Frank Gullo's Blog

Freedom Insurance

Freedom Insurance

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Thirty Years Later, Still Saying Merci

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends and neighbors! 🍁

Though I’m south of the border now, my heart travels north today to Ottawa, where thirty years ago I was a graduate student at the University of Ottawa.

Morisset Library, University of Ottawa

I’m grateful for so many I connected with during my time in Canada: the patient university staff who helped this American navigate a new and unfamiliar foreign admissions system, the passionate professors who opened my eyes to the brilliance of Canadian artists, writers, and creators I’d never encountered before, and the friendships forged that remain strong three decades later.

Terry Fox Memorial Sculpture

Thank you, Canada, for teaching me to ice skate (as an adult, no less!), for introducing me to the magic of beaver tails, poutine and the Man with Two Hats, for the countless walks along the Rideau Canal, and for helping me discover that Quebecois French has its own wonderful character that no Parisian textbook could have prepared me for.

Ottawa Firefighters Memorial

So on this Canadian Thanksgiving, I’m thinking of you with deep gratitude.

The Man with Two Hats

Merci pour tout.

Why American Boys Still Need Rites of Passage

It's been nearly 30 years since I attended grad school and completed my Master’s Thesis. My topic was rites of passage for boys and young men in America as reflected in the nation’s popular literature. What I discovered is that American society lacked sufficient frameworks for guiding young men into adulthood.

The world is of course very different now than it was in the mid-1990s when this was written. Yet the themes of alienation and empty purpose I sensed and uncovered in my original analysis are even more relevant today as they were two and a half decades ago. I was soberly reminded of this during the post-mortem on the 2024 election when it was revealed that young men under 30 shifted right by a 14-point margin, many saying they see a "masculinity crisis" and felt homeless politically and as a man.

This prompted me to return to my work with fresh eyes, hoping that the insights from my original research and the evolution of these issues over three decades might contribute to understanding and addressing what has become a defining challenge of our time.

Warning Signs

In my analysis, I traced a troubling pattern through American literature: the gradual disappearance of ceremonial rites of passage that had once guided young men into mature adulthood. From Huck Finn's mentorship under Jim on the Mississippi to Ike McCaslin's hunting initiation with Sam Fathers in Faulkner's "The Bear," from the fishing lessons in Norman Maclean's "A River Runs Through It" to the wilderness wisdom in Hemingway's Nick Adams stories, American coming-of-age literature revealed the importance of the natural world in male rites of passage and how the closing of the natural frontier loosened this important connection between boys and the natural world as a primary initiation ground.

The cost of this loss became evident in later literary protagonists: Holden Caulfield from Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye wandering Central Park in desperate search of authentic mentorship, the cocaine-numbed narrator of Bret Easton Ellis’s "Less Than Zero" drifting through empty privilege, and Updike’s Rabbit Angstrom forever trapped in the glory of high school basketball because no one guided him toward adult purpose. These characters aren’t just famous fictional constructs, they are harbingers of what happens when a culture abandons its responsibility to consciously guide masculine development.

I argued that without formal frameworks for masculine initiation, American society was creating a generation of men adrift in "arrested development": emotionally stunted, spiritually rootless, and vulnerable to destructive substitutes for the meaningful challenge and recognition they craved.

Boys Are Still Struggling

Today's data confirms what literature anticipated decades ago. Boys are struggling academically at unprecedented rates, with women earning 15% more bachelor's degrees than men. Male labor force participation has declined dramatically, with nine million prime working-age men not in the labor force even before Covid-19. Mental health crises, suicide rates, and social isolation among young men have reached epidemic proportions.

What I didn't anticipate in 1995 was how technology would amplify both the problem and potential solutions. The fundamental need for initiation didn't disappear, it simply found new expressions, and not all of them healthy.

Digital Guides Fill the Vacuum

Joe Rogan and other podcasters have become spiritual guides to millions of young men seeking meaning. His podcast pulls over 10 million listeners per episode, more than CNN's primetime lineup combined. Men aged 18-45 now trust podcasts more than any other news source, creating what amounts to a parallel information ecosystem where masculine identity is negotiated in real-time.

