LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — It’s 6 a.m. on a Friday morning and the men come filing in.
They are nervous, anxious, excited and completely unaware of what lies ahead.
Medics are on hand and the first order of business is for each one of them to get their vitals taken and documented.
Their rucksacks, packed with essentials are lined up in order and their personal belongings are confiscated.
The real world as they know… is now off limits and a retired U.S. Navy SEAL takes command.
With the men standing tall and at attention he barks out his first order.
“Dump everything out of your rucksack. Let’s go! Let’s go!”
The men spring into action and follow the orders until he yells at them to get on their face. In other words, it’s time for planks and pushups. The men count them out one at a time.
Ten minutes into this graduation there is already chaos and confusion. Two of the men are facing the wrong way and the sight infuriates the Navy SEAL.
“Who are the two class leaders?” he yells.
Two men in a plank position identify themselves.
Then, the Navy SEAL says, “You’re fired.”
He follows that up with further punishment and orders.
“So now we’re going to bear crawl around this entire gymnasium.”
The men jump to it and halfway through this exercise, you hear one of the men tell the man in front of him to go slow.
“We still have 50 hours to go.”
Welcome to the School of Man’s graduation. A 50-hour long journey that pushes men to their limits and beyond.
This crucible, as they call it, will test every ounce of your mind, body and soul.
Getting to this point has been a challenge. Over the past 16 weeks, the men have met three times a week and been pushed physically doing hundreds of burpees, pull-ups, planks and running to mention just a few.
But they’ve also been tested mentally, emotionally and spiritually. They have been stripped of their masks, their egos, checked at the door and forced to be vulnerable.
Along the way, they’ve unpacked their past and been able to learn their true purpose… their why in life.
All of it… preparing them for this defining moment in their lives. The School of Man graduation.
It’s now 12:30 p.m. on Friday and the men have taken over War Memorial Stadium.
They are in a circle, each one of them in a plank position and their legs overlap and connect with the man next to them.
They are doing pushups, lots of them and each time they do, the only thing touching the ground are their hands.
Once that is done, they line up and are ordered to do lunges until they reach the 30-yard line, then skip to the 50-yard line and once they reach that point they are instructed to do a funky dance move… then sprint back to the goal line.
“From the morning until now, they’ve made leaps and bounds,” says Cole Rodgers, CEO & Lead Follower of the School of Man.
Kevin Kelly asks him what’s the point of this 50-hour graduation.
Rodgers says, “When a man is beaten and tormented, they are ready to learn. That’s what we’re going for. Who are you at the core? And one of the best ways is seeing a man under stress and how he reacts.”
Seven hours have now passed and all the men look strong, except for one.
53-year old Todd Pettyjohn is struggling to keep up. Medics pulled him off to the side earlier and hooked an IV up to him because he was dehydrated. But he says he feels much better now.
Minutes later though, he’s back talking with Rodgers and a Medic.
“What’s the problem?” says Rodgers.
Pettyjohn says, “I don’t know. I felt something pop.”
He’s referring to an old injury he sustained.
So for his safety and the safety of his teammates, Rodgers and members of the medic and support team decide to repurpose Pettyjohn’s role. Simply put, they pull him from all physical activities. Pettyjohn is devastated.
“It’s a shock to the ego,” says Pettyjohn. “I’ve put a ton of work into this and it’s hard.”
His teammates, who are now wolfing down sandwiches and water, are informed of his condition. They feel his pain and see it in his face. But they all rally around him and hug him and tell him that he is still in the fight., still a brother and always will be.
Nighttime has arrived and the men are now at an undisclosed location and we are not allowed to follow them.
We are told they are not allowed to sleep but will be tested throughout the night and that in the process their inner warrior and brotherhood will start to emerge even more.
24 hours have now passed, and when the sun rises, the men are taken to the Little Rock Racket Club.
A 50-meter pool awaits them. Once they arrive they are ordered to jump in with their army fatigues and boots on.
They don’t hesitate. In fact, the water feels refreshing.
But then the Navy SEAL tells them what’s next.
“Your feet will not touch the bottom of the pool. You are going to swim 2,000 meters and you have less than an hour to do it. Go!”
Late that afternoon, the men are now at Pinnacle Mountain and are undergoing critical medical training. They are learning how to properly apply a tourniquet.
Once that task is completed they line up hauling their 50-pound rucksacks and are ordered to climb to the top.
Once they reach it, the men celebrate their small victory.
“Gentlemen, what is your profession? Aroo, Aroo, Aroo.”
They should feel good for reaching the top, especially considering they have yet to sleep.
The second night has arrived and once again the men are taken to a different undisclosed location.
They are physically and mentally beat. But they also realize that the end of this journey is only 17 hours away.
Sunday morning arrives and the men find themselves back where this grueling journey all started, the gymnasium in downtown Little Rock. And yes, they’re doing exactly what they were doing nearly 50 hours ago: squats, burpees, pull-ups and submerged in a tub of ice water.
Family, friends and loved ones arrive, anxiously awaiting the crowning moment.
Some of the wives of the men are here with their kids. Courtney Pena is one of them and over the past 16 weeks noticed a huge change in her husband.
“He’s always had a short, short fuse,” says Pena. “So this has made that fuse go from being about this big to about this big! We can things now together without him going off.”
Rene Wischhusen also praised her husband.
“It just stripped him down to the core,” says Wischhusen And there were things, emotional things that I had never seen from him.”
The men line up with their hands locked creating a chain among them. They are sweaty, dirty, exhausted and covered in dirt. They are in pain and their emotions are raw. They face their loved ones and one by one explain their purpose, their why out loud to everyone.
One man breaks down and says, “Don’t ever quit anything. I’ve learned that now, but I’ve carried that around for 20 years. When you start something you finish it. No matter what.”
Another man steps up and talks directly to his wife who is sitting in the crowd. “I realized this weekend that I’ve been selfish. I’ve been a selfish man. I was pursuing things on my own, instead of doing it with you.”
The emotions continue to pour out, along with secrets that have been buried for years. No one is judging them. Everyone is smiling and supporting these men who are baring their souls in front of everyone.
And in the end, each man is issued a Phoenix, a symbolic coin reminding them that they have been reborn and are now a true warrior who can conquer any challenge life throws at them and knowing that they no longer have to do it alone.
For they are now part of a brotherhood. They are now part of the “School of Man.” “Aroo, Aroo, Aroo.”
Thirteen men started the 16-week program.
Eight officially graduated and earned the Phoenix. The other five did meet the requirements of the program, but did not earn the School of Man coin.
Applications for Class 003 are now being accepted. The first class begins on July 7, 2018.
For more information on the School of Man click here.
