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Faith, Fatherhood, and the Mountain Way – Jeff Dodds, Mountain Dads
227 Plays19 days ago
This week on the TRICER PODCAST, Drew hosts Jeff Dodds, founder of Mountain Dads, a movement dedicated to “foraging family resilience”. This episode is a deep dive into what it means to raise strong kids, lead as intentional fathers, and embrace the wild as our greatest teacher.
Jeff and Drew unpack the power of the mountains — how stripping away modern comforts and getting back to our roots can build tougher, more capable men and youth. Faith, family, and the backcountry come together in one powerful conversation.
If you're a father, a hunter, or just a man trying to live with purpose — don’t miss this one.
JEFF DODDS – MOUNTAIN DADS
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dodds_doozies/
Website - https://www.mtndads.com
TRICER USA
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#WesternHunting #BackcountryParenting #MountainDads #FaithAndFamily #HuntTheWest #FatherhoodInTheWild #RaisedInTheMountains #ModernMountainMan #TricerPodcast #HuntersOfInstagram #OutdoorFatherhood #WildernessWisdom #HuntWithPurpose #ResilientYouth #MountainMentors #BowhuntingLife
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Transcript
Introduction to Tricer Podcast
00:00:01
Speaker
You are listening to the Tricer podcast, where we talk all things hunting, gear, and the great outdoors. Before we begin, let's start things out right and put God first. Lord Jesus, I thank you for Tricer, and I ask that you can use this podcast as a way to bring joy to all of our listeners.
00:00:17
Speaker
We lay Tricer and this podcast at your feet. Amen.
Day 2 of Bow Disciples 3 Event
00:00:22
Speaker
All right, BD3, Bow Disciples 3, Day 2. Day 2. Day 2, rocking through this thing, man. James Visser crushing it up here in the mountains of San Diego, holding it down for the SoCal boys. Absolutely. Doing good. There's only like two of us, but we're doing it.
00:00:40
Speaker
But um fun, having
Jeff Dodds and Filming for Tricer
00:00:42
Speaker
a good time. i got to have my buddy Jeff Dodds down from Washington. He's actually filming some content for Tricer. I've met Jeff a few times. He's actually really hard to get on a pod because he's blown me off like four times, I think, you know getting on this pod.
00:00:55
Speaker
But ah no, seriously, super awesome Christian dude out of Washington State who, if you watch a lot of content like elk-shaped stuff or podium archery and FJJ, like Jeff is the dude behind the camera.
Anecdotes About Dan's Energy
00:01:10
Speaker
That is correct. yeah I actually heard that he is he's the reason why those guys where they are today. I don't know about that. but We should cut cut that right there. Put that one on Instagram right there. Jeff made Dan. Oh, gosh. No, Dan made Dan. Dan made Dan. went and hung out Dan, dude, and he's a he's a whirlrowwin Yeah, he is.
00:01:33
Speaker
He's like, I have energy. People like say like I'm pretty active, you know? But dude, Dan is like um like next level meth. He's a fan he's a fountain of youth, that's what I would say. I'm shocking because he's like 43, think, 44. Yeah, something like that, yeah. And dude, we went to the gym together. I'm like, dude, you go. You go hard. like he was he's like It is cool to see someone who like really is living it out like that, though. For sure. He really is like...
Mountain Dad Bods Company
00:01:59
Speaker
preparations in the perspiration or something like that what is this thing separations in the preparation separation preparation yeah he really is living that lifestyle separating the preparation right he's like shooting his bow every day running the doing the pod doing the freaking content and then hitting the gym hard and he's the gym yeah i had a lot respect for him also another real good christian dude and i i had fun shooting with him absolutely um Dude, I wanted to you on because you started some new dad bods company. Yeah, dad bods.
00:02:26
Speaker
Mountain dad bods. Mountain dad bods. That's what it's called. Honestly, you might do better with that company called Mountain Dad Bods. Mountain dads. Mountain dads. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sorry. i had to cut you off there. So Jeff has... ah mean know We'll talk content as well. talk filming and stuff. I know a you guys like hear about
Fatherhood and Quality Time
00:02:45
Speaker
that stuff. But something is near and dear to my heart, as everyone knows this, I have five kids, right? Foster parents and we love, like there's such a lack of the father in the home in America. Amen to that, man.
00:02:59
Speaker
that is why we're at where we are today. i always say all time, like I wouldn't need all the ministries I do if dads were in the home doing their job or parents are doing their job and they're not. And a lot of the way my sons, I'm not bragging on them, but they're really good kids. sure You guys see them in films.
00:03:17
Speaker
you know These kids haven't drank. These kids, you know they're not out sleeping all these different girls. They're hardworking kids. They're desired by people with businesses to work for them. Right? um fully homeschooled but a lot of way we achieved that was by being a mountain dad absolutely what i would call mountain dad is just being out there with your kids and spending time with your kids dude so what what is mountain dads and how would it come about yeah so um as a a a Brand guy
Strengthening Family Bonds Outdoors
00:03:49
Speaker
is storyteller. I was really trying to like sink my teeth in and figure out what I wanted to build and the first thing I went to was prayer and then just what do I love to do? What do I like? What what's my passion in life? You know for a lot of people it's elk hunting for a lot of people. It's you know shooting guns archery, whatever that may be and i so I used to be a fly fishing guide elk hunting guide really whitewater rafting guide
00:04:16
Speaker
I you know I'd ski patrol in the winter time and so before I got married that was my lifestyle and i was living in Colorado then i moved up to Montana did that a little bit i just like I lived 200 plus days in the mountains every single year I had a camera doing it the whole time but if there's one thing I definitely saw was was when ah father and his son or his father and his daughter or just family in general, when they spent quality time in the outdoors, I could just tell they had a closer relationship and a closer bond.
00:04:52
Speaker
And obviously with the decade of experience that I was able to gather, ah obviously I'm gonna bring my own family into that scenario. I ah fell in love with my wife in the mountains. And now that i I'm, so I have a um a daughter that's almost two and then one on the way due in August.
Prioritizing Children Over Career
00:05:08
Speaker
and like being a father changed in my life forever and i am a very driven person you know i have an entrepreneurial heart i love growing things businesses things like that brand stories but when i became a father it really hit me hard of just like okay what what am i actually trying to build while here on earth is it a business is it a brand is it a story is it money I always felt back to know my my biggest priority is my children.
00:05:44
Speaker
And I feel like men these days call themselves to so many things, but they are actually called the very, very few. Yeah. They sign up for all of these responsibilities and they're goers, they're doers, they're you know they they run fast, they go hard, and they miss the mission that's right in front of their fingertips and their toes, and that's their children, their wife, their families.
Encouraging Outdoor Family Time
00:06:09
Speaker
And so Mountain Dows was born out of a desire to just encourage families, fathers, to be present with their children. and to provide them more than just a paycheck or a salary or you know whatever that may be and provide them with quality time in the mountains provide them with your undivided attention we don't need perfect fathers we need present ones You know, we need to showcase to our children failure and how we get through it.
00:06:40
Speaker
You know, if you and your wife have an argument and the kids saw it, you need to stop and communicate to your children how you guys work through it together. i I really just want to encourage the trade of fatherhood. yeah And I'm not actually going into this feeling like I know everything. I'm actually going into it as a journalist.
00:07:02
Speaker
Okay. Of just like, hey, you've been a father, maybe even a grandfather, longer than I have been a father.
Impact of Being a Present Father
00:07:08
Speaker
So what works for you? What doesn't work for you? And so Mountain Dads is really a community-based brand that's just a database of information of ways that you can improve your quality of family. mean, the mission statement is forging family resilience.
00:07:26
Speaker
awesome, dude. Yeah, I like what you said, too, because, like, you have two kids. So, when was hear you, I'm like, oh, hold my beer, right? You haven't even got to, like, teenage years and stuff. Right, right. Right?
