Robert Munafo
Guest Writer
As I’ve previously described [Everything’s Fine Until it Isn’t… And Then? / July 2025], I only recently returned to the men’s circle – to Mentor Discover, Inspire (MDI).
As I did so I began reaching out, reconnecting and catching up with a lot of men. When I heard about Olaf Krop’s situation – that he was very ill and possibly dying – I put him at the front of my list.
I first met Krop at the MDI internationals in Secaucus, New Jersey, early in 2008. Our shared passion, it turned out, was the Legacy Discovery (LD), MDI’s signature Men’s Weekend event. I then served as his S1, or communications man, on the International LD calls for about a year.
So I got in touch and reminded him of our background together, and set a context of reconnecting to men and perhaps perpetuating their legacy. This led to an extensive and wide-ranging conversation that took place over several days.
We began by speaking of things like my early LD staff experiences; the responsibility of engineers not just to invent and create, but to work for the betterment of the world; and my impressions of the two present-day men’s teams I know best.
“So,” I finally said, “at risk of stating the obvious, I thought I’d ask if there’s anything you’d like to tell that you haven’t already – perhaps stories of career, or of people important to you – that should be brought forward to subsequent generations.”
He did, in fact, have things to say, which led in time to the greater issues of our men’s circles, and the growth of MDI, the organization that we both wish to see facilitate many more men’s circles.
Paraphrasing as accurately as possible, Krop said, “I believe that for MDI to survive we need to let go of the notion that there is only one way to do MDI – which was great for closeness, or for work ethic, or for whatever other reasons – but obviously there are 10 million men out there whom we are not reaching.”
Returning to our text about MDI the next day, we considered the familiar debate on the trade-offs between convenience and intimacy, most evident in the contrasts between MDI’s face-to-face circles and its online circles, known as Atlas. I mentioned my interest in leadership empowerment for the youngest generation of men (see July article) and Krop replied,
“When I became president of MDI (for just a few short months, until cancer took me out of the game) I had a cabinet of advisors, mostly younger men from Atlas, who gave their perspective on my ideas and vision. MDI isn’t going anywhere without the leadership of younger men. Us old guys have pretty much fucked everything up. There’s a calcified belief at the highest level that there is only one right way to do MDI.
He reminded me of his interest in mentorship, saying, “Many of the younger members are looking for that – as long as us older men stick to mentoring and don’t start giving old-man advice.”
“One thing I am grateful for,” he continued, “is the myriad of experiences I’ve had, like being a member of a Board of Directors, leading entire regions, doing transformational work through the LD, etc.”
Turning to a topic I find particularly meaningful he said to me, “Regarding neurodivergent men’s empowerment, you were here in the early days when mob rule kind of ran the show. I think we still fight that urge to hold one model of mature masculinity. That was before the LD, and we thought we had a single, ideal model of a mature masculine man.”
Learning this week that Olaf Krop had died, I want to say that I am grateful to the men who have supported him as he served, with greatness and humility, in his many roles within our circles. He has had a lot more to say.
When he ended what was to be our final exchange, I said, “Thank you for your wisdom and your time. I love you Krop!”
He replied, “Likewise – great exchange!”
Olaf Krop, you mastered leadership.
You lived a Mature Masculine life.
You gave your best.
You did each job completely.
You did have fun.
And you did not quit.
I love you, Krop.
