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Are you looking to get in touch with your inner manliness while learning a new skill and discovering a fresh way to enjoy your free time? Try your hand at one of these 15 macho hobbies.
Woodworking
1. Woodworking
Taking a plain hunk of wood and turning it into a beautiful and functional piece of furniture or other product is a classic manly hobby. Woodworking combines working with your hands and using your artistic sensibilities. And once your project is finished and people compliment your new furniture, you can proudly tell them you made it.
2. Learning Survival Skills
Knowing how to survive in the wilderness is an important skill for every man to have. Knowing you can live off the land with just your own knowledge and skills will make you confident. It will also help you more fully enjoy all the other manly activities you can do outdoors.
3. Beer Brewing
Beer is a staple of the manly man’s diet. Drinking it is cool, but making your own is even better. You can brew it to your own tastes, and when your buds come over, you can proudly let them sample your creations. And who knows – maybe it’ll be popular enough that you can make a side hustle out of it.
4. Playing Team Sports
Nothing goes better with a beer than watching football with some good friends. Knowledge about the game, as well as other team sports like basketball, soccer and many more, will boost your manliness score. Being able to skillfully play them will increase it even more. You don’t need official rules or equipment, just get some guys together in the backyard and have fun. For a little more structure, join a community league the YMCA or local rec center.
5. Blacksmithing
Bending a piece of metal to your will reeks of manliness. There are scorching temperatures, powerful metal tools and an impressive final product. People will truly be amazed when you tell them you made that household item in your metalworking shop. To help you get started, you may be able to find a class at your local vocational technical school.
6. Playing an Instrument
Being able to bang out a tune on a guitar or piano or play a beat on the drums is impressive. Building up the skill to do that, though, takes time and patience, which will test your manliness. Once you’ve reached a certain level, you can rock out or show your sensitive side to the ladies with a nice acoustic guitar number.
7. Playing Games of Skill
Being manly isn’t all about brawn — it requires brains as well. Games of skill are a perfect way to develop and showcase your smarts. Chess, poker, darts and billiards are examples of manly games that require intelligence, strategizing and skill. Plus, they can tell you a lot about life.
8. Practicing Martial Arts
Martial arts will help improve your physical fitness and mental toughness while also helping you
defend yourself. After learning a martial art, you’ll live your life with more confidence because of the skills and discipline you gained through your practice.
9. Noodling
Fishing is manly, but noodling takes that to the extreme. While the name might not scream manliness, the hobby itself most certainly does. Instead of using a fishing line, you simply reach your fingers into a hole in the bottom of a shallow body of water, wait for a fish to grab on and then pull it out – using nothing but your bare hands.
10. Rock Climbing
Conquering a mountain is an incredible challenge that requires physical strength as well as strategy. It’s an impressive show of manliness that will test both your mental and physical toughness and help you get in touch with nature and your inner outdoorsman.
11. Smoking and Drinking… The Right Way
Smoking a cigar and enjoying a stiff drink is a classic way for a man to wind down at the end of the day. Knowing how to pick out a good smoke and drink and how to properly enjoy them will get you points on your man card. Leave the frat-party booze days behind and learn to drink like a grown-up.
12. Learning a Language
Learning a language is an exceptionally useful skill as well as a difficult task. It requires persistence and the willingness to venture out of your comfort zone. It’ll also make it easier to travel, which may help you with some of the other manly activities on this list. Plus, there’s nothing more impressive than unexpectedly whipping out your foreign language skills while everyone else struggles to comprehend what’s going on.
13. Drag Racing
The roar of the engine, the smell of burning rubber and the thrill of flying around the track at high speeds makes drag racing a unique, exciting and very macho activity. It might be a bit more involved than some of other hobbies on this list, but if you have the right vehicle and a place to race, it won’t take you too long to get started.
14. Hunting and Marksmanship
Going out into the woods, hunting down an animal and maybe bringing something home for dinner is another timeless manly activity. This is an example of an activity you can use your wilderness skills for. You can use just about any weapon you’d like, from a sling shot to even an AR-15 and more. Even if you don’t ever go hunting, working on your marksmanship at the shooting range will score you man points as well.
15. Cars
Whether it’s fixing up your car, modifying it or restoring an old classic automobile, working with cars will help you connect with your inner manliness. It involves tools and heavy machinery and may require you to get a little bit dirty. And when you’re done with each project, you can cruise around town and show off your handiwork.
Even if you don’t get the chance to do a lot of manly activities at work or during your daily activities, you can still bring out your inner machismo by picking up a manly hobby or two. Not only will you get to develop and showcase your manliness, but you’ll also feel more fulfilled, stronger, and happier at the end of the day.
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Photo Credit: Getty Images