00:07:37
Speaker
But at the same time, like, one thing I've always said, and in people don't always receive it well from me, is I've always said... if i lead a thousand people lord but my kids don't know god i failed absolutely and and that that is like as i've gotten older i've kind of stepped back a little bit i do understand like free will and kids can walk away even the kids in the greatest houses can walk away from the lord i get it right but like i don't want to be the stumbling block that caused that for my kids right right and um I mean, like, one of my biggest regrets, and, like, I've spent a lot of time with my kids in the field, even when I was working 16 hours a day, like, I'd find times to go on the field my kids and do stuff with them, is how much I worked.
00:08:17
Speaker
Yeah. And, like, how much I sacrificed. And now I'm at a point where spending, like, my my kids are getting the best of me. Sure. They really are. I'm home all the time, do all stuff with them, but... But, um and that is, that there is a part of where they understand that too. Like kids need to see their dad going to work every single Yes.
00:08:31
Speaker
Yes. Like my kids, people like my kids in Kyrgyzstan doing ministry right now.
Raising Respectful Children
00:08:35
Speaker
And his leader is like 25 years old. He's like, dude, I don't know why your kid's such a hard worker. Like, I don't understand. It's like, Well, dude, because my son has seen me since he was born working six, seven days a week and and and working hard, right? seen And like my son understands that if we're sitting somewhere, I'll always tell him you never sit while another man works. Sure. Like you don't watch this guy next to me sit up, he's easy up without going over and helping sit his easy up up, right? Like you always are working, right? if there's a job to be done, ah man is always working.
00:09:04
Speaker
And... ah so much of that is is caught, not taught. yeah right And that's where the presence thing comes in, yeah being around him and seeing it. And that's where the mountain thing is so critical to the way my boys have become. like I truly think I have incredible kids. like My older boys, like My boy's going off to college, he's going lawyer.
00:09:25
Speaker
He's doing ministry right now. like He's hardworking. My other boy, he's working with us right now. He's very respectful. right He's still kind of a smart 16-year-old, but like yeah he's a 16-year-old kid. He's pretty dang good, yeah. king Pretty dang perfect kid, right?
00:09:36
Speaker
Don't get me wrong. like They can be a little pissy, and they sleep in you know with They're teenagers, right? yeah um The world's ending. They know everything. sure But most of that comes from them spending countless days in the field since they were four or five years old with me. Sure. um Whether it be in a duck blind or next to a lake or just catching crawdads in a creek that time. and then like I think the most foundational moments of their childhood would be like those Preteen to teen years where we would spend 16 hours in a truck Driving
Character Building in the Mountains
00:10:12
Speaker
together. Yeah, and then sitting around a campfire together and suffering together and just talking about God and talking about life and
00:10:19
Speaker
and seeing the way we, and persevering and suffering. And like, it forges men. Absolutely. The mountains forge men. I know you have a daughter, right? So I'm not like, I'm it doesn't forge daughters as well, but like for my boys, like not only that, just being with me and then being around Jeff and like being on other men and like, not just like, this is controversial.
00:10:40
Speaker
I'm not a team sports guy. I'm not. And I actually don't recommend it. Like we do soccer now on the weekends, but it's with my church and like we just don't show up all the time. Sure. like Dude, I think that, like, I grew up playing. I played baseball up until high school, and then I played football into high school, and then i was done, right? yeah But I also freaking did so many drugs and partied so much. It was crazy. Like, team sports don't build kids. Parents build kids. Absolutely do right there. That's it. feel like we're in this time now where it's like, not only are doing Little League, but it's like, we got to travel ball. We got to all this stuff.
00:11:14
Speaker
And then, like, no offense to you, Jeff. Like, what, you're 5'8"? What, how tall are you? I don't know, 5'11"? 5'11"? Yeah. 5'11"? Are you? Okay. Yeah. ah you get old nate thing it all you where You're 5'11"? Yeah. you're five i You don't look like the most athletic specimen? Like, your kid's probably not going to pro-athlete.
00:11:29
Speaker
Sure. Yeah, absolutely. All my friends look like you. Right. But they get this assumption that all of a sudden when their kid's 10 and they're all the same size, like... Yeah. We have to get him a hitting coach, a pitching coach, $2,000 bats and lessons and all this stuff.
00:11:40
Speaker
And then, like, reality sets in. Like, hey, by the time your kid gets to 18, he's probably going to 5'11 $1.80, like Jeff, and like you, and he's probably not going hit dingers. Yeah. Right? like he's And I could attest to that because I grew up, you know playing baseball. i played in college a little bit.
00:11:56
Speaker
And, dude, the second it got done, I was just like, Wow. that like That was a lot of time. like I lost a lot of time. I don't regret it completely. you know gave me a lot of opportunity to and work ethic and stuff like that, but Like, ah you know, part I made a post about this the other day on Mountain Dad. It's just like when we grow up, we don't think about the baseball tournaments we went to We don't think about the baseball practices, the hitting coaches, you know, whatever.
00:12:25
Speaker
We think about the hunts we went on with our dad, the fly fishing trips, the Boy Scout events, like things like that, where you actually have an encounter with God through nature.
00:12:36
Speaker
And that's like we were born for that. And that's exactly what. we as dads are built to expose our children and our families too.
00:12:46
Speaker
Yeah, man. And
Prioritizing Family Over Materialism
00:12:48
Speaker
like, the thing is too, i think we get so caught up in this rat race of like, we got to take our kid to this crazy hunt. Right. Like, dude, it's, it's so much more important. Like instead of going out and buying a hundred dollar fishing boat. Right.
00:13:03
Speaker
Dude, like you better off just working less and just going to the lake and going fishing. Dude, you can have insane- They have just as much fun. And I'm not going to lie, like camping trips as a dad suck. Dude, like when you have five kids, like especially like now that my boy's older makes me do a lot of work. Isaac's packing the truck right now, right? Yeah, yeah, We're camping up here. He's packing the truck.
00:13:21
Speaker
But like when you have five kids and they're like all under 10 and like you're just stressed out the whole time, dude, they had the time of their life. Absolutely. Like, dude, like, um, Isaac over here, to this day, i mean, that kid has killed, I can't even tell you, well over 10 big game animals. I mean, like, sure more big animals than most men. Yeah. Right?
00:13:42
Speaker
His favorite hunt to talk about, he was like four years old. We went, we went squirrel hunting or bird hunting and there was no birds. So we shot stink bugs with 12-gauge shotgun. I mean, and like, dude, it was the coolest thing in the world for him to go and do that with me.
00:13:58
Speaker
And like, and he still talks about it. And like, it's so stupid, but dude, like, it's not a matter of the event you do. It's the time you spend. And the time is the valuable thing. It's not the object. And like, I was telling someone the other day who was i can't remember who it was, but...
00:14:14
Speaker
It was like a young, oh, the guy at the gym, and he's like young married guy, and he was talking about they're they're really stressed out. I'm going to like on this vacation, you know what i mean? He works all the time, and I'm like, let me tell you something right now. Like, by no means I perfect with money. I've made some really bad decisions in life with money. straight Like, I've lost houses. I've done stuff.
00:14:31
Speaker
The one thing I've never regretted was spending time or going on a trip. Absolutely. I have never... I've regretted buying a 40-inch plasma TV in 2005 for $3,000. That's what they used to cost back then. I've regretted getting zero-interest cards and furnishing my house or buying a $40,000 car when I was 21 years old and getting an $800 payment, right?
00:14:54
Speaker
It's really awesome in the moment. Then like a month sets in, the first time comes in, you're like, oh God, $800 a month.
Reflections on Financial Decisions
00:15:00
Speaker
I'm 20 years old and I'm making 60 grand. Right. I never did. You're like, oh gosh, for the next five years. Now it's like 10 years, these loans. Sure. Like I regretted that, but I've never regretted like, like think about everyone. This is podcast right now.
