The GreatMen Project
Strategic Vision

Why We’re Sharing This Publicly

Most companies keep their strategy secret.

We believe in building in the open—with transparency, trust, and truth. Men need to see more than a polished pitch. They need to see the plan.

So they can collaborate and contribute to their community.

That’s why we’re publishing the GreatMen.org business plan. Not just to show where we’re headed—but to invite you into it.

This is the map. This is the mission. This is the fire we’re building—together.

 

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Our Mission

We help driven men in midlife (30 to 60) build a great life on their terms.

On paper, everything looks great. From the outside, everyone's patting you on the back for having your shit together. Maybe even for your "success." But on the inside, something feels off. You catch yourself asking, "Is this it? I did everything they said to do. So why do I feel like something is missing?"

Something is missing.

You got lost in all the other stuff you built for everyone else.

What do you want? How do you feel? What do you dream to build on the back 9 of life?

That matters.

I've been there brother, you are not alone. Men all over the country are feeling the same way. 

If you've hit midlife and noticed the life you built maybe isn't the one you actually wanted, you're not alone. The body is changing. The relationship isn't lighting you up. The kids are getting harder or heading out the door. The career feels like someone else's plan. The dogmas you were handed don't hold up the way they used to.

Most men carry all of this alone. Nobody asks them how they're feeling. Nobody asks them what they're actually building. They're just expected to hold it together.

We do it differently.

The Great Men Project is a brotherhood for good men ready to transform our lives together. Get physically healthy. End the war inside your head, so you can find peace in the world without. Connect with other men who refuse to settle for a good-enough life.

We burn the scripts you've been given up to this point in your life, and help you build greatness on your terms.

We do this through online community, proven frameworks, the Great Men podcast, affordable Guys Trips in epic places, coaching, and live Gatherings that bring hundreds of men together around in the real world.

No social media bullshit.  No manosphere alpha weekends pretending we are navy seals. No victimood truama get lost in your feelings trauma therapy circles.

Just good dudes gathered around a fire, forging a life they actually want to live.

Together, we help each other MAKE meaning, CHOOSE purpose, and aim at GREATNESS.

We are on a mission to help 100,000 men stop living a good-enough life for everyone else, and start building a great life on their terms.

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Our Vision

A world where good men stop performing the scripts they were handed, and start emanating who they actually are from the inside out.

A world where men are connected to their true Self, to other great men, and to something bigger than themselves.

A world where men stop martyring themselves to everyone else's needs, and become the man he actually wants to become.

A world with tens of thousands of great men, defining greatness on their own terms, in their bodies, their minds, their work, their relationships, their investments, and their inspiration.

A world where men are no longer feel alone.

 

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What We Believe

Great Men is built on five things.

Accessibility. Every good man should have access to a fire, no matter what's in his bank account. Money should never be the wall between a man and his brotherhood. We have a free tier and we mean it. We encourage every man to pay what he can, when he can.  Men who pay, pay attention.  Men who invest, get an ROI.  And then, great men pay it forward.  But, there should never be a barrier for good men, who are driven, doing their best, aiming up, showing up, and doing the work to start their journey toward greatness.

Transparency. We build in the open. We publish our mission, our vision, our pricing, our plans. Men have been sold to and lied to enough. We'd rather show you the map than pitch you on a mystery.

Generosity. Men rise when they contribute. The men who pay don't just pay for themselves. They pay forward, sponsoring brothers who can't yet. Generosity is the rhythm we invite men to step into.

Personal Transformation. This isn't a self-help club. This isn't therapy cosplay. It sure as hell isn't chest thumping, ego driven, alpha insecure bullshit like you find in other men's groups. This is a place where men actually change. Body, mind, work, relationships, future, and aim. Real change. On your terms. In your time. Together.

Brotherhood. A man wasn't meant to do this life alone. But the modern world has disconnected men from each other, from their purpose, and from themselves. Men gathered men around fires for a thousand generations. Three generations ago, that stopped. We're starting it back.

Our focus is on masculine evolution through sparking awareness, taking action, personal development, supporting transformation, and inviting lifelong integration for growth.

We also have a lot of fun, hang out online, go on guys trips, and throw epic live events.  There will be inappropriate jokes and hilarious memes.  The real reason guys hang out.

The Founder

I'm Shane Sams.

Former School Teacher and Football Coach. Speaker. Entrepreneur. Podcaster. Author. Husband. Father. Brother. Friend.

On paper, my life looked incredible. Successful brands. Podcasts with millions of downloads. Stages, audiences, the whole picture. Health, wealth, family. Check, check, check.