This represents a profound shift from the isolated literary characters I analyzed in my thesis. Now, millions of young men are undergoing their masculine formation together, through parasocial relationships with podcast hosts who have become de facto mentors. As anthropologists studying these spaces observe, "at its core, the appeal of these podcasts is the promise of transformation. The conversations revolve around a central, almost mythic struggle: the battle against one's own worst instincts." These are exactly the kind of initiatory challenges traditional rites of passage once provided.

But the vacuum I identified has also been filled by more controversial figures. Andrew Tate became "the most Googled public figure in 2022" by focusing on exactly what I wrote about: young men seeking "community and place of belonging, a defined enemy, direction, certainty, solutions to deep and systemic issues and, perhaps most importantly, hope." The concerning reality is that 79% of boys aged 16 to 17 in the UK had consumed content by Tate—more than knew their own Prime Minister.

The Consequences of Neglect

The 2024 US election revealed the stakes of ignoring young men's developmental needs. Trump made strategic appearances on male-dominated podcasts—spending three hours with Joe Rogan, appearing on shows with Theo Von and Adin Ross—while Harris declined Rogan's invitation. The result speaks for itself.

This isn't just America. Similar patterns are emerging across Western democracies as young men feel increasingly alienated from progressive politics they perceive as hostile to masculine identity. When I hear that young men feel "quite homeless politically" because they "don't see themselves in the rhetoric and aesthetic and politics of the left," I recognize the same psychological homelessness I documented in characters like Holden Caulfield, but now it's playing out on a national scale with electoral consequences.

The tragedy is that the young men drawn to figures like Andrew Tate aren't irredeemable—they're simply responding to the same fundamental needs that drew Ike McCaslin to hunting camps and Norman Maclean to rivers. They want challenge, they want mentorship, they want to matter. When healthy culture fails to provide this, unhealthy culture will gladly step in.

A New Generation of Guides

In contrast, what has give me hope has been the emergence of a modern men's work movement that understands both the depth of the crisis and the necessity of conscious solutions. Unlike the toxic masculinity peddled in darker corners of the internet, this movement recognizes that healthy masculine development requires both challenge and wisdom, structure and soul. These leaders have intuited what my analysis suggested: that authentic masculine development needs integration of strength with vulnerability, leadership with service, and individual growth with community responsibility.

This new generation of guides has helped shape what amount to modern rites of passage, though they might not call them that. They've developed frameworks that provide the same essential elements traditional rites offered: separation from childhood conditioning, transformational challenges, wise mentorship, and reintegration into community with new responsibilities.

A prominent voice has been Richard Reeves whose academic research provides the statistical backbone for what many have intuited. His work confirms structural solutions like "redshirting" boys in school and recruiting more male teachers, while arguing for "a positive vision of masculinity that is compatible with gender equality." Reeves brings scholarly credibility to conversations often dismissed as reactionary, demonstrating that helping men doesn't require abandoning feminism.

Traver Boehm and his "UNcivilized" movement recognizes that men need both "primal masculine" and "divine masculine" energies—what he defines as strength, presence, responsibility, obsession (growth-oriented), and competency. This mirrors the integration that traditional rites provided: physical challenge coupled with spiritual wisdom.

Connor Beaton has developed perhaps the most systematic approach through ManTalks, emphasizing "shadow work," facing the rejected aspects of oneself that lead to self-sabotage. His framework provides a three-part journey to uncover and free oneself from destructive patterns, essentially creating a modern psychological initiation that helps men move from unconscious reactivity to conscious response.

Robert Masters brings a psychotherapeutic approach with his shadow work methodology, creating what he calls "core-level" transformation by helping men face their foundational conditioning through psychological, emotional, and spiritual approaches. His work recognizes that true masculine power emerges not from avoiding difficult emotions but from developing the capacity to meet them consciously.