00:15:14
Speaker
Have you ever regretted taking a Friday off to go fishing? The business is always there. Yeah. Like, your kind your job will always be there. Your problems will always be there.
00:15:25
Speaker
But I'm telling you right now, your kids won't be. Yeah. and Like, my son, dude, like, we went on our last hunts to together. It's not our last hunts, but he was, he's, you know, he went off to ha Hawaii, did missions training, then went to, did a mission.
00:15:36
Speaker
He's coming back right now, and he's going to college. He's going to Christian college up in Oregon. He's not going to hunt with me, dude. Yeah. He's gone. He wants to do four years in college. Yeah. And then he wants to do like Harvard.
00:15:48
Speaker
He's gonna be a lawyer. gonna have a family. Like, yeah we went to Colorado this year and that was probably like the last time dude for a long time. For sure. And it's like, dang it, man. i'm Like, dang it, man. I miss that so much. like Already like it it chokes me up like thinking about like it was like that was it and I'm not saying like we're not gonna try and get out reason college But it's not gonna be the you'll have the time, but it's very like it's scheduled It's limited like a lot more work has to go into making that time.
00:16:15
Speaker
He's gonna have family. Yeah, exactly and just like So going back twofold, originally you talked about how we need to see our or kids need to see us men working. 100% absolutely.
00:16:30
Speaker
But it's all about the open dialogue with your children about the work that you are doing. yeah right Say, you know, you talk to Isaac, hey Isaac, you know in the next couple weeks, I'm going to be going like crazy trying to hit this deadline or trying to reach this goal or trying to do these things inside of my business.
00:16:48
Speaker
So I'm not going to have as much availability for family time as you know as I usually do. However, I'm going to make it up by doing this, this and this with you guys at some point. right ah It's critical to have that open dialogue with your children about the time that you are spending.
00:17:06
Speaker
um Because I know when I was growing up, my dad worked his absolute butt off and you you just never knew when you were gonna get that time. So something that I really like to promote and and encourage is that open dialogue with your kids. Like hey you know this is the game plan, this is what i how how I need to allocate my time this week.
00:17:26
Speaker
However, at this time we'll be able to go you know hiking or go fishing or you know go on that trip that we've always wanted to do. And I think that it's just critical that you're bringing them into the puzzle.
00:17:39
Speaker
And obviously it's not like they can't you know give you the yin and yang. you can't It's not up for debate, but you at least you're giving them the opportunity to give them that communication.
Being Present for Children
00:17:50
Speaker
And then the second thing is that you talked about is like,
00:17:53
Speaker
how fatherhood, you know, you don't have to go on these crazy exotic hunts, right? You don't need to have your kids go, you know, kill bunch of big game animals. It's fantastic if you can. It's obviously those, the more epic adventures, the better. However,
00:18:07
Speaker
If you just go pitch your tent in the backyard and, you know, roast some s'mores. They love It's like, that's what they want. They talk about it for the rest the Exactly. They talk about that time you camped in your backyard. And I told them this story about the gumball monster with the flashlight. Yeah. Like, they talk about the stupid... don't remember the story, it's the gumball monster. They go, tell the gumball story. And they were three years old, dude. dude. At this, like, lake in C&T where lived. Right. Because we had no money. We were living in a little condo, dude. Totally. I had kids at 20 years old, bro. Like, we were just like...
00:18:34
Speaker
So yeah, scraping by wife's doing hand in the kitchen. We're trying to make it And like dude, it doesn't matter what you do doesn't matter you have to do it Yeah, and that's that is what I really want to hone in on all of your fathers listening to this is just like go buy a 10 $15 Walmart tent and pitch it in your backyard go You know in your car and have a picnic at a park or at a trailhead or go on a small hike like Obviously the big epic weekend trips or the big week vacation trips are awesome.
00:19:06
Speaker
But, you know, those are a couple, one one or one maybe to a year, maybe. um Just because life is busy, but dude... you know, putting the computer down, putting the phone down, putting, you know, your work aside at 4.30 on a Thursday or a Friday and be like, you know what, today's family day.
00:19:24
Speaker
Let's go pitch to the wall tent. Let's go pitch to the Walmart tent. You know, let's go do something as a family and you give them your undivided attention, right? You're giving your business your undivided attention. You're working really hard.
00:19:37
Speaker
Separate that time and give your family that time. Yep. You know, I truly believe that a lot of problems in this world is simply can be solved by a present father and in people's lives.
00:19:48
Speaker
Because...
Mentorship Begins at Home
00:19:50
Speaker
Mentorship starts with fatherhood or or motherhood, right? That's where you start learning about life. And when kids don't have that foundation, they go out into the world trying to find those those mentors and that foundation.
00:20:07
Speaker
And that scares the shit out of me. Can you cuss on this? Sorry. Yeah, whatever. Yeah. But like, I want my children to go out into the world knowing their foundation, not looking for their foundation.
00:20:18
Speaker
you. Because everywhere in this world you turn, i don't trust that foundation, I don't trust that mentor, right? And so when we lack fatherhood or motherhood or parenthood,
00:20:32
Speaker
We get these broken people going into the world trying to figure out what is what. and And every child is going to do that no matter what, no matter how their background is. But they have that foundation. You're going to screw your kids up. Yeah, absolutely. Like I tell them fall the time like, oh dude, we're going to screw, they're going to get like, everything's relative, right? Like so I grew up, my mother's a drug addict, my dad's a drinker, like abuse. I mean like.
00:20:53
Speaker
sure oh like i have a lifestyle filled i've never done the whole testimony on the podcast but like that'll rival jerry springer some of the things i endured a child were terrible right why i'm so defensive of kids now as an adult and like have foster ministries right like i should have been foster kid right uh in so many ways um but what was it on that so it's mentorship foundation yeah exactly you need to be there for your kids and stand up for your kids yeah right and and so many parents don't do that dude and like it's just that's what was saying you're gonna screw your kids everything's relative that's what was going with yeah right like so like my kids like they're gonna go to counseling for me like one time telling me he's a loser right sure or my dad hit me with a hammer when i was a kid
00:21:39
Speaker
yeah like You know what I mean? like I got a brick thrown at me one time when I was a kid. But my kids are going to be like, oh, one time. He's still talking about, oh, I'm a loser. He told me. was like, maybe I shouldn't have said that when it was two afternoon and you're still sleeping and you should have been out job and you missed your whatever. But everything's relative with your kids. There should be certain things where they just...
00:21:58
Speaker
You're going to screw them up. You're going to mess up. Trust me, if you don't think that any of my 18-year-olds haven't almost come to blows a couple times, like 16-year-old, no problem. That kid's easy going. 18-year-old, spitting image of me, dude, stubborn as a mule, puffed up, ready to go, wants a little rooster running around, you know what I mean?
00:22:19
Speaker
You've had a few moments. You've had a few times. But I'll tell you what. He texts me almost every day, tells me he loves me. He's asking for advice. Like, hey, what should i do with this girl? what How should I handle the situation where this person accused me of this?
00:22:33
Speaker
Or, hey, this guy's asking for this money. What do about giving to that? You know, and like, yeah but he's, because we have this relationship where, we're just We really are. i don't want say i don't think parents are friends, but we are friends. We are we have this relationship where he trusts me and he loves me, and like where me and my mom don't even talk. right right like We don't. It's just different. hard times there where you're arguing or you're almost coming to blows whatever, like Some kids don't even have that.
00:22:57
Speaker
Yeah. Like, you know, I know so many kids, I just wish I had a father to go to blows with.
Parenting Challenges and Digital Boundaries
00:23:02
Speaker
oh Some kids need to be smacked in the head. That's part of the problem. like Trust me, there's times where a kid just needs to be smacked in the head. Totally. But also on top of that, like...
