Most men have zero foxhole buddies. Not because they don’t want them — but because they keep choosing comfort over the risk of being truly known. Nick Papadopoulos has spent 23 years building men’s groups, and Jake Fishbein has spent the last decade inside them. Together they’ve written a novel about what it actually looks like when men stop spectating and enter the arena. It became an Amazon bestseller. This conversation is the unfiltered backstory.
In this conversation, you’ll learn:
- Why the “I’m too busy” excuse is almost always a lie men tell themselves — and what it’s actually protecting
- What it means to be a foxhole buddy versus a fair-weather friend, and how to build those relationships before the 3AM crisis call
- How the Arena Men’s Group model identifies the exact moment a man is about to leave his own growth — and what to do about it
- Why being in a men’s group on Monday doesn’t mean you’re in the arena on Tuesday — the real measure of the work
- What Nick’s 50-year friendship taught him about how deep a single conversation can go when men finally get honest
- Why the work you do in a men’s circle doesn’t stop at you — and why your wife is probably your men’s group’s biggest fan
Grab the book, find your foxhole, and stop being a spectator in your own life.
Resources Mentioned:
- The Men’s Group: A Novel of Messy Friendships by Nick Papadopoulos & Jake Fishbein —
https://a.co/d/0051GHKs (also available at bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Target)