Robert Glover identified a specific modern masculine pathology—"Nice Guy Syndrome"—where men disconnect from their authentic desires and boundaries in a misguided attempt to earn love and approval. His recovery framework essentially provides a pathway from false masculine conditioning back to integrated masculine authenticity.

David Deida offers men a path that honors both their deepest drives and their capacity for transcendence through his work on sexual polarity and spiritual masculine expression. His emphasis on "fearlessness, or the capacity to transcend the fear of death for the sake of love" as a quintessential masculine gift provides modern men with a noble purpose that traditional societies encoded in their initiation rites.

What these approaches share with traditional rites of passage is their emphasis on community and witness. The most effective contemporary men's work doesn't happen in isolation but in groups, including men's circles, weekend intensives, mentorship programs that provide the witness and accountability that transformation requires. They understand that lasting change needs both individual work and collective support.

What Modern Rites of Passage Must Include

Based on both my original research and the work of today's most effective practitioners, I believe any effective modern masculine initiation must include:

1. Intentional Challenge

Boys and men need experiences that push them beyond their comfort zones: not for machismo, but to discover their own resilience and capacity. This might be wilderness experience, physical training, emotional vulnerability, or spiritual practice, but it must involve genuine risk and growth.

2. Wise Mentorship

Young men need guides who have done their own inner work and can provide both challenge and compassion. As Connor Beaton discovered, transformation requires the courage to "shine light into my deepest corners and start talking about it."

3. Sacred Purpose

Traditional rites always connected individual transformation to service to the community. Modern men need to understand how their personal development serves something larger than themselves.

4. Integration Practices

The work doesn't end with insight but requires ongoing practices that integrate new awareness into daily life, including meditation, journaling, men's group participation, or commitment to specific forms of service.

5. Community Recognition

The broader community must acknowledge and celebrate men's growth, creating social incentives for healthy masculine development rather than rewards for destructive behavior.

Rites of Technology

The internet has exacerbated the problem and also provides potential solutions. Digital tools can either isolate men in echo chambers of rage or connect them in communities of growth. The most effective approaches use technology to facilitate real human connection and accountability, not just consumption of content that confirms existing biases.

What I've learned is that Joe Rogan pulls more listeners than traditional media precisely because he provides what traditional institutions have abandoned: lengthy, unfiltered conversations about meaning, purpose, and what it means to be a man. The tragedy is when this hunger gets exploited by those selling dominance and grievance rather than growth and service.

The Stakes for Democracy

What became clear to me watching the election results is that we can no longer afford to ignore young men's need for meaningful initiation into healthy masculinity. When we abandon them to figure it out alone, they become vulnerable to demagogues who exploit their legitimate needs for recognition and purpose.

The choice of which version of masculinity we promote has become a matter of democratic stability. The healthiest modern approaches I've studied seek integration: honoring both masculine and feminine qualities while recognizing that true strength includes vulnerability, true leadership includes service, and true courage includes the willingness to grow.

The frontier was never geographical, it was always psychological and spiritual. As characters like Nick Adams and Sal Paradise have showed us, the most important territory to explore has always been within ourselves. But now that inner territory is mapped in real-time through AI and digital connections that can either isolate us in echo chambers or connect us in communities of growth.

Across the country, men are creating the rites of passage that formal culture failed to provide, often using the same digital tools that can radicalize toward destruction to instead build toward integration. They're gathering in circles, embarking on vision quests, engaging in shadow work, and committing to conscious relationship.

The question isn't whether we need masculine initiation—the need is written in election results, suicide statistics, and the millions who flock to any figure promising masculine recognition. The question is whether we'll create conscious ceremonies that build men up, or watch them get recruited by those who exploit their hunger for significance.

This reflection builds on insights from my 1995 thesis "Wide Awake in America: The Emergence and Dissolution of American Ceremonial Rites of Passage" and incorporates perspectives from contemporary leaders in men's development including Richard Reeves, Connor Beaton, Traver Boehm, David Deida, Robert Glover, and Robert Augustus Masters.

Endnotes and References

Gullo, Frank. "Wide Awake in America: The Emergence and Dissolution of American Ceremonial Rites of Passage." M.A. Thesis, University of Ottawa, 1995.