00:23:13
Speaker
when we're still searching for that foundation and you know everything's relative like you said but dude if we're not taking the initiatives as fathers to our children and giving them that foundation of of hard work of discipline of respect all these things i mean dude they're exposed to the internet and the internet is going to start raising your children Yeah, so we are psychos with all this stuff, right? Yeah. So, like, my kids didn't get real phones they were 16. Like, real phones. They have, like, gab phones.
00:23:41
Speaker
i love it my My daughter's 14. She has a real phone. My daughter's a girl and way more responsible than my boys. she's like, yeah the boys, like, dude, like, you want your kid to addicted to porn? Give them 100%. Like, dude, like, don't, it's not if, it's when. It's they will. Like, i have, like, I have friends whose boys are 11 and 12. The iPhones, they Why can't my kid stay at your house? He has an iPhone.
00:24:01
Speaker
Yeah. What do you mean? I'm like, I'm sorry, dude. You don't try this? I'm like, no. I don't trust your 11-year-old boy with an iPhone. Yeah. Sorry. Yeah. I was 11. Right. Because they're idiots. Yeah. And it's even more... Junior hires are morons. Even in our generation, it's even more accessible. Oh, yeah. You had to work for a magazine when was a kid, dude. Now he's getting it in a freaking click of a button. Yeah, three seconds Three seconds and you're there. You know, it's not like downloading... Yeah. Google AOL. You're a little bit younger than me. We had AOL, dude.
00:24:27
Speaker
But... ah Yeah, we've been so strict with that. like We just gave Isaac social media at 16. And my wife's still mad at me about that for the social media, from for Instagram. But it's like I'm kind of like, I kind of want to, you don't want to completely shelter your kids because you want them to understand. I want i want him to be in my house while he's doing that. for He's going to get it at 18 years old, right?
00:24:47
Speaker
But have to be an example for him and kind of guide him through that situation. Yeah, think I think it's a balance. But I don't want to give it to him. i don't be like, here's this. And that's why we homeschool as well.
00:24:58
Speaker
and like People say like oh your girls gonna be are gonna be losers. They're gonna be they're gonna be dorks and it's like dude What I want to be raised by a bunch of morons. Yeah, like literally your kids gonna like you send your kids a seizure don't expect that you're gonna get Romans back Yep, and like and I'm not knocking people listen to get public school whatever but like right out in California like I will Get rid of my cars and walk everywhere before I send my kids a public school California. for Sure. They hate my children I'm a Christian. I fully believe the devil is in our school system and they want to take our kids and corrupt our kids.
00:25:29
Speaker
They want, I mean, like 60% of the kids in California identify as, uh, as bisexual. i Sure. they don't but They identify as bisexual, but they they all date the opposite sex.
00:25:41
Speaker
Sure. It's cool. like it's It's cool to be gay now. If you're gay now, you're like champion. like It's weird. Right? But it's this fatherless generation of these kids coming up. No dads. So two girls are dating. They're just so confused.
00:25:53
Speaker
Like, man, like I want my kids to be raised by me. the first and this is something like Chris Fallison says from Bethel Church. He says Like the first thing you learn, you question everything against it from there.
00:26:05
Speaker
So we talk about sex with our kids at five years old. you Like not like the whole talk, but we have like books and we do the whole sex talk with our kids as they're growing up. So that way when they hear it from their friends, well, my dad said this.
00:26:18
Speaker
Right. Like if you put your kid, like i learned about sex on the bus in the second grade on the back of the bus. Right. You what I mean? Like I was sexually active in like a third grade. Right. I mean like doing things with girls. i mean I had a again terrible childhood. like Sure.
00:26:32
Speaker
Terrible childhood full of abuse. Right. And just no rules whatsoever. But like. you I want to have those conversations with my kid. right like I personally choose not to drink. I don't think it's a sin, yeah but my kids haven't drank.
00:26:47
Speaker
They have no desire They're kind i might want to try some wine when I'm 21. I might try a beer. But like they're not going to be. like I come from a family of addiction. Yeah, same. My father's an alcoholic. My grandfather died.
00:26:58
Speaker
with a marble red in his mouth and a freaking Budweiser on his couch at 62 years old, right, 65 years old in his trailer. Yeah. Right? Like, we come from family, so I'm just like, I'm not going to even expose my kids to that because they didn't they don't need to see it because it's just...
00:27:11
Speaker
But also your kids look up to you. They want to be dad, right? You know, like I want, I want dads to be their kids heroes. And so obviously if you see, or if a child sees their dad, you know, I'm not saying drinking is bad, but everything, you know, in simplicity in, you know, just have an understanding that your kids are watching everything you do, even when you're not paying attention, your kids are still watching.
00:27:37
Speaker
And you just set the tone, set the example, like, sure, have a beer at a wedding, have a beer in a comfortable environment. But, like, because I don't know, I think, feel like, if you shelter kids, you know, with social media, they're going to just, like, grasp to it once they have that freedom. yeah You see that over and over again, where, like... Oh, you got to teach a kid, dude. My five-year-old, bro, like...
00:27:57
Speaker
We're busting him getting on YouTube every day now i'd be on youtube yeah like he's just like He's just naturally born a sinner.
Reducing Screen Time for Better Presence
00:28:03
Speaker
Sure. you right He's a kid. He's just a little kid. like this little like And he's got more to see him than some of our kids. I'm like, we got to break this out of you now, dude, because you're doing it now at five. What are you going to do when you're 10, 12, 13, 14, right? But you just got to be there and parent that. And it's so easy to be like, here's a tablet. Shut up.
00:28:22
Speaker
My kids don't have tablets, bro. Yeah. They don't. The tablet thing is scary to me. And, you know, obviously every family has their own rules and regulations, and I hope at least.
00:28:32
Speaker
But I really, it does scare me that this next generation of kids grew up with an i an iPad in their face. Oh, yeah, dude. we don't have iPads. We don't have tablets.
00:28:43
Speaker
And we to teach them to play on them. Trust me. Like, well, if your kids how to use it, your kid's going to figure it out. they're going to grow like they're retarded. They know use a phone. Like, they're going to figure out. Trust me. Like, they get on there. But ah that's another thing, too. Like, I could say, like, with me personally, like, I was really struggling with my phone. Like, with Tricer, I was having eight hours screen time a day. cause I was running all over Instagram stuff.
00:29:04
Speaker
And I felt like I had to be on it. And I wasn't present. yeah Right? It's a time suck, dude. I told yesterday, dude, my screen time was two hours. It's awesome. I gave up social two months ago have someone come on take it over for the team.
00:29:16
Speaker
Take it over. And I kind of got the idea from like Lorenzo from GoHunt's doing it. Jace from Gypsy Tales Podcast doing the same thing. okay It's only on my computer. Because if it's on my phone, it's just... I just instantly, like the first month, dude, it was hard. I was like, where am I going? yeah Where am i going? Where am I going? Right? Like, it's a dopamine addiction. It is. Total addiction. For sure. But like, I just wasn't present and my daughter was one that was really getting me.
00:29:39
Speaker
Oh, you don't listen to me. But she, I eat i mean, we have to talk about that too. Cause sometimes like I'll be working she'll get mad at of me. I'm like, no, you ever say like, I do have to run my business from my phone. Like literally my life has run off my phone sure now or my computer.
00:29:50
Speaker
So if I'm working, you got to give me a break. But, uh, That's where that dialogue comes in. Yeah, and i so we talked about it. But like i just I got this conviction. I'm like, I'm just going to get rid of social media. And like my partner was like, you can't do that. I'm like, watch me.
00:30:04
Speaker
Yeah. And Trizer didn't fail. Shocker.
