who are we
core team and support staff
Core team
Ton van der Kroon
Ton van der Kroon has been a pioneer since his early adulthood. After meeting Robert Bly at the young age of 23, he pioneered in men's work for over 30 years. He wrote the bestseller The Return of the King, abook about men, which has been translated into six languages, and has been giving hundreds of men’s workshops in Belgium, the Netherlands, Israel and Gaza since then, with his team. Ton wrote 10 other books on personal development, leadership and spirituality and was also one of the pioneers in organizing Mary Magdalene retreats in the Cathar region, in the 90s and the beginning of the new millennium. For more than 10 years he organized Healing Conferences in Israel and Palestine and did trauma healing work in Gaza. Ton conducted ceremonies and healing work in many parts of the world, including North and South Korea, Iran, Kashmir, Rwanda, Egypt, China and some 30 other countries. He is a mystic, a medium and a teacher who tries to bridge spirituality and daily reality. He is currently living with his partner Anne in Tomar, Portugal.
Jan Roelofs
Jan Roelofs (70) came into contact with men's work about thirty years ago (the Robert Bly and Ton van der Kroon flavour) and hasn't let go ever since. To him, the biggest accomplishment of the movement is that men get to experience that other men are not just rivals or enemies, but can be brothers who provide emotional support. Jan finds his principal sources of inspiration in mythology, esoteric christianity, Jungian psychology and Pathwork. Jan is happily married, father of a grown up daughter, and lives in Zutphen.
Sven Beyers
Sven Beyers adds the vibration of sound and music to our retreats. Ten years ago he got to know Ton and Jan and never left again. Sven feels what is needed to support the transformation process and translates this into sound. He combines the deep earthly connection with Mother Earth with the higher astral connection into music. Informed by somatic experiencing, the vibration of sound takes you past words and acts directly on the human nervous system. Sven is also a proud father of two teenage daughters and partner to a remarkable woman.
Vicky Froyen
Vicky Froyen's journey weaves together technology, music, and a deep passion for personal growth. With a PhD in Cognitive Science and AI/ML and over 15 years leading projects and teams in both startups and larger companies, including as Co-founder and CTO of the music streaming platform foreplai and as a freelance consultant, Vicky brings a unique blend of technical expertise and leadership. A burnout eight years ago led him to a pivotal men's workshop with Jan and Ton, an experience that resonated so deeply he's been involved ever since. Now, as a coach and facilitator with Heart of Men, Vicky integrates his love for music into the transformative work, using it as a tool for healing and personal alchemy. He and Sven form the musical duo Beyers & Froyen, supporting change and growth through their evocative soundscapes. Based in Belgium, Vicky is the proud partner of the women who introduced him to this work in the first place.
Dirk Koops
For Dirk, learning to feel is central to everything he does. To feel, and to take responsibility for what you feel. From there, he lives in service of the bigger picture. As husband to Linda and father of two teenage sons, his first priority is with his family. This forms the foundation from which he coaches others in their development. He has more than fifteen years of experience in coaching and training in the business world, and is part of the HoM-team since 2018. He brings not just his expertise, but works mostly with pure presence: the connection from human to human. This is where he finds the essence of true connection and growth.
Ondersteuners
Eran Markose
Eran Markose is an ex-soldier of the Israeli Army and now a healer and group facilitator. After he left his military service in Israel, he began a path of healing, studying and practicing different healing modalities that focus on the connection between body and mind, along with different trauma healing practices such as Energy Washout and Somatic Experiencing. Over the last few years Eran has been leading international men’s groups with Ton, guiding them to a deeper connection with themselves and their inner wounds. Since the war started in Israel and Gaza in October 2023, he has been doing trauma healing workshops with Israeli soldiers who are coming out of the battlefield. Part of his healing path has been to heal the wounds of his military service and to open up to meeting with Palestinians who have been hurt by the Israeli military. Eran started working with joint groups of Israelis and Palestinians in the peace building field, doing work that allows the two sides to grieve together and practice forgiveness. Eran guides with his quiet presence, bringing his guitar playing to the groups he guides to open the heart even more through the voice and singing. He currently lives in Jerusalem with his partner Shlomit.
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