“Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds.”

Bob Marley didn’t write those words. He borrowed them from Marcus Garvey. But it was Marley who burned them into our hearts through Redemption Song.

The transatlantic slave trade was a horror beyond words. Millions of Africans stolen, chained, and shipped into lives of brutality in the Americas and the Caribbean. Colonialism extended the pain, bleeding lands and people under the guise of 'civilisation.' Those systems may look like history, but their echoes live in our blood, our buildings, our laws, and our minds.

And now? We wear suits instead of chains. But the systems of control have simply evolved. Globalisation, consumerism, algorithmic distraction — all working to keep us dependent, compliant, and disconnected.

So what can we do? We listen. We learn. We acknowledge the pain that built this world. We resist the urge to 'move on' without healing. We sit with the legacy of racism — not as something distant, but something alive in us.

And then, we choose. We choose where to put our energy. We lift up the voices that were silenced. We teach our kids the truth. We support justice. We act from love, not guilt.

Redemption doesn’t come from outside. It starts with seeing clearly. With freeing the mind. With remembering who we are, and what we’re capable of — together.

The Modern Man’s Path to Karma Yoga

There’s a quiet strength in simplicity.

The phrase “Chop wood, carry water” is more than just a Zen koan—it’s a timeless call to action for the modern man. It speaks to the grounded, day-by-day process of becoming, through doing. In an age of quick fixes and spiritual bypassing, this ancient wisdom reminds us that the real work of life is in the everyday, the ordinary, the repetitive. It’s in the sweat of your brow, the care you give to your whānau, the things you build with your hands, the love you offer without asking for return.

But this isn’t just about getting the job done. This is about Kama Yoga—the yoga of action, the path of selfless service, where every act becomes a step on the journey of self-discovery, refinement, and ultimately, mastery.

Earlier this year I attended the @sacredsons Embodied Masculine Experience (EMX) in NSW, Australia. 100 or so brave men gathered in the bush for 4 days of immersion in brotherhood, paddling on to this global tidal wave of men’s empowerment and connection.

It’s funny how only 4 days can hold so much variety in one experience. This one was all the things for me. Rich. Deep. Challenging. Enlivening. Confusing. Numb. Awkward. Expansive. Particularly being surrounded by other Kiwis and Australians with our very nuanced masculine challenges and quirks. Finding how we connect beyond the rugby changing rooms or the (comfortable) mask of alcohol culture.

B R O S is a movement focused on optimising the connection, purpose, and vitality of men.

We create spaces for brothers to connect with their primal and divine masculine essence — with accountability, ritual, and celebration.

We began the journey of this work at the foundation of Organic Mechanic (OM), a wellbeing social enterprise & community specialising in organic smoothies, probiotic kombucha & transformational events, founded in 2013 by 5 brothers from 4 different mothers.