The Arka Talks Podcast

Men’s health is often reduced to testosterone, supplements, lab results, and quick fixes.
But what if low energy, burnout, insomnia, sexual health challenges, anxiety, and loss of vitality are pointing to something deeper?
In this episode of Arka Talks, Ben Goresky sits down with Dr. Rigobert “Rigo” Kefferputz  - naturopathic doctor, father, ARKA captain, breath worker, and longtime practitioner of men’s work - for a conversation about men’s health, performance, burnout, testosterone, nervous system regulation, leadership, and whole-person healing.
Rigo shares his own story of growing up in Germany, immigrating to Canada, being bullied as a German kid, losing himself in perfectionism, and trying to earn belonging through achievement. He talks about father absence, the self-critical patterns he absorbed growing up, the pressure of university at McGill, insomnia, over-performing, and the classic male trap of trying to fix distress by doing the same thing harder.
The major turning point came when Rigo moved to Salt Spring Island to build a retreat centre — only to have the dream collapse almost immediately during COVID. That public failure forced him to confront where he had outsourced his worth, and eventually led him deeper into men’s work.
Ben and Rigo also explore what Rigo sees in his naturopathic practice: men in their 30s, 40s, and 50s coming in with low testosterone, erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, insomnia, anxiety, depression, burnout, and the deeper weight of a life that no longer feels aligned.
This conversation is not anti-medicine, and it is not anti-testosterone.
It is a deeper look at men’s health.
Rigo makes the case that a man’s vitality is shaped by much more than hormones: sleep, stress, boundaries, anger, purpose, community, emotional honesty, and the willingness to stop performing and start telling the truth.
In this episode:
Why men’s health is more than testosterone
Rigo’s childhood in Germany and immigration to Canada
Father absence, inherited self-criticism, and the roots of perfectionism
Bullying, belonging, and becoming the over-performer
McGill, insomnia, and the trap of doing the same thing harder
Why the retreat-centre collapse became a turning point
How men’s work helped Rigo see through the performer
The difference between validation and being called forward by men
Why men’s group is not just about making friends
Leadership, people-pleasing, and learning not to need everyone to be happy
What men bring into Rigo’s naturopathic practice
Testosterone, burnout, sexual health, anxiety, and midlife
Why information alone does not change a man’s life
Clean anger, boundaries, and the masculine core
Why community is medicine for men
This episode is for men who are tired, burned out, over-optimized, under-supported, or looking for the next supplement to fix what may actually be a deeper life pattern.
Your health is not separate from how you live.
Real men. Real stories. The path of the conscious warrior.
Links
Join an ARKA group:www.arkabrotherhood.com
Follow @ArkaBrotherhood on Instagram:http://instagram.com/arkabrotherhood
Connect with Dr. Rigobert Kefferputz:https://drkefferputz.com/

Some stories take years before they can be spoken.
In this episode of Arka Talks, Matt Cooke sits down with Todd Johnston for a deeply honest conversation about trauma, sexuality, leaving religion, sexual abuse, courage, healing, and the decision to choose life after years of carrying pain alone.
Todd shares what it was like to grow up in a small town in British Columbia, leave the Jehovah’s Witness church and lose connection with much of his family, and later come out as a gay man after years of confusion, fear, and self-protection.
He also speaks openly about being sexually abused and raped by an employer when he was 16, how that experience shut down parts of his body and identity, and what it took (years later) to report the abuse, go through a police investigation, and face the legal process.
This is a heavy conversation, not only about trauma, but also about healing.
Listener discretion is advised.
Todd talks about therapy, EMDR, sex therapy, men’s group, friendship, DJing, volunteering, and the hard decision he made after a nervous breakdown where he contemplated suicide: “I’m choosing to live. So if I’m gonna live, let’s live!”
Through his story, Todd shows what courage can look like when a man decides to stop disappearing inward, speak the truth, let himself be seen, and build a life that belongs to him.
In this episode:
Todd’s first terrifying night walking into a men’s group
Growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness and leaving the church
Coming out as gay and the fear of losing people
Sexual abuse, rape, confusion, and how trauma can shut down the body
Reporting his abuser nearly 20 years later
Taking the legal process one step at a time
How men’s group helped Todd feel less alone in shame and suffering
Choosing life after suicidal thoughts and a nervous breakdown
DJ YDEL, “You Deserve Epic Love,” and reclaiming joy
Chosen family, friendship, service, and volunteering in Vancouver
Why showing up, being seen, and staying open can change a man’s life
This episode is for anyone who has carried shame in silence, anyone who has wondered if they were damaged goods, and anyone who needs to hear that healing from abuse and trauma is possible.
You are not alone. Your story matters. And your life still belongs to you.
Real men. Real stories. The path of the conscious warrior.
Links
Join an ARKA group:https://arkabrotherhood.com/join/
Follow @ArkaBrotherhood on Instagram:http://instagram.com/arkabrotherhoodCanada National Suicide Crisis Helpline:Support is available 24/7 by calling or texting 9-8-8.United States:Call or text 988 — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7.Website: 988lifeline.org

