Finding Brotherhood in the Wilderness: A Conversation with Chris Robbins

by Frank Roller

At Places of Healing, we’re drawn to those who live their truth—and guide others through it. Chris Robbins is one of those quiet but powerful voices.

While his wife, Mel Robbins, is a household name in the self-help world—author, speaker, and host of one of the most downloaded podcasts on the planet—Chris has been carving his own path. Less spotlight, but with lots of soul.

As the founder of Soul Degree, Chris leads immersive retreats and ongoing programs that offer men something rare: a place to slow down, drop the mask, and connect deeply—with themselves and each other.

His work is not about fixing men, but about helping them remember who they are beneath the pressure, the roles, and the armor. For years, Chris was the steady hand behind Mel’s rising empire. But when the time came to listen to his own call, he stepped into his own lane—holding space for men navigating change, purpose, and identity.

POH FRANK: First off, thank you so much for your time. I know you’re a busy man. I was reading a little bit on your website, and what you’re doing, and I’m just wondering—how did your personal journey start into healing and introspection? Was there any kind of special moment in your life where you just thought, “This is something I’m interested in”?

CHRIS: Hmm… Well, I think that all of our healing journeys begin long before the incident we might think started it.  The more conscious moment, the memory I know of, was the loss of my father when I was about 35. But even then, I didn’t process his loss at that moment. It took me another 10 years of circling the drain—finding myself in a very dark hole. That’s probably when my conscious awareness began… that realization that I was in need of a lot of healing.

POH FRANK: So that was the moment you described as “rock bottom”—in your forties? 

CHRIS: I think the passing of my father was the beginning of what ultimately became the fall off the cliff—my low point.  My dad was a big exec back in his days. And when I was about 35, I had already spent 25 years in corporate America—without even knowing it, trying to be a lot like my dad. I wasn’t in the ad world, but I was grinding away in corporate life… and I was miserable.

So, I left that world and decided to get into the restaurant business. That’s a whole other story in itself.. But I think part of it was that I’m a pretty experiential guy. The idea of being in a business that touches all five senses—it appealed to me. A friend and I started working on a restaurant concept. My dad had just come out of retirement, and we started noodling on the marketing—the branding, the promotion. I thought, “This is going to be great. I’ll finally get close to my dad through this project.”

We opened our first restaurant… and then he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Eighteen months later, he passed away. At the time, I thought I’d gotten closure. We had all these conversations during those 18 months. I got to say goodbye, and I convinced myself I had grieved. But in truth, when he actually died—I buried it. I didn’t take a second to grieve. Instead, I poured myself into the restaurant. And the business, well, it went up and down, left and right… and ultimately, it went down. Almost a decade later, I got out—and I was a shell of myself.

When I left that business, I didn’t really have the energy to start something new. Mel—my wife—and I decided we needed to try something different. We had always juggled parenting, careers, household stuff—thinking we were being “equal” about it all. So, we decided I would stop focusing on career and money completely. Mel would take over that part, and I would take over the home, the kids, the whole domestic piece. In theory, that sounded great. But culturally, and in my heart, I felt like… this was a failure. I was 45, a stay-at-home dad. This wasn’t modeled for me. My dad certainly wasn’t the guy picking us up off the bus or packing lunches. So yeah—I felt pretty lost. It was during that couple-year transition that I started realizing… I needed something.

POH FRANK: And that “something” became Soul Degree?

CHRIS: Yes, that something became “Soul Degree”. I didn’t know exactly what Soul Degree would be or should be. But I knew I was too revved up. I needed to slow down. I knew I felt most at ease when I was in the woods—like when I was a kid, just getting dirty, getting muddy. That memory—that physical experience of nature—brought me peace. Sitting around a fire. Going for hikes. Just being in the wild. And I knew I needed perspective. Not that I wasn’t getting support from my wife or close friends—but I needed something more.

The idea of getting muddy in the woods, but doing it alongside other men who were willing to talk about the stuff that mattered—the good, the bad, the meaningful—that became the seed of Soul Degree.

POH FRANK: “Soul Degree”, and the “Huddle”… from what I’ve read, they’re deeply focused on men’s work. So what kind of man is this space for? Is it just the vital man who likes going into the woods? Or is there a certain group you’re aiming to reach with these programs?

CHRIS: I’ve had a really fascinating array of men. I mean, I’ve had former professional football players, I’ve had veterans who’ve done tours of duty…, I’ve had all sorts of different professionals from the corporate world. But also real age range—I’ve had men as young as 22 and as old as, I think, 84.

And of course, all of these people are at different stages and phases in their life, bringing with them transitions—that’s the genesis of the whole idea. Because I say to these guys: “Look, if you’re going to come do something like this—take yourself out of your life, and spend five days in the company of twelve strange men—make sure you bring your life with you. Bring what you’re working on, so you can get to work on you.”  I’m a big proponent that people use this time and space to give themselves what they think they need—or maybe what they don’t even know they need—and use it for that purpose.

