Fathers. Sons.
The Outdoors.
The Lord.
Our sons are growing up behind screens, without the skills, the brotherhood, or the fathers they were made to have. We take dads and their boys into the backcountry to fix that, one weekend at a time.
"And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers."
Malachi 4:601 // The Mission
Our young men are in dire need.
They need their fathers. They need the wild. They need the Lord. And they need all three now.
A generation of boys is being raised by feeds and screens. Many have never built a fire, read a compass, or slept under the stars, and too many have never had a man stand beside them and say, "Watch me. Now you try."
Building Better Men Now is a faith-based field program for fathers and sons. We go into the Arizona backcountry and train the skills that matter when the signal drops: water, shelter, fire, navigation, food, and the bond between a father and his son.
The skills are the training ground. The real mission is a boy who knows who he is, who stands with his brothers, who honors his father, and who walks with God. That's a bond built for a lifetime.
02 // The Pillars
Three things every boy needs.
I
His Father
Not a coach or a screen. His dad, shoulder to shoulder, teaching him how to carry weight, own mistakes and lead. Dads learn right alongside their sons; no experience required.
II
The Wild
Cold mornings, hard ground, wet wood and real consequences. The backcountry teaches patience, grit and humility in ways nothing indoors can.
III
The Lord
Scripture at the fire, prayer at the trailhead, and a Saturday-night Fireside Chat about what it means to be a man of God, a brother and a son.
03 // Critical Skills
Trained in the field. Carried for life.
Every boy trains these skills with his father until he can do them without help. Each one is signed off in the field before it counts, and every skill earns its patch.
Water Purification
Find it, filter it, boil it, treat it. Clean water first, every time, because in Arizona it's life or death.
Setting Camp
Read the ground for water, wind, widowmakers and drainage. Then pitch the tent and run the camp like a team.
Compass & Land Nav
Map, compass, bearings and terrain association. Know where you are, where you're going and how to get back.
Shelter Building
Tarp shelters, lean-tos and debris huts. Stay dry, stay warm and get through the night with what you carry.
Fire: Dry Conditions
Tinder, kindling, fuel and the fire lay. Ferro rod and matches, plus fire safety and full extinguishing, every time.
Fire: Wet Conditions
Rain, snow, damp wood. Split to the dry core, make feather sticks, build a platform, and get a fire going when it counts.
Fishing
Knots, rigging, bait, reading water, landing the fish and cleaning the catch. Patience earned on the bank.
Camp Cooking
Cast iron over coals, stove cooking and food safety. The boys cook for the men, and everyone eats what they made.
Brotherhood
Carry your share, cover your brother and never leave a man behind. "As iron sharpeneth iron." Proverbs 27:17.
Father & Son
The skill behind every other skill: a relationship built on trust, hard days and honest talk, carried on for a lifetime and passed down to the next generation.
04 // The Pipeline
Earn it. Then lead it.
Three phases. Every boy starts at the bottom, earns every patch in the field, and finishes by leading the trip himself.
Tenderfoot
First deployment. Water, camp, fire and cooking, side by side with Dad. Learn the standard.
Woodsman
Navigation, shelters, wet-weather fire and fishing. Your son starts making the calls.
Trailblazer
He plans the route, packs the gear, briefs the team and leads the weekend. Dad follows.
05 // Op Timeline
Friday 1200 to Sunday 1300.
Built for fathers who run businesses and families. Two nights, everything issued. You bring your son. We bring the gear, the food and the plan.
Insertion
- Rally point at 1200
- Site selection and camp setup
- Water point established
- Wood, fire, first meal, campfire brief
Training Day
- Land navigation and compass course
- Shelter build and wet-weather fire
- Fishing on the water
- Boys cook dinner, Fireside Chat with a specialist
Extraction
- Breakfast and devotional at the fire
- Boys break camp, Leave No Trace
- Patch sign-offs and closing circle
- Back in the Valley by 1300
06 // Field Reports
Real dads. Real sons. Real dirt.
07 // 2027 Operations
Upcoming weekends
All within three hours of Phoenix. Desert in the cold months, the Rim in summer. Twelve father-son teams per weekend. Pricing announced soon.
JAN 08–10
Lost Dutchman State Park
About 1 hr · Tenderfoot · beginner-friendly
Superstition Mountains
MAR 05–07
Roosevelt Lake, Tonto NF
About 2 hrs · water purification and lake fishing
Tonto National Forest
APR 02–04
Dead Horse Ranch State Park
About 1.75 hrs · Verde River and stocked lagoons
Verde Valley
JUN 18–20
Father's Day Op · Woods Canyon Lake
Mogollon Rim · special Fireside Chat guest to be announced
OCT 15–17
Lynx Lake, Prescott NF
About 2 hrs · fall break · land navigation focus
Prescott National Forest
08 // No Boy Left Behind
Every weekend holds a seat for a boy who needs it.
Some boys don't have a father at home. Some families can't cover the cost. Every weekend reserves a scholarship seat, pairs that boy with a mentor, and covers everything.
09 // Gear & Kits · Coming Soon
Equip the mission.
