THE FOUNDERS
KARL MONAHAN
Karl Monahan (b. 1977) is a men’s health specialist, educator, and co-founder of The Clearing — the place every man comes to for clarity, learning, and ally-ship.
A former tennis coach, Karl has worked as an educator and natural health clinician since 2000. With over two decades of experience supporting men through physical, emotional, and relational pain, his work sits at the meeting point of body and mind.
His journey into men’s health began at The Prostate Centre, London, where he supported men undergoing prostate cancer treatment. He has built and managed four natural health clinics, including The Bodyworks Practice (with his wife).
As director and owner of the internationally-recognised Pelvic Pain Clinic (founded in 2015), Karl works with men worldwide, guiding them through the physical, emotional, and relational impact of pelvic pain conditions such as prostatitis and chronic pelvic pain syndrome.
In 2020, he founded Pelvic Pain Matters, an online platform transforming how men understand, treat, and talk about pelvic pain through education, training, and community.
Raised Catholic but now guided by a philosophy that values curiosity over certainty, Karl brings the same open-hearted inquiry to his work that he offers every man he meets. He’s a husband, a father of two boys, and a lifelong seeker still learning — to move, to soften, to listen.
Karl knows firsthand what it means to feel lost, confused, and disconnected as a man— and what it takes to start to open again. He believes humour, honesty, vulnerability, and human messiness are the gateways to healing.
He’s happiest near the sea on the south coast, in flip-flops (or bare feet), practising yoga, messing about in or on the sea, walking or running the South Downs, dancing and exploring what it means to live a grounded, nurturing life with his family.
His mission? To walk alongside men as they untangle life’s burdens — body, mind, and spirit — and help them find their way home.
MATT BAGWELL
A bio?
Ah.
Over the course of my career, I’ve cited endless lists of titles, roles and achievements. They might have served to explain what I did, not who I am.
I’m a fifty-six-year-old father, husband, and friend. I’m curious, and always have been, about people, businesses, and culture.
I’m a problem-solver, and opportunity-taker. What’s possible?
I’m dedicating my time to finding clarity in life. For others. For me.
- How did we get here?
- Who are we?
- Where are we going?
- Why does it matter?
- How do we move, and progress, through a moral life?
The typical list?
- EMCC Level 2 Transformational Coach, working internationally with curious men.
- Oxygen Advantage Master Instructor - for everyone from sports professionals to a beach full of people.
- Climate Tech Business Leader, building digital infrastructure that matters
- Author of The Clearing - midlife without the crisis
The Clearing is intended to be the last company I found.