A man can walk into a men’s group and think he has joined.
But according to longtime ARKA captain Brady Kirk, that is only the first joining.
The second joining happens later, when something hidden gets seen. When a man is exposed in front of other men. When the old instinct to defend, leave, attack, or disappear rises up. That is the moment the real work begins.
In this episode of Arka Talks, Ben Goresky sits down with Brady Kirk, one of ARKA’s longtime leaders and original members, for a conversation about brotherhood, trust, leadership, archetypes, faith, fatherhood, and the deeper work of becoming more fully yourself.
Brady shares what first brought him into men’s work, how the early Samurai Brotherhood circles shaped him, and why real brotherhood is not just friendship. It is a place where men tell the truth, give clean feedback, challenge each other, and learn to stay when their armor starts to crack.
The conversation moves through the lone wolf pattern, asking for help, receiving feedback from other men, the King/Warrior/Magician/Lover archetypes, Christian faith, leadership without control, parenting, and the long process of taking off the armor a man once needed to survive.
In this episode:
Why Brady says every man has to join men’s group twice
The difference between casual friendship and earned masculine trust
The lone wolf pattern, and why refusing help can block real connection
What happens when a man is exposed in circle and wants to run
Why honest feedback from men can change a man’s life
How Brady uses archetypes and the ARKA code inside his squads
Faith, surrender, and learning to lead without controlling outcomes
Fatherhood, keeping your word, and teaching emotional regulation to a son
Why men’s work helps a man take off the armor and become more himself
This is a conversation for men who want more than surface-level connection. It is for men who are ready to be seen, challenged, and called forward by other men walking the same path.
If this speaks to you, listen to the full episode and share it with a man who is ready for the second joining.
Real men. Real stories. The path of the conscious warrior.
Links
Join an ARKA group: www.arkabrotherhood.com
Follow @ArkaBrotherhood on Instagram: http://instagram.com/arkabrotherhood
Connect with Brady Kirk / Brotherhood Foundry: Website: brotherhoodfoundry.com Email: bradykirk@brotherhoodfoundry.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BradyKirk-BHF

There are wounds a man can carry for decades without knowing how deeply they are shaping his life.
In this episode of Arka Talks, Ben Goresky sits down with longtime ARKA leader Joel Crneck for an honest conversation about childhood, father wounds, suicidal ideation, brotherhood, forgiveness, leadership, and becoming a father.
Joel speaks openly about growing up with intense energy, conflict with masculine authority, and the belief that men did not care about him. He shares how that story followed him into adulthood: into burnout, depression, suicidal darkness, and the ways he tested men to see whether they would stay.
Joel takes us into his darkness, but he also takes us into his healing story. A story of how brotherhood can not only save a man’s life, but help him heal the wound that brought him to his absolute edge.Through years in circle, Joel began to see his old story more clearly. He learned to soften without losing his fire. He found forgiveness for his stepfather. He became a captain, a leader, and now a father carrying a new kind of responsibility.
This conversation moves through some heavy territory, but it keeps returning to the same question:
"What does a man do with the wound once he can finally see it?"
In this episode:
Joel’s childhood, his relationship with his mother, brother, stepfather, and early father wound
Growing up with intense energy, ADHD medication, conflict, wrestling, and survival mode
The belief that “men don’t care about me” — and how it shaped Joel’s life
Suicidal ideation, burnout, and the night that interrupted Joel’s path toward death
The raccoon story, brotherhood, and the strange ways life can call a man back
How Tiger Squad gave Joel a place where men kept showing up
Forgiving his stepfather and learning to lead without projecting the old wound
Fire, intensity, leadership, compassion, and the discipline of the ARKA code
Fatherhood, breaking family patterns, and becoming more grounded through responsibility
This is a conversation for men who have carried their pain alone, men who have wondered whether they belong, and men who have contemplated or attempted suicide. 
If this episode speaks to you, share it with a man who needs to hear it.
Real men. Real stories. The path of the conscious warrior.
Links
Learn more about ARKA Brotherhood:www.arkabrotherhood.com
Follow ARKA Brotherhood on Instagram:@arkabrotherhood - https://www.instagram.com/arkabrotherhood
Work with Joel as your transformation coach: Integrityworksconsulting.ca
Special Note - For Crisis Support
This episode includes open discussion of suicidal ideation.
If you are in immediate danger or feel like you may harm yourself, call emergency services now.
Canada:Call or text 988 — Suicide Crisis Helpline, available 24/7.Website: 988.caGovernment of Canada also directs people in crisis or thinking about suicide to call or text 988.
United States:Call or text 988 — Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7.Website: 988lifeline.orgThe 988 Lifeline offers call, text, and chat support for suicidal crisis, emotional distress, mental health struggle, and substance-use-related crisis.
Canada youth / text support:Text CONNECT to 686868 — Kids Help Phone / Crisis Text Line Canada, free and confidential 24/7 support in English and French.
United States text support:Text HOME to 741741 — Crisis Text Line, free, confidential 24/7 support.
United States veterans:Dial 988, then press 1, or text 838255 — Veterans Crisis Line, 24/7 confidential support for veterans and their loved ones.
United States mental health / substance use referrals:Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) — SAMHSA National Helpline, 24/7 treatment referral and information for mental health and substance use concerns.
International:Find local crisis lines and emotional support resources at findahelpline.com. Find A Helpline lists verified helplines in more than 175 countries.
You do not have to carry it alone. Reach out now.

