workaholism and Avoidance 06:55 Worm Food Ego Death 09:48 Breathwork Without Drugs 12:26 Many Paths to Mysticism 15:49 Legalization and Harm Reduction 18:29 Ceremony Versus Party Trips 20:39 Faith Objections and Discernment 24:07 Experience Chasing and Integration 33:45 Policy and Religious Freedom 36:03 Resources and Final Reflections 39:18 Closing Takeaways CONNECT WITH MATT: Matt Zemon — https://www.mattzemon.com/ Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/matt.zemon/ LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattzemon/ “Ordinary Mystic” on Amazon — https://link.amazon/B0aIDMctB CONNECT WITH ANDY: Coaching: https://TheAndyGrant.com/talk Real Men Feel: https://RealMenFeel.org Instagram: @realmenfeelshow and @theandygrant ABOUT REAL MEN FEEL Real Men Feel explores men's mental health, modern masculinity, relationships, purpose, authenticity and personal growth. Hosted by Andy Grant. Join other like-minded men in the Authentic AF Community | https://www.realmenfeel.org/group #RealMenFeel #MensMentalHealth #Psychedelics #Mushrooms #Divine Real Men Feel ep 426

Connect with men who actually get it: https://realmenfeel.org/group What Am I Trying Not to Feel? Grief, Shame, and Letting Yourself Express Host Andy Grant shares a personal example of emotional avoidance after the death of his longtime friend Steve, whom he’d known since high school and supported with energy work during a 10-month cancer battle. After catching himself repeatedly eating dessert straight from the fridge despite not being hungry, he asks, “What am I trying not to feel?” and discovers grief and shame, including a fear that he hadn’t done enough and had let Steve down. Andy journals, cries, and records a video to normalize men expressing sadness, shame, love, and gratitude rather than stuffing feelings into distractions like food, booze, or porn. He reflects that expressing emotions helped him feel better that day, encourages listeners to get curious, reach out for support, and invites men to join his Authentic AF community. 00:00 Dessert Distraction Moment 00:32 Loss Of Steve 01:11 Shame Question Breakthrough 01:50 Journaling And Sharing 02:49 Grief Video Begins 04:48 Healing Work With Steve 06:51 Regret And Letdown Fear 08:53 Support After Sharing 10:11 How To Express Grief 11:33 Questions For Your Own Healing 12:15 Gratitude And Invitation 13:06 Closing Goodbye CONNECT WITH ANDY: Book a Clarity Call: https://TheAndyGrant.com/align Join us in Authentic AF: https://www.realmenfeel.org/group Instagram: @realmenfeelshow and @theandygrant ABOUT REAL MEN FEEL Real Men Feel explores men's mental health, modern masculinity, relationships, purpose, authenticity and personal growth. Hosted by Andy Grant. #RealMenFeel #MensMentalHealth #Success #Authenticity #ChasingStatus Real Men Feel ep 425

Neil Smith on Purpose, Men’s Communication, and the Mettle Mental Fitness App 🔥 Connect with other men who actually get it in Authentic AF:⁠https://realmenfeel.org/group⁠ Host Andy Grant interviews TV executive Neil Smith (The Apprentice, Grand Designs) about achieving outward success yet feeling empty, leading him to leave television and pursue purpose-driven work in men’s mental health. Neil shares hiding depression in his 20s for nearly a decade, the shame and fear of vulnerability, and a failed attempt to seek help after a dismissive doctor interaction. He argues the male mental health crisis is largely a communication crisis and that telling men to “talk” isn’t enough; support must meet men where they are. Neil co-founded the men-focused mental fitness app Mettle with Bear Grylls to reduce stigma and friction through outcome-based tools and optional community, citing a user’s recovery from suicidality to renewed family and work life. 00:00 Career Peak Question 00:53 TV Success Story 04:12 Second Mountain Awakening 06:21 Meditation And Purpose 09:56 Hidden Depression Years 12:57 Shame And Asking Help 17:17 Tribe And Male Connection 19:40 WhatsApp Banter Trap 22:22 Building Mettle App 26:57 Bear Grylls Partnership 27:45 Beyond Help To Hope 31:07 Service And Grandfather 33:12 How To Find Mettle 33:42 Final Takeaway Tribe 34:32 Host Closing Reflection CONNECT WITH NEIL & METTLE: Mettle — https://bemettle.com/ Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/be.mettle LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-s-smith/ CONNECT WITH ANDY: Coaching: https://TheAndyGrant.com/talk Real Men Feel: https://RealMenFeel.org Instagram: @realmenfeelshow and @theandygrant ABOUT REAL MEN FEEL Real Men Feel explores men's mental health, modern masculinity, relationships, purpose, authenticity and personal growth. Hosted by Andy Grant. Join other like-minded men in the Authentic AF Community | https://www.realmenfeel.org/group #RealMenFeel #MensMentalHealth #Success #Authenticity #ChasingStatus Real Men Feel ep 424

Connect with other men who actually get in Authentic AF: https://realmenfeel.org/group Quit the Game: Ryan Vertucci on Success, Validation, and Becoming an Aligned Man Host Andy Grant interviews entrepreneur and author Ryan Vertucci about the hidden cost of chasing money, status, and sexual validation. Ryan recounts feeling trapped in a Walgreens management job, launching a property management franchise, and later “optimizing” himself through fitness, image, social media, and pickup programs, only to remain empty despite wealth, friends, and dating options. MDMA-assisted therapy surfaced childhood wounds tied to his grandmother’s death, his mother’s anger, and a core belief that love must be earned; it also exposed that his girlfriend and best friend had been sleeping together while many friends enabled it. Ryan describes “sexual jail,” lust, pornography, and transactional party culture, then shares how therapy and an impulsive trip to Italy led him back to church and faith in Christ, prompting a shift toward genuine community, purpose, and internal grounding. 00:00 Chasing the Wrong Game 00:32 Meet Ryan Vertucci 01:17 Stuck in Corporate Life 04:55 Betting on a Franchise 07:25 Success Still Feels Empty 08:26 The Pickup and Party Spiral 11:00 MDMA Therapy Revelation 13:51 Childhood Wound Exposed 16:20 Sexual Jail and Lust 18:05 Just Another Rich Guy 28:54 Quitting the Nightlife 31:44 Italy Trip and Vatican 35:20 Tomb of St Matthew 37:43 Careful with Spiritual Realms 41:07 Book and Coaching Links 42:01 What Men Need to Know 44:02 Final Takeaways and Community CONNECT WITH RYAN Ryan Vertucci — https://quitthegame.com/ Quit The Game book — https://amzn.to/3WhgzNz Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/alignedmanmethod/ CONNECT WITH ANDY: Coaching: https://TheAndyGrant.com/talk Real Men Feel: https://RealMenFeel.org Instagram: @realmenfeelshow and @theandygrant ABOUT REAL MEN FEEL Real Men Feel explores men's mental health, modern masculinity, relationships, purpose, authenticity and personal growth. Hosted by Andy Grant. Join other like-minded men in the Authentic AF Community | https://www.realmenfeel.org/group #RealMenFeel #MensMentalHealth #Success #Authenticity #ChasingStatus Real Men Feel ep 423