The Quest Weekend Workshop
Ade Adeniji and Darren Brady, Founders of The Quest, talk about the Weekend Workshop for Gay Men.
Previous participants share their stories.
Ade Adeniji and Darren Brady, Founders of The Quest, talk about the Weekend Workshop for Gay Men.
Previous participants share their stories.
During the weekend we will be Investigating the past, Exploring the present, Releasing the pain and toxicity of the past and present, and Cultivating the awareness and tools to enable an authentic and nurturing present and future.
Closing date for registrations is Fri 5 Sept. Continue Reading →
Some see us as a voice of reason, others as Life Coaches or a sounding board. Most see us as a powerful and engaging platform to connect with an extraordinary caliber of gay men who are looking beyond the emotional wounds, baggage and other hang-ups that can impact our everyday lives.
Regardless of whether or not you decide to embark on The Quest, here are some resources for the journey.
We believe the true value of our work can be found in the lives of the participants, so our approach is as flexible, diverse and authoritive as you want it to be.
Life is always a little more exciting, fulfilling and invigorating when you see it open to new possibilities – this reflects the theme and essence for our blog.
Continue Reading →
The Exploration is held over 2.5 days – Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday; along with a newly introduced follow-up Friday evening, three weeks after the initial Exploration. The journey is exhilarating and life-changing but also intense, revealing, nurturing and profound, all experienced from within the comfort of a safe and intimate environment.
Thomas Doogan talks about the recent 3rd birthday bash for The Quest
Don’t you just love it when people feel entertained, have a lot of fun and all for a good cause? Well that’s exactly what happened when we recently celebrated The Quest Third Birthday at The Proud Archivist, which sits canal side in Haggerston.
From the moment I arrived, I could see the effort that has been invested by the party committee, Michael, Neil, Kenni, Rod, Peter and co! They created a special space for us for the celebration. For me it’s seeing this effort that really displays what community means and how everyone’s effort can play a big part in success.
We were met with champagne, always a good friend, and a room so beautifully dressed up and decorated. And were there balloons?? You betcha! Continue Reading →
James Glover shares his thoughts about The Quest Beginner’s Yoga Course
“I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of the gym, I’m going less and less and not finding any enjoyment in the endless routines.
Some weeks I only go once and others not at all. When I do go it’s half hearted and not beneficial, normally a quick jog, a few weights and the majority of the visit spent having a relaxing steam.
The overall result of my inactivity is that I’ve piled on the pounds and my clothes look a size too small. I knew I needed to find a new way of keeping fit, but nothing inspired me, and as often happens, apathy set in. Continue Reading →
THE QUEST FACILITATORS FLY TO TEXAS
Ian McCurrach talks to Darren Brady about his experience attending The Daring Way™ program, which is based on the research of Brené Brown.
IAN: Darren, you have recently returned from Texas where you were with Brené Brown, can you tell us what the course is about?
DARREN: The Daring Way™ is an intensive workshop about shame, vulnerability and living a wholehearted life. Brené invited us to train to deliver these workshops. So we have been surrounded by therapists, coaches and practitioners learning and sharing. Continue Reading →
Dan Hall and Thomas Doogan share their reflections on attending The Quest Retreat, which took place in West Sussex from 4 – 6 July 2014
Not long ago I spent an evening dancing, rather well I’ll have you know, to Suede and Kate Bush at the RVT in Vauxhall. Within an hour of my arrival I was clamped to a massive ex-rugby player and we snogged non-stop for the next three hours. It was a good night.
Inevitably the lights came up and I asked whether we should go to his place or mine. He smiled kindly, wrote on my hand, “Read VELVET RAGE”, kissed me, and left. Horny and irritated, I ordered the book the next day and consumed it in almost one sitting.
Fifty per cent I found to be pop-psyche rubbish. All that stuff about seeking approval from disapproving fathers was nonsense in my world. And, for me, the intrusion of the author’s own life into the narrative got in the way of the copy. But enough of the book chimed to make an impact and I thought too much of my life rested on: if he’s not worth fucking, he’s not worth knowing. Even without the direction of The Quest, it was clear this was a pretty shitty attitude. Continue Reading →
Darren: It’s been 5 days since we finished participating in The Daring Way™ training in Texas with Brené Brown. What reflections and insights have you had since then?
Ade: Too many to roll off in a single conversation, and many are still percolating.
One of the main things that immediately dawned on me whilst there is that there are many practitioners out there who are also keen to work with their clients on issues such as Shame, Courage and Vulnerability. In our journey with The Quest, it has often been hard to find other practitioners, in the UK, doing this work.