Real-Life Relationships vs. Social Media
00:30:08
Speaker
It's shocking. Dude, if your social media went... Bye-bye tomorrow if Tracer wouldn't fail. Tracer wouldn't fail. Yeah. like you feel like you get so sucked into it like and people have much access. The problem is some people much access to me. So it was like the way that like instead of texting me 20 whatever 21,000 followers now were messaging me every day and talking to me and getting and I'm like and I feel and it just sucks everything out of me and I'm like I'm just gonna give that up. Yeah. And man It is wild the clarity my brain has right now. That's awesome in two months like what it's my life has changed from dropping that getting rid of it Yeah, and like say and I can still go on On my computer and what I'm doing now is I'm taking like more higher quality photos editing I'm putting them on there. Sure. Actually, I'm just giving to Alexa now Alexa posts them like if I want to post something on Facebook I got to go in I got to go to Photoshop I got to edit it and then put it on there. It's not like it's a blatant posting it on my phone or whatever
00:30:58
Speaker
and I've never been like a big like go on there comment a bunch on like Facebook stuff. Yeah, sure. But now I wanted to. But it's still time suck, dude. Now if wanted to. Doom scrolling and all that. Yeah, dude, I'm looking at some people went to junior high with. Like a bunch these like girls and dudes. We all went to junior high together. like, you don't matter to me.
00:31:13
Speaker
i mean. Like. Yeah, but like. You know, I guess what friends are on Facebook. What they're posting online is doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Yeah, their friendship, that matters. But like. But does it? Like, does the girl or the dude from junior mean, if you're friends with them. But I'm not. Like, think about, like, your friends on Facebook. like Like, who matters to me? yeah Luke Duesenberry matters to me. That's a relationship that I'll pour into, right?
00:31:35
Speaker
Cody Rich matters to me. My partner Brock, my partner Paul, right? My best friend Neil. Those relationships matter to me. Sure. Right? And, like, I have, like, an inner circle of people that matter to me that I want to talk to and be around.
00:31:46
Speaker
But like these other people, like what am I just looking at? They're fake, like fake social media life or it's not even real. know what mean? Like no one's on there. like you really want to call them up, give get a coffee with them. Yeah, coffee with them. Like those are the guys that matter. I have some friends I still talk to you from high school. Most of them don't. and like, why do i care what you're doing?
00:32:04
Speaker
Like, living you living my best life. Yeah. Down here. but also, like... Ate some pancakes at IHOP this morning. Bomb. Right. You know, like, that doesn't... It's so pointless. It's so pointless. And we're so sucked into it And, like, here's the thing is, like, the thing that got to me the most is, like, I lost an opportunity to show my family love for that.
00:32:26
Speaker
Right? Like, I could have been present with my family.
Father-Daughter Relationship Building
00:32:30
Speaker
Instead, I'm looking at my buddy living his best life online. Right? Exactly. that like That to me was when I was like, okay, dude, I got to do something about this.
00:32:37
Speaker
So something I do now is I started dating my daughter. So my daughter is like inside and out. How old is she? She's 14. 14. Inside and out, we're the most beautiful people in the world. Sure. The prettiest girl in the world. Her mom's the same way. Her mom's prettiest girl in high school. She had to date her, right?
00:32:56
Speaker
My daughter, it's like, God's paying me back. like Every boy, cause such she won't date. She doesn't want to date until 17. Sure. and ah My friends, I'm watching these wives like try and get in with my daughter.
00:33:08
Speaker
like they're like Everyone is vying for them their son to marry my daughter. Every boy that treasures the crush on my daughter, yeah eats it up. So what I do now we on date once a week. <unk> awesome Go get breakfast, go get coffee, bet whatever it is for an hour. And I just sit there and she doesn't shut up.
00:33:25
Speaker
And I just listen to her She loves it. Dude, that will change your life. I want to be the the first guy she dates. yeah And I want to be the standard by which...
00:33:37
Speaker
she decides what that man will be like. Absolutely. Right? And like, think about that. Like, are you the husband to your wife that you want to marry your daughter? And I'm not. Like, I'm not a good enough husband for what to marry my daughter. Like, my standard for my daughter is so much bigger than I am for my wife.
00:33:52
Speaker
So much like, like, I want, like, she's half of my eye. And like, I want her to know, I tell her all the time, like, since she was born, you are worth waiting for. Yeah. I mean, since she was three years old, what do you mean? Like, you'll understand, you are worth waiting for. Absolutely. du my daughter has so much confidence Walks into the room and her presence, she owns the room. Yeah.
00:34:11
Speaker
And no, like she's some insecure, not like a lot. No dad issue stuff. No, like she is just a leader. And it's like, and most of it's from her mom, right? But here's the thing. your her But she's had this presence of a like, I see some of her friends whose dads are out of the house or doing stupid stuff.
00:34:28
Speaker
And they're so insecure and they're so boy crazy and they're looking for this love. My daughter's not she's getting it from me. Yeah. Right? Like, she's getting that love from me because, like, she hasn't even dated 14 years old. Right. It's not going to last. Like, yeah none of us, like, I married my wife. We were dating when we were 17. Most people don't marry their high school sweetheart. No.
00:34:44
Speaker
I met my wife when I was 23. I think I'm the only one from my high school that is still married. Some of us got married, but I'm the only one still married. Like, we were married with 19 years next week. But, like, most of it doesn't, those relationships don't work out. And it's pointless. And it's fruitless. and its Yeah. You're giving your heart to somebody you shouldn't be giving it to. Right. And, like,
00:35:02
Speaker
By being present in her life and giving her that time, I'm never going
Fleeting Nature of Childhood
00:35:07
Speaker
to regret it. Never. But I will regret if she's looking for that love from in all the wrong places and pregnant at 17 years old or 19 years old or whatever. You what I mean? like Because you prioritize Tracer over your daughter. Tracer over my daughter. 100%, right? I prioritize time over my daughter.
00:35:21
Speaker
and And she's... That dog won't hunt. Like, she's not a hunter. She doesn't even like... She goes ride dirt bikes. i mean, she is like... She's not a tomboy by any means, but she'll go ride dirt bikes. She was shooting with me the other day. She shot with me. yeah She'll drive the side-by-side around, but she's not getting out in the blind. She's... She'll surf. She gets her hair wet, does that stuff. Yeah.
00:35:40
Speaker
But she also gets manicures and does facial. as She should. She's a woman. She's like... She's as girly as they come, right? yeah But... um I mean, that feminine genius should be but you know cherished and and pursued. like We want our women to be women.
00:35:57
Speaker
So what I had to do with her was instead of taking her hunting, I started doing this breakfast thing. It's been awesome. It's awesome. just sit down and have breakfast, baby. And you talk to me. Yeah. And she sits there and just talks to me and talks to me and never shuts up because she's girl, right? Right. And she's telling me about this boy that likes me and this boy that likes me and this girl.
00:36:14
Speaker
She tells me it's called the T. The T, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'm getting old. I'm learning. I got to tell me the T about this girl liking this boy. And then she tells me all the T and we sit there and talk. Yeah. It's great. Yeah. And it's the crazy that you go back and talk about her confidence and things like that. It's amazing.
00:36:28
Speaker
But that's not because of what you did or what you've built or what you've accomplished in your life. It's just simply because your presence in her life. And that's what I want to promote fathers to understand is like you can make as many mistakes as you want. You can be, you know, you can, you're, you can have a business fail or you get fired from a job or whatever that may be.
00:36:53
Speaker
But you still have the ability to choose to be present with your children. Yep. And that will change their life forever. And it's going to go away so much faster. Isaac, dude, he's here right now.
00:37:04
Speaker
He'll be here next year. He'll be there the way after. He's going be gone. He's going to go to Kenya for a year and go live in Kenya and do missions. Yeah. And who knows? I keep joking around. pretty sure he's going to marry Kenyan because he hasn't dated any girls. Good-looking kid, dude. In in Kenya, he's like the just he's been there like he'll be his third or fourth time this year. He's like Justin Bieber of Kenya. like I'm like, dude, I swear this kid's going marry a Kenyan because like he's like not he's just not like... That's hilarious. and But he's going to down there. He's going to be an adult. mean, I'm going to be a granddad before I know it. Yeah. yeah I mean, five to ten years, I'm going to be a grandpa,
Christian Foundation in the Family
00:37:33
Speaker
I'm sure, right? You know i mean? And my daughter's 14. She's going to be driving next year, right? like And, like like, you know, I'm going to be... It's like our houses... It's weird, dude. Like, because we were in the thick of it, right? We had five kids in the thick of it. You know i mean? Like, marriage is really hard. Kids don't make marriage easier. Right.
