30 April - 3 May 2026 | BioVilla, Arrábida, Portugal | 14 men
This retreat has already happened. This page is the record of it.
The Return of Men is a men's retreat and rite of passage guided by Martin Thomsen. This third edition was held at BioVilla in the Arrábida Natural Park, Portugal.
Breathwork and fire. Ice, the temazcal, and conversation with nothing hidden.
Fourteen men who arrived carrying their own weight, and set some of it down.
The programme stays unpublished, before and after. Not knowing is part of the work, and the men who come next deserve the same threshold.
What we can show you is what it left behind.
Eight of the men gave these testimonials after the retreat, each in his own words. Nothing here was written for us.
"What I learned most is to trust my stomach, trust my heart, trust my body, not my head. My head is always telling me lots of noise, things that are totally imaginary. But when I come back to my body, to my heart, there's a lot of truth there. A lot of grounding, a lot of love and support."
"I came to the retreat seeking clarity, to break free of routines. I'd recommend this retreat to any man who feels there's something not quite fulfilling him in everyday life. Who's not quite living the fullest life possible."
"I came to release pain and anger and frustration. What changed things were the personal, intimate, ugly, burning feelings that were laid down on the floor, and everybody was supported. This intensity of the men together is something I have never experienced before."
"I came to release the protection I built as a kid. To let go of my frustration, my anger, my sadness, and become the man I want to be. What I take from it is the energy, the confidence, the masculine energy I reconnected with, and the calm and serenity I'm living with now."
"There's a numbness that comes over time as you grow older. I came to find the excitement for life again. What I'm taking home is realising how lucky I am to be here. I can't explain how grateful I feel, and that gratitude is going out into my son, my partner, and my family."
"I felt lost, confused, and afraid. This retreat gave me all the answers I was searching for, in places I didn't expect to find them. Now I have full clarity on exactly what I need to do going forward. In my body it's a calmness, a sensation of having my feet on the ground and knowing what I stand for."
"It was the best decision I have made in the past six months. The biggest insight was that if you want life to be there for you, you have to choose life. You cannot cherry pick. There will be ups and there will be downs, and the downs are there so you can appreciate the highs."
"Honestly, it's difficult to express in words, but to me it was life changing. Something happened in the breathwork that made me realise: there is really something to all of this. I feel more capable to stop, listen to myself, and express in a way that was always uncomfortable for me. Hands down, the most impactful thing I have done in my adult life."
Photographs from the retreat. Every man shown here consented to these being used.
Portugal: 12 to 16 May 2027, at BioVilla in the Arrábida hills.
England: 8 to 12 September 2027, on Elmore's rewilding estate in Gloucestershire.
The 2026 men stood where you are standing. Their words above are what it became.
