Clay and Soul - The Art of Being Fully Present
It always amazes me how two seemingly unrelated practices can reveal themselves to be built on the same foundation. That’s exactly how I felt the first time I sat down at the pottery wheel — like I’d stumbled across an old friend wearing a new outfit.
The core principles of FewGoodMen.co — presence, groundedness, self-awareness, creation through destruction — were spinning (literally) right in front of me in the form of clay. That moment wasn’t just poetic. It was deeply personal. I want to tell you why Mindfulness Through Pottery became a vital part of our curriculum, and how this muddy, humbling, soulful practice connects to what it truly means to be a generative man — a man who creates difference in the world.
From the Wheel to the World
At FewGoodMen, we guide men to find their centre of gravity — not just physically, but emotionally, psychologically, even spiritually. We teach how to remain anchored, no matter what life throws at you. And guess what? The first thing you learn in ceramics is also… to find your centre.
No joke: if your clay is off-centre, the whole piece wobbles franatically and eventually collapses.
When I first stepped into Laurent Muller’s studio in Amsterdam — I was there on a date with my partner. Because that’s how we build at FewGoodMen. We test everything first. We live it. Then we share it. Halfway through the private course I was convinced, “Every man in our program needs to do this.”
Enter Laurent Muller
Laurent isn’t just a celebrated ceramic artist. He’s also a mindfulness teacher, someone who understands that shaping clay is just a doorway to shaping consciousness. We hit it off immediately. What Laurent teaches through clay is what we aim to embody in our whole curriculum:
Slow down. Don’t fight the wheel. Don’t race it.
Let go of the ego. If you grip too hard, it all falls apart.
Be yourself. The clay doesn’t lie. Neither should you.
I added a link to the my podcast episode of FewGoodTalks with Laurent at the bottom of this article.
Clay Is Honest
The thing that struck me most — and what I see impacting our men profoundly — is how natural it is to become present when your hands are in clay. When you're working on a wheel, there’s no space for yesterday’s mistakes or tomorrow’s worries. The clay demands your full attention.
The breath becomes a dance as Yahweh breathing life into clay. The first human born from breath and earth. That divine tension between the sacred and the mundane. In a way, the drama has never stopped.
Destroy What You Love
One of the most powerful moments in Laurent’s class came when he made us destroy our most beautiful piece. Just when you’ve created something you’re proud of, he smiles and says, “Okay, now crush it.”
At first, I thought, “Is this guy serious?”
Then I thought, “This is exactly what we teach.”
At FewGoodMen, we call it: die before you die. The old self must go. The ego must let go. You can’t evolve if you’re holding onto something just because it looks good on the outside. Whether it’s an outdated identity, a toxic belief, or a ceramic cup — sometimes you have to break it to become whole.
Humbling, Expanding, Alive
There’s something deeply humbling about trying something new, especially something as tactile and physical as pottery. But it’s also fun. The guys love it. They laugh. They struggle. They succeed. And most importantly, they grow.
They touch a part of themselves they didn’t know was there — a quieter, more sensitive, more aware part. The kind of man who isn’t afraid to create, to feel, to stay present, to get dirty, to let go, and to begin again.
Join Us
I invite you to join us at FewGoodMen.co. To get your hands dirty. To breathe life into the clay of who you are. To destroy what no longer serves you. To create something stronger, more grounded, more you. This is not just about pottery. It’s about becoming.
Let’s begin.