00:37:49
Speaker
And, like, now it's like, oh, weird. Like, it's getting easier. It's like they're going out of the house. We're getting into like... Not empty nester stage. We have a five-year-old still, right? But like for me, dude, four kids seems like a dream. Yeah.
00:38:01
Speaker
but three kids it's like this doesn't even seem like real right right like we have a honda civic now like gosh we had a pasture van forever sure just like screaming and fighting and just turning around and you're going to church yeah that's another thing too is like the biblical foundations of my house like we read our bible every morning sure my kids are the bible every morning or my bible with my wife and they see me reading my cover my wife the word every day we go to church when i'm in town we do not miss church right when i'm out of town most time i go to church and I send them a video, hey kids, I'm at church with Luke in Idaho.
00:38:34
Speaker
Hey kids, I'm at church in Texas or wherever don't know where I went last week. I was somewhere else. um at church We were in Hawaii. We church every single Sunday in Hawaii. yeah We found a church to go to because that foundation is there and they see it.
00:38:45
Speaker
Absolutely. the There's no... I mean, everything that we've talked about thus far is rooted in Christianity. yeah Like, you know, everything is trying to set a foundation for their people to fall deeper deeper in love with Jesus Christ.
00:39:00
Speaker
um Because ultimately... we want our kids to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and understand where they go when push comes to shove. And that is showcased through how you dealt with it.
00:39:12
Speaker
You went through a hard time. How did you deal with it? You went to the Lord. You had a great time. you you know, you you thank the Lord for your blessings. What do you do? You give it over to the Lord. When you, because dude, every human in this earth is going to go through adversity. Every human on this earth is going to go through problems.
00:39:29
Speaker
How do you face that adversity? And these children need to see that you are faced with the adversity by going to the base of the cross and asking Jesus. And Jesus isn't this God that's just going to wipe away all your problems.
00:39:44
Speaker
If he wants you to solve a problem, he's going to give you problems to
Hunting as a Teaching Tool
00:39:48
Speaker
solve. Give more money my problems, bro. problems every year dude yeah dude problems is they don't go away they don't older you get there's always be something yeah and like back to now the foundation of this whole podcast was mountain dads so much of that is replicated in the hills yes so much of the suffering of the day six positive attitude is done i was talking to josh jones and about jj yesterday i was telling him like dude like Like one thing about me when you home with me is like I'm always positive.
00:40:17
Speaker
Yeah. Like and it's because I'm with my kids and it's like, dude, my kid last year suffered day six, shoots a giant, right? Past year, suffering, cold, rain, the whole nine.
00:40:28
Speaker
And like they learn adversity. They learn how to suffer. They learn how to to deal with pain. They learn how to see me miss an animal and not quit. Right. Right.
00:40:39
Speaker
They learn how to miss and not quit, right? And not get defeated. i mean, we've had, trust me, I've had some rodeos. I've had lots of tears with the boys where they've missed and they're crying and they,
00:40:50
Speaker
You know, I've yelled at my kids on the mountain for missing. Sure. I've blown it a couple times. I got one kid, he's a little squirrely. It's like, how did you blow this? You know, like, can you put like eight hours into an animal and someone blows it? It's really hard not to get pissed. For sure. Right?
00:41:04
Speaker
And I've had to appall, I've had to down and talk, I'm so sorry, son, for doing that. it was um It's a stupid deer. Who cares if you missed him, dude? Right. Who cares if you couldn't find him in the scope for 20 minutes and you're standing broadside? Sure. I'm just talking about moments that happen kids, right? It's just in the heat of the moment for sure. And I've gotten better as I've gotten older, right? And the more opportunities I get out there. But dude, you learn so much in the hills with your kids. Yep.
00:41:27
Speaker
It's like you could teach them. Everything that you do as a man can be taught out there in the hills. Right. Sitting around a fire, carrying a heavy pack. Right. Killing an animal, cutting it up.
00:41:38
Speaker
Like, there's nothing that bonds two men together more than dragging a freaking deer out of the mountains, dude. Just, yeah, hauling meat, knowing that you're going to give it to your sister and your mother, like, next week. Oh, dude, like, sitting around the... Dude, like, because it's always been... Like, we always do, like... what My wife's terrible. wife never reads before eating.
00:41:57
Speaker
What do we eat right now? I don't know. And I don't... We have so much stuff in the fridge now. Like, don't know what it is. like Sure. Can you just, like you like, write down what you cooked tonight? Yeah, yeah. Because, like, I love to be like, oh, we're eating that Utah mule deer. Isaac, tell the story. Yeah, yeah. 100%. dude, remember that buck you passed? We had a buck that was 100 yards from us, dude, for two hours just raking a tree and you wouldn't shoot him, dude. And I'm so glad you didn't shoot that buck, Yeah. know, like...
00:42:18
Speaker
Oh, dude, remember that doe you shot? You were eating that doe when you were 10, right? or mean, not now, but you know what i mean? like It's just like those those stories and getting to provide your family. It's so cool. So awesome. Especially in the mountains, you're forced to have some type of adversity.
Overcoming Adversity Outdoors
00:42:33
Speaker
Every time. we we can't even fathom that in our everyday life. We live in these comfortable boxes. you know we look you know we get into our comfortable cars, we go to our comfortable other boxes that we call work, and then we you know put our temperature in the perfect shower, then we get into our very comfortable bed,
00:42:51
Speaker
At night, you know, we're we're surrounded by comfort. And again, going back to what i was talking about earlier is just like we need to teach our children how to face adversity. How do we do that? By giving, exposing them to things of adversity.
00:43:06
Speaker
If it's just a simple hike and they're tired, they don't want to keep going. No, you get you get to the top of the mountain, right? Obviously, if they're like, literally hurt or injured whatever that's different but like i've had some torn knees i mean hiking on it it felt bad yeah surgery but like that mental toughness we have three out to son yeah the mental toughness of hiking of you know you know i won't be able to hunt with my kids for a couple more years but um it's just like i'm still exposing them to adverse climates because
00:43:37
Speaker
Like, again, we just lived in such a comfort comfortable world, and we need to understand where adversity comes from. Because when but the kids that don't have that, when they actually do have to face adversity for the first time, they're just going to crumble.
00:43:51
Speaker
Dude, true story. I'm bragging on my kids a lot, right? and im By no means of my perfect parent, this is saying, like, dude, like I have screwed my kids up. I've made some major mistakes as a parent. Sure. oh You have five kids, you're going to screw up. You're married for 20 years, you're going screw up with your wife.
00:44:04
Speaker
Right? I've done major accounts. How about you tell a story about how you did, you know, screw up and what the lesson that you learn. Well, I want to tell a first. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. So my buddy calls me. and It's always cool to get these calls, right? People call it. I get a lot of the hard work calls from my kids, right?
00:44:17
Speaker
um But ah he calls me like, hey, i just want to tell you, like my daughter got a flat tire at church. My son's 15 at the time. My daughter got a flat tire at church this night. And there was, maybe he was 17.
00:44:29
Speaker
And all the college dudes are standing around. They didn't know what to do And your son walked up and changed your tire. And I'm like, yeah, dude, because that kid's probably changed 15 tires in his life in the backcountry, dude, because I hit everything of that truck. And, i and you know, I mean, like, I swear, i don't i don't i can't tell you how many flat tires my kids have changed. it's awesome.
00:44:46
Speaker
In the backcountry, right? Or how many starters they had to put in. Or we got stuck, and, like, they had to see me figure out how to get us unstuck out of a situation because the truck's stuck, and I got to, like, I can just flip out, or I can go find a Jeep, or I can get a shovel and rocks and and we' get hit a jack and figure out get them out, right? Right.
