Exploring the Great Outdoors


For many men, the thrill of the outdoors is exhilarating. What beats the scent of fresh air coming into your lungs, the feel of the earth under your feet, and a rugged landscape all around you? No wonder many have become explorers, daring to take on adventures to study the lay of the land and to look for places no one has dared go into before.

Nothing says testosterone, adrenaline and ultimate manliness than looking ready for a daring adventure out into the wilderness. Complete with a weathered backpack that’s seen countless landscapes (and still raring for more), a map and a compass, camping and survival tools, it’s Man vs Nature that’s the draw here.

Nature has a lot to offer in terms of pursuits. There’s a lot of outdoor activities one can get into — the list is almost endless. There’s hiking, mountain climbing, rock climbing, rappelling, camping; for water sports, there’s surfing and diving.

Hiking and camping are arguably some of the most popular outdoor activities for men. It can test your survival instincts and endurance to the limits. Imagine climbing a rugged terrain for days — with some steep inclines, with others at a flatter level — in all weather conditions. Some days will be scorching hot, while on some days you have to deal with relentless rain. On multi-day treks, you’ll have to set up camp, and it’s not always going to be easy nor comfortable. You don’t have all the benefits of modern technology with you. Not all places can be reached by phone signal, you can run out of battery at any time, and you’ll have to make do with what you have.

For some men, it’s this challenge that they love most: the thrill of having to figure out how to light a fire just by rubbing stones or sticks together, caveman style. Setting up a tent or shelter using just the natural materials around you. Cleverly using what you have to solve immediate dilemmas.

Aside from the challenge of survival, the view and the serenity can’t be beat. Away from the hustle and bustle of city life, reconnecting with your most basic instincts in the outdoors can be a fulfilling and much sought after experience. If beautiful landscapes and the idea of feeling most alive isn’t tempting enough, let the thrill of the unknown and exciting adventures entice you to go outside and explore the world.

Grilling, The Other Great American Pastime

a steak on the grille

You smell a whiff of just-grilled steak out from the back. There seems to be other aromas too, all of them indicative of freshly cooked meals.Your mouth is already watering from the smells, and you can’t wait to dig in. They remind you of mom’s home cooking, of Sundays by the family grill and front porch, about to be served your favorites for lunch and dinner. You get round the back, see someone standing wearing an apron, and it’s not mom…it’s dad.

Surprised? You shouldn’t be. More and more men are taking up the apron and getting busy in the kitchen, whipping up fantastic meals you’d swear are just like mom’s good ol’ cooking. No, cooking is not just a woman’s area, and it’s certainly not an unmanly thing to do. You can even consider it a survival mechanism: you have to eat, and you have to learn how to cook and make your own food.

Many of the world’s greatest chefs are in fact men, and you’d see men dominating the kitchens in five-star restaurants in the world’s greatest culinary capitals like Paris.

Why is cooking becoming such a popular hobby for men nowadays? Cooking is both an art and a science, and this is something that appeals to the creative, experimentation side of men. You get to learn how combining two things can make a meal more delicious, or vice versa. You get to figure out what exact proportions should go together to make the best meal ever. Grilling a steak? There’s a technique to that — you just have to figure out how.

Plus there’s the enormous satisfaction from being able to whip up your own meals from scratch. You are creating something that’s completely your own — you get to tweak with the recipes a bit, add your own ideas, make the dish a special one for you.

And for many men, learning how to cook gets its plus points with the women. They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and the same can be said for the women too. Impress her with your home cooked meals and her favorite dessert that you baked yourself. It’s a labor of love that she will truly appreciate, more than the flowers and store-bought chocolates can truly express. A dash of love, a sprinkle of experimentation, and a whole lot of labor — she’ll surely appreciate the sweet gesture.