Geoff MacKenzie is a yoga teacher, men’s work leader, father, and longtime member of the ARKA Brotherhood.
In this episode of Arka Talks, host Matt Cooke sits down with Geoff for a grounded conversation about yoga, freedom, adventure, fatherhood, brotherhood, and the moment a man’s life begins to shift from self-direction into deeper responsibility.
Geoff shares the early experiences that shaped him: discovering yoga on a forest floor in France, chasing snowboarding in Chamonix, surfing in Bali, studying Ashtanga yoga in India, and building a life around discipline, movement, and freedom.
But the deeper arc of this conversation is about what happens when freedom becomes responsibility.
Geoff speaks honestly about becoming a father, working long days, missing time with his daughter, supporting his partner, facing old childhood wounds, and learning how quickly a man can be pulled back into old patterns when life becomes intense.
Matt and Geoff also explore men’s work, the lone wolf path, money and power, relationship triggers, mother wounds, the importance of breath, and why a disciplined man still needs other men to help him see what he cannot see alone.
This is a conversation for men who value freedom, but know that freedom is not the end of the path.
Sometimes freedom is the preparation for responsibility.
In this episode
Matt and Geoff explore:
Geoff’s first experience of yoga on a forest floor in France
Snowboarding, surfing, Bali, Chamonix, and a life built around freedom
Ashtanga yoga, discipline, and early morning practice
Yoga as nervous system regulation
The tension between spiritual practice, ego, money, and power
The lone wolf path and why disciplined men still need brotherhood
Geoff’s first experience in a men’s group
Fatherhood as a new initiation
Relationship triggers, criticism, and childhood conditioning
Mother wounds and the feeling of being “in trouble” as a grown man
The birth of Geoff’s daughter and the intensity of self-doubt
What men gain from sitting in circle
The power of honest feedback and having blind spots exposed
Father shares and the impact of father wounds on men
Why men’s groups need structure, commitment, and truth-telling
Breath as the anchor when life gets hard
Letting go of an old identity and learning who you are in a new chapter
Links from this episode
Learn more about Geoff MacKenzie - https://firstlightyoga.ca/
About ARKA Brotherhood
The ARKA Brotherhood is a global community of men committed to growth, truth, accountability, and conscious leadership.
Through weekly men’s groups, leadership training, and real brotherhood, ARKA helps men become more honest, grounded, courageous, and trustworthy in their lives.
Learn more - arkabrotherhood.com

