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EP174: Zach Reeser - Step In To Your Manhood
36 Plays6 days ago
“As a dad, we can learn the things that then will flow down to them. But we also need to take care of our health. We need to make sure that we’re doing what we need to do for community, spiritually, physically, financially, because if we’re not in the fight, then who is?”
Being a man, especially a father, isn’t something you just stumble into—it’s a craft that requires intention, grit, and a willingness to laugh at your own mistakes. In this episode, we unpack what it takes to grow into the role of a father who’s not just present but impactful and confident.
Our guest, Zach Reeser, host of the Skilled Dad Podcast, shares his evolution from a dad searching for resources to a leader in the men’s space. With a mix of humor and straight talk, Zach dives into how men can step up, embrace their roles, and build a legacy of strength and purpose.
Zach is a father of three, entrepreneur, and champion of holistic fatherhood. His work empowers men to sharpen soft skills like communication and hard skills like resilience, all while creating strong families and communities. Tune in to hear how Zach inspires dads to show up with intention, foster growth, and equip the next generation to lead with integrity and strength.
Also mentioned:
• Dad Edge Podcast with Larry Hagner
• Dad’s Making a Difference Podcast with Cam Hall
• Mediocre Dads Podcast with Queon 'Q' Wilcox
You’re invited to come to a Sovereign Circle meeting to experience it for yourself. To learn more, go to https://www.sovereignman.ca/. While you’re there, check out the Battle Ready program and check out the store for Sovereign Man t-shirts, hats, and books.
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Transcript
Holistic Health for Dads
00:00:00
Speaker
as As a dad, we can learn the things that then will flow down to them, but we also need to take care of our health. We need to make sure that we're doing what we need to do for community side of it, spiritually, physically, financially, because if we're not in the fight, then who's in the fight for them? We have a holistic life. There's lots of different things that come into our experience. We want to be capable and willing ah to go and execute well for all those things.
Introduction to the Sovereign Man Podcast
00:00:32
Speaker
You're a man living in the modern world in a time when men and manhood are not what they once were. You live life on your own terms. You're self-sufficient. You think for yourself and you march to the beat of your own drum. When life knocks you down, you get back up because in your gut, you know that's what men do. You're a badass and a warrior. And on the days when you forget, we are here to remind you who you really are.
00:01:04
Speaker
Welcome to Sovereign Man podcast, where we aim to make men masculine again. I'm your man, Nicky Baloo.
Inspiration Behind Skill Dad Podcast
00:01:10
Speaker
We have a very special guest here for you today, Zach Reeser, host of the Skill Dad podcast. Welcome, Zach. Thank you, Nicky. I appreciate you having me on. I'm excited to be here. Excited to have you on, brother. So, Zach, tell the folks how you came to get involved in the men's space and what had you start the Skill Dad podcast.
00:01:34
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. like i'll i'll I'll do my best to give you the short version. Because probably like a lot of stories about where we got to. There's a long version, short version. So the short version's this. um When I was having my first kid,
00:01:50
Speaker
My buddy and I, we were both kind of the first in our group to you know have kids. And so we we were looking around to say, hey, where's info on being a dad from dads? And so we asked the ladies because they always seem to be connected. And they would all point us to a couple of different areas where you know You can have information as for dads, there's a lot lot about baby gear and things like that. And and ultimately the guys that they point us to weren't even, they weren't dads. So we're kind of like, there's there's a shortage here and we don't quite subscribe to... that message. So let's go start our own thing. And we lived in Colorado at the time. So ah we said, hey, we're going to start a
Challenges Faced by Traveling Dads
00:02:32
Speaker
podcast. And this is before there was like 5 million podcasts like there is now. And um we're going to call Baby Daddy CO2 because we're about to be baby daddies. We live in Colorado. We're both full of hot air. It just seems to line up. So we were going to build this thing and
00:02:47
Speaker
the The short version of it is we had grand plans, but the execution was poor and we didn't launch anything. So fast forward um you know about a year later and and I was in business and um traveling every week on an airplane.
00:03:05
Speaker
And I was looking more at, okay, we didn't do that. So with my lifestyle, what can I do to help equip dads that are business travelers? Because if you're gone a lot, there's a lot of different things. So any anybody listening that's in that world, um there's glamorous sides and there's dark sides. And so like, hey, how can I help fortify those men so they can still be effective at home?