From a practitioner’s perspective, The Daring Way™ program was a good way to integrate the work we have been doing with gay men. The essence of the program was – Show Up™, Be Seen™, Live Brave™ – this pretty much captures what we have been doing with gay men over the past 3 years; looking at the thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviours that can often get in the way. Continue Reading →
“We call this an ‘intervention’. A way of pressing a ‘reset’ button for our lives” – Darren Brady, Co-Founder
Founded by certified Coaches and Group Facilitators Ade Adeniji and Darren Brady, The Quest is a social enterprise offering personal development workshops and events for gay men. The mission of The Quest is to help gay men better understand and transform the relationships they have with themselves, others and the world they inhabit.
The Quest Workshop for Gay Men forms the centre piece of our work, and has been been offered in London since 2011. To date over 200 men have benefited from the power of the sessions and in October 2014, the workshop comes to Cardiff! Continue Reading →
In this Conflab, Ade Adeniji, Co-Founder of The Quest and Sunny Bahra, a previous participant of The Quest workshops, talk about gay men and the dilemma of hook-up apps.
Ade: @HuffPostGay recently featured a piece entitled “why I’ve given up on hooking up” where the writer talked about his journey with ‘dating’ apps. What were your thoughts?
Sunny: The article really resonated with me as I, of late, have been having a similar attitude to the whole scenario of “dating apps”. As humans we all crave connection and online dating is the, relatively, new way of meeting and conversing with people – whether you are straight or gay.
Ade: So, what is your attitude towards these apps? I for one think that its all down to the user and the underlying ‘hunger’, ‘need’ or ‘intention’ that is driving them to use the apps. Continue Reading →
I was fortunate to witness Ade’s recent performance of “Killing my Mother“. What an arresting title and it soon became apparent how it came about. The performance was performed at the School of Social Entrepreneurs where The Quest hold it’s workshops.
I have experienced many profound and powerful feelings in this venue and this event was no exception.
I was immediately drawn in to the emotion of Ade’s vivid, visceral and candid story of his life. The immediacy and power of events was conveyed by the story being told in the present tense, although the story moved backwards and forwards between different years. I was moved to tears on more than one occasion and there were also flashes of humour, which meant that the story felt incredibly rounded, grounded and real. Continue Reading →
IM: Peter, I have never taken part in London Pride before, so what would you say to me, or others who have no previous experience about what they might expect to find?
PC: London Pride is an extraordinary event, especially if you’ve not taken part before. For me it’s an outright celebration of being gay from across the community, with a huge variety of expressions and identities of what it means to be gay to thousands individuals and hundreds of groups. It’s also a fantastic and colourful extravaganza, a real sight to behold, and a unique way to meet and party with people you’d never come across anywhere else. But London Pride also goes beyond being a celebration and for many is an important statement to London, the nation, the media and the government that we are here, we are here to stay and we are a force to be reckoned with. Continue Reading →
IM: What are the main outcomes of the Authentic Self Expression WorkOUT?
AA: The session is an opportunity to deeply explore the different aspects of self-expression and examine how we ‘show up’ (or not) for each one of them. The intention is that participants leave with a clearer idea of what authentic self-expression personally means to them, identify the gaps between where they are in relation to authentic self expression and where they desire to be and during the day we will spend time practicing closing the gap. Continue Reading →
Darren: As we approach our third year anniversary I thought it would be interesting to talk about the journey so far and where we intend to go next.
When you look back over the last 3 years what stands out for you?
Ade: So many things stand out – too many for this conflab!
I remember reading The Velvet Rage when it came out in 2005 and really connecting with it and wanting to share the insights with every gay man I knew – well that did not happen and it simply rested on my bookcase, until you and I came together for our 6-week journey with a group of gay men in the Summer of 2011. That 6-week journey with The Velvet Rage really stands out for me. I thought I knew a lot of stuff, but by the end of the first evening, I remember saying to you – ‘gosh, I am getting a lot from this, much more than I could have ever anticipated’.
The other thing related to that which also stands out for me, is the hunger for this sort of deep exploration amongst gay men. I remember us having a number of enquries as to when we would be running the next group. Continue Reading →
Ian McCurrach talks to Peter Collins– The Quest Mastery Workshop vs The Power of Seven
IM: What did you get out of The Quest Mastery?
PC: I discovered an issue of unforgiveness for someone from my past that triggered a deep emotional release from something that I thought I’d settled many years ago. This has resulted in a greater sense of peace and an ability to focus on the things I say I really want. I also came away with a very clear sense of purpose and vision for the next ten years of my life, which has motivated me to act more decisively and procrastinate less.
IM: What did you get out of The Power of Seven?