Contemporary Statistics and Research 2. Reeves, Richard V. Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do About It. Brookings Institution Press, 2022.

"Young men under 30 voted for President-elect Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris by a 14-point margin." CIRCLE analysis using AP VoteCast data, November 2024.

"Women earning 15% more bachelor's degrees than men in 2019." Reeves, Richard V. "Why boys and men?" Of Boys and Men Substack, September 10, 2022.

"Nine million prime working-age men not in the labor force." Reeves, Of Boys and Men, 2022.

"Joe Rogan pulls 11 million listeners per episode." Carman, A. "Spotify reveals Joe Rogan's podcast numbers." Bloomberg, March 21, 2024.

"Men aged 18-45 now trust podcasts more than any other news source." National Research, Inc. poll published by The Daily Mail, December 2024.

"Andrew Tate became 'the most Googled public figure in 2022'." Multiple sources including BBC and Guardian reporting, 2022-2023.

"79% of boys aged 16 to 17 in the UK had consumed content by Tate." Hope Not Hate research, 2023.

"At its core, the appeal of these podcasts is the promise of transformation." Posner, Abigail and Tom Maschio. "If we just listen, bro podcasts lay bare the search for masculinity." The Drum, May 6, 2025.

Boehm, Traver. Man UNcivilized. Self-published, 2023. See also: traverboehm.com and manuncivilized.com

"Primal masculine" and "divine masculine" energies. Boehm, Traver. Interview on "The Uncivilized Podcast" and various social media content.

Beaton, Connor. Men's Work: A Practical Guide to Face Your Darkness, End Self-Sabotage, and Find Freedom. Sounds True, 2023.

"Shadow work" and three-part journey framework. Beaton, Connor. ManTalks content and Men's Work, 2023.

"A positive vision of masculinity that is compatible with gender equality." Reeves, Richard V. Of Boys and Men, 2022.

Masters, Robert Augustus. To Be a Man: A Guide to True Masculine Power. Sounds True, 2018.

"Core-level" transformation methodology. Masters, Robert Augustus. Knowing Your Shadow: Becoming Intimate with All That You Are. Sounds True, 2013.

Glover, Robert A. No More Mr. Nice Guy: A Proven Plan for Getting What You Want in Love, Sex, and Life. Running Press, 2003.

"Young men feel 'quite homeless politically'." Reeves, Richard V. Interview on Niskanen Center podcast, November 20, 2023.

"Community and place of belonging, a defined enemy, direction, certainty." Analysis from multiple sources on manosphere appeal, including academic research on Andrew Tate's influence.

"Trump made strategic appearances on male-dominated podcasts." Multiple news sources covering Trump's podcast strategy in 2024 election, including appearances on Joe Rogan Experience, Theo Von, and Adin Ross shows.

Traditional rites of passage research cited in original thesis, including works on Papua New Guinea male initiation and various cultural practices.

Faulkner, William. Go Down, Moses (particularly "The Bear"). 1942.

Maclean, Norman. A River Runs Through It and Other Stories. 1976.

Hemingway, Ernest. Various Nick Adams stories.

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. 1951.

Ellis, Bret Easton. Less Than Zero. 1985.

Updike, John. Rabbit, Run. 1960.

Peterson, Jordan B. Various works and podcast appearances referenced in manosphere analysis.

Fresh & Fit Podcast content and analysis from multiple academic sources studying manosphere influence.

Various social media and podcast analytics cited throughout, including Spotify charts and YouTube subscriber data.

Note: This piece represents a synthesis of academic research, contemporary observation, and personal reflection spanning nearly three decades. While every effort has been made to accurately represent sources and statistics, readers are encouraged to consult original sources for complete context.

Blending Time and Tech with Travis Belrose

Last summer, during a visit to Ottawa, Ontario, I recorded an interview with my friend and fellow University of Ottawa alum Travis Belrose. The interview was moderated by (at the time) grad student Jennifer Igbokwe, also from the University of Ottawa, and was focused on our books (Only Human and The Samurai Poet).