00:45:05
Speaker
But, ah yeah, man, like, it's just, you can't you can't replace it, man. No. You can't beat the backcountry. It's the best, Yeah, it's it's the best. And it's free. Public land.
00:45:16
Speaker
It's free. it's Dude, you don't have, that's the thing, it's like, there's this little spot by my house, there's bunch of like, meth heads that live down there, but it's under, ah there's a lake, and there's a little pond in between the lake and this bridge, and it must be, like, 30
Low-Cost, Engaging Activities
00:45:27
Speaker
by 30. Yeah. little bluegill. Yeah. Will go down there and rip the lips off these things? Dude, it cost me two bucks. Yep.
00:45:33
Speaker
Like everyone has a bobber and like a number two fishing hook. Yeah. And like actually, the kids out there, we catch crawdads, a bucket of crawdads and bluegill. And we'll go at the end. Yeah. Sometimes the kids eat them. Thrilled.
00:45:44
Speaker
Thrilled, dude. Like honestly, like for me, like I feel like kids have more fun like going out and doing like rabbit hunting, squirrel hunting, stink bug hunting.
00:45:57
Speaker
bluegill fishing they do charter boats sure bass like they just want to rip lips yeah they just want to pull triggers i think i think this is it's the scale of adventure right like every kid wants to just be like oh i get to go in my backyard and shoot squirrels versus like when they get to that teenager twenty s they're like okay i want to go in the mountains and kill an elk yeah dude but i'll tell you what everyone listens this podcast right now go take go get a box of twenty two s Take the two or three.22s you have in your safes. We all have it.
00:46:27
Speaker
And go shoot some.22s with your kids this weekend. Yep. 100%. I'll tell you what, dude. Like, every time I do it, I'm like, oh, my gosh. this's this We went out last week. shoot some targets out, some cans out. and we're just shooting.22s. Your business will wait.
00:46:39
Speaker
It'll be there when you get back. Dude, shoot in.22s. Or even just go get some Red Ryder BB guns and in the backyard. Like, I get a Red Ryder BB gun, and I'm like, give me to me. No, man. I'm shooting. You know, I have like, I think I have like eight of them now because we just get giving them all the time. We'll just go to the backyard we'll just rip red riders in the backyard or I'll shoot um whatever, Sumi City let say of San Diego.
00:46:58
Speaker
We shoot 22 quiets in the yard. kids I have my kids shooting 22s in our yards in the city. But we shoot 22 quiets in the in the bolt actions. We'll go in the backyard do and we'll just rip through like 100 rounds of 22 in the bolt actions yeah for an hour, dude. And like...
00:47:12
Speaker
The shooting and shooting. It's so fun. It's like shooting archery here. like yeah we We get our bows. We'll go shoot some bows together and just have a good time. like yeah Dude, you don't have to go far. You can throw a target up here and go shoot your bow with your kid for 10 minutes. Yeah.
00:47:26
Speaker
Dude, it's so fun. They're going to be begging you to do that again. Begging to do again. And just pick
Balancing Hobbies and Family Duties
00:47:30
Speaker
them up and do it, man. For sure. just bring them along and do it. And then be willing to sacrifice some of your cool stuff to do some lame stuff. Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, like, dude, like, Bluegill are just as fun to me bass. Dude, absolutely. And the can have more fun.
00:47:44
Speaker
Being a husband, being a father, the forefront of that foundation is understanding that not about you. It's about them. yeah when you When you made that promise to marry your wife, you signed up for that communication of it's not about me. yep like How can I give of myself and not take of myself? yeah Same thing, it they even gets heightened as ah as a child as a husband and a father.
00:48:07
Speaker
Now you have children, like it's not about you. Obviously, there's still a lot on your plate. you know You still have to run your business. You still have to be successful. You still have to be that provider. But you need to understand, like, okay, maybe this year I don't go on as many hunts or I don't go golfing as much or I don't do this as much.
00:48:25
Speaker
I'm going to, you know, substitute that. cannot be good at golf and be a good father. I'm telling you right now, don't know about that. Unless your kid's golfing with you. I'm being honest.
00:48:36
Speaker
I'm being honest. You can't be good at golf because to be good at golf, you need do it, like, twice a week at least. Sure. You need to go the range. do it Unless you're doing it with your kids. Yeah. Like, if you got kids under 10 and they're golfing, you cannot be a good father and be good or a good husband and be a good golf. I'm telling you right now. it's I used to do when I was a kid. used to golf a lot.
00:48:51
Speaker
But it's like, it's a 5, 6. It's your whole day out by yourself doing golf. like Sure. Take your kid out, man. Yeah. And I'll go back to the sports thing, dude. Like, if you're working a 40-hour-a-week job and your kid's doing Little League three days a week and weekends, like, you're missing out, man. Like, I know it's fun for him, but, dude, like.
00:49:09
Speaker
My kids are hunters like my sons suck at football, but dude They can kill stuff and like they've I don't regret I don't regret it all there sometimes where you kind of feel like FOMO like my friends kids are really good at baseball or football But I'm like what
Sports vs. Family Time
00:49:24
Speaker
does it matter? Sure. I told people all the time like i had a friend right and his kid went to Little League World Series he was doing all this stuff and he ended up going to be kind of a dickhead like walking away from Lord and I remember telling him like hey man We're doing this camp trip. I was like, no, i got I got travel ball that weekend. I was like, let me tell you something right now.
00:49:44
Speaker
I can guarantee you that your kid is going to and be a man someday. What I can't guarantee you is that your kid's a professional baseball player. I can almost guarantee you won't.
00:49:55
Speaker
Right. What's more important? Right? And I think, like, if we were to go back now and talk to him, I think he would... know he's not to to this podcast, but he knows who he is. I think he would probably gone on that camping trip. Sure.
00:50:06
Speaker
Because, like, his kid just kind of like walked away from me because, like, it was so much time was put into, like, just circling around this kid and his sports and not into...
00:50:19
Speaker
the kid yeah and i think it's all just about that dialogue like i said you know i i don't think you need to be as absolute in like anti-travel ball anti-baseball whatever if you want to do that do that but still you have to make an even further sacrifice to make up for that quality time that you have allocated towards travel baseball or little league or soccer whatever that may be thing is this to with the travel ball all right it's a business sure If your kid's going to hit dingers, he's hit dingers doing Little League going dingers doing travel ball. Sure. So, like, Bryce Harper, whether he played travel ball or not, was still going to go to the major league baseball. You know what i mean? For sure. We don't need travel ball. Right. it's not – like, your kid could play Little League and, like, he's not going to die. If he's that good, he's going to the majors. Sure. He's going to majors. And, like, we got sucked into this thing where we have to, like – whether it be travel dance, travel ball, travel cheer –
00:51:14
Speaker
Freaking like it's it's not it's baseball 365. Yeah, it's just to me. It's just like man, you're missing out on the family time with your kids and that's what's important to me for sure and like most time like you're just like you see these dads in the ballpark and they're like all like with the mullet now and the glasses and they're living through vicariously to their kids because not the umpire and like What are you gaining from that? Like from your parenting, right? Like other than they're with a bunch of kids that they're aren teaching about things. Like I'm sorry. not, I mean, whatever I am knocking sports, I guess, but dude, like do little league. You don't have to do. What you're getting at is just like finding that quality time separate from the team sports, separate from school, separate from travel ball.
Irreplaceable Family Time
00:51:54
Speaker
yeah shoot the 22 shoot your bow go go do adverse things go do something go snowboarding go ride dirt bikes like me and my kids ride dirt bikes if you don't have dirt bikes go ride bicycles dude me and my five-year-old will go ride bicycles time of his life bro yep everyone has a bike go ride the cul-de-sac and go go ride the dude go ride the cul-de-sac and back yeah we go and do like ah it's like a four mile loop down by the river by my house we'll go drive down there yeah Time is life. Yep.
