Since 1990 · then and now
2003 → 2023
The creek.
Same rocks, same cold water, twenty years apart. The Quest hasn't changed because it doesn't need to.
2003 → 2019
The water.
Rafts you built that morning, then. Kayaks now. Either way you're the one paddling.
2006 → 2024
The circle.
Dusk by the lake in 2006, dusk in the meadow in 2024. What's said in it has never been filmed.
2003 → 2023
The game.
Sunday morning, young men versus the men, dust in the air. The men have been waiting since Friday.
2006 → 2019
The men.
In the lot before the trucks left, 2006. On the shore before the young men arrived, 2019. Nobody paid.
2003 → 2024
Everyone.
Sunday, before the bus. The young men in the first frame are about the age of the men in the second.
Then and now
Men who cameas young men.
Brad Leslie and Andy Vine started this in 1990, for every young man who needed it, and for the betterment of mankind. A founder's son is on the production team today. So are other men who first arrived on the bus at thirteen, sat in the circle, walked out between the lines, and years later stood in the line themselves.
The Society counts more than a thousand young men through the weekend. It has inspired other weekends across North America. Its own count of what matters is simpler: how many come back, as young men, as fathers, as men on the team.
If you came as a young man and want to write one line for the young man walking out this September, email info@ymaw.com. Your name goes on the site only if you want it there.
The next frame is September 11–13, 2026.