Ever feel like you’re coaching others while secretly carrying a weight no one sees?

So many coaches are silently struggling. The weight of fatherhood, leadership, unprocessed trauma, and the constant pressure to “hold it all together” has left modern men burned out, disconnected, and dangerously isolated. But what if the way back isn't about pushing harder—but softening into something older, wilder, and wiser?

In this episode of Between Two Coaches, Norbert Orlewicz sits down with Nick Villareal, speaker, men’s coach, and founder of Back to Wild—a movement helping men rediscover their strength, clarity, and leadership through brotherhood, nature, and healing inner work.

Nick’s journey is not just inspirational—it’s transformational. From battling addiction and navigating the devastating loss of his wife while raising their newborn daughter alone, Nick emerged with a deep calling: to guide other men through the sacred fire of grief, forgiveness, and rebirth.

What began as personal survival has evolved into a coaching method rooted in physical health, emotional attunement, and the primal power of nature immersion. Through Back to Wild, Nick leads wilderness retreats, somatic coaching, and online resets to help men shed old roles and step fully into their truth.

Whether you coach men or are a man in transition, this conversation is a masterclass in masculine healing and conscious leadership.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why grief, not hustle, is often the doorway to a coach’s greatest growth

• The hidden epidemic of male isolation—and how to bring men back into the "pack"

• How nature can accelerate personal breakthroughs in ways traditional coaching can’t

• The shift from “old masculinity” (based in control and fear) to “new masculinity” (based in collaboration and truth)

• How Nick uses story, movement, and ceremony to help men reclaim their inner wild

Nick also shares his thoughts on AI, spirituality, psychedelics, and the future of coaching in an increasingly disconnected world—and why reconnecting to nature may be the most humanizing act we have left.

“The purpose of grief is to transcend into joy. Without that, we stay stuck in misery, sickness, and the delusion of living in the past.”

Nick Villareal Back to Wild

Today's Guest: Nick Villareal

Nick Villareal is a coach, speaker, and founder of Back to Wild—a men’s coaching movement offering wilderness retreats, transformational coaching, and personal development experiences rooted in nature and emotional truth. A former addict and widowed single father, Nick brings powerful lived experience to his work helping men break cycles of isolation, reclaim their strength, and reconnect to joy, purpose, and self-trust.

Episode Resources

• Connect with Nick: https://backtowild.live/

• Take the 'Measure Your Wild Factor' Quiz: Back to Wild Scorecard

• Register for our FREE Compass Workshop: https://compassworkshop.com