00:03:29
Speaker
um So I launched a very beta version of that. um And ultimately, I stopped that because my result was to not do it anymore. So I made a career shift, stopped traveling, and and then the V3 is skilled dad.
Equipping Dads with Knowledge and Skills
00:03:51
Speaker
And this has been going for now a couple of years.
00:03:53
Speaker
And ultimately, at the end of the day, what we're looking to do is help equipment with the knowledge um and skills that they can learn, that then they can apply so that they can gain confidence in their dad game, um gain confidence in who they are, build a good community around them and ultimately be equipped so they can pass that along to this next generation that's going to lead the world.
00:04:16
Speaker
Um, so that's what we do. We do it through our podcast. We do it through website, somewhat on social. So anybody that's really good at social, uh, hit me up. But, uh, that's the, that's the high level and the short version of the Genesis of skill that podcast. So what sorts of issues do you dive into on the podcast?
Career Opportunities and Skills Development for Kids
00:04:36
Speaker
Yeah. So we really have covered a gambit. Yeah. Give me a good example of one or two.
00:04:42
Speaker
Well, let me give you an example of a recent one. So I went back and listened to a couple of your episodes. And I think at the time of recording, it was two episodes ago, I think, where you guys were talking about the change in dynamics in the market between white collar and what I'll call blue collar jobs and the future of you know hard skill careers and where that where that could lend to. So I had a gentleman with me named Mark Hedstrom and he is um Executive VP for skilled coalition Skilled Careers Coalition and they're doing some really cool stuff focused on kids and teaching kids about
00:05:21
Speaker
hard skill, um it's an introduction to hard skill you know opportunities and and just getting into that. So um we we really kind of opened the door to some of the different opportunities that maybe you wouldn't otherwise be exposed to. That's part one. so you know things to consider future careers for our kids, how to go about preparing for college if college is in the future. Maybe it's not because a lot of people don't want to leave with $130,000 debt with a psych degree.
00:05:54
Speaker
um And you know so some of those future oriented things but then also on the skilled side of any podcast is not so much like we can. You know verbally interpretive dance how to use a hammer in a saw um it's more of some of the soft skills that we can deploy.
00:06:11
Speaker
around leadership, finance, um you know listening. And a lot of that comes through the stories of either failures or successes of other dads. um And what we found is when somebody hears it, and maybe they're in this sovereign, we're on Sovereign Man podcast, right? So if we're if we are capable and independent, when we need to be, we can hold our own, we can make it happen.
00:06:38
Speaker
um At the same time, we don't necessarily want to be isolated because there's a huge miss in opportunity for growth because you're going to strengthen me, I'm going to learn from you, you're going to strengthen me and vice versa. um so So when we hear that story through the anonymity of a podcast and the safety of a podcast, so to speak, other guys have said, I thought I was the only one that was dealing with that thing and I just learned from Josh or Mark or whoever's on the podcast.
00:07:07
Speaker
And then they can actually deploy that in their own life. And there's been some cool things that have come from it.
Parental Mistakes and Learning
00:07:15
Speaker
Cool. Lots of words. So how long have you been a dad for? um Officially, just over nine years because I have a nine, almost 10 year old son. So I've got three kids. I've got a nine year old, a six year old and a three year old. Wow. That's pretty darn cool. That's fine, man.
00:07:37
Speaker
The podcast, you bring issues that fathers are dealing with. so ah A lot of times, newer fathers, they don't really have a ah group, a community of men that they can go to and get good advice from on how not to fuck up and screw up their kids.
00:08:02
Speaker
and It strikes me that podcasts like yours can deliver that sort of thing. Do you ever talk about what are like you know and things fathers ought to avoid doing with their kids, especially fathers with sons, so that they do a good job with their kids and they don't screw them up too badly? They don't give them incorrect upbringing because an incorrect upbringing can really set these kids up to fail.
00:08:34
Speaker
I'm just wondering, what are your thoughts on that? How do you go about dealing with those issues? Because this is a big this a big thing you've taken on. It's not a small thing. No, it's not. um And you know at the end of the day, if you're afraid that you're going to screw your kid up in some way, I guess my challenge to you is don't be afraid of it because it's guaranteed that you will.
