THE ODYSSEY: SF Bay Area Men's Retreat | NCS x Holy Smokes
Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa on Del Monte Golf Course, Old Golf Course Road, Monterey, CA, USA
Hosts · 6
About
Two incredible communities. One unforgettable weekend in Monterey.
For the first time, New Canaan Society San Francisco and Holy Smokes Bay Area are coming together: two brotherhoods of Christian men, gathering as one.
This October, we will bring together ~75 men on the Monterey Peninsula for keynote and fireside conversations, worship, optional golf at Del Monte, a Point Lobos coastal hike, and honest brotherhood - including an oceanfront Friday evening in Carmel with cigars and whisky.
This is not another conference where you sit in a ballroom all weekend. It is a chance to step away from the noise, strengthen your faith, build real friendships, and return home better prepared for the battles ahead.
EARLY BIRD PRICING ENDS SEPTEMBER 30
$695 covers the full weekend sharing a room: every session, both evening gatherings, meals at the hotel, and your room for Friday and Saturday night. Prefer your own room? $995.
These are early bird rates and they hold through September 30. On October 1 they go up $100, to $795 sharing a room and $1,095 for your own. Register before then, and it helps us plan.
On your own: Friday dinner, Saturday lunch, and greens fees if you golf, which are $175 per player including a cart.
Registration for both communities is handled here on the New Canaan Society San Francisco page. If you came here from Holy Smokes, this is still your page.
HOW THE WEEKEND RUNS
Friday afternoon. Check in at the Hyatt Regency Monterey from 3:00 pm. Grab your nametag, find your room, and get your bearings. Dinner is on your own around Cannery Row or downtown, five minutes away - go find a table with men you have not met yet (try to the event chat).
Friday night. Holy Smokes Night #1 at a private residence in Carmel overlooking the ocean. Cigars, wine and whisky, introductions, and our first fireside talk. Carpools leave from the hotel. This will be an unforgettable evening, and it is capped - it will fill first.
Saturday morning. Breakfast at the hotel, then choose an optional activity: golf at Del Monte, right outside the lobby; a coastal hike at Point Lobos; or a tour of the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and its museum. All of them are optional - the pools, hot tubs, hammock garden and spa are right there if you would rather stay put. Lunch on your own with your group.
Saturday afternoon. Worship, then the keynote session with Scott Walchek. This is the center of the weekend.
Saturday evening. Cocktail hour, a BBQ dinner outdoors on the Garden Terrace as the light goes, and then Holy Smokes Night #2 at the fire pits - cigars, whisky, Scott Walchek again for the Saturday fireside, and men who stay talking long after the program ends.
Sunday morning. Breakfast, worship, a closing message, testimonies and commissioning. We finish by 11:30 am so you are home for Sunday afternoon.
WHO IS SPEAKING
Scott Walchek
A serial entrepreneur, investor, and technology innovator who has spent more than 40 years founding, building, and exiting companies at the intersection of technology and human behavior. He was part of the founding team at Macromedia, led Inktomi’s e-commerce division, and later founded DebtMarket and Trōv, the pioneering insurtech company whose technology was acquired by Travelers. Today, Scott is co-founder and CEO of RecovryAI, where he is building FDA-authorized virtual care assistants to help patients recover safely after surgery. Along the way, he has developed a passion for the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, faith, and the ways innovation can ultimately serve people.
Brian Martin
A biomedical engineer, inventor, and serial entrepreneur, Brian has spent more than 30 years developing medical devices that have transformed the treatment of stroke and heart disease, his inventions have been used to save or extend the lives of approximately 300,000 people worldwide, and he holds roughly 200 issued patents and published patent applications. A deeply faith-driven innovator, Brian says many of his best ideas and designs have come to him during prayer. He has co-founded several successful medical-device companies, including Concentric Medical and Evalve, and is now co-founder and president of Maduro Medical and co-founder and CEO of Radical Catheter Technologies, where he continues designing life-saving devices for disorders of the brain. Brian and his wife, Leilani, have been married for 32 years and have four adopted children.
Andy Fenton
From Exeter, England, Andy brings a unique perspective on faith, leadership, and health and wellness. A former Sports Science student and competitive athlete, Andy still swims, runs, skis, and stays remarkably fit—apparently operating with a very low resting heart rate; we'll learn more about his journey. Originally a boarding school teacher, Andy has spent more than 20 years in pastoral ministry, church planting, and ministry training, and is currently Senior Pastor at Creekside Community Church in Alamo.
GOOD TO KNOW
The Hyatt sits on Del Monte Golf Course, ten minutes from the Monterey airport and about two hours from the Bay Area.
Golf tees off at 8:00 am Saturday. Choose it at registration, plan on an early breakfast, and know that spots are limited.
Bring a warm coat. Both evenings are outdoors and Monterey gets cold after dark.
Bring a bottle if you like. Corkage is $15 at Saturday's cocktail hour.
NEW TO ONE OF THESE COMMUNITIES?
New Canaan Society is a national network of marketplace men who seek to grow in their faith, friendships, and character.
Holy Smokes brings men together around fire, cigars, and whisky for faith, friendship, and honest conversation.
REGISTER NOW
Space is limited to ~75 men, Friday night in Carmel is capped at a smaller #, and early bird pricing ends September 30.
https://heylo.com/invite/HdaLWUSJ
One more thing. Bring a man with you. Half the point of putting these two communities in one place is the men who have never sat with either of them. Think of one and ask him this week.
Questions? Call or text us, or message another host here in the app.
