MEET DENNIS
Hi there. I’m Dennis Procopio, Founder of Man-UP! Life Coaching (MULC). I’d like to share some insights into who I am as a coach, but also as a person.
Firstly and foremostly, I’m a “creative”. This simply means that I identify with my creative abilities above all other tags: father, academic, mentor, etc. This is critical information for anyone considering this coaching program. Men often claim to want success, but are demonstrably confounded when it comes to creating it.
I discovered my creative abilities at a very young age. I was a gifted student, artist, musician, and athlete. In 1988 I received a full scholarship to Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in NYC, where I lived and breathed all things Fine Art. Having come from a modest (read: rough) background, acceptance to Cooper was a crowning achievement which validated my suspicion that I was bound for excellence rather than destitution.
In the 30+ years to follow, I wore many hats -- so to speak -- including professional artist, musician, educator, and coach mentor. My son was born in New Orleans in 2010 -- my home of many years -- which led our family on a journey west to San Diego, CA. It was here that MULC was born, and where my practice has flourished.
I’ve often been asked why I chose the name “Man-UP! Life Coaching” for my business. Why not something less confrontational, or perhaps more cerebral? It’s quite simple. The self-help industry traditionally caters to women. I learned this first-hand as a young man seeking guidance from coaches and therapists; I often found myself looking for male validation in spa-like environments, feeling clumsy and brutish, and apologizing for my maleness.
I decided that I wanted to create a mentorship experience similar to that of a good MMA coach, or personal trainer. In this program, we speak male. We recognize that there are biological differences between men and women, and we focus on male validation. Clients are required to leave their ego at the door -- just like at the gym -- and grind to achieve goals.
This work is a labor of love, and the creation of MULC is my legacy. As this organization continues to grow, its community grows with it. The MULC Brotherhood is a community of men who share a common goal. We strive for and achieve personal success, but also gain strength and purpose by offering support to our brothers. In this way the larger goal of MULC is served; namely, to make the world a better place…. one man at a time.
If you’re on the fence about coaching, please trust me when I say that this metamorphic process is literally guaranteed to solve not only those problems which you know that you have, but also the ones you haven’t yet identified. I know this for a fact, because I’m not only a coach, but a Man-UP! Life Coaching client.
- Dennis Procopio