APES OF WRATH

Camaraderie, personal growth, mutual support, and deepening friendship
within is the spirit of our team.

Left to right: Steve Rentmeesters, Bruce Bennett, Ian Caliendo, Peter Davis and Lewis Burleigh

Bruce Bennett I’ve been a professor of English for most of my adult life, teaching writing and literature at a Ohlone College. I still tutor as a volunteer at Next Step Learning in Oakland. I help adults who want to finish their high school education. In my own life, I am committed to personal growth – facing the difficult issues from my childhood that undermine my happiness. That’s where my values (exploring and healing myself) and those of EBCoM align. What I like about EBCoM is that men can talk to each other on a deeper level about their personal lives.Being on a team and initiating have both brought me deeper into this community of men.
Ian Caliendo I attended my first EBCoM circle in Spring of 2023, after a year of being encouraged to check it out by the inimitable Jesse Bloom. I was reeling and raw from the collapse of my 20-year marriage, after COVID had shrunk my life to the small orbit of a family that was now broken. I immediately knew, in my gut, in my heart, that I was in the right place, at the right time, with the right dudes, and that I had been guided to a powerful medicine and essential nutrient: authentic connection and camaraderie with other men, coming together to support each other in being the best versions of ourselves.Chief among the multitudes within me is a musician, a chef, a father.
Lewis Burleigh I was introduced to the circle in 2009, and over the following months and years came to know a real community of men for the first time in my life. Discovering the diverse ways so many of the men navigate this life changed me in positive ways, and to this day many of their examples inform the choices I make. The spirit of this circle has made me a better son, brother, friend, partner, and human. Camaraderie, community, and personal growth are all reasons I keep coming back, plus the coffee.
Peter Davis I’m an ex-Computer Programmer/Software Engineer and have been retired since 2016. I’m currently married (2 nd marriage) and have 4 children. I’ve been involved in men’s work since 1991 and a member of EBCoM (originally EBNoM) since 1999. Here I’ve experienced brotherhood, camaraderie and friendship. It’s been a meaningful and life changing experience. The Apes of Wrath is my 4 th men’s team, a place where I can be vulnerable, clear and honest with a group of good-hearted men.
Steve Rentmeesters I joined EBNoM in the Spring of 2006 after being invited by Mark Peterson and Kurt Anderson at a Michael Meade event. At my first Sacred Circle the topic was job changes and it was led by the Razorbacks team. I knew Scott Weber on the Razorbacks from a different men’s group and he invited me to visit the Razorbacks. The Sacred circle was similar to what I enjoyed in other men’s gatherings, but EBNoM met monthly so that was a big plus. I joined the Razorback team and stayed with it until it disbanded. EBNoM changed to become EBCoM. I have also changed, grown, retired from being an electronic engineer. I am now happy to be on the Apes of Wrath. I, spend my time on bird photography, home improvement, or whatever I feel like :-)!