HUDDLE Opening Keynote Speaker - Day 2
Rise Together: The Courage to Be Seen
Wednesday, October 29, 2025 | 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM EST
In a world that often rewards polish over honesty, rising together means daring to show up as our full, imperfect selves. Through a blend of personal storytelling, humor, and cultural reflection, Mark Pagán invites us to consider what happens when we trade isolation for visibility, when we allow our stories, struggles, and quirks to become bridges instead of walls. Drawing from his acclaimed podcast Other Men Need Help and years of work building creative communities, Mark explores how laughter, vulnerability, and collective care can transform moments of doubt into shared courage. This talk is a reminder that “rising” isn’t about competing, performing, or climbing above others. It’s about reaching toward each other with empathy and honesty, building the kind of world that only becomes possible when we lift together.
Audience
➙ Coaches new to group coaching
Key Takeaways
✔️ Resistance is Visibility: Owning your story is an act of courage that makes collective change possible.
✔️ Small Acts, Big Uplift: Every gesture of care, honesty, or humor can become a spark that lifts others.
✔️ Rise as a Verb: Rising isn’t a solo act, it’s a shared practice of showing up for each other.
Mark Pagán
Founder/Editor, Other Men Need Help
Mark Pagán is an award-winning journalist, producer, and digital storyteller. He is the editor and creator of the critically acclaimed platform Other Men (formerly, Other Men Need Help). His work has been featured on Latino USA, Radiotopia, On the Media, 99 Percent Invisible, Code Switch, among others. His films and performances have been shown at dozens of festivals and shows worldwide including Slamdance Film Festival, Maryland Film Festival, RISK!, The Moth, and Story Collider.
Mark's work has been nominated for a Peabody, has made The Atlantic, The New York Times, The New Yorker annual “best of” lists, and has been recognized by Vulture, TIME Magazine, CBC, Los Angeles Review of Books, and The Financial Times.
Before working in digital media, Mark was a teacher, social worker, comedian, part-time mascot, and b-boy. He currently lives in NYC with his wife and an emo pit bull named Soca.
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