11/12/2025
A few weeks ago, Claude Belanger Claude came up to Grov Søndre farm and spent a Saturday helping me prep for winter. Snow chains on the tractor, wood processing, good conversation — the kind of day that fills the tank in more ways than one.
I know Claude through Seol, a personal development and leadership program for men. One thing I’ve noticed over the years: men love working with wood. The rhythm, the focus, the silence — and yes, the unspoken competition about who’s swinging the biggest piece of Norwegian birch ;)
My equipment here is old skool. Slow, stubborn, charming, a bit like me before my morning coffee. But it gets the job done: 2,000 litres processed in a couple of hours, and a big axe for those days where frustration needs somewhere healthy to go.
And here’s the fascinating bit: researchers in Austria and the US found that chopping wood spikes testosterone by 30–40% — often more than heavy lifting in the gym. Men’s testosterone levels have been falling for the last 40–50 years, but real physical work with meaning, purpose and a hint of survival switches something primal back on.
So… who wants to raise their testosterone the old-fashioned way?
In 2026 I will be creating a weekend workshop at the farm — a space for men who want to reconnect with themselves, find their centre again, and yes, increase their woodage. It will be part work, part brotherhood, part wild medicine.
Ping me if you want to get some wood on and be part of this. Choppy choppy!