So I’d say it’s not a “let’s circle up and talk about our problems” situation. In fact, this isn’t for people who are really in a hole. It’s for those who know they have something to work on—even if they’re not crystal clear what it is. There’s some intuition pulling them in.

I’m not a great marketer. I’m not prolific on social media. So the people who do find me… the people who end up in the room… they’re the ones who need to be there. I don’t need to screen for that, and I don’t need to expend energy trying to curate who’s in the room.

POH FRANK: But just to understand a little more—if someone doesn’t know what it is you’re offering, is there a certain structure? Is it a learning group, a support circle, meditation? What does the structure of the Huddle look like?

Chris: It begins with a five-day retreat in a wilderness setting—removed from everything and everyone.

But it’s actually programmatic in the sense that it runs over about five months. The twelve of us will spend time together on retreat, and then continue working both individually and as a group online for another four-plus months. So we can carry forward the work we began during the retreat. On the retreat itself, I introduce a range of different healing modalities to expose men to ways they can slow themselves down—ways to dial up awareness of their surroundings, or of themselves.

Yes—I’m a meditation guide. I’m a yoga teacher. I’m a breathwork facilitator. I’m a death doula. I’m getting my master’s in spiritual psychology. So the conversations we have—structured or unstructured—touch on what people are bringing with them: career, marriage, moving, anything they’re going through.

We also thread in meditations, challenges like hiking 10 miles in the woods, cold plunges… A lot of these touchpoints are there to prompt new thought and reflection. And of course, we bounce those insights, those aha moments off each other while we’re together. That’s a really important sauce in the mix. For twelve guys to quickly find a way to trust each other and speak openly—that’s rare.

So it does take—not a special person—but someone willing to be courageous. Willing to enter something that feels out of sorts, and decide, “This is a good thing for me to do—to care for myself.” Because our nature is to care for others—our kids, our spouses, our jobs. We do, do, do. But for ourselves? Not so much. 

POH FRANK: In our interviews and observations, it’s clear that a lot of men feel lost. Women are more open to process emotions, talk about feelings. Men weren’t taught how to do that. So even just teaching men how to talk about feelings and fears—that’s major. Because they never learned it. So in your program, it starts with a retreat with 12 people, and then you stay in touch online?

CHRIS: It’s about another four months afterward that we continue working together.So all 12 of us will be together for about five months overall. And then friendships get cultivated. Many become quite solid and continue long after. That’s been the gift for almost a decade now since I started this—these friendships keep giving.

I do two retreats a year—one in June, one in September.

Then I run a digital, online version called The Huddle. Different format—it runs over a few months and focuses on themes like family, spirituality, death, health, self. It still creates space for guys to come together. Every once in a while, I’ll host a reunion—to open the doors for people who’ve been through the programs and want to reconnect. I usually do that every other year. This year, we’re actually going to spend five days in a 15th-century monastery in the middle of Italy.

POH FRANK: You’ll probably stay mostly at Eremito – also a portfolio member of us. A beautiful remote place of silence.

I want to ask about your family, because to me, it seems like you and your wife are a powerhouse of self-help. I love this idea that you had this family conference and decided, “Okay, you’ll take over the family obligations,” but now you’re diving deeper into men’s work while she’s growing her platform. Is there any overlap between your worlds? I know she’s doing a lot of self-help, podcasting and such, and you’re working with men. Do you ever collaborate?

CHRIS: Not likely. And I say that because for many years—about a decade—I served as the back-end to Mel’s growing business. We were partners. It was great while it lasted. It was purposeful. But in the end, it put a strain on our marriage—not because we weren’t good partners, but because as the business grew, the complexity grew. And we both almost outgrew the thing. I didn’t wake up one day thinking I wanted to be the CFO or COO of a female self-empowerment brand. That wasn’t my calling. I appreciated being the first-call parent—and secondarily her business partner. But there’s not enough room in this household for two people doing that kind of work.

She’s really good at it. And it’s a bit coincidental that Soul Degree has evolved under a similar umbrella—but with an exclusive focus on men. For the ten years I was helping Mel, Soul Degree was on the back burner. I had other priorities. Now, with all our kids out—our youngest is in college, the others are already in the world—it’s opened a different doorway. I finally have more freedom and time to work with this canvas in an unobstructed way. Not that I have some big secret plan to expand the content, but I’m focused on quality over quantity.

I don’t say that to downplay Mel’s work. Her podcast alone touches 50 million people a month. My focus is on touching 25 guys a year.

POH FRANK: I truly believe in the balance of male and female energy. Whenever that’s out of balance—that’s when craziness starts.  That’s why, when you said you’re not good at marketing, I thought: “Well, you’ve got the powerhouse under your roof.”  She could easily infuse some of that marketing muscle into Soul Degree. 

