Meet Gary Howard of Wild Ways Integration in Boulder

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gary Howard.

Gary, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
You might say I started my business when I was a wee lad trying to keep up with my dad’s long strides as we explored the forest in search of animal tracks, Native American arrowheads, and good hunting grounds. I spent innumerable, sweaty days and shivering nights in a boat, fishing. He taught me to love and respect Nature because the land provides and doesn’t judge us. My dad was killed by another hunter in a hunting accident when I was seven years old, flipping my life and the lives of my siblings and mother upside down.

I turned to my mother for support. She taught me the value of loving, attentive connection. She would pet my head as I found words for my emotions, and she didn’t ask me to be any different. It took me a long time to find a way to merge my love of adventure in the wild with my love of healing, human relationships, but that’s exactly what I figured out over six years ago when I began my training in Wilderness Therapy. Now, over three years into my private practice as a psychotherapist with my company, Wild Ways Integration, I am living my dream of helping others in a deep and meaningful way with a skill set designed to heal their connections with themselves, others, and the land.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I’ve not traveled a road that didn’t have bumps (or worse) at some point, and mine has been no different. One of the hardest parts in business, I feel, is finding or deciding on your niche. I had an unhealthy dose of workaholism that evolved out of my urgent desire to get things going, so I’ve had to remedy that because it impacted my health, happiness, and relationships. There are natural ebbs and flows in business, and learning how to not overreact to the low tide periods has been a big learning lesson.

I’m currently putting together a program called “Motorcycle Vision Quest,” and promoting it has been excruciatingly difficult, largely because it feels so unprecedented and so dear to me that I’m afraid to put it out there. How crazy is that? It’s happening, but slowly. On top of growing Wild Ways Integration, I own and manage a successful moving company (“Gary Moves”), so I have the unusual experience of wearing a couple of very different hats! It’s a challenge, running two very different, very young businesses at once.

Please tell us about Wild Ways Integration.
Wild Ways Integration is a psychotherapy, coaching, and vision quest guiding business. I am my colleagues’ go-to for a “man’s therapist.” I’m unusual in the sense that I am both a stereotypical “dude” who loves fishing, motorcycles, and action films AND an exceptionally sensitive, emotionally intelligent, and relationally proficient human being. In one heartbeat, I can be as blunt as they come and in the next, I can be the nurturing, loving parent the person never got to experience.

Lots of young men and guys who have trouble with the thought of seeing a “shrink” feel comfortable sharing their deep emotions and problems with me. I think this work is NEEDED by our people. The “Me Too” movement has stirred up a lot, for good reason. I’m proud to be part of the cause that heals and empowers our men. I have an ongoing record of intense self-transformation, healing, and discovery; I believe one’s ability to help others through their processes is immensely improved when one has first-hand experience of the processes themselves.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
This is a hard question to answer because I feel like I’ve needed to learn what I’ve learned. I would have gotten web design help earlier on since the learning curve on that was so great for me. Websites, particularly mobile versions, are essential to any business these days, even though most of my clientele comes through referral.

Pricing:

• Sliding scale: $120-$90/hr

Contact Info:

• Address: 1650 38th St.
  Suite 100E
  Boulder, CO 80301
• Website: www.wildwaysintegration.com
• Phone: 260-445-8249
• Email: contact@wildwaysintegration.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wildwaysintegration/

Image Credit:
D’Antonio Photography

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