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Matt Ciccone, a 33-year-old Brighton resident who works in sales, spends his Friday evenings walking around the perimeter of the Chestnut Hill Reservoir (Chestnut Hill Driveway) and getting to know other men in his community. They walk, talk, and vent — an alternative to going out to drink at the bar, he says. 

Dubbed “Walking Talking Men,” this weekly event was started by Ciccone five weeks ago. Taking inspiration from a similar program taking place in New York City, Walking Talking Men aims “to give men a non-judgmental space to talk about what’s going on for [them]” and “to open the door to a community of local friendships.” 

Ciccone says he hopes keeping it as simple as possible will make this event less daunting to people who want to connect. As a result, there is no fee, signup, or paperwork required to participate, and people can show up whenever they please.

“It’s still all really fresh, very fresh, and it’s something we’re trying out,” Ciccone says. “I think guys need a third thing to do, — a third space — so this is providing that.”

Christian Rudder, a 23-year-old software engineer, heard about the walk on Reddit, needing an excuse to get out of the house. 

“I feel like I talk my best when I’m on walks with people, and not sitting awkwardly behind a table,” he says. “It’s better than in a running group because I feel like running is less conducive to talking.”

Rudder says he has a lot of “online fatigue,” and adds that social media platforms like Instagram are not very social. That, mixed with his lack of male friends is what drove him to come to one of the walks. He said he used this event as a way to prove to himself that he could come out of his shell and create more friendships with his male counterparts. 

 “There’s certain spaces where men are icky or really charged in some way, whether it be politics or sports. I never found myself very political or very much into sports,” he says. Every time I show up to an event, that’s a painting night, poem night, there’s no men there.” 

Ciccone made a post on Reddit describing the walk as an excuse to “get outside, make friendships and be heard.” He said that while optional, most men partaking in the walk usually go to Pino’s Pizza or Eagle’s Deli on Beacon Street after. 

Ciccone decided to start this weekly walk because of the hardships that come with making new friends as an adult. 

“I was talking with a friend, and she was like: ‘I can make a friend in the bathroom right now if I wanted to.’ And guys just don’t really do that,” says Ciccone. “They used to know how to get along and make friends very easily as children, but as adults, sometimes that can be hard.” 

Steven Powell, a 35-year-old freelance TV producer, heard about the walk through a neighborhood-wide Facebook group. 

“For a few weeks, I’ve been seeing Matt post a little spiel on this walk thing on the neighborhood Facebook group,” he says. “I’ve chickened out because of the weather, and finally, this week I just bit the bullet and said ‘let’s do it’.” 

Powell and his wife, both Louisiana natives, moved to Boston in 2022. As a freelance producer, he feels that working remotely makes it much harder to find community.

“As an adult in my thirties, it’s really hard to meet new people, especially when I don’t have an office to go into,” he says. “It’s hard to make friends when you’re in your thirties because everybody has their own established friend groups, so this just seemed like a cool way to come out and meet some new people.” ■