CHRISTIAN N.
Swiss
47 years old (46 at the time of the trek)
Engineer
Divorced, no children

A / For my own personal development, and because I have a sense of adventure.
B / The opportunity to reflect on my own personal situation and on my goals in life, as well as the pleasure that comes with spending two weeks with a group of men and enjoying a lot of personal exchanges with them.

LOUIS
Swiss
70 years old
Retired doctor
Married, 4 children and 5 grandchildren

A / For me, it was an opportunity to look at the chosen themes of masculinity, in the presence of the security and competence that Alexis Burger offered. I had a very solitary childhood overshadowed by my mother’s illness, and I know that I suffered the consequences. I wanted to explore that distant past.

B / I was able to relive some difficult moments from my early childhood, through the themes of male power, struggle, and mutually respectful combat. I had the opportunity to reveal myself, to talk to myself, to speak about the things I appreciate or don’t like at home – starting with my relationship to my own body.

BERNARD
Swiss
67 years old
Doctor
Married, three children

A / I am part of a group of men who get together around the issues that are dealt with in the film. So for me this was the continuation of a journey I began three years ago.

B / It’s hard to say. The process began before the film and hasn’t finished yet. But during the trek I was able to grieve for my mother through tears that were healing.

ERIC J.
Swiss
47 years old
Married, two children

A / At the time, I was going through an identity crisis, questioning my family, my work and my beliefs. So this really came at the right time...

B / First and foremost, an exceptional human experience. The journey through the desert offered encounters with other men as well as with myself, and it taught me that I could ask questions about my masculinity and that I could escape from the mindless daily routine that no longer suited me and that had been disturbing me so much for months.

NICOLAS
Belgian
35 years old
Human resources consultant
Single

A / I am part of a men's group influenced by Guy Comeau. I had already participated in a desert trek, and had a positive experience.

B / A more solid foundation to my life, and a greater sense of depth. I was able to explore things that were buried deep within me – especially emotions – and it changed me. I did not return the same person.

SYLVAIN
Italian, living in Belgium
40 years old
Marketer
Married, three sons

A / After the birth of my third child, I was drawn to the unique experience of encountering myself and other men in a particular place, and as part of an unusual project.

B / I lived through a deeply human experience that felt timeless. It has given me some markers, points of reference and pathways. I also recall certain small moments that have resonance: looks, laughter, certain phrases, shared cigarettes, silence, lights...

GAÉTAN
Quebecer
62 years old
Retired in 1997 after 36 years in various education-related jobs
Married for 39 years, 3 girls and 3 grandchildren

A / I have always had an interest in raising questions about the masculine condition, and it is an interest that has turned into active engagement. I am the president and one of the founders of Réseau Hommes Québec.

B / The joy that comes with having participated, and with meeting wonderful people. I once again experienced the tremendous similarities in the hearts of men, despite the variety of courses they have charted. I also felt a great moment of truth – a sense of opening and authenticity.

JEAN- JACQUES
Quebecer
55 years old
Director of the “réseau qajaq network”, which offers psychosocial development services to the Inuit men of Nunavik, in the far North of Quebec.
Lives common-law, one 29-year-old son

A / To experience something exotic as well as authentic and intimate moments between men – even though I'm straight – outside of the context of the daily fare of cars, work, soccer and women.

B / It was a very rich experience to have only the forbidding desert environment on which to rely on as we immersed ourselves in our wants, needs and fears, and our limits.

PIERRE- YVES
French
54 years old
Parole officer
Divorced, three children

A / Because for me it was a bit like a challenge I had to overcome – a hurdle relating to my own personal situation and my identity as a man.

B / A very rich and exceptional human experience. In terms of the film, I had a desire to be recognized – to be seen.

CHRITIAN A.
French
52 years old
Agricultural technician
Married, 5 children, one four-year-old grandson

A / I thought I was being offered an exceptional opportunity, in a fantastic context, with fantastic men.

B / The sense that this trek will have a lasting effect on my life, and that I have been through a journey of initiation. I was able to get in touch with my interior self, and today I can continue to tell myself “I exist” in the same way I did at the end of the trek.

EMMANUEL- FRANÇOIS
French (living in Lisbon, Portugal)
41 years old
Chef
Single

A / I was at a point in my life where I was wanting to free myself from things in my past that were holding me back from maturing. My goal is to be who I am – a man among men.

B / Something new started to be born within me during the trek, and it continues to grow every day. Today, I am pleased to have been able to blow out the first candle marking the start of this rebirth.

GUÉNAËL
French
32 years old
Internet-related project manager
Single