MenLiving 2025 Western Advance (In-person retreat) – Top Gun

MenLiving Advance: Top Gun

A Transformative Weekend of Connection, Growth & Play

Join Jason Samatas and Mike Patterson for a powerful men’s weekend with a twist. The weekend will include the standard MenLiving fare on an Advance, including deep connection, time in nature, guided self-reflection, and movement. However, this Advance is going to spice it up a bit by making some content connections of men’s work to both Top Gun movies (1986’s and 2022’s) — two mostly universally liked movies (although it may provide great discussions for those who didn’t like the movies!). Jason, in particular, is a Top Gun enthusiast and his connection to aviation being an airline pilot also drives some intrigue for the weekend. The movie casts many interesting themes on masculinity, some healthy and some not-so-healthy, and we’ll be exploring some of the content of the movie, its characters, and how it ties that back into today’s culture and individual’s lifestyles.