Ryan Moresby-White returns for his second appearance on Heart of Man.

And this time, we explore what it truly takes for a man to become emotionally safe, grounded, and self-led.

As a men's coach and founder of the Heal The Boy Institute, his work centers on helping men mature psychologically and emotionally so the younger parts of us no longer drive the bus in our relationships, our work, and our lives.

In our first conversation, we explored the foundations of boy psychology, emotional immaturity, and the root causes behind why so many men today operate from these younger imprints.

This time, we go deeper into the terrain underneath it all that demands our attention:

Grief.

The willingness to grieve the pain of our past.

The losses we have experienced.

The parts of us that have never known love.

What we hoped for, longed for, and needed yet never received.

And in those places, developing the kind of inner fortitude that demands us to stay present when life cracks us open.

Ryan speaks openly about how the most disruptive force in many men’s lives is often the little boy inside them trying to get his needs met through control, collapse, avoidance, or emotional hunger.

We explore why awareness alone rarely creates change, and why real transformation requires entering the cave of grief and allowing the body to feel what never had the space to be felt.

We unpack how relationships become the initiations many men never received, and how a man’s capacity to grieve and carry these younger aspects is directly tied to his ability to be present, grounded, and emotionally safe with a woman.

We examine how men are wounded in relationship and how our healing also happens in relationship when held with discernment. What belongs in partnership and what belongs in brotherhood. What we bring to our partners and what ought to be metabolized in circle with other men.

In this conversation, discover:

• What boy psychology looks like in relationships and why it creates emotional chaos.

• Why grief is not only about death or physical loss and how unprocessed grief shapes intimacy, conflict, and connection.

• Why relationships often become the initiations men did not receive growing up.

• How loneliness often hides beneath distraction, overworking, and the need for a partner to regulate us.

• Why presence is the thing many women crave most and how it is built through grieving and inner security.

• What it means to be a safe man and why a regulated nervous system changes everything in love.

• How men can stop making their partner responsible for their healing and step into emotional leadership.

• Why brotherhood matters and what belongs with your men rather than in your relationship.

This is a raw and deeply practical conversation about emotional leadership, nervous system maturity, and how a man can shepherd his younger parts so they do not bleed into love in destructive ways.

This episode is for any man ready to stop letting his younger parts run the show, stop outsourcing his wholeness to a relationship, and start meeting life from a deeper place of truth, maturity, and grounded love.

—

Connect with Alex Lehmann:

🌐 Website: https://www.alexlehmann.co/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexlehmann_

🎥 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@heartofmanpodcast

💼 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexlehmann-hom

🎧 Listen to this conversation on Apple Podcasts and leave a review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heart-of-man/id1697289478

✉️ Email: [email protected]

🤝Think we might be a good fit to work together? Let’s find out & schedule a free connection call (two spots available at present time): https://ahb8n7i1908.typeform.com/to/ddTCwpJP

—

Connect with Ryan Moresby-White

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryanmoresbywhite

💼 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ryan.moresbywhite/

🎥 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ryanmoresbywhite

What does it take for a men to return to what is real, aligned, and alive in him, instead of chasing the success, admiration, or approval he hopes will finally make him feel enough and at ease in his own life?

Within the world of leaders and business owners, many of the men I work with have climbed what we would describe as their first mountain...

They pursued external success, achieved milestones, and reached the very things our culture rewards.

Yet somewhere along the way, a humbling truth emerges:

The freedom, love, approval, or peace they hoped to feel never lasts. And they find themselves standing with everything they once wanted, yet feeling empty or restless inside.

This is the moment they arrive at a crossroads.

The old strategies no longer work, yet the clarity or direction how to climb their second mountain has not arrived. A mountain connected to their deeper nature, guided by what feels alive and aligned, offering a far more sustainable way to experience fulfillment than the achievement driven path that came before.

In this conversation, Bjoern and I explore this crossroads in a grounded, practical way, the space between the life a man has built and the life he actually wants.

