Men's Rite of Passage
Ten days. Nine months. Eight men.
Next cohort opens Fall 2026
You've done the weekend. You've read the books. You know more about your shadow than most therapists know about their clients.
And yet, you still feel it. The dread and unease and panic in your chest that nothing seems to ease.
The information isn't the problem. You have enough information.
Maybe what you need is a crossing.
I was at a place in my life that I was going through a pretty significant change, and this work had a significant impact on me. I feel this sense of confidence in myself and sense of clarity in terms of where I'm going in my life and with my path. That has been pretty profound and also a lot of spiritual insights that came up that I'm still working through and still understanding what they really mean for me. Highly recommend doing this work with Ish.
Mark Maclean, Soul Purpose Coach and Sales Executive
The ARC
A retreat is a place you go and come back from.
A rite of passage is something you go in as one man and come back as another.
The mountain is the threshold. The months before and after are what make this a passage instead of a peak.
the preparation
two calls for two months
We meet what you're carrying with you. The armor. The unfinished business. The fathers you can't call. We name what you're crossing from — because a man who isn't clear on what he's leaving doesn't actually leave it.
the expedition
ten days in peru
Days 1–2: Arrival in Cusco. Land. Acclimatize. Meet your brothers. Begin the severance.
Days 3–6: Ausangate Circuit. Four days trekking around the most sacred Apu in the southern Andes. 16,000 feet.
Day 7: Rest.
Days 8–9: Machu Picchu + Huachuma. With Huachuma as ally, you walk up a mountain at dawn. By dusk, you will have met the man underneath.
Day 10: The Return. The circle names what changed. You carry it home.
the integration
six calls for six months
This is where most rites of passage end. This is where ours continues.
Monthly group calls for six months. One private call between you and me at month three. A circle of brothers you walk back into for the rest of your life.
When I started working with Ish and his container, I had a quality of destructive rebelliousness that lacked discipline. Physically and mentally, this trip was a crossroads between staying weak and destroying my life, and coming out stronger with more motivation and willpower to accomplish my life’s purpose. I can proudly say that I have a renewed strength to build my life with after working with Ish. He was also a very skilled spiritual teacher who was able to hold space for everyone as a group and individually. This is the perfect experience for anyone looking to experience more life or change their life or themselves.
Duncan Smith, Yoga Instructor
The Mountain
Ausangate is the most sacred mountain, or Apu, in southern Peru. The Q'ero — descendants of the Inca — have walked this circuit for centuries. The Apus are not metaphor. They are who the land was, and who the land is.
You don't do work on Ausangate. The Apu does work on you.
The guide
Me, along with a few local guides.
I've walked this mountain. I've also been broken in by this mountain. I don't guide from having arrived. I guide from having gone in and coming back out. The men alongside me are from the region and will bring a grounded presence to keep you tethered.
What Changes
A month after you get home, you will sleep differently. You will hold your partner's eye differently. You will speak to your son without the script. You will say the difficult thing in the meeting.
You won't have a new life. You'll have the life you already had — but you'll actually be in it.
I would highly recommend working with Ish and jumping on board one of his experiences. It’s not definitely not easy by any means, but if you’re ready to commit, I think you’ll come out on the other side a much more evolved version of yourself. I know I have. This was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I will cherish this for a very long time.
Jake O’Rielly, Senior Software Engineer
investment
$7,500. Includes all in-country costs (accommodation, guides, facilitation, group calls). Flights to Cusco not included.
Payment plans available. Discuss during interview call.
Group capped at 8 men.
This is for you if:
You've already done weekend experiences and still feel like you’re missing something bigger.
You're willing to walk into something that takes preparation, reverence, and fortitude.
You want to be in a circle of men doing the work, not posting about doing the work.
This is not for you if:
You want a peak experience.
You're not ready to be different when you come home.
You have unmanaged mental health conditions that make ceremony unsafe — reach out first and we'll talk.
the mountain is calling. will you listen?
The application takes ten minutes. A thirty-minute conversation follows. No pitch. No pressure.
Eight spots. If you want in, get in.