00:08:57
Speaker
in some way, in some way, because we're fallible and we're learning our own path and at the end we can tell them all that we want, but there's a common phrase that I've heard a number of times, which is, more is caught than taught. And so through stories of more is yeah caught, more is caught than taught. What does that mean exactly?
00:09:22
Speaker
So what that means is they're watching you, right? They're watching what you do. They're watching how you interact with people. They're watching, you know, you might say, hey, do X, but then on the same time, you're doing Y. You're doing the complete opposite. And so what are they actually learning? So they're catching they're catching those things from you. And um this is a ah common thing that that pops up is that if you want to see what some of your opportunities for growth are, just watch your kids enough because you're going to start seeing an action from them and you're like, what is this nonsense? This is ridiculous. And then you're going to realize, yeah, I do that.
00:09:59
Speaker
I do that too. And so it's not, you know, it's it's a skilled dad. um And let me just talk about real quick, why skilled dad? And this means a number of different things to different people. um You know, for for years, there's been a stigma in many circles about, you know, fatherhood.
00:10:21
Speaker
and kind of like a dads or duds kind of perspective. You've got your Homer Simpson's, you've got your Al Bundy's, you've got just this goofy. I love Al Bundy. He's great, but I don't want to be him, you know? um and And so like some of that has, I think there's created a conflict. I know you talk a lot about masculinity and manhood and there's this conflict of like, okay, what?
00:10:47
Speaker
What am I supposed to be? but What am I supposed to do? And if if people haven't had that figure around, or multiple figures, mean not just your dad, but the group of men that maybe you've had around you in your life. You talked about a lot of guys don't have that group around them. Well, that's really important for us, but it's also really important for our kids.
00:11:07
Speaker
The ultimate goal is continuously strive, like intentionally um and forcefully drive towards gaining some of those new skills that are going to fortify us and then also allow us the opportunity to teach them or they can see it and catch it because we are modeling it for them. um and And we really do focus. It's not all about just being dad because just because we we have kids and become dad doesn't mean we stop being a man.
00:11:37
Speaker
and who we are. um But who we are is a force multiplier in being dad.
Self-Care for Fathers
00:11:44
Speaker
So I use the analogy quite a bit. like if For those that have flown often, you start to not listen to it because you hear it or enough. But when you're going through the pre-flight procedures and all of a sudden they say, hey, you know if there happened to be turbulence and the masks fall down, if you happen to have kids, what do you do? You put the mask on yourself first.
00:12:04
Speaker
and then put it on them. Well, why is that? Because if you're trying to put on them and you have ah a massive deceleration or or just the oxygen goes out and you black out, you're all screwed. And so as ah as a dad, we can learn the things that then will flow down to them, but we also need to take care of our health. We need to make sure that we're doing what we need to do for community side of it, spiritually, physically, financially, because if we're not in the fight, then who's in the fight for them?
00:12:34
Speaker
And so we hit on topics that really kind of go all the way around um you know in a holistic manner because we have a holistic life. There's lots of different things that come into our experience. And at the end of the day, like being a sovereign man, we want to be capable and willing ah to go and execute well um for all those things.
00:13:00
Speaker
We may not be a master in all of them, but we want to we want to be able to execute well. I like what you're saying here about being capable and willing. um
00:13:13
Speaker
A father's job is really to be capable and willing. um I think that's really, really important.
Teaching Skills to the Next Generation
00:13:23
Speaker
So your eldest is a nine-year-old son.
00:13:28
Speaker
What are the things that are on your mind when it comes to raising your son right now? Getting him out of this boy stage, which he's in, which is nine. Getting him to the teenage stage, which is coming sooner than you think. And then getting him ready for manhood. What are the things that are on your your mind right now?
00:13:47
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Great question. Lots of them. um I want to answer that. Before I do, there's one other one other component that goes to the the capable and willing um that I would add. and And honestly, this is the same thing I used in my hiring process over the last 15 years. um You want to find somebody that can they do the job?