In This Episode You Will Discover:

• Why external achievements cannot create the inner fulfillment so many men quietly hope for

• The patterns that keep founders stuck on the first mountain

• The common pitfalls men encounter when they begin searching for a deeper purpose

• What it looks like to move toward a deeper sense of purpose in a clear and embodied way

• How to make decisions guided by your inner knowing rather than by what simply makes sense from the outside

• How to follow what is true and aligned when fear or expectations arise

• How your relationship to death can clarify what genuinely matters to you

• How you can live with greater intention in the choices you make each day

• How to build a life that feels meaningful, guided by your authentic expression rather than performance or proving

At its core, this episode offers a clear, grounded pathway for men who have reached or pursued success yet still feel a quiet restlessness inside.

A pathway toward building a life that feels meaningful, guided by authentic expression rather than performance or proving. A form of leadership rooted in inner alignment, presence, and truth.

If you are a man who is tired of working harder at the things that no longer work, who feels something deeper calling you forward, or who wants clarity on the next chapter of your life, I trust this episode will meet you where you are.

—

Connect with Alex Lehmann:

🌐 Join the first cohort of our upcoming co-led group membership, "The Integrated Founder Circle": https://www.alexlehmann.co/theintegratedfoundercircle

🌐 Website: https://www.alexlehmann.co/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexlehmann_

🎥 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@heartofmanpodcast

💼 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexlehmann-hom

🎧 Listen to this conversation on Apple Podcasts and leave a review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heart-of-man/id1697289478

✉️ Email: [email protected]

🤝Think we might be a good fit to work together? Let’s find out & schedule a free connection call (two spots available at present time): https://ahb8n7i1908.typeform.com/to/ddTCwpJP

—

Connect with Bjoern Keune:

🌐Discover more about 'Acta': https://www.acta.so/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjoernkeune/

What does it really mean to be an integrated man? And why does this question matter for founders and high performing men today?

In this episode, Bjoern and I explore a subject many men are quietly wrestling with, often without fully realizing it:

• We look at how most men received very little guidance in their transition into manhood.

Very few of us had meaningful experiences that clarified what being a man means to us personally, the values we choose, the virtues we stand for, and the standards we hold ourselves to.

At the same time, most men have absorbed direct and indirect messages about what is acceptable for a man to feel, show, or express.

Some men grew up with overpowering masculine influences or dominant father figures and, in response, learned to reject parts of themselves. They disconnected from instinctual qualities like assertiveness, direction, boldness, and desire.

Others adapted in the opposite direction. They learned early in life that vulnerability, gentleness, or softness were unsafe, so they built a persona rooted in control, performance, and emotional armoring. This left them disconnected from inner qualities like openness, receptivity, and emotional connection.

And so, without a clear framework, many men default to performing masculinity rather than actually embodying what is true and real for them.

In this episode, discover:

• Why so many men feel confused and struggle to truly know themselves as men

• How the loss of guidance, ritual, and initiation has shaped modern masculinity

• How fast paced cultural shifts contribute to men performing masculinity rather than embodying it

• The two extremes many men fall into, the Nice Guy and the Disconnected Leader

• How these patterns affect leadership, relationships, and sense of worth

• What the path of integration actually looks like in real life, using our own personal journeys as reference

• How to reclaim the parts of yourself you abandoned rather than becoming someone else

• The importance of building strong, supportive male relationships

This conversation is for any man who wants to walk the path of integration, to lead with strength while keeping his heart open.

It is for the man who is done performing or hiding and is ready to step into who he truly is.

And for the man who senses there is a more truthful way to live and lead, one that honors his unique nature in his work, in his relationships, and in the way he moves through the world.

—

Connect with Alex Lehmann:

🌐 Join the first cohort of our upcoming co-led group membership, "The Integrated Founder Circle": https://www.alexlehmann.co/theintegratedfoundercircle

🌐 Website: https://www.alexlehmann.co/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexlehmann_

🎥 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@heartofmanpodcast

💼 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexlehmann-hom

🎧 Listen to this conversation on Apple Podcasts and leave a review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heart-of-man/id1697289478

✉️ Email: [email protected]

🤝Think we might be a good fit to work together? Let’s find out & schedule a free connection call (two spots available at present time): https://ahb8n7i1908.typeform.com/to/ddTCwpJP

—

Connect with Bjoern Keune:

🌐Discover more about 'Acta': https://www.acta.so/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjoernkeune/

How does a man build a relationship with his sexuality that feels integral and aligned with who he truly is?

And what does it take for founders and high performers to move from secrecy, compulsion, and shame into a place of integrity and emotional clarity in their intimate lives?

