Brian Bauman is the founder of Second Summit, a project, community, and forthcoming book for men navigating the second half of life with intention.

For most of his life, Brian did what many men are taught to do: climb.
Build the career. Be dependable. Provide. Push through. Solve problems. Don’t slow down.

And for a long time, it worked.

He built a 30+ year career across creative and marketing agency and in-house leadership roles, working with global brands, startups, and fast-moving teams. He led large budgets, built systems, fixed broken processes, and was often the person brought in to steady things when the pressure was on.

But somewhere along the way, quietly, gradually, the climb started to feel different.

Loss. Career disruption. Aging parents. Kids growing up. A body that needed different care. Success that no longer answered the same questions. The tools that worked in the first half of life didn’t always apply to what came next.

Second Summit was born from that realization.

Not as a manifesto. Not as a prescriptive “do this” plan.
But as a framework for reflection, resilience, and rebuilding, physically, mentally, emotionally, and relationally.

Brian is not interested in chasing youth or pretending decline is inevitable. He believes the second half of life can be a stronger, more grounded ascent, one guided by clarity, purpose, and meaning rather than ego or momentum.

Through writing, research, conversations with other men, and personal experience, Second Summit explores what it means to redefine strength, success, and masculinity when the stakes, and the perspective change.

Brian lives in California, is married, has two adult daughters, and is deeply curious about how men show up for themselves, their families, and their communities in the years ahead.

This work is for men who know they’re not done, but also know they’re not climbing the same mountain anymore.