Château Poséidon answers YOUR questions

Life Background

Damien BarHagen and Tom (both from Montreal, Canada) answer questions about their lives and the restoration of Château Poséidon in rural France.

• They met about 15 years ago during Montreal Pride and started dating quickly.
• Early on, they both had comfortable 9-to-5 lives with free evenings/weekends, frequent travel, and minimal financial stress.
• Over time, they turned their “dream” into reality through heavy planning and learning—culminating in a spontaneous, high-commitment trip to visit chateaux in France.

Big Life Change: Moving Rural France and Rebuilding Everything

The couple moved to rural France, describing the sensory rewards of owning land:

• Sunrise
• Sunsets
• Stars
• Birds
• Forest

They also describe the transition as extremely difficult, especially early on:

• The first 6–8 months were emotionally hard and disorienting.
• They lost routine and roots:
  • friends/community/family connections
  • familiar activities (like hockey on TV)
  • a sense of being involved
• Their traditional “work vs. home” separation is hard because:
  • their workplace is their home

Financial and Relationship Strain

The move required major financial and emotional risk:

• They put their savings into the project.
• At one point they had zero/limited income while one partner left a job.
• They call it a “leap of faith.”
• It created a serious relationship test:
  • dealing with co-workers + partners + “lovers” while living inside a renovation

To preserve their energy, they learned to take frequent short breaks (including weekend trips) to return with fresh ideas and stamina.

How They Found the Château (and Why the Search Mattered)

Tom explains that they went through a long, obsessive search online—“doom scrolling”—including terms like “abandoned chateau France.”

They used the urbex community (photographers documenting abandoned places) to find a château that lacked a public name.

• Their agent spent weeks/months locating and contacting the owners.

How They Evaluated Options While Touring

They visited multiple chateaux and compared the “feel” and tradeoffs, including:

• an abandoned/less expensive option vs.

• a renovated/more expensive option

They also noted that chateaux are far from Paris, which meant long driving days—sometimes causing second thoughts about whether to take additional visits (especially with bad weather and fatigue).

Château Background: Layers of Ownership and Use

They describe the property as having a layered history:

• Built 1860–1865 by the Boulay family (wealthy merchants/landowners), as a hunting country house.
• The Boulay family lived there until around the Great War era.
• Later, Elie Grappe bought it and lived there from about 1920–1950; Grappe made warships.
• A standout feature: an enormous basement furnace, likened to a “Titanic furnace,” tied to the property’s shipbuilding-era origins.
• After that, the property shifted into a cattle-farming / cooperative phase, lasting about 25 years.

They also mention a strange later period involving a healer/medium figure:

• reportedly using others’ money
• disappearing afterward, after drawing scrutiny

Finally:

• It was sold to a consortium of German developers aiming for a large golf project (about 200 hectares / 500+ acres), but the plan failed.
• The château sat quietly for decades.
• Eventually, Damien and Tom took it on—expecting faster progress than reality allowed.

Naming: Why “Château Poséidon”

They used the name Château Poséidon for practical and personal reasons:

• The original “real name” wasn’t used publicly in urbex posts to reduce intrusion.
• Inside the château is a wood-carved staircase with a Poseidon figure and sea creatures below it—so “Château Poséidon” became their chosen identity.
• They wanted to:
  • distinguish themselves from similarly named places (to avoid mistaken visits)
  • reduce unwanted attention from urbex communities by creating a public, searchable brand

They also mention permission/blessing from descendants connected to the château’s builders.

Key Lesson: What They Underestimated

The biggest surprise was the work required to maintain the outdoors and land.

• They have 7 acres (and the subtitles also mention up to “15 acres of grass”).
• Restoring the “château feel” isn’t only about buildings:
  • grass and plants
  • drainage and flooding
  • fire risk
  • ongoing, time-consuming upkeep

They emphasize that finishing exterior areas doesn’t really “end” the project—nature keeps changing everything.

Patreon and Community (How They Share the Story)

They explain that Patreon adds what YouTube doesn’t:

• more personal, behind-the-scenes updates
• podcasts (weekly)
• extra materials, including:
  • handwritten letters with a Château Poséidon wax seal
  • a monthly “newspaper”

They also claim Patreon helps financially support the restoration.

First Day With Keys: The Reality Check

When they arrived in France, they expected the château to be ready for renovation—but that wasn’t the case:

• They received keys that matched locks (with the front door gone).
• No heating; limited utilities.
• At times, they had no electricity or water for months and relied on a generator.
• They even had to fetch water from a cemetery next door.

Life/work rhythm was brutal:

• working in winter in cold conditions
• dusty days and little sleep
• editing after dark
• intense early social/media demands (including remote interviews sometimes scheduled at night)

Financial Approach and Day-to-Day Priorities

They argue châteaus aren’t a “normal” financial real estate decision.

Their funding strategy is based on years of condo flips and saving for the dream:

• buying/renovating/selling multiple homes in Montreal
• additional time in Vancouver
• hustling via side jobs
• Damien kept a job as a key income source while building

They also describe cost control:

• they avoid large contractor teams (quotes are often too high)
• they reinvest gradually as monthly social media income appears (“step by step”)
• they constantly cut costs (including rethinking gravel/expenses and deferring what isn’t affordable yet)

Damien describes himself as a spreadsheet/timeline project manager type, collaborating on priorities and validating next steps with experienced people—then pivoting as new issues arise.

What Makes Them Happiest (and the Legacy They Want)

They describe happiness through daily routines and connection:

• Damien walks their land every day—sunrise/sunset, birds, river, prairies.
• Tom highlights childhood dreams coming true and pride in sharing the project.

They also hope to build community:

• hosting friends and family
• eventually welcoming others
• creating a place that helps people connect

They believe the château “never feels complete”:

• each fix leads into the next phase as buildings and land evolve
• their legacy includes saving the château from deterioration (especially roof damage) and creating a positive human community.

Notable Locations, Products, and Mentions

• Locations: Montreal (Canada); Vancouver (Canada); rural France; Hawaii (van camping trip); Iceland (van trip); Australia (van trip); Paris (as a reference point)
• Château name origin: Poseidon figure on a carved wood staircase
• Communities/products:
  • urbex community (abandoned-place photographers)
  • Patreon (exclusive updates, podcasts, letters, monthly “newspaper”)
  • social media platforms: Instagram/YouTube
• Other châteaux referenced:
  • “Château de la Motte Picquet”
  • “Dick and Angel” (referenced as a comparison/aspiration for a first viewing)