In this conversation, Bjoern and I explore a subject many founders and leaders wrestle with quietly, often in isolation.

We look at how, within the entrepreneurial world, many men carry internal conflict, shame, or secrecy around their sexuality.

For many founders and high performers, the harder they chase external achievement at the cost of themselves and their relationships, the more disconnected they consequently become from their emotional life, their needs, and their deeper self.

In this episode, discover:

• How early conditioning shapes a man’s relationship with his sexuality, creating shame, suppression, and a split identity through messages about what is acceptable or not

• How many men perform as the “good man” who holds everything together, while having no place for the parts they learned to hide, leading to secrecy, acting out, and deeper disconnection

• Why this dynamic hits founders and high performers particularly hard

• The impact of porn, how both Bjoern and I relate to it today, and how I moved through a 15 year porn addiction

• How many men become hyper sexual yet deeply under intimate, craving nurturance without having a model to receive it

• How men can repattern their sexuality in a practical way, with both Bjoern and me sharing honestly from our own journeys

• How to own desire without shame, integrate the parts of ourselves we were taught to reject, and bring our sexuality into relationship consciously and with integrity

At its core, this episode is about transforming the way we relate to our sexuality as men.

It is a journey of reclaiming the potency sexuality holds and integrating it into your life in a grounded and aligned way.

It is about maturing in the places where unhealed parts still drive the show, taking responsibility for your shadows, and bringing more clarity, depth, and safety into your intimate life and into your leadership, allowing you to feel more peace, more passion, and more potency.

If you are a man who feels confused, ashamed, or disconnected from your desire, or you long to live with more sexual integrity, confidence, and truth, this episode is for you

—

Connect with Alex Lehmann:

🌐 Join the first cohort of our upcoming co-led group membership, "The Integrated Founder Circle": https://www.alexlehmann.co/theintegratedfoundercircle

🌐 Website: https://www.alexlehmann.co/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexlehmann_

🎥 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@heartofmanpodcast

💼 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexlehmann-hom

🎧 Listen to this conversation on Apple Podcasts and leave a review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heart-of-man/id1697289478

✉️ Email: [email protected]

🤝Think we might be a good fit to work together? Let’s find out & schedule a free connection call (two spots available at present time): https://ahb8n7i1908.typeform.com/to/ddTCwpJP

—

Connect with Bjoern Keune:

🌐Discover more about 'Acta': https://www.acta.so/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjoernkeune/

How can founders and high performers lead their relationships with the same clarity and intention they bring to their businesses, and create partnerships that feel connected, alive, and deeply meaningful?

Welcome back to the Founder Series, a 6-part journey supporting founders, business professionals, and high performing men who want to evolve from high functioning stress into embodied and integrated leadership.

A form of leadership that allows you to stay clear and calm under pressure by aligning who you are with how you lead.

In this episode, we explore a subject where the rubber truly meets the road for so many founders I work with...

Men who lead teams, inspire others, and move entire organizations forward, yet quietly struggle to create the depth and satisfaction they long for in their romantic relationships.

The truth is, most of us never learned the skills, tools, or principles needed to thrive in relationship. And for founders especially, the very traits that drive success in business are often the same traits that limit us in love, intimacy, and honest relating.

At the same time, our earliest imprints of love shape how we relate as adults, often unconsciously. Without realizing it, we rely on the same strategies that once kept us safe, the patterns that earned us connection, approval, or belonging growing up. And over time, these strategies begin to recreatethe very challenges we faced in childhood.

Eventually, this leads to a breakdown of safety and trust.

The spark fades.

Intimacy becomes inconsistent.

Communication turns surface-level.

And many founders discover how this bleeds into their work, their clarity, their presence, and their ability to lead.

In this conversation, Bjoern and I explore what keeps founders stuck in love and intimacy.

In this episode, discover:

• The impact that not having an education around relationships has on how we show up in love

• How our conditioning from parents, media, culture, and past experiences shape the way we do love and intimacy

• Questions and principles that help men step into relationship with more intention, clarity, and awareness

• The 4 key pillars that make relationships work in our view

• What creates emotional depth and closeness in long-term partnership

• How to navigate conflict in a way that brings partners closer rather than further apart

• How polarity fades over time and how it can be reignited

• How relationship can become a vehicle for both partners’ individual and shared growth

At its core, this episode offers a roadmap for founders and high performing men to lead with authenticity, steadiness, and heart.

