Our Community
Hugh Newton
Since 2022, Hugh Newton has led The Sovereign’s Journey, a training and development program dedicated to supporting men in their growth, leadership, and authentic expression. With more than 25 years of experience, he has been deeply engaged in men’s work since his initiation into the Mankind Project UK and Ireland in 1997, where he now serves as a Co-Leader and Facilitation Trainer.
Hugh previously held the role of Head of Education and Training at A Band of Brothers for seven years and has been a Certified Leader within the organisation for over a decade, guiding men through rites of passage and mentoring pathways. He also works as Lead Male Facilitator at Celebration of Being, creating transformational spaces for healing and empowerment.
A Certified Shadow Work Group Facilitator and Coach, Hugh specialises in supporting individuals and groups to engage with the unconscious and unlock lasting change. In addition, he is an experienced Project Facilitation Trainer with CIP, bringing depth in group dynamics and training design.
Passionate about guiding men towards authenticity, purpose, and service, Hugh continues to dedicate his life to transformational work.
Geof Elvyhart
Since 2020, Geof Elvyhart has been a permanent staff member of The Sovereign’s Journey, supporting training and development programs for men committed to deep personal growth and authentic leadership. A Certified Shadow Work® Coach and Group Facilitator, Geof brings a wealth of expertise in guiding individuals through transformative processes of awareness, healing, and empowerment.
With more than a decade of experience in psychodynamics and self-development, Geof runs his own therapy practice and facilitates groups from a purpose-built venue in Warwickshire. His work is grounded in creating safe, powerful environments for men to explore their inner lives and take responsibility for lasting change.
Geof’s path has also led him through diverse fields within the men’s movement, the environmental movement, and the third sector. He has delivered anti-racism training, worked in prisons, and supported mentoring initiatives, all with a focus on fostering resilience, inclusivity, and transformation.
Dedicated to helping men access greater authenticity and purpose, Geof combines his depth of training with lived experience to bring compassion, clarity, and challenge to the work he facilitates.
Roberto Atiko
“I draw from my life as an instrument of transformation, so that my journey may inspire others to make their step into the unknown.”
Starting from an unenviable but unique perspective, Roberto began life growing up in the social care sector, having been abandoned by his family at the age of two. Despite the struggles and isolation that ensued, he discovered that he had natural empathy and an ease of flow with others.
Roberto left the institutions when he was sixteen to join drama school and to learn the craft of acting. Without realising it, the actor’s masks helped him move through society - but at the cost of suppressing his essence. This continued until he started his transformative journey in the men’s movement, following the ordeal of personal loss. He discovered the process of ‘circling up’, which inspired him to lead men’s circles and facilitate emotional breakthrough work.
Through practices rooted in Jungian psychology, drama and ritual, Roberto delves into the realm of archetypal behaviours and how to integrate hidden aspects of the self. Among his other commitments, Roberto has led an off-grid Men’s Lodge at Spirit Horse Foundation in West Wales, and for over a decade was a leader of residential ‘rite of passage’ weekends with the award-winning men’s mentoring charity A Band of Brothers.
Roberto offers this blessing to every man embarking on The Sovereign’s Journey:
“Bring all of who you are, and we will stand with you as anchors, witnessing your sovereign claim and birthright.”
Richie Gomme
Richie Gomme has been part of men’s circles for more than fifteen years and first stepped into self-development work over three decades ago. His mentors have included Ed Rooke, Hugh, Geof and Roberto, and Kate Joyner — a Bill Plotkin Animas Valley Soul Guide and John Wineland graduate. Richie’s journey has woven through a wide range of personal growth traditions, including The Mankind Project (MKP), Celebration of Being, Living Tantra, Unmasked Man, and Wellspring Mentoring, among others. He is also an active member of the Men’s Nation collective, contributing to the wider movement of men’s work across the UK.
Richie is committed to helping men live the truth of who they are, find deeper meaning and purpose, and fostering a world rooted in love, beauty, belonging, connection, and community. His career has also reflected these values: he has worked in social enterprise as a manager and director, helping to establish community-based reuse, recycling, and composting projects.
For the past decade, Richie has been building and restoring a smallholding on the edge of Dartmoor, where he is deeply connected to the land. There, he is developing a small retreat centre and runs a seasonal festival café. Richie is the father of two grown-up sons and has shared thirty years with his partner.
Tom Crofts
Tom Crofts is a foreign policy consultant who specialises in peacebuilding, governance and security. He previously worked in the UK diplomatic service for 22 years, serving overseas in Afghanistan and Myanmar.