PC: The Power of 7 has fundamentally altered the course my life was taking. The long term support and accountability over a full year provided the motivation to make significant changes to my behaviour by breaking old patterns and integrating the insights and breakthroughs of the Quest into my everyday life. I was able to press through the feelings of loneliness that I had been avoiding for many years by distracting myself with date apps and hook ups. Prompted by one of my group I started to focus on ‘who I was being’ rather than what I wanted from a potential partner. This led to a profound shift in my outlook on relationships, and opened the door to meeting my soul mate, who I will be marrying in a few weeks time. Continue Reading →
Editor of “Love Me As I Am: Gay Men Reflect on their Lives” and Quest Workshop participant, Francois Lubbe made a short film about Ade Adeniji’s journey with storytelling, the piece is titled ‘The Past Is A Foreign Country’.
The short film takes a brief but in-depth look at the positive impact and healing power of storytelling, and how its application and practice can transform lives.
The Past Is A Foreign Country from Little Red Shoes on Vimeo.
“Sometimes, the best way to move forward in life is by looking back—even if the story of our past is one we want to forget”
As the first same-sex marriages take place in England and Wales, Ade Adeniji and Darren Brady talk about the issues beneath and beyond the legislation and their impact on Gay Men.
Darren: What impact will same-sex marriage make to Gay men?
Ade: It will have a multiple impact. Not just on gay men, but on their families and other people that they interact with. First of all, I’ll just like to say that this legislation is a great thing, because for starters it signifies that same-sex relationships are just as valid as heterosexual ones. For gay men, it means that our relationships go beyond sex and invoke intimacy, longevity and love. It also shows those in our lives who might not embrace us for being who we are, that at least the legislation validates the expression of our relationship – not that it needs validating in the grand scheme of things; but it is symbolic.
Darren: I agree. I think for future generations who are born into a time where all human beings can choose to marry, it will reset the button. Continue Reading →
“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” – Maya Angelou
I was disowned for 10 years when my family found out about my sexuality. About 3 years ago, one of my brothers died and I reconnected with my family through the mourning period. Right now, I am at my dad’s house and frequently spend time with my family.
I remember having a conversation with my brother within which I asked him to explain why he had disowned me. Continue Reading →
This interactive, fun and engaging one-day workshop for Gay Men is all about (re)connecting and (re)aligning with your Unconditional/True Self, and allowing that aspect of You to come forth – without Shame or Judgement; but with Love, Joy, Integrity and Passion.
Date: Saturday 10 May 2014
Time: 10.00am – 5.30pm Continue Reading →
Ade: Beige Magazine recently ran an article with the headline ‘Gays need to grow up‘ and it struck a cord with many people. What were your thoughts on seeing the headline?
Sunny: Well it’s been something that I have been thinking about for quite a while and the article just prompted me to talk to you about it. Why do gay men have this perceived attitude of not wanting to grow up? The article gave some interesting insights, but I think the issue is much deeper than they were willing to go.
Ade: Yes, I had thought about the theme recently too; I was getting ready to go out and had caught sight of myself in the mirror and for a minute or so I wondered whether what I was wearing was ‘age appropriate’.
But don’t you think that for many gay men, particularly those without children, it feels like time is frozen and we are forever young?
Sunny: I think that is only a tiny part of the argument. Sure children and any responsibility like that will make you “grow up” – but lots of straight people don’t have kids and their behaviour can be very different. Continue Reading →
We are conscious that this time of year is often a time of reflection and anticipation. We therefore felt it would be a lovely idea to kick start 2014 with a blog post featuring some of the gay men who have journeyed with The Quest. We hope that by sharing their responses we can highlight that we all connected and ‘wired for connection’; even though our journeys might often take us on different paths.
We asked the men to complete the four statements below:
Our intention for The Quest has always been to provide a platform that enables Gay Men to transform their lives; so that they can embrace Life from a place of authentic self-expression, compassion and fulfillment – this in turn helps facilitate a healthy and nurturing gay community.
2013 has been a beautiful year for The Quest and we have journeyed with many amazing gay men. Some of the highlights from 2013 included: Continue Reading →
I am from a sea-side town in Sicily. Christmas is one of the few times of the year when I get to come back and spend time with my family. There’s lots of noise, lots of bickering, lots of talking of who’s eating what and who’s driving who to the shops, lots of talk about nothing. My parents show affection by filling the fridge. Today for lunch it was savoury pastries, fries, aubergine lasagne, lentils pasta, chicken escalope and a slice of panettone. I have to remember to go back to the gym when I come back to London.
There is still so much I haven’t said to them, yet so much that I have allowed them to see of who I am. I love my parents, they provided for me, made sure my belly was always full and bought me toys and clothes and gave me pretty much everything I ever asked. We weren’t very good at talking about feelings, we brushed things under the carpet. When I was 8 years old I walked inside the bathroom to find my sister unconscious; she had tried to commit suicide. We never talked about it since. If we didn’t talk about it, it didn’t exist, it never happened. Continue Reading →
Today at 4.37pm Scott, aged 5, looked at a Christmas brochure and pointed to a doll set. It includes ‘realistic’ doll, clothes, hair accessories and a dressing table. His eyes lit up and he jabbed the picture shouting “me, me, me for Mistmas ”
It was 10.14 am when Jason, aged 12, spotted David in to school corridor. Heart beating, Jason approached and stuttered…”See you at morning break?”