Chris Ford, Holy Smokes Bay Area, (925) 202-4536
Tyler Brasfield, NCS San Francisco, (615) 390-6246
Going
Register to see all event details
Where your group belongs
THE ODYSSEY: SF Bay Area Men's Retreat | NCS x Holy Smokes
Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa on Del Monte Golf Course, Old Golf Course Road, Monterey, CA, USA
Hosts · 6
About
Two incredible communities. One unforgettable weekend in Monterey.
For the first time, New Canaan Society San Francisco and Holy Smokes Bay Area are coming together: two brotherhoods of Christian men, gathering as one.
This October, we will bring together ~75 men on the Monterey Peninsula for keynote and fireside conversations, worship, optional golf at Del Monte, a Point Lobos coastal hike, and honest brotherhood - including an oceanfront Friday evening in Carmel with cigars and whisky.
This is not another conference where you sit in a ballroom all weekend. It is a chance to step away from the noise, strengthen your faith, build real friendships, and return home better prepared for the battles ahead.
EARLY BIRD PRICING ENDS SEPTEMBER 30
$695 covers the full weekend sharing a room: every session, both evening gatherings, meals at the hotel, and your room for Friday and Saturday night. Prefer your own room? $995.
These are early bird rates and they hold through September 30. On October 1 they go up $100, to $795 sharing a room and $1,095 for your own. Register before then, and it helps us plan.
On your own: Friday dinner, Saturday lunch, and greens fees if you golf, which are $175 per player including a cart.
Registration for both communities is handled here on the New Canaan Society San Francisco page. If you came here from Holy Smokes, this is still your page.
HOW THE WEEKEND RUNS
Friday afternoon. Check in at the Hyatt Regency Monterey from 3:00 pm. Grab your nametag, find your room, and get your bearings. Dinner is on your own around Cannery Row or downtown, five minutes away - go find a table with men you have not met yet (try to the event chat).
Friday night. Holy Smokes Night #1 at a private residence in Carmel overlooking the ocean. Cigars, wine and whisky, introductions, and our first fireside talk. Carpools leave from the hotel. This will be an unforgettable evening, and it is capped - it will fill first.
Saturday morning. Breakfast at the hotel, then choose an optional activity: golf at Del Monte, right outside the lobby; a coastal hike at Point Lobos; or a tour of the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and its museum. All of them are optional - the pools, hot tubs, hammock garden and spa are right there if you would rather stay put. Lunch on your own with your group.
Saturday afternoon. Worship, then the keynote session with Scott Walchek. This is the center of the weekend.
Saturday evening. Cocktail hour, a BBQ dinner outdoors on the Garden Terrace as the light goes, and then Holy Smokes Night #2 at the fire pits - cigars, whisky, Scott Walchek again for the Saturday fireside, and men who stay talking long after the program ends.
Sunday morning. Breakfast, worship, a closing message, testimonies and commissioning. We finish by 11:30 am so you are home for Sunday afternoon.
WHO IS SPEAKING
Scott Walchek
A serial entrepreneur, investor, and technology innovator who has spent more than 40 years founding, building, and exiting companies at the intersection of technology and human behavior. He was part of the founding team at Macromedia, led Inktomi’s e-commerce division, and later founded DebtMarket and Trōv, the pioneering insurtech company whose technology was acquired by Travelers. Today, Scott is co-founder and CEO of RecovryAI, where he is building FDA-authorized virtual care assistants to help patients recover safely after surgery. Along the way, he has developed a passion for the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship, faith, and the ways innovation can ultimately serve people.
Brian Martin
A biomedical engineer, inventor, and serial entrepreneur, Brian has spent more than 30 years developing medical devices that have transformed the treatment of stroke and heart disease, his inventions have been used to save or extend the lives of approximately 300,000 people worldwide, and he holds roughly 200 issued patents and published patent applications. A deeply faith-driven innovator, Brian says many of his best ideas and designs have come to him during prayer. He has co-founded several successful medical-device companies, including Concentric Medical and Evalve, and is now co-founder and president of Maduro Medical and co-founder and CEO of Radical Catheter Technologies, where he continues designing life-saving devices for disorders of the brain. Brian and his wife, Leilani, have been married for 32 years and have four adopted children.
Andy Fenton
From Exeter, England, Andy brings a unique perspective on faith, leadership, and health and wellness. A former Sports Science student and competitive athlete, Andy still swims, runs, skis, and stays remarkably fit—apparently operating with a very low resting heart rate; we'll learn more about his journey. Originally a boarding school teacher, Andy has spent more than 20 years in pastoral ministry, church planting, and ministry training, and is currently Senior Pastor at Creekside Community Church in Alamo.
GOOD TO KNOW
The Hyatt sits on Del Monte Golf Course, ten minutes from the Monterey airport and about two hours from the Bay Area.
Golf tees off at 8:00 am Saturday. Choose it at registration, plan on an early breakfast, and know that spots are limited.
Bring a warm coat. Both evenings are outdoors and Monterey gets cold after dark.
Bring a bottle if you like. Corkage is $15 at Saturday's cocktail hour.
NEW TO ONE OF THESE COMMUNITIES?
New Canaan Society is a national network of marketplace men who seek to grow in their faith, friendships, and character.
Holy Smokes brings men together around fire, cigars, and whisky for faith, friendship, and honest conversation.
REGISTER NOW
Space is limited to ~75 men, Friday night in Carmel is capped at a smaller #, and early bird pricing ends September 30.
https://heylo.com/invite/HdaLWUSJ
One more thing. Bring a man with you. Half the point of putting these two communities in one place is the men who have never sat with either of them. Think of one and ask him this week.
Questions? Call or text us, or message another host here in the app.
Chris Ford, Holy Smokes Bay Area, (925) 202-4536
Tyler Brasfield, NCS San Francisco, (615) 390-6246
Going
Register to see all event details
Where your group belongs