But something was missing.

Instead of stopping to figure out what it was, I did what most driven men do. I achieved harder. Built more. Pushed further. I told myself the next win would close the gap.

It didn't.

In January 2022, my body sent me a bill for every year I'd ignored it. Nine days in a hospital bed. Staph infection in my blood. Fever spiking past 105. Alone during a pandemic. Two-eighty on the scale and wondering if I was going to wake up the next morning.

When I got home, I made a promise. I was going to rebuild my body. End the war in my head. And finally figure out what was actually missing. 

What followed was three years of the hardest and most important work I've ever done.

Lost the weight. Built the muscle. Fixed the bloodwork. Then went deeper than I'd ever gone before. Therapy. Internal Family Systems. Plant medicine. Deconstruction of the certainties I'd been handed. Identity shifts that cost me time, money, even relationships. Reconstruction of a beliefs I could actually live in. Asking the question I'd been outrunning for decades. Who am I becoming when all the titles, accolades, and given identites are stripped way; when nobody's telling me who to be?

I went public with my transformation so other guys could see an example of what's possible. I talk about all of it openly on the Great Men podcast every week, because men are starving for the conversations nobody else will have out loud.

But the thing that changed everything wasn't the gym, or the therapy, or the plant medicine.

It was the great men around the fire. Out in nature. Sharing cigars, stories, and the challenges holding us back. Soul stuff.

For ten years, a group of my boys have taken a houseboat trip to Dale Hollow Lake. No agenda. No whiteboards. No vision boards. Just good men, close friends, a fire, cigars, cool water, and the kind of conversations that only happen when the guard finally comes down.

Every year we invited two new men. And every year they said the same things.

"I didn't even know I needed this."

"I wish I had something like this in my regular life."

"I don't have a lot of dudes I actually talk to anymore."

I heard it for years. I nodded and went back to my regular life.

Then one night around the fire, one of the men said, "Someone should set up more Guys Trips like this for men."

And it hit me.

That someone was me, I was just ignoring all the signs.

A decade building online communities. A decade on stages learning to lead. A decade around the fire learning what men actually need from each other.

I was built for this moment.

So I built GreatMen.org.

I'm not here to be a guru. I'm a guide, a facilitator, a man just like you. I'm here to share what i've learned. Connect good dudes together. A place where we can all become the men we want to be.

What We Built

The Great Men Brotherhood. A private online community where good men gather around two sacred questions. How are you feeling. What are you building. No performance. No algorithm. No bullshit. Free tier available, paid tiers for men who want to fund the mission and pay it forward. When was the last time in YOUR life someone truly asked you "Hey man, how are YOU feeling? Are you OK?"  When was the last time someone actually got excited for YOU about YOUR dream? For what YOU are building?  We ask those questions every day in the Brotherhood.  And we give a damn about your answers to both. Powered by forums, human interaction, NEVER AI, and live hangouts. You never have to walk alone again.

The Great Men Project. A growing toolkit of frameworks, rituals, journaling prompts, and trainings to help men build themselves. Body, mind, work, relationships, future, and meaning. Anchored in the 7i framework. Included with every Brotherhood tier.

The Four Pillars of Fire of the Great Men Project

1. Mindset  – Frameworks for clarity, mental resilience, and rewiring the stories that no longer serve you. 

2. Emotional Intelligence  – Tools for regulating emotion, expressing feelings constructively, managing relationships, and unlocking peace.

3. Strength – Discipline and embodiment practices for reclaiming the body as a tool, not a burden.

4. Inspired Purpose  – Vision-building, legacy work, and internal alignment that helps men define greatness on their own terms.

These are taught through original frameworks, ancient wisdom, rituals, companion content to podcast episodes, journaling prompts, and experiential exercises.  These are the four domains good men master to become Great.

The Great Men Podcast. Weekly fun unfiltered conversations about identity, purpose, transformation, fatherhood, faith, doubt, deconstruction, mental health, fitness, marriage, money, and what it actually means to be a great man in the modern world. This isn't another scripted entrepreneur podcast, or a bullshit show where everyone tells the same stories they tell everywhere else.  We get REAL. Free, everywhere you listen.

Great Men Guidance (Men's Coaching). An 8-week guided journey through the Great Men 7i Philosophy. Group coaching, 1-on-1 access to guides, weekly calls, async access between sessions, and a dedicated small group of men walking the same path. Limited to twelve men per cohort.

