Ian Brown

I was born in North Wales in 1970. On my way to men's work, I lived a very Zen existence in South Korea, where I studied Buddhist martial arts and meditation for five years. I am a trained and ordained Druid of some 20 years, and I still follow the ‘oak door pathway’.

I'm a qualified drama practitioner and a laughter yoga teacher. I've spent many years working with kids as an educator, having worked in Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Oman, and Aotearoa, as well as with street kids in Peru. I also worked as a clown doctor in various hospitals around the world, including the Muscat hospital in the Sultanate of Oman.

I took New Warrior Training in Auckland in 2011 and read the book Iron John by Robert Bly. Game changer! That same year, I embarked on a storytelling odyssey around the planet. I fused ‘the work’ with my experiences in plant medicines, rituals, Sundance, and myth-telling to forge myself a new life path. I started an I-Group in Taranaki, took part in various rites of passage events, and have sat for three years in a local group here in Mohua.

Most recently, I'm being supported and held in a regular sauna practice with a small group of local men. My current focus in the work is through the lens of psychosynthesis. I enjoy reading oracle cards (an ongoing journey), deep nature immersion, and entheogenic healing and counselling services. I focus often, but not exclusively, on addiction support with men and our broken culture.

I also enjoy listening to The Fantastic Mr Fox with my boy.