The conversation explored the origins and themes of our books, the distinct challenges of our writing processes, the growing impact of AI on writing and writers, and reflections on our time at the university and the broader writing world.

Please enjoy and listen to our conversation on the the Only Human YouTube book channel at @OnlyHumanBook, or below.

TechXY Turbo - Episode Drop

TechXY Turbo has launched and is now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon, Pandora, Podcast Addict, Deezer, and JioSaavn.

Please enjoy and listen to the following episodes:

Episode 1 - "Breaking Excuses & Embracing AI" with Larry Mietus

On this episode, Larry shares insights on AI’s role in business strategy, the future of work, and the biggest tech-driven transformations happening today.

Episode 2 - "AI, Cybersecurity, and the Future of Digital Privacy" with Jessica Copeland

Jessica joins TechXY Turbo to dive deep into the intersections of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and the legal industry.

TechXY

Sneak peak: https://techxy.net/

David Copper Interviews Me

David Copper is a voice artist who I’ve worked with on several projects to date and with more planned for 2025.

In this interview from last November, we discuss everything from computer games, the value promise of AI as a tool, the limits of AI today in forecasting, future projects, the Bills and Vikings, and an iconic, inspiring Buffalo Bills Super Bowl memory.

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of Half-Life 2

“Wake up and smell the ashes.”

20 years ago, Half-Life 2 was released. At the time, the computer gaming market was booming. 2003, the year before Half-Life 2, featured the release of Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and there were several good media franchise tie ins to choose from, including Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Games with immersive stories and playable worlds were breaking new ground too, with Morrowind and Neverwinter Knights very popular at the time.

And then came Half-Life 2, which managed to take successful gameplay elements from all the best games of the era, advance graphics fidelity and in game physics, add in new playable mechanics and enemy AI, and wrap it all in an unforgivable story with memorable characters that rivals the best in all of sci-fi pop culture with the added element that you are part of the story.

For me, it’s the game of games. My desert island, all time favorite game.

Thank you, Valve.

—

To celebrate the game’s 20th anniversary, Valve is offering Half-Life 2 for free until November 18th with additional content including developer commentary mode, improved graphics, and more. There’s also a Half-Life 2 documentary available for free viewing on YouTube.

Uncle Lou

“Uncle Lou” is an audio short about a mysterious figure who shows up one fateful Halloween night. Audio engineered and narrated by David Copper, the story is an audio adaptation of my prose story “Costumed”, which was the winner of a Halloween story contest. The prose version is also available on my website.

Buffalodown Only Human Recap

Only Human recently teamed up with Reconnecter and Grosh for a night of social connection, music, and conversation around AI, tech, emotion, football, and more.

Thanks to all involved who came out and helped launch the Only Human brand into the world. Thanks also for being part of the Reconnecter event series and (and what I’m thinking will eventually become) Buffalo’s Tonight Show.

Below are some highlights from the evening.

NFL Quarterbacks Who Inspired Only Human

My answer when asked if the quarterback character in Only Human is based on an actual NFL player.

AI is a Tool

One of my favorite parts of the event was the panel discussion with host Seamus Gallivan and Buffalo community activist India Walton on AI, tech, and the real impacts on communities and society.

Cyberball

The root inspiration for Only Human, I used to play Cyberball (a classic Atari video game) in an arcade adjoining a miniature golf course near Buffalo, NY in the late 80s / early 90s.

Robots and Emotions

In this clip, I talk about robots and emotion, and one of my favorite stories about robots — “Robbie” by Isaac Asimov.

The Story Behind the Event

To me football has always meant family and friends, and stories about the game will always come back to those who inspired me.

Grosh Performs “Human” by Cristina Perri

Only Human was written before I had heard of Cristina Perri (and before the song was recorded), but once I heard her song “Human”, I felt an immediate connection to the song and book. Here is Grosh performing “Human” live.

In closing, thanks again to everyone for all the support, at the event and for everything leading up to it. Look for more exciting Only Human news and announcements soon!