The 7 i's of Great Men

The framework that anchors the work. Seven practices a man emanates outward from his center. Everything we've learned about life from other great men, mentors, philosophers, wisdom traditions, and belief. Our guides take you through a process to move each area of your life from good to Great:

1. iron. "I will forge my body, and prioritize my health." Your body is the only thing you truly control. Where it is. What it's doing. We help you transform you body, so you move through the world strong as iron.
2. initiation. "I will surround myself with great men, brothers, and allies on my journey." We transform your feelings of lonliness and isolation into brotherhood. Mentors. Become iron. Then Iron sharpens iron. Transform your relationships from all alone, to surrounded by brothers and allies.
3. inner world. "I will end the war within, so I can create peace without." The mind, the heart, the soul. Peace in your outside world, begins by ending the war within yourself. Transform your inner world from anxiety, chaos, and stress to calm, focused, and peace.
4. industry. "I will build things that serve others, and provide for myself and my inner circle." What you build. Mission, vision, work, career, income. Income equals freedom. Great Men build. Transform your finances, carreer path, and start chasing YOUR vision again.
5. inner circle. "I will lead, serve, and provide for those I am responsible for from a place of strength." The people you protect and provide for. Family, found family, close friends. Whoever they are. However that looks for you. We help you transform your relationships from soul-sucking to life-giving.
6. invest. "I will invest my time, energy, and money in a way that secures the safety of my future self, my inner circle, and my community." The deployment of surplus from industry. Money, time, wisdom, presence. Compounding into the future. Great men transform their future, by investing their time, energy, and money today.
7. inspiration. "I will connect with something higher than myself, aim up, and use my gifts to positively impact others." The source. What's bigger than you. What you aim up at. What emanates through you when the other six are clear. We help you stop searching for meaning, and become a meaning maker in your own life.

Body. Brotherhood. Mind. Work. Family. Deployment. Inspiration and purpose. The 7i framework is the spine of the brotherhood, and is a philosophy for Great Men ready to transform their life.  Learn more inside The Great Men Project and Brotherhood members only area. Cohorts for Great Men Guidance run throughout the year, and are included in the purchase of any Great Men Guys Trips.

Great Men Guys Trips. Who the hell wants to go on another guru's "mastermind" or superficial "retreat." Our legendary Guy's Trips are laid back, fun, actually meaningful, and are where you will find deep connection, transformation, and wisdom. Small-group, multi-day immersions in nature. Chill, low-key, no frills. Cabins, fires, real food, real conversation. Go to vale on your own if you want to look good for strangers on the slopes. This is an actual life changing experience, where we go deep inside ourselves, with other bros, and nature. Limited capacity. Brotherhood members get first access. Investment for Great Men Guys Trips range from $3,000 to $9,000 depending on the trip, location, venue, etc.  We do multiple trips a year, and each one is different.  This is where the magic happens, and we encourage every brother in the community to hit one of our Guys Trips during the year.  Men need to get away and recharge, reignite, and grow.  This is your invitation to do all three. Guys Trips happen 3-6 times per year.

Great Men Gatherings. Larger live events bringing the brotherhood together from all over the world. The vision is hundreds of men, multiple days, anchored in the areas men need to grow.  Guest speakers, workshops, and connection with other Great Men at scale.  We cover marriage, personal growth, investing, entrepreneurship and bring in Great Men to train, teach, and tell epic stories on stage.  Prices for The Gatherings range from $97 to $497. Gatherings happen 2-4 times a year.

The Path of Generosity

We didn't want to build a brotherhood with a velvet rope.

So we didn't.

Every man who joins the Great Men Brotherhood, no matter what he pays, gets the same access. Full community. Full Great Men Project. Full library. Full gatherings. Full everything.

The only difference between tiers is paying members get first access to Guys Trips. Everything online is the free tier.

We built it this way because we believe two things at once. Every good man deserves a fire. And men rise when they contribute. Both are true. The threshold model honors both.

The Gathered (Free). You're here. That's enough. No shame, no strings.

The Growing ($20/month). Pay it forward. Cover yourself and a brother who can't yet.

The Groundbreakers ($50/month). Pave the way. Cover yourself and four brothers entering the fire. First access to live events.

You can change tiers any time. No countdown timers. No fake scarcity. No bullshit.

Cross the threshold that feels right to you. Click here to join now.

Questions?

Got questions about any of our communities, trips, live events, podcast or more?  

Email the founder directly: Shane Sams at [email protected]

That's his actual email. Not an assistant. Not an AI chatbot. He reads every message himself and replies.