Tom first encountered men’s work around 2014, when he attended Hugh Newton’s King, Warrior, Magician, Lover workshops. He graduated in the class of ’23 Sovereign’s Journey and has since returned as a staff member.
He takes a keen interest in mythology, eastern and western mystical traditions, soul-making, depth psychology, ritual and energy systems, focusing on imagination practices. He follows in the traditions of Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, Roberty Bly, James Hillman, Michael Meade, Francis Weller and John O’Donohue. Formerly, he was actively involved with the Triratna Buddhist Community for around 12 years, and continues to go on Buddhist meditation retreats.
Jeremy Hawkey
Jeremy Hawkey is Director of a food supplement company that equips healthcare practitioners with tools and education rooted in a holistic approach to health. He is also a devoted father to two teenage children.
His initiation through the Mankind Project’s New Warrior Training Adventure (NWTA) was a profound turning point, opening the path to men’s work and ongoing self-discovery. Since then, Jeremy has become a dedicated participant in the Mankind Project, Celebration of Being programmes, and is a founding member of the Kingfisher Project - a space where teenage boys can learn, heal, grow, and start to claim their authentic power as they move into manhood.
Jeremy joined the Sovereign’s Journey community through its original series of retreats and continues to support men along this path. In addition to his involvement in regular men’s groups, he remains deeply engaged in exploring what it means for a man to live with integrity, love, and courage. For Jeremy, true well-being extends beyond physical health to embrace emotional resilience, soul connection, and shared purpose.
Doyle Ekeng Henshaw
Doyle Ekeng Henshaw is a Heart King who has spent the past twelve years circling with men and women, transforming the archetypal shadows that once created inner turmoil into trusted allies seated at his internal Round Table. His journey is one of deep personal transformation, shaped by years of embodied practice, ritual, and community.
Initiated into the Mankind Project in 2019 and The Sovereign’s Journey in 2024, Doyle has crossed two profound thresholds that redefined his understanding of service and leadership. As a shiatsu practitioner and physiotherapist, he has learned that body, mind, and spirit are inseparable, and he brings this embodied awareness into every space he holds. In his role as a water pourer in sweat lodge ceremony, he tends the fire of purification, prayer, and renewal.
Through his work with archetypes, Doyle has come to understand how the people pleaser, Warrior, caretaker, and victim once led his inner kingdom into chaos. By giving each part its rightful place and honouring its wisdom, he now leads with clarity and presence.
Ben Ahl
Ben Ahl’s journey in men’s work is rooted in a deep love for creating spaces where men can be real, open, and connected. His path began with the Mankind Project’s New Warrior Training Adventure, where he discovered the transformative power of brotherhood, vulnerability, and shared purpose — values that continue to guide all aspects of his work today.
Ben has had the honour of staffing at Celebration of Being events, supporting both men and women as they step into deeper truth, presence, and authenticity. As an active member of a Men’s I-Group, he regularly sits in circle, sharing and witnessing the raw and beautiful realities of being a man.
Beyond the circle, Ben brings his passion for men’s work into professional and community settings, leading wellness offerings that encourage balance, honesty, and self-compassion in daily life. He also facilitates men’s circles at festivals, holding spaces where laughter, emotion, and healing can unfold naturally.
At the heart of Ben’s mission is a simple yet powerful intention — to listen with an open heart and create environments where others feel safe to speak their truth, connect deeply, and rediscover their authentic selves.
Matthew
Coming soon…
Nick Ireland
Nick Ireland began his journey into men’s work through A Band of Brothers, where he discovered the transformative power of mentorship and community. This work inspired him to deepen his practice, leading to certification as a Shadow Work® Group Facilitator and, most recently, to join Sovereign’s Journey in 2024 — a natural continuation of his commitment to self-awareness, healing, and authentic connection.
Nick’s fascination with the inner workings of the human psyche has been a lifelong pursuit. He spent over a decade studying the Enneagram, exploring the archetypal patterns that shape human behaviour and motivation, alongside a sustained interest in the Philosophy of Mind. This combination of inquiry and experience gives his facilitation both depth and clarity, blending insight with compassion.
At the heart of Nick’s mission is a spirit of exploration — an invitation for men to look inward, embrace vulnerability, and discover new ways of bringing love and connection into their lives. He believes that true change begins within, supported by the nurturing presence of community and a shared sense of belonging. Through his work, Nick seeks to help others find their ground, their purpose, and their place in the wider circle of life.