To show up in heated moments without collapsing, to listen without losing themselves, and to offer direction while honoring their partner’s experience. To become a man whose presence creates safety, intimacy, and connection, in romantic relating and in every area of life.

If you are a man who has developed himself professionally yet struggles in relationship, and you long to feel more rooted, open, and present in love and intimacy, I trust this episode will meet you where you are.

—

Connect with Alex Lehmann:

🌐 Join the first cohort of our upcoming co-led group membership, "The Integrated Founder Circle": https://www.alexlehmann.co/theintegratedfoundercircle

🌐 Website: https://www.alexlehmann.co/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexlehmann_

🎥 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@heartofmanpodcast

💼 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexlehmann-hom

🎧 Listen to this conversation on Apple Podcasts and leave a review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heart-of-man/id1697289478

✉️ Email: [email protected]

🤝Think we might be a good fit to work together? Let’s find out & schedule a free connection call (two spots available at present time): https://ahb8n7i1908.typeform.com/to/ddTCwpJP

—

Connect with Bjoern Keune:

🌐Discover more about 'Acta': https://www.acta.so/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjoernkeune/

What is the real value of founders, leaders and high-performing men being in close contact with their emotions?

And how can becoming aware of what’s happening inside of us, and learning to lead ourselves through it, not weaken our leadership but actually strengthen it over time?

Welcome back to this episode in the Founders Series, a 6-part journey exploring the challenges founders, business professionals, and high performing men face today, and supporting them in evolving from high functioning stress into embodied and integrated leadership.

A form of leadership that allows you to stay clear and calm under pressure by aligning who you are with how you lead.

In this conversation, Bjoern and I explore a common issue we see among many high performing men:

• Disconnection, disembodiment, and emotional numbness.

For many, success has come at the cost of losing touch with their bodies and shutting down their emotional experience. Most of us were taught that strength means staying in control and not showing weakness or humanness.

Over time, this didn’t make us stronger. It hardened us. It built emotional armor that keeps us functioning, but prevents us from being deeply connected to ourselves or others.

So we avoid asking for help. We avoid receiving support. And we look for ways to manage the emotional intensity that leadership naturally brings.

The cost of emotional avoidance is high:

It disconnects us from the signals of our own body and from meaningful intimacy.

It burns us out.

It leaves us feeling flat or numb, chasing hits of aliveness through work, achievement, substances, or validation.

And in relationships, we often project what we haven’t dealt with onto partners, teams, or the business itself, creating rupture and disconnection.

In this conversation, find out:

• Why many founders and high performers quietly struggle when they don’t yet know how to be with what they feel or work with it effectively

• The real cost of emotional suppression in leadership and performance

• How to return to seeing emotions as intelligent signals meant to guide more effective leadership

• How emotional awareness shows up in leadership in real, practical ways

• The five core emotions we see many men struggling with

• What emotional steadiness looks like when pressure rises

• How a man can move from emotional numbness toward emotional leadership in a tangible way

• How to bring emotional experience into relationship, professionally and intimately

This conversation is for any man who values effectiveness as a leader and wants to step out of the paradigm he has beenconditioned into.

It is for the man who wants to feel more alive, more connected, and more grounded in who he truly is.

If you’ve been feeling numb, overwhelmed, or disconnected from your inner world, or if you simply sense that more is available for you, I trust that this episode will speak directly to you.

—

Connect with Alex Lehmann:

🌐 Join the first cohort of our upcoming co-led group membership, "The Integrated Founder Circle": https://www.alexlehmann.co/theintegratedfoundercircle

🌐 Website: https://www.alexlehmann.co/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexlehmann_

🎥 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@heartofmanpodcast

💼 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexlehmann-hom

🎧 Listen to this conversation on Apple Podcasts and leave a review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heart-of-man/id1697289478

✉️ Email: [email protected]

🤝Think we might be a good fit to work together? Let’s find out & schedule a free connection call (two spots available at present time): https://ahb8n7i1908.typeform.com/to/ddTCwpJP

—

Connect with Bjoern Keune:

🌐Discover more about 'Acta': https://www.acta.so/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjoernkeune/

Many founders carry pressure, heaviness, and expectations that few people ever see...

