$18,000 military grade boot camp promising transformation draws criticism

You're too way too goddamn big to not be throwing

this little piece around through a high intensity boot camp

offered once or twice a year

You right Are you last That includes hand to hand

combat

Water sing and crawling across railroad tracks

The modern day night project makes a promise to men

who shell out the $18,000 to attend the three day

program

You'll become better friends better fathers better leaders

They're stuck in a rut

They've lost that fire

They've lost that edge as a man

Suffering leads to those superpowers

Instructor Steve Eckert says the suffering is just one snapshot

of a program that strives for a deeper purpose

It starts off very loud chaotic and violent

They're forced to fight each other

After that they're hugging each other

They're crying

The common thread for many attendees he says is a

past

Colored by abuse and the search for some direction

Since its 2019 start the project has held 20 sessions

and racked up millions of views online and plenty of

questions about its purpose

In June of 2020 a participant died during a session

and his family sued for wrongful death alleging a failure

to provide necessary medical care though the party settled a

few years later

In a follow up interview Eckert told NBC News he

did not want to discuss the matter due to privacy

and respect of an extremely unfortunate tragedy but added there

was no liability

What is the modern day knights program teaching men about

masculinity To be a civilized savage servant so civilized they're

gonna open doors they're gonna say please and thank you

They're gonna be a savage when it's needed when it's

time to be a protector

If you're not a savage in that sense does that

mean you're not a real man I think a man

should have it to be a savage

Masculinity never even crossed my mind

Entrepreneur Michael Chernow took part in 2022 as a physical

challenge

I believe that I have this sort of inherent warrior

mindset and I run towards

The hard things in life when I'm in the hard

thing I tend to feel like I am at my

most sort of vulnerable place where I can start to

really dig

Chernow has been married for almost 2 decades has 2

kids and is a highly successful businessman

It's not that you felt broken but you did want

to address this trauma from earlier in your life

I had a very very

Violent and abusive relationship with my father and that motivated

me to look elsewhere for a father figure he says

that in turn led to a sexually abusive relationship with

a mentor

How did going through this program help you to address

some of those years long trauma traumas It brought to

light some of the The trust issues that I have

in my life he says he endured activities like this

digging graves in which participants lie in closed body bags

for growth as much as grit

A physical breakdown is required as part of the process

Your thoughts on that That's been my experience too

And I can't say that for everyone

Licensed therapist Doctor George James weighed the benefits of programs

like MDK and said they're not a replacement for actual

treatment

I've had clients that have done really difficult challenging things

from ultra marathons to tough motor races

I think it's Being able to as a therapist being

able to have the conversation around how does this directly

help you to be a better father partner man

For Michael the actions in this case prove stronger than

any words

Some people have to walk through the fire to know

that a burn is not gonna kill you Sam Brock

NBC News