Almost Grown Up

In this episode of Almost Grown Up, I’m asking the question I think a lot of us secretly wrestle with:

Did I already live the best version of my life—and what the hell do I do if I did?

Back in 2009, I was on fire. My wife and I were helping start a brand-new church. I was leading music, surrounded by a group of talented, passionate weirdos who felt like family. Every week was electric—playing music, recording albums in someo...

Remember when swallowing gum meant a 7-year digestive sentence? Or how Pop Rocks + soda would literally blow your insides up? Yeah… turns out, most of what we were told growing up in the ‘80s and ‘90s was straight-up bullshit.

In this solo episode, I’m diving headfirst into the hilarious (and slightly unhinged) myths we were raised on — from Santa surveillance and poisoned Halloween candy.

We’ll hit the classics:

• Swallowed ...

Let’s just say it up top:

If your version of masculinity requires silence, dominance, emotional shutdowns, and your wife walking on eggshells around your moods… you’re not strong.

You’re just emotionally constipated.

And it’s bleeding into every part of your life.

This episode is not a TED Talk on men’s mental health. It’s a raw, personal unpacking of how toxic masculinity screws with our heads, our marriages, our kids, and our cap...

Part 2 picks up right where we left off: two old friends, mid-story, trying to remember how we got here.

This half goes a little deeper though. Some of the messier stuff from our time in Huntsville, what it looked like to stay connected even when life got weird, and why we’re still friends even though we barely talk and took totally different paths.

Plus, Caffeine & Coping:

• I had a final interview in Chicago for a job t...

This is the story of how an unexpected friendship turned into a decade long bond full of chaos, kids, bad haircuts, late night hotel stories, and one questionable church season in Huntsville, Alabama.

In Part 1 of this two part catch up, I sit down with my longtime friend Jason Cagle (someone who’s known me through multiple versions of life) to remember how our families met, the weird way we became instant friends, and all the unhin...

What comes after the unraveling?

In Part 2 of my conversation with life and faith transitions coach Leslie Nease, we move past the internal shifts and start talking about what happens when your beliefs have changed, your identity feels different and now you have to go out into the world and be a person again.

This one’s about the messy middle:

• Trying to make friends post-deconstruction (without small groups or Christian lingo)

• Fe...

We’ve all told ourselves the lie: Once I get the job. Once I make the money. Once I leave that system… I’ll finally feel at peace.

But what happens when you actually hit the milestone and it still doesn’t fix the internal chaos?

In Part 1 of this conversation with author, speaker, and life + faith transitions coach Leslie Nease, we dig into the myth of arrival: that illusion that healing or clarity is just one big decision away.

We ta...

What kind of parent hates playing with their kids?

Apparently… me.

In this episode, I’m saying the quiet part out loud: I don’t like pretend play. I love my kids deeply, but crawling on the floor doing silly voices while holding a Barbie? It drains me. And if you’ve ever felt that guilt—the kind that creeps in when you say “not right now” or zone out halfway through a game—you’re not alone.

I talk about how my relationship...

This week, I’m calling B.S. on one of adulthood’s biggest myths: work-life balance.

Because if balance means being calm, focused, and fully present at work and at home, I’ve never had it. Not when I was a cop, not when I worked in ministry, and definitely not now juggling remote work, parenting four kids, and trying not to lose my mind in a Walmart parking lot.

In this episode, I share:

• Why “balance” has never worked for me...

What happens when you stop believing the things that used to define you but you’re not sure what comes next?

In this raw conversation with David Hayward, aka NakedPastor, we unpack the messy middle of faith deconstruction: losing certainty, grieving community, rethinking marriage, and learning to be present in your own body again.

Whether you’re deep in the fog of religious doubt or just starting to question your beliefs, th...

What if ADHD isn’t a fixed disorder but a response to a world that just isn’t built for our brains?

In this episode, I unpack what happened when I went back on Adderall after two years off and why it didn’t hit the same. I open up about the pressure to “function” post-job loss, and the unexpected emotional spiral that followed.

Then I dive into the recent New York Times article, “Have We Been Thinking About A.D.H.D. All Wrong?” and h...

I’m 39 today.

And instead of pretending to have my life together, I’m celebrating the only way that makes sense: with a chaotic list of lessons, screwups, and random wisdom I’ve collected along the way.

From parenting fails to career faceplants to why adulthood is basically one long improv show...it’s all here.

Plus, stick around ‘til the end if you want a surprise birthday gift from me.

Follow Almost Grown Up on Socia...

You used to sneak into dressing rooms together to "try on clothes". Now you’re just hoping no one knocks on the door while you're having sex.

This episode is about sex after kids. What intimacy looks like when you’re touched out, exhausted, and parenting tiny chaos goblins who interrupt literally everything.

From high-drive spontaneity to calendar-based logistics, dry spells, mismatched desire, and redefining in...

In this episode, Nic is joined by his wife Janna for an honest, slightly awkward, and definitely unscripted conversation about how they’re learning to talk to their kids about sex while still healing from the way they were raised.

This is part two of the Let’s Talk About Sex series. If part one (with Cindy Wang Brandt) was the wise, expert perspective… this is the messy middle. The part where you’re still figuring out what you belie...

Most of us didn’t grow up with healthy, honest conversations about sex. Instead we got silence, shame, and weird youth group analogies about chewed gum and crumpled hearts.

So how do we, as adults and parents, break that cycle?

In Part 1 of this four-part series, I sit down with author and parenting expert Cindy Wang Brandt to talk about how purity culture shaped our understanding of sex (or completely distorted it), and what it act...

This isn’t a how-to guide. No abs in 30 days. No fitness challenges.It’s just the real story of how I hit rock bottom.

I was laid off, drinking daily, completely untethered and one day decided, “I can’t live like this anymore.”

What followed was four years of figuring it out from scratch: P90X in the bedroom, breaking a rib deadlifting, botched bulks, body image issues, and eventually standing on a powerlifting platform ...

At some point, we all hit that “Is this actually my life?” moment. Maybe it sneaks up on you in a work meeting that should have been an email. Maybe it happens when you catch yourself getting way too excited about a new vacuum.

Or maybe it’s bigger than that. Feeling stuck. Restless. Like something in your life isn’t working, but you’re not sure what to do about it.

So… is this an actual crisis? Or just part of growing up?

I sat down ...

Grief is weird.

You think you know how it works: someone dies, you feel sad, you move through the "stages," and eventually, you're fine. Except... that's not how it goes at all.

Because nobody tells you that grief isn’t just for funerals. It’s not just for old people, dramatic movie scenes, or those “thoughts and prayers” moments. It’s something that sneaks up on you when you least expect it: a song, a smell, an old video that remind...

Ever walk into a room and immediately realize: you’re the only one? The only Black person in a white space. The only woman in a boardroom full of men. The only creative in a room of corporate drones. The only one who didn’t grow up in church. The only single person in a room full of married couples calling each other babe.

That feeling? It hits different.

This week, I’m sitting down with Michael Thomas. A teacher, cheer coach, and a ...