And even after everything they’ve built, many feel disconnected from themselves, unsure how to lead in ways that feel honest, aligned, and true.

Today, I’m excited to introduce a project that feels deeply meaningful to me:

The Founders Series, a six-part podcast series created with my close friend, Bjoern Keune.

This series speaks directly to the challenges founders, business professionals, and high-performing men face today.

It’s designed to support a shift from high-functioning stress into embodied and integrated leadership, where clarity and centeredness are possible even under pressure.

The inspiration began in August, when Bjoern and I led a workshop for founders in Berlin. It quickly became clear how naturally our approaches complemented each other.

While my background is in embodied coaching, somatic work, and group facilitation, Bjoern brings over fifteen years of entrepreneurial experience, along with his work as a mentor, advisor, and investor, grounded in years of practice in Zen meditation.

It became clear how naturally our approaches complemented each other...

In my coaching practice, I’ve come to intimately understand the inner challenges high performing men face. And Bjoern understands them from the inside out, having lived through many of the same pressures.

Together, we share a clear and embodied perspective on what founders actually need.

What became undeniable is how many founders are still operating in the dark:

They carry the intensity of leadership without knowing how to work with it or ask for support...

They struggle to remain true to themselves when things get difficult...

Relationships suffer, both in business and at home...

And many feel disconnected from their worth, wellbeing, and deeper sense of purpose...

This founder series was created to offer a new path forward.

Our first conversation explores how to lead in ways that don’tcreate more pressure or disconnection, but instead bring us closer to ourselves and to each other.

In this episode, you’ll find out:

• How founders can build companies from their core, staying connected to their inner genius while serving others

• How Bjoern’s company, Acta, brings these principles to life through truth, presence, and genuine service.

• What becomes possible when founders reconnect with their innate core, and how this reconnection changes the way they make decisions, lead, and create.

• The hidden pressures many founders carry, the emotional toll of leading alone, and why emotional leadership and nervous system awareness are essential

• How cultivating relationships rooted in truth, connection, and genuine care directly impacts leadership

• What it means to create from devotion rather than stress, following inner excitement and honesty instead of external pressure

For the past two months, this has been the project Bjoern and I have been building, and I’m genuinely excited to now share it with you.

If you’re a man that wants to lead differently, with more clarity, integrity, and presence, this series is for you.

—

Connect with Alex Lehmann:

🌐 Join the first cohort of our upcoming co-led group membership, "The Integrated Founder Circle": https://www.alexlehmann.co/theintegratedfoundercircle

🌐 Website: https://www.alexlehmann.co/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexlehmann_

🎥 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@heartofmanpodcast

💼 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexlehmann-hom

🎧 Listen to this conversation on Apple Podcasts and leave a review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heart-of-man/id1697289478

✉️ Email: [email protected]

🤝Think we might be a good fit to work together? Let’s find out & schedule a free connection call (two spots available at present time): https://ahb8n7i1908.typeform.com/to/ddTCwpJP

—

Connect with Bjoern Keune:

🌐Discover more about 'Acta': https://www.acta.so/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjoernkeune/

Chris Marhefka is a Master Coach, worldwide retreat facilitator, and co-founder of the men’s movement "Thirteen Pines". He also hosts the "Fully Expressed" Podcast, alongside his work as an investor and speaker.

As an experienced entrepreneur, Chris has grown and exited several six- and seven-figure companies. For over a decade, he lived the life of a serial entrepreneur, building businesses and chasing his definition of success at the time.

All of this came to an abrupt halt after he experienced a stress-induced brain injury. ..

What initially appeared to be a physical breakdown became a turning point that reshaped his entire life.

During his recovery, Chris developed a deep mindfulness practice and began asking more honest questions about the life he was living and the man he wanted to be.

That reckoning led him into an initiation that ultimately changed the trajectory of his entire life.

Over the past eight years, Chris has immersed himself in emotional healing, trauma facilitation, somatic work, breathwork, relational coaching, masculine embodiment, and leadership development.