Dwayne, aged 8 has made a Xmas card for his teacher Mr Brown. His pen hovers over the greeting he is writing inside. He hesitates before writing “love” in front of the “from Dwayne” Continue Reading →
Published by The Quest, ‘Love Me As I Am’ is an anthology of 24 biographies and letters written by gay men as they reflect on the childhood experiences that shaped their lives. The book speaks hard truths, and echoes a prevailing message of hope that promises to reach much further than the gay community and has the potential to leave a lasting impression on every reader — irrespective of his or her sexual orientation.
This Christmas Season, get the book gift wrapped and posted to you. Continue Reading →
Building on the theme of our popular ‘Getting clear on Sex and Intimacy’ one-day workshop, this interactive, fun and engaging WorkOUT is all about delving beneath the surface of our needs and wants when it comes to Love, Sex and Connection.
As part of our one-day exploration, we will be using some of the guideposts within three insightful books: Loveability: Knowing how to love and be Loved (Robert Holden), How to be an Adult in Love (David Richo) and Cruise Control: Understanding Sex Addiction in Gay Men (Robert Weiss).
Date: Saturday 11 January 2014
Time: 10.00am – 5.30pm Continue Reading →
Short documentary following Ade Adeniji, Co-Founder of The Quest and Paul Woodward, international theatre practitioner and academic, as they prepare for their two separate one-man storytelling performances, ‘Killing My Mother’ and ‘Fathers & Feathers.’
The performances were developed in collaboration with The Quest and premiered at The Pinter Theatre, in London, on 5 October 2013.
Registrations now closed
- Is it time to treat yourself?
- Want country air, home cooked food, comfort and meaningful conversations?
Our Summer Retreat may be the gift you need to give yourself!
Join another 30 amazing gay men for the experience of the year!
Set in acres of woodland, gardens and rolling countryside, the Dunford House Estate in West Sussex will be our very own home for this long weekend escape. Continue Reading →
In this conflab, Ade Adeniji, Co-Founder of The Quest and Sunny Bahra, a previous participant of The Quest workshops, talk about the journey of black/Asian gay men and the importance of having conversations about race, culture & sexuality.
Ade: As you know, The Quest is co-organising an event this coming Friday titled “The Rainbow Intersection – a dialogue about Race, Culture & Sexuality in Modern Britain“. The intention of the event is to engage people in a conversation about multiple identities.
I’ve heard some say there is no need for such events, for the UK is now considered progressive when it comes to issues around sexuality. What’s your take on this?
Sunny: I think it’s incredibly important. The UK is leading the way as an integrated multi-cultural country. It’s because of this that I think we can and need to have conversations about race and sexuality. Lets face it racism exists, whether it’s in Europe or in Africa. It’s another significant layer of shame that we, as gay men of colour, can feel. Continue Reading →
This interactive, fun and engaging one-day workshop – with insights from ‘The Untethered Soul‘ – is all about confronting the self-saboteur and investigating the limiting beliefs still holding you back in living a life of authentic self expression.
Date: Saturday 9 November 2013
Time: 10.00am – 5.30pm
David, a previous participant of The Quest Workshops, recently performed on stage in the autobiographical storytelling piece ‘The Haunting’, here he reflects on his journey with the production.
When I first said I’d participate in The Haunting, I had no idea what it would open up, where it would lead and what I would confront during the process.
After my first meeting with our director Paul Woodward, the subject of my ‘haunting’ shifted and I saw that it was really about my relationship with sex and money. It was a surprising revelation at first and then I started to see how it wasn’t always about that directly, but more about having sex always be something ‘in exchange’ for something else.
I looked at the significant relationships in my life – and I saw how I was almost always the one supporting the other guy, financially or materially. Sometimes, it was really blatant – as with the straight guy who I met when I first moved to New York in 1975: I literally paid his rent, bought him a piano, moved him to L.A. with me – all with the unfulfilled ‘promise’ of sex that actually only happened 11 years later after he was married with children! And then, I asked myself ‘that’s all there was to it?’ Continue Reading →
Thank You to all those who voted for The Quest and got us shortlisted for the Homo Hero Business of the Year award!
There were 600 nominations and we were runners up for our category. We are especially proud that we were the only non North West organisation to be up for an award.
The important aspect of this acknowledgement is that we are now getting known outside of London and having met The Lesbian and Gay Foundation in Manchester we will be looking to deliver our workshop up north – achieving one of our other major intentions!
The evening in Manchester was a very glitzy affair and had people from the police, fire service, clergy, politics and some lovely mums of gay children.
It was an inspiring evening and we thank you for making our presence known.