00:52:21
Speaker
He gets to the end of the two miles, have to return back, and he's always complaining a little bit. like, hey, you got suck it up and go. So it's good good adversity thing as well. Force him to go back. Right. Oh, I'm going to quit. Oh, it's hard. Yeah, totally. You got to go back. But, ah dude, that's the kind of stuff that's just, to me, way more foundational than sitting in the bleachers and letting your kid be raised by a coach and a bunch of kids.
00:52:40
Speaker
And I'm sorry. Like, I'm not knocking it, but, like, it's proven to not work. I'm sorry, people. Sure. Like, I'm sorry. Like, if if I was right, if I was wrong, then, like, we all did it. And then we have this crazy divorce rate and this crazy... I'm not blaming baseball for that, but I'm just saying, like, dude, like, I'm i'm just being truthful, dude. yeah, totally. Like, the data... We've given our kids up to public schools, to team sports, to all... To the... To the internet. To the internet. Yeah. To whatever it is. And we've lost the just, like...
00:53:08
Speaker
sit down have a family yep right and like it's like you get so my point you get so sucked up in it put the screens away sit down and have a family meal put the screens away go on a camping trip my god play a board game yeah exactly just play a board game sometime with your kids go play some cards go play solitude with your kids love is spelled t-i-m-e yeah time 100 again you don't have to be a perfect father Just be a present one. Yep. And I'm sorry if listen to this you think I'm arrogant, but I'm just giving you my opinions on it, what I've seen happen.
00:53:38
Speaker
i mean, you you got a lot more reps in fatherhood than I do. I got a lot of reps in fatherhood. Yeah. and I've just grown up in it and seen it. And i'm being in ministry is the way I am. I just, I get to meet a lot of families.
00:53:49
Speaker
And the families I see doing it right are doing it. Whether it be surfing with their kids, whatever their snowboarding, whatever their medium is. Bringing their kids into their life rather than making their life about their kids
Essence of Being a Mountain Dad
00:54:01
Speaker
as well. know what I mean? Let's bring them corporate, them into adult things. It's better.
00:54:05
Speaker
Jeff, phenomenal podcast. We always enter the hunting story. It doesn't have to be your biggest animal. It's your best animal. It's a hunting story. it could be frigging stink bugs with your kid. i don't care. Favorite hunting story. Rip one. it it doesn't have to your favorite. It could be any. It's not even your favorite. can be a good one. Your campfire story, your go-to, you've got to tell everybody the story because it's just so cool. Everyone thinks you're so awesome because of that one. you know I mean, I just remember the first time that I just successfully killed an elk by myself, packed it up by myself. It was just like, it really was a a testimony of of just like, i felt I felt invincible in the moment.
00:54:40
Speaker
You know, it was it was a ah three by five, like little spike first bowl was a five by five, dude. Yeah, dude. And I... You would have thought i could have ran through a wall. Totally. i you know I shot it. I've shot some cows prior to this, but this was my first like bull, and I was stoked.
00:54:57
Speaker
um I started you know hunting when I was in my mid-20s, low-20s, and I shot it. i I saw him in his bed, shot it with my.30-06. It took it took me six, seven hours to skin, you know, to you gut it up and get it out.
00:55:12
Speaker
Thankfully it was snowing, so like meat was gonna be fine. And, you know, three miles one way, packed it all out myself. I was able to, like I had, I was sharing a camp with, you know some buddies, but they were all, so we were all solo hunting.
00:55:26
Speaker
So just from, start to finish, found it, killed it, packed it out. And I just remember bringing it back and sharing it with my wife. And like, it was just that connection that I felt inside of myself is something that I want everyone to experience.
00:55:44
Speaker
Is that like you you did the research, you networked, you got some good buddies to go out with, and everything finally comes and actually works. And dude, I don't know, for me, so many times I feel like a public land hunter, I'm like, dude, it's never going happen.
00:56:01
Speaker
I'm never going to find an elk. Like, I'm never going to be able to actually punch a tag. And when it actually comes to flourishing after years of effort, it was just a phenomenal experience. And it's something that i I mean, it it truly was not an insane life-changing experience, but it was life-changing, right? It was the that ah that feeling of putting food on your family's table that you harvested from beginning to end was a life-changing experience. There wasn't anything crazy about it, but... so But no, this this is what just proves my point from the today we're talking about. Mm-hmm.
00:56:36
Speaker
My first bull was actually the first elk I ever saw on public land ever. It was day six. remember using a cow on public land. Sure. I finally killed it in 2017. I remember the sound, the smells.
00:56:47
Speaker
the moment I could go back that moment right now. Yes. Man, my kids have the same stories. My kids have those same stories with me, dude. And like... That's what it's all about, people. That's what a mountain dad is all about is having those moments with your kids as well. Absolutely. You're going to get there, Jeff. like like My kid to shot his first animals in Africa. 11-year-old, he's in a little bit life than the other kid's dead. He's got some cool stuff.
00:57:07
Speaker
right but like He's going to shoot his first mule deer this year. like I guarantee he'll get a mule deer this year. He's got a few tags. and like Dude, he's never going to forget that. Never. It's like, man, like everyone listening to this, you remember your first buck. to My first buck's on the wall.
00:57:18
Speaker
My raghorn 5x5 bull is all busted up. It's over my fireplace, dude. The horns are... And the most proud, proud moment, you know, my hunting career was killing that bull, right? When I shot my first buck, dude, it was like 12 days.
00:57:32
Speaker
I freaked I got so, I jumped him and he stood up and I shot him. I shot him three times it i was like, you're not getting away. just keep shooting this buck, dude. Yeah. He stood up. I shoot him again in the neck. And dude, I remember screaming, yeah. Like, dude, like it's being so... And now I shoot something, I'm like, kill some more stuff. I'm like, oh, dad, okay, next. For sure. Like, it's kind of weird how it's kind of like gone. Like, it's so uneventful now. I don't have that
Reflections on Hunting Experiences
00:57:53
Speaker
yet.
00:57:53
Speaker
I haven't killed enough things. Like, yeah, it's just another bull. it Dude, it's so uneventful now when I shoot stuff. It's kind of weird. ah depends on It depends on the moment too. But like, it's kind of like, ah, kill another thing. But like, dude, those... I'll never forget the first ones, dude. And like, having those times with your kids is where it's at.
Mountain Dad Bods Online Presence
00:58:07
Speaker
Jeff...
00:58:08
Speaker
Where can we found mountaindadbods.com? Don't at mountaindadbods. Mountaindads, plural with an S, mountaindads.com. um My main Instagram
Community Building Over Channel Growth
00:58:19
Speaker
is dodds underscore doozies. I've got a mountaindads YouTube channel, or sorry, Instagram page as well, YouTube channel coming soon.
00:58:26
Speaker
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share the story, but I really do care more about the father in front of me than... like growing a channel, growing a space, analytics, all of that.
00:58:38
Speaker
I really just care about growing a community of like-minded fathers that understand that their kids, their families are their mission number one. Yep,
Jeff Dodds' Filming Readiness and Gratitude
00:58:49
Speaker
100%.
00:58:49
Speaker
Also, we'll say, you have some hunts coming up this year and you maybe want to film her, Jeff might be available with go film some hunts for you. i got you. He got you. So, Jeff Dodds, bro. Thanks so much for the time. Mountain dad bods. Go get it, dude.
00:59:03
Speaker
Good job, dude. Heck yeah.
Closing Remarks and Call to Action
00:59:06
Speaker
Thank you for listening to the Tricer podcast. Do us a favor and like and subscribe on whatever platform you're listening on. Give us a follow on Instagram and Facebook at Tricer USA and go and check out all of our innovative gear at www.tricerusa.com.
00:59:22
Speaker
Until next time, shoot straight, have fun, and always put God first.