00:14:10
Speaker
And if they can't, what is it going to take for them to be able to do the job? So capability. Willing. if If I ask them, like, are they going to do it? Are they willing to do it? And then the third thing, which really is ah the multiplier for the other two, is do they want to? do you Do you want to do this job? Do you want to be a dad? Because if you don't want to,
00:14:35
Speaker
but you're maybe willing to, the amount of effectiveness and impact that you're gonna have, even though you can and you're willing, but you don't really want to, you're gonna miss out on the opportunity to really be truly effective and enjoy it. um So those are the three things i I throw out there. But as far as my my oldest,
00:14:52
Speaker
and And I get to, you know, the first kid in my experience and and several discussions I've had, they're like the grand experiment because when you first start out, we don't get a manual. ah We do have podcasts like the Dad Edge podcast, like Dad's Making a Difference with Kim Hall, like um mediocre dads with Quan Wilcox, Skill Dad podcast. There's more out there now, which I'm so thankful for. um Go listen to all of them. um But we don't get a manual, but we can learn from others. But in that first one, there's a lot of trial and error, a lot of tests and iterate. And we just hope that you know they're going to turn out okay. By the third one, at least for us, it's like something fell on the floor. It's like, eh, blow it off. You'll be fine, right? You're going to be, you fell down. Okay. You're going to fell down from not too far up. You're fine. Get up.
00:15:42
Speaker
um But for him, because he is the first, and I have the opportunity to learn from a lot of other great dudes, um my thought is consistently, what am I showing him now? Because he actually gets it now. um and And in reflection on the podcast you had, I don't know how many episodes back, about PBD's perspective on kind of the phases of childhood and relationship with her father.
00:16:12
Speaker
Yeah, it's like hey the staker of the father-son relationship. There you go. um When you look at that, it's like, okay, I can tell is he's starting to actually understand more. Now, what are the things that I can bring him into more with a deeper deeper level of context and understanding? Because we still want to protect him from We want him to be a kid. like um I don't want to dive into politics, but this obviously in the US has been a political season and it's everywhere. and so like These nine-year-olds are are talking about it at school, but they're not they don't have the appropriate context. right so At what level do we bring him into the awesome process of what it means to- Your son's talking politics with you? He's talking election with you? Oh, yeah. Yeah. It comes from school. What's his thoughts on it?
00:17:02
Speaker
Well, this is more curiosity, right? And again, that they don't have the you don't have the context of full understanding, but they know enough to be like, well, what is this and what happened here? So what what I choose to focus on is um you know when we look at our system, the importance of being involved, especially within local community, within what's going on and um the opportunity that you have to have a voice currently.
00:17:31
Speaker
And like that's what we want to focus on, not so much all the drama that the you know things have somewhat become, but more of, hey, how was this a thing that we all, as a country, and hes he's brought this up and I was like, yeah, that's awesome, dude. It's E Pluribus Unum, right? Out of many, one. It's it's not one into many, it's many come into one. That's you know that's kind of the thought that that we have. um And that's what I love about the dad space is like, look,
00:18:01
Speaker
you know And for anybody listening that's not a dad um yet, but you want to be. um when you're a dad, you're gonna understand something that someone else that's not a dad is not gonna understand. And so there's a common bond that we have as dads, regardless of political opinion, regardless of religious side of it, that we can understand something about each other. And that's that's the kind of the banner that we gather around ah for my my podcast, is that we're all dads.
00:18:34
Speaker
we get in We get into this thing together and then we can learn from each other and hopefully ah be better from it. um But for him, my my big focus is what are the things I can bring him into? What's the the layers of context of life that I can help reveal to him? What are the hard skills that I want to teach him? right so There's the soft side of it, which is leadership, listening, how to treat his sister, how to talk to his mom, other adults in society. There's the hard skills. like He can actually run a drill quite well now, which I'm pretty happy about.
00:19:04
Speaker
um, you know, mowing the art importance of taking care of things.
Importance of a Strong Male Circle
00:19:08
Speaker
Um, and then there's the bigger question of what are the things that I can go and do and plan for now, because to your point, it's going to go quick. What are the things that I can go and do and plan for that are going to be milestones in his life that by the time he gets to be 18, that, that he knows he's a man.
00:19:28
Speaker
And, um, and so that's, that's where i I've got something planned for his, you know, 10th birthday and, um, you know, just some solo time with him and I and, and just, you know, building on those kind of the milestones, the manhood. And there was a conversation I had, um, with the gentleman that spent time with an aboriginal group in Australia. And he said something that I was like, Ooh, I like that. And that was it.
