(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

At 71, Steve Ashby could have easily faded into the background. Instead, from a small home office in Dubai's Barsha Heights, he has sparked a quiet revolution aimed at transforming how men experience, and escape, loneliness.

“I realised I wasn't just lonely,” he says.“I'd become invisible.”

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That realisation didn't come in a dramatic, cinematic moment, but in the quiet, crushing isolation of daily life. Steve had spent years building a successful coaching business, but the nature of his work- always giving, always listening, meant he had few meaningful connections of his own. The emotional distance only widened when he was diagnosed with aggressive stage 4 prostate cancer and began experiencing debilitating brain seizures.

“I looked around for help,” he recalls,“but everything felt either cringe-y, overly therapeutic, or out of reach financially. Then came 'The Moment.' I sat there in my office alone, ill, and lonely, and thought: if the support I need doesn't exist, I'll build it.”

That moment marked the birth of One Connection Away (OCA): a no-fluff, neuroscience-based micro-course and movement helping men take small, practical steps back into visibility, community, and emotional vitality.

The untold truth of male loneliness

Despite growing global awareness around mental health, male loneliness remains largely hidden. Quiet Cracking (the subtle, often unnoticed disengagement of senior employees slowly“cracking” due to the pressure of their work responsibilities) is costing the global economy nearly a trillion dollars a year. And most organisations have no idea how to address it.

“Because men don't show loneliness,” Steve explains.“We bury it under careers, productivity, gym routines, or jokes. We don't cry in public, we disappear quietly. And that invisibility is the real danger.”

According to Steve, unless something disrupts that pattern, most men will stay in that silent spiral for years or even decades. And businesses will lose innovation, employee engagement and their bottom-line performance if they do not come to grips with the root causes - loneliness and isolation.

His answer? A deliberate“pattern disrupt.” The OCA concept isn't a therapy program or group hug session. It's a tactical, science-backed intervention built to be non-threatening and action-focused.“We use neuroscience to interrupt the way the brain normalises loneliness,” he says.“Then we rebuild the connection pathways one tiny step at a time.”

One of Steve's most powerful tools is what he calls the Loneliness Spiral, a six-stage descent that explains how men gradually become disconnected:

Dislocation → Disengagement → Disempowerment → Disconnection → Disembodiment → Disintegration

Each stage builds quietly.“You wake up one day and you're not just alone - you're emotionally numb. Isolated. Almost unrecognisable to yourself,” he says.“It plays out in the office and round the lead team table, where executives suffering from loneliness themselves don't push for great results, don't provide motivation or direction for their employees. They drift, and the organisation drifts with them.”

By mapping out these stages, OCA helps men pinpoint where they are, and most importantly, where to begin the climb back.

Pillars of reconnection

OCA's approach isn't just psychological, it's physiological.“Loneliness rewires your entire system,” Steve explains.“It affects posture, sleep, digestion, even your immune response.”

That's why the OCA model is built around seven pillars:

Stretch, Posture, Exercise, Connection, Reflection, Nutrition, and Sleep.

“Reconnection isn't just about talking,” he says.“It's about feeling safe and being seen again. That requires retraining both the body and brain. And the same goes for the organisations those men work in. They need to retrain themselves on how they communicate internally and create positive work environments.”

OCA's tools are deliberately small, sustainable, and appropriate: a posture adjustment at your desk, a 5-minute“brain stretch,” a new phrase to try in casual conversation.“Most men don't need a bootcamp,” he says.“They need a map - and a nudge.”

So how do you help men reconnect without making it feel awkward?

Simple: you remove the awkwardness.

OCA courses are anonymous. Participants remain invisible until they choose to step into the light. The flagship tool is the Opening Gambit: simple, natural conversational starters men can practice privately before testing them in real life.

Example?“Is this seat taken? Mind if I stretch my legs here?” Steve once used that line at a café, and it led to a surprising connection.“It's not about networking or pitching yourself. It's about starting small and being real.”

Connection Hubs

One of OCA's most innovative concepts is the Connection Hub. Informal, public spaces like cafés or gyms where OCA participants can choose to show up, sit down, and, maybe, strike up a conversation.

There are no awkward icebreakers or group intros. Just a discreet sign with the OCA logo and a few designated tables.

“We're normalising presence,” Steve says.“No pressure to talk. Just be there. Let connection happen organically.” His concept is being applied successfully in organisations too. There is evidence from around the globe that businesses which treat connection as a primary motivator outperform their competitors.

The results have been profound. One man completed an OCA self-assessment, showed it to his wife, and they cried together.“It was the first real conversation we'd had in years,” he later shared.

Another man tried three Opening Gambits, got knocked back twice, and clicked with someone on the third try. They're now meeting regularly.“I learned through OCA to get over myself and take a chance,” he says.

Steve notes a powerful stat: it takes around 50 hours to move from acquaintance to casual friend, 90 to become a good friend, and 200+ to become a close one.“But that clock never starts unless someone makes the first move.”

Scaling the movement

What began as a mini course is now growing into a global ecosystem through Steve's coaching business, Realign. He is partnering with business groups, men's clubs, and coworking spaces across the UAE and beyond.

“Cafés are asking to become Hubs. Corporates want programmes on dealing with Quiet Cracking, this new phenomenon of disengagement and loneliness that's costing businesses billions of dollars around the world. Men's networks are inviting us in. There's a real hunger for something that's real, not Instagram inspiration or toxic stoicism. Just useful, human things that work.” And it's spreading. Steve plans to expand into new cities, develop content in multiple languages, and roll out a wider platform called The VITAL MEN'S ROOM - an online community to support offline transformation.

Next up: a sister program called the VITAL Men's Health and Longevity Blueprint using the same neuroscience principles to help men think about health and longevity rather than chase anti-aging fantasies.

Apart from being a cancer survivor, a father and a coach, Steve is a cyclist logging 180 km a week, riding with men half his age.“I'm more integrated and alive now than I've been in 10 years,” he says.“And I'm just getting started.”

“I want to help people live the best life they can. Build meaningful connections. Focus on longevity. And never let age or adversity define anyone.”

His guiding mantra?

“You're not alone. You're just disconnected. And the step back isn't magic. It's tiny. One gesture, one phrase, one moment. You're just One Connection Away.”

To find out more about One Connection Away go to

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