Men's Retreat
PrimalSpirit
An active and embodied return to primal excellence for men.
Apply for a place
$480 through Oct 6 · application required
Men's Retreat
An active and embodied return to primal excellence for men.
What this is
Three days on a farm south of Tampa. Time to slow all the way down — land, fire, real food. Recovering the primal spirit within.
Most men I know are running on empty and haven't stopped long enough to notice. This is three days to stop. Real food, a fire, land under you, and men who aren't asking anything of you.
You'll camp on the land. Your phone goes in a box on Friday night and doesn't come back until Sunday afternoon — long enough for your nervous system to notice.
That's the whole design. A small circle, one fire, no audience. What you do with it is yours.
Friday
What you put down
You arrive in daylight, pitch your tent, and meet the land. By dark, you cross the threshold into the container — and the night's work begins.
Saturday
What you meet
The long day, and it does not hurry. It opens gently — breath and easy movement as the sun comes up — and then the ceremony holds the rest of it. There is nowhere to be and nothing to produce.
Sunday
What you carry back
Sunday is for landing it. What came up gets spoken into the circle while it's still warm, and then each man says out loud, in front of every other man there, the one thing he's actually going to do about it.
The land
Open field, a tree line, a fire ring, and enough room to get out of earshot of everyone else. There's water and shade. You'll pitch a tent and sleep on the ground.
Late October in Florida is the good stretch — warm days, cool nights, and the humidity finally broken. Hurricane season doesn't close until November 30, so the storm policy still stands, written down before anyone pays. Pack a layer for the nights and you'll be fine.
About 2.5 hours from Naples, 2 from Fort Myers, 1 from Tampa. We'll connect you with men driving from your direction.
Before you apply
What it costs
Applications close October 16, or earlier once the circle fills.
No gear? Say so on the application. Between everyone coming there's usually a spare tent — don't buy anything before you ask.
Straight answers
If a named storm's forecast cone covers Hillsborough County within 72 hours of Friday, we postpone and your payment moves with it — full credit, no argument. The new weekend gets set with the men who are coming, not decided in advance. Hurricane season runs through November 30, so we plan for this rather than hope.
Yes. Phones go in a box Friday at 8:30 pm and come back Sunday at 2:30 pm. Give the farm address and Matteo's number to whoever might need to reach you. If you have a genuine on-call obligation, put it on the application and we'll work it out.
No. Roughly half of any circle hasn't. Nobody performs, nobody gets put on the spot, and you can always pass. The only thing asked of you is that you stay in the room.
Yes. Saturday is given to it, start to finish — that's what the middle day is for, and it's the reason the weekend is built the way it is. Everything else, Friday night and Sunday morning, is there to prepare you for it and to help you land afterwards.
If you want to know more about what that involves, ask on the call. It's a conversation, not something to work out from a web page.
Organic, high-quality whole food, cooked on site, with options for everyone. Put your restrictions and allergies on the application and they're handled — you won't be the guy eating a side salad.
Through October 16, yes, less a $75 hold. After that the food is bought and the land is paid, so your place becomes credit toward the next one — or you can send another man in your place. Storm postponement is always full credit.
Matteo, who has run the SWFL Gathering of Men on Wednesday nights and the Primordial Man breathwork and movement workshops before that. This retreat is those evenings, given three days instead of three hours. Call 239-710-0880 — a conversation beats an email.
Matteo calls you. That conversation, not the form, is what confirms your place — it goes both ways, and either of you can decide it isn't the right weekend. You'll get the payment link after the call.
October 30 – November 1, 2026
This takes about six minutes. It isn't a formality — Matteo reads every one and calls every man who sends it. That call is what confirms your place, and it goes both ways.
It's also where your questions get answered. If you want to know more about the Saturday ceremony, ask him then — that's the conversation to have before you commit to a weekend built around it.
Got it. Matteo will call you within three days at the number you gave.
If you'd rather make the first call: 239-710-0880
Primal Spirit · Ruskin, Florida