He has since worked with over 2,000 clients across physical, mental, emotional, energetic, and spiritual domains, supporting men in becoming more grounded, capable, and fully expressed.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Chris’ personal journey as a serial entrepreneur, and the life-altering transition point that reshaped how he relates to success, identity, and leadership

• Why moments of breakdown can serve as powerful initiations into deeper maturity, rather than something to avoid or bypass

• The core distinctions between boy psychology and man psychology, and how these patterns show up

• How men can learn to lead themselves through moments of breakdown and transition, and cultivate more honest, grounded, and truthful expressions of who they are

• What masculine leadership truly entails in Chris' perspective

• The importance of developing the capacity to listen, to our inner knowing, as a foundation for leadership and connection

• The importance of cultivating openness, humility, and a beginner’s mind

• How the Russian martial art Systema has been supporting Chris to step into deeper embodiment

At the heart of this conversation is a deeper inquiry into how we meet moments of breakdown in our lives...

And how these moments, when met honestly and with sincerity, can become the ground for a more truthful, embodied, and mature expressions of who we are.

This is a powerful conversation for any man navigating a transition, questioning his identity, or sensing that life is asking more of him.

—

Connect with Alex Lehmann:

🌐 Website: https://www.alexlehmann.co/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexlehmann_

🎥 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@heartofmanpodcast

💼 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexlehmann-hom

🎧 Listen to this conversation on Apple Podcasts and leave a review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heart-of-man/id1697289478

✉️ Email: [email protected]

🤝Think we might be a good fit to work together? Let’s find out & schedule a free connection call (two spots available at present time): https://ahb8n7i1908.typeform.com/to/ddTCwpJP

—

Connect with Chris Marhefka

🌐 Website: https://www.chrismarhefka.com/

🌐 Discover more about "Thirteen Pines": https://www.thirteenpines.com/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrismarhefka

🎧 Listen to Chris' podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/1X5smBK27JlLjxR4Fbir3q?si=d2ea870e815b46da

🔥Episodes you might enjoy:

Nic Warner: Are We Failing Men Without Initiations Into Manhood? | EP 34: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1VmXXcviyNnHTFanuFF32y?si=tQT8SWLvS8G8NmtRgLtnAg

Chris Bale: Why Are Men Struggling Today & What Can They Do? | EP 27: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3vLPotDJsjkrfmkyWUeYXJ?si=d7x3AmtIQ02xiLisR_vPHA

Michael Holt is a holistic health expert, masculine vitality specialist, and martial artist whose work sits at the intersection of holistic health, meditation, and awakened masculine leadership.

As the founder of the internationally renowned "Savage & Saint Collective", Michael serves elite performers in the cultivation of vitality, depth of consciousness, and performance excellence.

His extensive background in meditation, martial arts, western psychology, core shamanism, holistic health, and exercise science comes together to form a unique approach that is trusted by top executives, founders, athletes, artists, and entertainers around the world.

As I got deeper into Michael’s work, I was struck by how naturally it aligns with a truth I’ve come to know in my own life:

The masculine path requires our capacity to cultivate range and develop fluency in complementary opposing qualities, in Michael’s terms, the Savage and the Saint...

Simply put, the Savage is the part of us that is primal, instinctual, disciplined, relentless, and willing to meet and move through challenge.

The Saint is the part of us that is awake, conscious, devoted, and anchored in truth, love, and a deep acceptance of each moment.

In his work, Michael does not teach men to choose one or the other. He teaches them to integrate both, to train the body and sharpen the mind, to soften the heart and expand awareness, so a man can govern himself fully and live with clarity, direction, and depth.

In his own life, he has forged a path that unmistakably reflects the depth of this integration.

From decades of martial arts, qigong, and meditative practice, to years of guiding men through embodiment, discipline, and peak performance, Michael has developed a unique framework that helps men become dangerous and safe, powerful and compassionate, structured and spiritually awake.

In this high-paced conversation between the two of us, we explore:

• The defining traits of the Savage and the Saint

• What it means to cultivate both the Savage and the Saint within oneself

• Why the biggest fear for many high performers is simply letting the sword down

• Why physical mastery is inseparable from spiritual development

• How discipline can eventually be transformed into a way of devotion that becomes effortless

• The common misconceptions about what meditation actually is

• The real value of meditation and what it can teach us

• The importance of emotional maintenance and the cost of letting emotional backlog accumulate

• How to build masculine vitality and strengthen your virility as a man

This was a potent and energizing conversation with a man who has spent countless hours honing his craft and dedicating himself to supporting men in becoming more integrated, grounded, and fully expressed in their masculine essence.

