Hurricane Ian for The New Yorker

“About a dozen times a year, 10, 15, or 20 Warrior Week recruits between the ages of 25 and 65 come to swank Orange County to be bound, gagged, slapped around, sleep deprived, filmed by drones—and then, when they’re at their absolute lowest points, they are subjected to a bunch of courses in emotional development. Approximately 500 dudes per week apply to be one of the men to receive such treatment. But before any one of them is granted the privilege, he must fill out an application in which he is asked questions such as: “Have you ever been PUNCHED IN THE FACE by another man?” “WERE YOU RAISED RELIGIOUS? IF YES -> What Religion where [sic] you raised in?” “Have you ever PUNCHED A MAN in the face?” If the applicant’s answers are deemed acceptable, he is then subjected to an intense, two-hour phone interview. If he passes the interview, he undergoes a month of “run-up” in which he must film himself completing assigned tasks (E.g., “WHAT IS YOUR SUPER POWER STRENGTH?”), must bear his darkest shames to Warrior coaches over FaceTime, must prove repeatedly that he is neither a lunatic nor a wisenheimer. If he manages all this, and can pony up the $10k, he is admitted to Warrior’s crash course in how a bro should be.”

from “The Warrior Pose” by Kent Russell