John's wife says that he "looks like someone who used to work out" and John basically concurs, describing his dad bod shape as "oval." So if the shape of dad transformation is the oval, what is the shape of dad redemption?

Episode page⁠

⁠All episodes⁠

⁠Home page

I met Andres more than 15 years ago, when he was dating my wife's childhood best friend and with whom he just celebrated 14 years of marriage. At 60 years old, he is ahead of me in life and in parenting, and so even though we've never lived in the same city and our actual contact with each other is infrequent, I've looked up to him for a long time. As you'll hear, Andres has a lot of deeply rooted wisdom gained through his experiences as a son, a chaplain, a pastor, a coach, and of course, as a dad.

One of my favorite memories with Andres, which I'm not sure if he even remembers, is when he and his wife visited us when my wife was pregnant with our first. On that visit, he specifically sought out one on one time with me to both pray for me and smoke a cigar with me as I was about to enter this amazing journey of fatherhood. I'm not sure which came first, the praying or the cigars, but that moment is a little snapshot of how I see Andres: a person with whom every interaction teaches me more about God and life.

Episode page

All episodes

Home page

Like me, Charlie is an American-born son of immigrant parents. Although the facts of our lives and cultures differ greatly, I recognize a lot of the same truths, and even though I’m not yet at his stage in life, I approach Charlie’s story with a great deal of self interest: what can I learn from his experience about supporting a parent in the decline of old age and about ushering grown children into adulthood?

This is one of the reasons I felt compelled to create The Dad Bod: to help us dads learn from other dads and to understand ourselves as connected to one another through the experience of fatherhood. And by learning, I don't mean tips, tricks, and how-tos. Instead, I hope each of the Dad Bod episodes feels like being led through a small stack of photographs chosen by a dad from a partially sorted shoebox. Such an experience offers something deeper than a tutorial, more complicated than a parable.

Episode page⁠

⁠All episodes⁠

⁠Home page

Many details in Thomas’ story remind me of the other Dad Bod dads. Like Brian, he's a girl dad. Like Carlton, he met one of his mentors through the Young Life Christian organization. Like Jeremy, his dad struggled as a small business owner. Like TJ, sports was the backdrop for a pivotal moment in his life. Like John, his dad couldn't be counted on. Like Carlton, Andrew, and Brian, he's grieved his dad's passing.

In my imagination, I see Thomas gathered with the other Dad Bod dads, and this episode is him telling his story, adding it to the greater story of what it means to be a dad today. And as he shares, the other dads acknowledge the similarities by nodding and saying, "me, too." Perhaps you've done the same while listening to The Dad Bod. These similarities are the harmony to the melody of Thomas' story: a life deeply impacted by brokenness in his biological family but dramatically healed by divine grace through his chosen family.

Episode page⁠

⁠All episodes⁠

⁠Home page

Andrew described TJ to me as considerate, wise, thoughtful, and with an off-the-charts EQ. But beyond these specific qualities, Andrew clearly regards TJ as simply one of the most high quality people that he's ever worked with. I find this kind of recommendation - one regular, everyday guy who sees another regular, everyday guy being extraordinary with that very ordinary slice of life known as "work" - to be very compelling, so I entered my conversation with TJ hoping to learn how he became a person that my friend Andrew so highly respected.

Episode page⁠

⁠All episodes⁠

⁠Home page⁠

I had a great time talking with Edwin, who was referred to the show by Charlie, Good Bad Ugly Dad from episode 7. As we say on the Dad Bod, the show is here to reveal the hidden drama of modern day fatherhood, and so I appreciate Edwin for sharing his personal journey from growing up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, way back in the day as well as his career in education - not as a teacher, but as a "fireman" of the New York City public school system - I'll let him explain what that means.

But what I appreciate most from Edwin is the recognition that he gives his wife for everything that she does as a wife and as a mom. As you'll hear, he points to her repeatedly throughout our conversation, which made me realize that the story of Edwin can only be made complete with the help of Pat. You'll get to hear from both of them in this episode.

Episode page⁠

⁠All episodes⁠

⁠Home page⁠

This reflection episode is dedicated to Carlton, Daddy's Boy Dad. After listening to this episode, I encourage you to go back and listen to the full interview so that you can get a firsthand feel for who Carlton is and his story.

Episode page⁠

⁠All episodes⁠

⁠Home page⁠

So my 20 year college reunion was a couple months ago. I was on the fence about going until the last minute, but I'm so glad I did because I ended up reconnecting with my friend, fellow dad, and today's guest, John. Even though John and I are the same age, I appreciate the wisdom he has to offer as a dad who, with three kids ages 15, 13, and 11, is several big stages ahead of me in the parenting journey.

John and I had an amazing conversation that was full of heart and humor. His story has many parts to it: immigrant kid; only child of a single mom; a man changed through faith; a career switcher; and a swimmer-turned-coach, just to name a few.

Now, to all of the loyal Dad Bod listeners out there, you might have noticed that one of the things that I tend to do when something's touched my heart, like really touched me deeply is I reach into my bag, dig around, dig around some more, and I pull out a nice, shiny metaphor. So here goes.

All of these parts of John's story are like the facets of a diamond: solid panes of polished rock serving as reflective windows onto one another's surprising angles, components of a cohesive geometry formed through pressure and craftsmanship and thereby embodying the complex, hidden drama of modern fatherhood. This episode is the longest one to date, but I assure you that if you like what we're doing with the Dad Bod, it'll be worth your time.

Episode page⁠

⁠All episodes⁠

⁠Home page⁠