If you’re a man seeking more masculine range, vitality, & inner peace, I trust this episode will land deeply.

—

Connect with Alex Lehmann:

🌐 Website: https://www.alexlehmann.co/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexlehmann_

🎥 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@heartofmanpodcast

💼 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexlehmann-hom

🎧 Listen to this conversation on Apple Podcasts and leave a review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heart-of-man/id1697289478

✉️ Email: [email protected]

🤝Think we might be a good fit to work together? Let’s find out & schedule a free connection call (two spots available at present time): https://ahb8n7i1908.typeform.com/to/ddTCwpJP

—

Connect with Michael Holt

🌐 Website: ⁠https://savageandsaint.com/⁠

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savageandsaint

🎥 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZJo2ZDCNTv1QtKfKaSn64A

🔥Episodes you might enjoy:

Eli Buren: Embodied Leadership — Cultivating Presence & Depth | EP 29: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1vqmGKNDBxm2pmH8hi6ckr?si=4b60b11ecfd448db

René Schwarzgruber is a Relationship Coach, Facilitated Breath Repatterning Practitioner, and Co-Founder of "ReallyAlign".

Growing up in a small town in Austria, Rene initially followed the traditional western path, building a career in banking, yet deep down he knew that there was something more for him...

In his mid-20's, he took a leap of faith, leaving behind his stable life, moving to Norway with his then partner, and beginning to travel.

His journey led him to co-found "Life is a Beach Party", where he spent over a decade creating experiences for 1000's of young travelers across the globe.

Over the years, René began to wake up to the hidden costs of the life he had built, acknowledging how he'd been defined by the chase for pleasure, validation, and approval, and the avoidance of responsibility and discomfort...

Eventually, life began to knock on his door through numerous challenges, calling him into deeper maturity and out of the frame of boy psychology that had, in many ways, been dictating his life.

This time of introspection, led him down a journey of discovery, healing, embodiment, and emotional awareness.

Eventually, his journey brought him to Bali, where I met him back in 2023 as he stepped into the same Breathwork Facilitator Training I had completed a few years prior...

Through this work and his personal breakthroughs, René stepped into a new purpose of supporting others through embodied coaching, and breathwork.

This calling led him to step out of his travel company and birth his current venture, "ReallyAlign", a company dedicated to helping entrepreneurs release stress, reconnect with themselves, and step into deeper alignment.

René and I reconnected again a few months ago, unexpectedly sharing some raw truths about our first interactions with each other.

This led to a powerful discussion, unpacking the conditioned beliefs we both still carried, the fears that still existed, and through that rawness, confirming the values that we both hold so dear: being solid, integrated men, cultivating meaningful relationships, and supporting others to step out from behind the masks of everyday life into deeper alignment.

This led me to want to invite him on the show, and this conversation surely didn't dissapoint, where you'll discover:

• What it takes to move beyond unhealthy competition and learning to celebrate the success of others

• The hidden motives behind his early drive to build a party company, and the deeper growth it led him toward

• The importance of failing fast and embracing discomfort as a path to growth

• René's personal journey of forgiving his mother and transforming his relationship with her

• How he moved from “boy psychology” to embodied, mature masculinity

• What he’s learned about provision, leadership, and the role of being a man in modern relationships

• Why breathwork has become his life’s work, and, in his words, one of the most powerful tools for transformation he’s ever experienced

• Why so many modern relationships break down

This was an inspiring conversation with a man I consider a growing friend, and I hope you enjoy this raw and honest exchange.

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Connect with Alex Lehmann:

🌐 Website: https://www.alexlehmann.co/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexlehmann_

🎥 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@heartofmanpodcast

💼 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alexlehmann-hom

🎧 Listen to this conversation on Apple Podcasts and leave a review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heart-of-man/id1697289478

✉️ Email: [email protected]

🤝Think we might be a good fit to work together? Let’s find out & schedule a free connection call (two spots available at present time): https://ahb8n7i1908.typeform.com/to/ddTCwpJP

—

Connect with René Schwarzgruber:

🌐 Website: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.reallyalign.com/⁠⁠⁠

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rene.schwarzgruber

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rene-schwarzgruber-breathwork?originalSubdomain=de