An ordinary person who underwent an extraordinary rite of passage

Hello friends, my name is Bear Intentions. Back in 2019 I was a personal trainer who got tired of fitting in. In a quest to do something unique, I created a self-funded project which lasted four years. During this time I wanted to examine the effect of tension on mental health and the role intention plays in managing it. To do this I set myself four, consecutive challenges that would put me under a particular degree strain (although I couldn’t have anticipated how intense this would be)… This project began in October 2021 and will finish in October 2025, with the programme as follows: Year 1: 365 vow of silence Year 2: Wearing only fancy dress/costumes when in public Year 3: Year of service/volunteering Year 4: Barefoot. What started off as a mere “project”, has evolved into a rite of passage that will have lasted 1460 days, putting myself under a unique amount of mental, physical and social stress. I’m now looking to share this story and some of the lessons I’ve learnt along the way. Currently I’m authoring two books describing my theoretical findings and the resulting experiences of this ‘rite of passage’— along with another poetry book that emerged from my vow of silence. The Berlin-based film company ‘Hometown’ has also been documenting this intense, wild and unique journey and intends to release the film in 2026 on major streaming platforms. Wishing you well and may we connect in good time. Bear @bearintentions