Bobby Hakkarainen is a therapeutic counsellor, men’s work leader, father, and longtime member and leader in the ARKA Brotherhood.
In this episode of Arka Talks, host Matt Cooke sits down with Bobby for a raw and grounded conversation about anger, shame, fatherhood, brotherhood, and the long road from self-destruction to self-respect.
Bobby shares his early years working in construction, getting kicked out of school, entering the trades young, and eventually finding himself in the film industry, where he began to see that he was capable of more than the identity he had inherited.
But the deeper turning point came later when - after divorce, substance use, anger, and repeating old patterns - Bobby found men’s work. In the circle, he began to face the parts of himself he had been running from: rage, shame, fear, and resentment.
This conversation goes into the real work of masculine growth. Alchemising our difficult emotions and experiences into valuable lessons and wisdom.
Bobby speaks about anger as fire: Something powerful. Something necessary. Something that can destroy when it is unconscious, but can also become fuel when a man learns to own it.
Matt and Bobby also explore father wounds, forgiveness, shadow work, the King’s Chair process, how men challenge each other without shame, and why brotherhood can help a stay standing - and avoid full collapse - when life stressors hit hard.
This is a conversation for men who know they have fire, who know they have anger, but are ready to stop being ruled by it.
In this episode
Matt and Bobby explore:
Bobby’s path from construction to counselling
Getting kicked out of school and entering the workforce young
How film work helped Bobby discover a new sense of pride and possibility
Divorce, substance use, anger, and the patterns that did not disappear on their own
Why anger is not the enemy
What it means for a man to own his anger without being controlled by it
Bobby’s first experience in a men’s group
Father wounds, forgiveness, and rebuilding relationship with parents
The power of being seen by other men without being shamed
The King’s Chair process and honest masculine feedback
Shadow work, jealousy, projection, and self-acceptance
The difference between awareness, ownership, and action
Leadership, fatherhood, and learning to lead from the back
How men’s work builds self-trust over time
Links from this episode:
Bobby’s website - bobbyhakkarainen.com/
About ARKA Brotherhood
The ARKA Brotherhood is a global community of men committed to growth, truth, accountability, and conscious leadership.
Through weekly men’s groups, leadership training, and real brotherhood, ARKA helps men become more honest, grounded, courageous, and trustworthy in their lives.
Learn more:arkabrotherhood.com

Ben Goresky sits down with longtime friend and brotherhood leader Steve Parr for a conversation about struggle, mentorship, leadership, and what real brotherhood looks like between men.
Steve shares the early years of his life: a childhood marked by boundary-testing, a lack of strong containment, painful lessons around discipline and repair, and a long search for structure, belonging, and masculine guidance. He opens up about depression, anxiety, self-destruction, risky self-initiation in his twenties, and the absence of older men who could help him make sense of his path.
Ben and Steve also explore what made Arka different from other men’s work, why strong male leadership matters, how brotherhood helped shape Steve into a leader, and what it means for men to stay in relationship through power struggles, change, and repair. 
The back half of the episode becomes a living example of male friendship: challenge, love, reciprocity, trust, and the kind of brotherhood most men rarely get to see.
This is a conversation for men looking for mentorship, stronger male relationships, deeper brotherhood, and a clearer path into mature masculinity.
In this episode:
Steve’s early life and search for masculine structure
Depression, self-destruction, and trying to become a man alone
The mentors and turning points that helped shape his path
Why earlier men’s work helped, but wasn’t enough
What made Arka different
Leadership, service, and learning to take the seat
Friendship, rupture, repair, and brotherhood between men
Links from this episode:
Join an Arka Brotherhood group: https://arkabrotherhood.com/join/

In this episode of Arka Talks, Arka Co-Director Matt Cooke sits down with Lee Hettig - longtime brotherhood member, and senior leader/trainer - for a grounded conversation about how men get stuck, and what actually helps them move again.
Lee shares the turning points that shaped his path through men’s work: opening up about alcohol, money, anxiety, isolation, and the lone wolf mentality that keeps many men trapped behind competence, performance, and secrecy. He speaks candidly about mental health, functional freeze, hyper-independence, masculinity, and the role brotherhood has played in helping him tell the truth, stay connected, and take action when life got dark.
Matt and Lee also explore what it means to be a man in today’s world, how men can build earned confidence instead of performative masculinity, and why self-knowledge, shadow work, and reality-checking are essential parts of growth and leadership.
This is a conversation for men who feel stuck, isolated, or split inside themselves - and for anyone who wants a more honest look at men’s work, brotherhood, and the path of real change.
In this episode:
The breakthrough that came from telling the truth about alcohol
Money shame, secrecy, and bringing hidden struggles into the light
The lone wolf mentality and why isolation keeps men stuck
Anxiety, depression, hypervigilance, and functional freeze
Practical ways men begin getting unstuck
Masculinity, discipline, proof, and becoming a producer of value
Know thyself, shadow work, and leadership through self-awareness
Join an Arka Brotherhood group: https://arkabrotherhood.com/join/