CHRIS: No, you’re right. She’s got the machinery. And I haven’t really used it. When I say I’m not a great marketer, I mean I don’t get up every day drawn toward showcasing what I’m doing. But I will say—one thing about men’s work is… the buyer is often the female in the household.

POH FRANK: Interesting.

CHRIS: What I mean is, a lot of women who follow Mel—and she has a lot of male followers, too—but many women come to me and say, “Hey, this thing you’re doing… I’d love for my husband or partner to do it.” And my response is: That’s great. It shows love and commitment. But until that man really wants to do it himself, it’s a nonstarter.

That’s helpful—because Mel speaks to women. And many women want to understand or support their man. But honestly, there’s not a lot of programming out there for men.

POH FRANK: I actually did an interview a while ago with Julie Piatt—Rich Roll’s wife. I love how Rich sometimes brings Julie onto his podcast.  And sometimes I wonder—does Rich do that because Julie says, “Okay, it’s time to bring me back on”? Because when you’ve got two people in a relationship working in the same field… you can create magic. 

Since Places of Healing is about travel… the retreats you’re doing—are they mostly in the U.S.? Now you’re going to Italy. But do you do retreats all over the world?

Chris: I think that’s the next level for me.I’ve traveled a lot, and it really inspires me.I think my first real international retreat will be in Bhutan. I’ve been once. And for those who have the appetite to make the journey—it’s worth it.

That said, I’ve always been the guy who’s done everything—scouting, knowing the trails, the transportation, every detail to create an experience that flows. Being able to go see a place first is important. That’s hard to do if I’m doing programs all over the world. And I don’t want to be in the travel business—that’s not my jam. I also don’t want to completely outsource all the components—though some of that will be necessary if I go global. Right now, I do retreats in Vermont. It’s off the beaten path, even in the U.S., and a really special part of the world. And since it’s my backyard, I understand it—that creates some efficiency.

Right now, most people who know who I am are based in the U.S., and a lot of Canadians too.

POH FRANK: At the end it’s your personal decision—how you expand the work of Soul Degree, how many retreats you want to do, and how you want to do it.

CHRIS: The other thing that’s a little challenging for me—well, two things, really. Part of the reason I haven’t done a ton more of these is because—I need this as much as the next guy. I want to be in the retreats as a participant and a player just as much as I want to be the guy putting them on. And doing more and more could dilute my ability to really dive into my life, my issues, and what I want to draw from these experiences. That’s why I keep things contained.

My belief is: if I’m going somewhere—I want to get away. Really away. I don’t even like getting in a car once we start. It’s just too much like regular life.

I have everything catered—but I don’t even let the caterer show their face. Not because they’re bad people, but because I don’t want anything or anyone disrupting what is essentially our movie. So I’ve never been compelled to bring in outside speakers or experts—even though I know that can enrich the experience. It’s just always been this very tight, remote, immersive thing.  And that wouldn’t necessarily work if we were at a staffed hotel or resort.

POH FRANK: You’re creating a circle of intimacy—that safe space where people can open up. That’s so important because there’s so much fear around vulnerability. Showing your true colors. And if you don’t feel safe—if you feel like you’re being watched or judged—your mind just shuts you down. 

Okay, last question. What do you think men take with them when they leave the Huddle? After all these experiences—what sticks? Even if everyone comes from different walks of life, is there something essential you see over and over again?

Chris: It’s always a little different for each man—but I’d say… Whether it’s the Huddle (which is a digital format), or the in-person experience—there’s a theme that holds true. It gives men a front-row seat to humanity.

They see the good, bad, and the ugly—in others. And then, they see themselves in that.That’s what helps men realize: we’re truly not alone. It’s easy to say, “Oh, I’m not alone—there’s 8 billion people out there.”  But we all fall into that rut—feeling like we are alone. Feeling like our experience is uniquely isolating. And being in the company of men, having these conversations the way we do— That changes things.

It gives them more agency—not just in their own lives, but in how they plug into other people’s lives. And I’m not just talking about their partner or their family—I mean, even walking down the grocery aisle, feeling comfortable in their body, seeing the humanity in the guy next to them picking out bananas.

And it comes from what they’ve seen and heard, sitting in a circle of twelve.

POH FRANK: That’s fascinating. We’re circling back to these paradigms. Men holding onto roles—this warrior, this armor.  There’s always competition between men.There’s protection. But there’s not always openness—especially with strangers.

CHRIS: Right. And yes, collaboration sounds great—but that competitiveness is almost to be expected. And it can get toxic. But when you talked earlier about men losing their footing—about roles shifting… More than collaboration, I think men need to hold other men. Just hold space. Not to fix, not to solve—but just hold.

We’re no different from women. We want to be seen and heard. And if more men could find space to hold one another—literally and figuratively…We might actually help stop the bleeding.

POH FRANK:  I really hope that whenever you’re ready—you will expand your programming. Or maybe even create a permanent healing place. 

CHRIS: Thank you.

Chris’s retreats for 2025 are already sold out – but check his website for new upcoming dates in 2026