Field books, patch kits, tees and camp gear for dads and sons, built around the same standard we train at the fire. Design previews below; the shop opens soon.
Field Books & Kits
The Campfire Journals, Phase 01: Tenderfoot
A matching Dad's Field Book and Son's Field Book, filled in side by side over one weekend. Your son won't remember the screen time. He'll remember the night he built the fire himself and you told him you were proud of him.
- Friday, Saturday and Sunday guided pages
- Skill checklists, Fireside Chat notes and a fish log
- A letter from Dad, and one back from his son
- Photo page and level sign-off
- Pocket-sized, lay-flat, elastic closure, about 64 pages each
Built for the Fire, Not the Shelf
Every weekend gets its own pages: the skills he proved, the lessons from Saturday night's Fireside Chat, and the one thing he'll carry home. Phase 02 (Woodsman) and Phase 03 (Trailblazer) editions follow as he moves up.
The Trail Patch Kit: Earn It. Then Lead It.
Badges mean something when they're earned. Ten critical skills, ten moments where your son proves he can do the hard thing and you get to tell him you saw it. Works at home, in the backyard or on a BBM weekend.
- 10 embroidered skill patches, SK-01 Water to SK-10 Father & Son
- Skill challenge cards with a sign-off line for Dad
- Black canvas display banner for every patch he earns
- Father's Field Guide with how-tos and conversation starters
The Skill Patch Set
Water, Camp, Land Nav, Shelter, Dry Fire, Wet Fire, Fishing, Cooking, Brotherhood and Father & Son. Each one signed off in the field, each one sewn on the banner, and the banner goes on his wall.
BBM Field Series Posters
Ten tactical topo-map posters, one for every area of operations we camp. Each family takes home the poster from their weekend; collect all ten. 18 × 24 in, coming soon.
Lost Dutchman
Base camp under the Superstition Mountains, about an hour from Phoenix. Our winter Tenderfoot ground.
Picacho Peak
A lone desert summit rising out of the saguaros. Cold-season land navigation country.
Roosevelt Lake
Arizona's largest lake inside the Tonto National Forest. Water purification and shoreline fishing.
Dead Horse Ranch
The Verde River and stocked lagoons in the Verde Valley. A year-round first-fish spot.
Lynx Lake
A quiet pine-ringed lake in the Prescott National Forest. Spring and fall operations.
Christopher Creek
A cold creek running under the wall of the Mogollon Rim. Summer shelter and wet-fire training.
Woods Canyon Lake
High on the Mogollon Rim in deep pine forest. Home of the Father's Day Op.
Willow Springs Lake
Coves and pine-covered points on top of the Rim. Summer fishing and navigation.
Upper Lake Mary
A long high-country lake outside Flagstaff in the Coconino National Forest. Cool summer nights.
Patagonia Lake
A winding lake in the rolling grasslands of southern Arizona. Our farthest winter AO.
Apparel & Camp Gear
The Badge Tee
Heavyweight pine heather tee with the BBM badge on the chest.
Earn It. Then Lead It.
Vintage-wash tee with the three phases: Tenderfoot, Woodsman, Trailblazer.
Big Peak / Little Peak
Matching father and son tees. Together they make the logo.
Mogollon Rim Topo Tee
Soft tri-blend tee with a contour map of our summer AO.
Phase Patches (PVC)
Tenderfoot, Woodsman and Trailblazer morale patches with hook-and-loop backing. Awarded on BBM weekends when a boy completes each phase.
Campfire Enamel Mug
Coffee by the fire, Friday 1200 to Sunday 1300.
Trailblazer in Training Hoodie
Youth pullover hoodie for the next generation of trip leaders.
Tactical and camp-humor collections coming next.
Get notified when the shop opens10 // The Founders
Two dads. One mission.
Building Better Men Now was founded by two East Valley fathers who believe our young men can become the leaders this generation desperately needs, and that it starts with their dads, the outdoors and the Lord.
Kolby
Kolby is a father of five: two daughters and three sons, ages 14, 12 and 6. He is the founder and Executive Director of C0D3.AI, a Gilbert-based digital marketing and AI automation agency. He is also an award-winning documentary film producer, a best-selling author and an advisor to ABC's Shark Tank, with 30 years of business experience. Raising three boys in a world of screens and scrolling is what drives him. He co-founded Building Better Men Now to give fathers and sons what he wants for his own: time outdoors, real skills, and faith-centered conversations around the fire.
Chris
Chris is a father of two boys, ages 9 and 5, and runs Southwest Hauling & Handyman Services in Queen Creek. His crews serve homes and businesses across the East Valley with junk removal, cleanouts, storm cleanup and handyman work. Chris knows hard work and how to fix things, and he wants his sons to grow up knowing both. He brings that hands-on, show-up-and-do-the-work spirit to every Building Better Men Now weekend.
11 // The Creed
Protect. Provide. Lead.
12 // Join the Roster
Your son is ready.
Are you?
Twelve father-son teams per weekend. Roster families get first pick of 2027 dates before registration opens.
Status: standby
Roster opens soon.
We're finalizing registration. Check back shortly to claim your team's spot.