Matt Cooke sits down with longtime Arka leader and relationship teacher Nick Solaczek to talk about the path many men take into brotherhood. For Nick, it started in a difficult period of life: no money, no clear direction, and a sense that something needed to change.
An invitation into a men’s group became a turning point.
The conversation explores what men’s work actually gives men: confidence, groundedness, honest feedback, and the ability to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other men without competition or posturing.
Matt and Nick also dig into the deeper challenges men face in relationships - the tendency to withdraw, the “lone wolf” mindset many men carry, and how learning to take responsibility for our inner world changes how we show up with partners, friends, and the world.
This is a conversation about masculinity, brotherhood, and the long road of becoming a man who knows himself.
If you’ve ever wondered what men’s groups are really about, this episode opens the door.In this episode
Why men step into men’s groups (and why most won’t)
The standards and agreements that separate real brotherhood from hand-holding
What changes when a man gets honest with himself - not just his story
The challenge younger men face in a distracted, numb world
Why relationships don’t work without responsibility (and where most men get it wrong)
What happens when we’re forced to face the gap between who we are and who we claim to be
Concrete advice for men looking for partnership and struggling to find it
Key takeaways
Most men wait for pain before seeking brotherhood - invitation matters more than pride.
Consistent practice and real standards separate meaningful men’s work from empty talk.
Comfort in your own body and owning your story is earned, not given.
Avoidance, shutting down, and the lone wolf mindset will strangle your connection.
Taking responsibility means turning toward discomfort, not away from it.
Real change starts with the question: “What am I co-creating in this moment?”
Relationships amplify your shadow - but can also build your backbone.
No amount of logic covers the need for emotional honesty with your partner.
If you want better relationships, learn to make - and keep - clear agreements.
 
About Nick SolaczekNick Solaczek is a Certified IMAGO Relationship Teacher and host of the Highly Successful Couples Podcast. He works with couples who are committed to each other but feel stuck in painful, repetitive patterns. He helps partners move beyond surface-level communication tips and look at the deeper emotional dynamics driving their conflict, including childhood imprinting, unmet needs, and nervous system responses. 
Trained in evidence-based couples therapy approaches, Nick focuses on helping couples experience real change, not just talk about it. His work centers on building emotional safety, honesty, clarity, and lasting intimacy so couples can stop merely surviving their relationship and start truly thriving together.
Links:Nick Solcaczek on Instagram 
Highly Successful Couples
Join an Arka Brotherhood group
 
Arka Brotherhood
Arka is an international brotherhood dedicated to helping men develop leadership, integrity, and self-mastery through weekly circles and training.
Real men. Real stories. The path of the conscious warrior.

Phil T. Mistlberger is a transpersonal therapist who founded The Arka Brotherhood. He is the author of 7 books, founder and facilitator of Conscious Relationship Trainings, and an avid painter. 
In this episode, Ben Goresky sits down with Phil, covering Phil’s early life, the roots of his transformational path through martial arts and inner work, and the turning points that lead him to begin his journey with men’s work. Phil breaks down men’s competitive and egotistical instincts, and how to combat those with intentional brotherhood and inner work.
They also break down key Arka elements like the 14 Point Code, the “Samurai Stare”, and the meaning of  “I’ve got your back”.
In this episode
Phil’s early upbringing, family dynamics, and how communication and looking inward became a lifelong thread
Martial arts, Zen, and the shift from “outer science” to inner transformation
Why men need men and why male connection often gets distorted by competition and fear
The core practice: stay in relationship vs. the ego’s habit of avoiding relationship
Community living, the “pressure cooker,” and what it teaches about forgiveness and our own lessons we’re here to learn
Why men’s groups aren’t therapy - and why action and accountability matter
The Samurai Stare: presence, nervous system regulation, and projection
“I’ve got your back”: loyalty, support, and the kind of challenge that calls a man forward
Ritual and initiation: why consistency and commitment change men over time
Young men and mentorship: what lands for teens, and what doesn’t
Key takeaways
Brotherhood is a practice of speaking the truth, holding each other up to a code for living, and leaning into relationship
You can’t banish the shadow. Integrate it, or it runs your show.
“Staying in relationship” (Code 13)  is a discipline that trains maturity and dissolves avoidance.
Men’s work isn’t just about “how you feel” - it’s about what you do with your life.
Ritual works when it creates presence, seriousness, and belonging beyond the ego.
About Phil T. Mistlberger
Phil T. Mistlberger is the founder of Arka Brotherhood and a longtime teacher in men’s work, conscious relationship training, and transformational practice. He is the author of multiple books on psychology, spirituality, and human development, and has spent decades studying and teaching across wisdom traditions, inner work modalities, and embodied training.
Links from this episode
Join an Arka Brotherhood group
The Arka Code
Phil’s work & books
Conscious Relationship Trainings
Ben’s work on addiction recovery and conscious relationships
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