The Dad Bod

My friendship with Abe began 17 years ago when he was a pastor at my church and my wife and I asked if he would officiate our wedding. After saying "I do" to our proposal, Abe ministered to us in the months before our wedding day by leading us through coursework and conversations designed to prepare us for marriage from the perspective of our faith. Truth be told, I can't recall a single word that Abe said during our ...

Andrew is a children's book author whose latest book, "The Colors of My Sky," is a touching story with a timely message on diversity and kindness. The story behind the story is that before becoming a children's book author, Andrew was a stand-up comic for 25 years, as well as a champion bodybuilder. Photos from his website, andrewginsubrg.com, show Andrew on stage as a headliner at Caroline's; Andrew on...

I met David last November at the same dad's night out where I met Andrew, Creativity of Dad. Sitting across from David that evening, I got to know him through the dramatic glow, smoke, and aroma of all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ. Sharp and witty while also deeply contemplative; the son of a Jewish mom yet bearing the surname Rivera; a software developer by profession and a practitioner of Muay Thai and BJJ - only in New York, baby....

Logan is known by many for his work on Scenic Fights, a YouTube channel where he and his fellow co-hosts apply their martial arts expertise to separate what’s truly real from the pure Hollywood in movie fight scenes. Scenic Fights recently reached one million subscribers - a milestone achieved by fewer than 0.1% of YouTube channels - on the strength of videos like Logan's analysis of John Wick's knife skills which, at 2.7 m...

I met Andrew a couple months ago, when I was invited by a mutual friend to join their quarterly dad outing. I had a great time that night. It started with virtual reality gaming, where the six of us middle aged dads worked as a team to save the world from zombies; followed by all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ, where we turned back the clock and ate like we were 25 again. But the best thing about the night was the friendship. I was meeting...

There's a good chance that you already know Tony from his work on Around the Horn, the primetime ESPN sports debate show that aired its final episode in May and that Tony hosted for nearly 5,000 episodes, a track record longer than Oprah's that began in 2004 when Tony, then just 25 years old, was called up as a temporary fill-in host the day after Super Bowl XXXVIII, which is remembered more for its halftime wardrobe malfun...

Neighbors don't necessarily become friends, but Alex and I have gotten to know each other through family hangouts and working together on the board of our co-op building. I think of myself as someone who has a lot of energy, but from what I could tell, Alex is at another level. In addition to being a dad and working as a software engineering manager at Meta, Alex is the unofficial engineer-in-residence for our building; serves ...

This episode is my reflection on Edwin, Two for One Dad. The story of Edwin and his wife, Pat, moved me deeply. I hope the excerpt below leads entices you to listen to the whole reflection.

"I’m imagining now a twenty-something Edwin arriving at work at 3 AM on a cold, dark winter morning to tend the invisible fire that warms the school. With a shovel in his hands and flames flickering in his eyes, Edwin’s thinking about t...

At 16 years of age and in the middle of high school, Royce independently decides that he needs to leave St. Thomas for the mainland, landing in, of all places, Attleboro, a city in Massachusetts that is a suburb of Providence, RI. It doesn't make sense. "Why did you leave St. Thomas?" I ask.

Royce shakes his head. "I can't explain it," he says. "I was at school one day and time literally stood still....

Jeff is the creator of Ambitious Dads, a program designed to help dads thrive in all spheres of life through a lens that views personal and professional life integrated rather than separate. In many respects, the idea for Ambitious Dads came to Jeff through his 25 year career as an executive coach, and more broadly speaking, as someone who has a lifelong passion for teaching and personal growth. "Transform your mindset. Make t...

I'm really excited to be sharing this conversation with you because in addition to being a dad, Drew has made helping other dads his very work and mission, specifically through his role as the Director of Dad Central, an organization that serves and equips dads in their personal journeys to be better dads. Prior to joining Dad Central, Drew founded Connected Dads, an enterprise born from his own transformational journey in lead...

Shout out to Carlton, Daddy's Boy Dad, and Rod's brother, Kervens, for introducing me to Coach Rod because of the passion that we share for lifting up fatherhood. In Rod's case, he is the co-creator of Black Dad Unfiltered, a media company dedicated to showcasing the profound influence of Black fatherhood. Although Black Dad Unfiltered is only a year old, they’ve created an incredible amount of positivity on YouTube, In...

I was introduced to Tom by Thomas from Season 1. I dubbed Thomas, "Chosen Dad," because one of the key things that he shared with me was the concept of chosen family, the people who aren't biologically family to you but become your family through the power and constancy of their presence in your life. Tom and Thomas became chosen family to one another through Young Life, a Christian ministry for teens where Tom, in hi...

My connection with Mario goes back to January, when I was part of the audience to his magic show, Mario the Maker Magician (@mariothemagician), for my niece's 6th birthday. As the lights dimmed in the theatre, I was expecting just a large scale version of magic shows that I'd seen at kids birthday parties, but looking back now, there were signs that this show would be different. The first was the location, the SOHO Playhous...

John and I met for the interview at his office, the type of space that works very hard just to keep up and yet remain ultimately indistinguishable from the other offices in midtown Manhattan. In this office, I could imagine John and I being introduced for professional reasons - we both work in finance - but instead, we were meeting as two dads to talk about fatherhood.  In a nod to the professional environment around us, the start ...

If the vision for the Dad Bod is to capture the hidden drama of what it means to be a dad today, then for me personally, this conversation really nails it because so much of what Micah has to say about the feelings of being a dad really resonates with me. Feelings like exhaustion, restlessness, and guilt, but also gratitude, astonishment, and of course, love. Sitting across from Micah felt like listening to someone speak on behalf ...

Talking with Mitch was like getting a chance to look at my life from a healthy, helpful distance by being airlifted to his higher perch in life as a dad of two dads, a grandfather of six, and a husband of 45 years.  This episode is from a second conversation that I had with Mitch where he identified and shared his perspective on the major moments of transition in a child's life that we as dads should be particularly mindful of ...