Fire has always been more than a tool—it is a threshold, a teacher, and a mirror.

Long ago, our ancestors gathered around fire not just to cook or stay warm, but to connect—to the sacred, to each other, and to the mystery at the heart of life. Fire was, and still is, a force of transformation. It demands patience, discipline, and care. It gives light, and it can destroy. It shaped our myths, and those myths shaped us.

As the sun hits its solstice peak, Luke McLaughlin—founder of Holistic Survival School—and Asher McLaughlin—nature mentor and drum maker—invite you into a ceremonial return. Together, we’ll honor fire as an elemental guide and ancestral ally.

We begin by learning to make fire the old way—hands on, with bow drill and breath. Under Luke and Asher’s guidance, you’ll coax a coal from wood and friction, remembering what it takes to bring life from effort and intention. This is not just survival—it is a sacred practice.

From that spark, we’ll cook and share a meal, give thanks, and end the evening in celebration: singing, dancing, and sweating by the fire and in the sauna, as our ancestors did.

Come ready to work, to sweat, to sing, and to listen

The fire is calling.

Luke McLaughlin is a naturalist, rewilder, mentor, and founder of Holistic Survival School. With over 13 years experience teaching ancestral skills, Luke helps people reconnect to the Earth—and themselves—through primitive living, deep nature connection, and the lens of evolutionary biology, ancient cultures, and psychology.

Using humor and compassion Luke creates immersive experiences that are both nurturing and transformative. His approach blends ancient wisdom with modern understanding to help people "feel human again."

Luke has demonstrated his holistic survival skills on TV's Naked and Afraid 3 times surviving over 80 days in the wilds around the world.  His core offering, the Deep Remembering immersion, invites participants into a profound journey of reconnection, growth, community and vitality.

Asher McLaughlin is devoted to reconnecting people of all ages back to the earth, community, and the ancestral skills that once shaped our lives. For over seven years, he has mentored youth at Strong Roots Nature School, guiding them through the wild to remember their place within it. His work is hands-on and honest: teaching friction fire, butchering animals with reverence, and crafting drums that carry the heartbeat of the earth.

At The Vital Hive, Asher offers private sessions and group classes for adults and youth. His seasonally aligned teachings and one-on-one mentoring support deep nature connection and help people live in harmony with the land. Whether through fire tending, drum making, or rites of passage, Asher’s work is about bringing people back to their senses—to the land beneath their feet, the skills in their hands, and the wisdom in their bones.

Asher is a graduate of the Vitalist School of Psychospiritual Healing as well as the Deep Remembering Wilderness Immersion program. He is also an Earthcraft Skillshare instructor and has led drum-making workshops for over three years. His teachings are rooted in lived experience, blending traditional skills with a deep respect for the cycles of life and death.