00:19:54
Speaker
For the Aboriginal tribes out there, um it's not it's not the dad's job to make the son a man. It's not my job to make my son a man. It is my job to get him ready for it. And who he becomes as a man is going to be stuff that he takes from me. And it's also going to be stuff that he takes from the other men in his life, whether it be coaches, teachers, my friends. So he'll take those things and inform his own identity.
00:20:24
Speaker
And I thought that was pretty powerful, which then also just exempt like put exclamation point on the fact that I need to make sure that my circle is a strong circle so that he can have strong men around him that aren't me to go and learn from. Because somebody else is going to bring something to the game that I just don't bring or bring as well. And so he's going to learn from that. you know It's a big job, but I love it. It's interesting you talk about your circle.
00:21:03
Speaker
What is your circle? Have you got a circle that you've deliberately curated? I want to hear your thoughts on that. Yeah, I can tell you right now I have a circle and I have kind of layers of a circle. You know, if you look at a bullseye, you've got kind of different layers that would would come into the core. So I've got my core guys. um that, ah I'm gonna steal a phrase from Scott Johnson, great episode, if you could listen to that, but they're like my refrigerator friends. Some of them are local with me, some of them are not. They live states away from, you know, just relationships that we developed a while ago. But these are the kind of guys that come into your house and they go into your refrigerator and they take something out and they make a sandwich or drink a beer or whatever, and you just don't care. Like those are your guys.
00:21:51
Speaker
Um, and then you've got the next layer who, you know, you're having coffee with, you're, you're hanging out with. Um, so I've got like four guys that are my close refrigerator friends that just constant communication, um, encourage each other and, uh, and kick each other in the ass too. I think that's really important. You can't just always surround yourself with the S man. You need people that are going to be able to kind of keep you in check.
00:22:20
Speaker
Um, but so I have that circle now and I will tell you that there was a good period. Um, where I was so focused on my career and my, you know, quote unquote providing for my family that in that pursuit, I completely isolated myself. Um, and and for me, it wasn't, what's that, what was that like to completely isolate yourself? Yeah. I mean, I think,
00:22:50
Speaker
To say completely isolated probably is inaccurate, but what I'd say, cause I was surrounded by people all the time. Um, but if, because I, of what I was doing and traveling all the time, um, you know, I felt more comfortable sleeping in hotels than I did in my own house for a good period. Cause I was eight years of every week, you know, traveling and you get your routine and you do your thing. But in, in that, uh, every week you traveled for work.
00:23:18
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, there were a few stents where I was home a couple of weeks. Um, but I think the longest I was home without traveling during that time period was, was probably the longest period is probably three weeks, but the majority of the time it was, it was every week. I would, we would have like one office week, uh, a quarter. Were you married during this period? yeah I got married and then six months later I got promoted, moved across the country and started flying.
00:23:47
Speaker
And how did your wife feel about that? Well, remember how I talked about, I changed careers. That's a big part of it. So, I mean, the, the first, uh, the first few years, of it was fun, right? It's the glamorous travel business, travel lifestyle. And you got your, yeah, yeah, yeah. But how did your wife feel about it? What did she have to say about that? At first, like at first it was cool. But when you, but I would say four years into it,
00:24:18
Speaker
Um, she, she, she started changing. Yeah. Yeah. It was not happening. She let you know. No, she didn't let me know, but I could start to tell. So that's, that's the danger, right? And I think that was telling you that they're not happy. They let you know in other ways. That's why I'm asking you, how did your wife feel about it? And did she let you know she wasn't happy? Yeah. So I'm sure she was not. So we've talked about a lot, um, now.
00:24:48
Speaker
But at the time, you know, it was, you can, tell you can just tell that there's some shifts, but part of it is you grow apart. Like we, we never really grew that close as close as we could have because I was gone basically as soon as we started getting married. But by the end of it, especially after we had my first son, um, like there's three goals I came out of college with.
Career vs. Family Goals
00:25:11
Speaker
And this plays into anybody that's listening to my podcast. you' You've heard this before, but three goals I had coming out of college. One was I wasn't going to get divorced.
00:25:18
Speaker
So I come from the more family, you know, um learned a lot through that. And I said, I'm not going to do that, at least because of me, right? I can't control someone else. Amen. Amen. That's a powerful freaking stand you took for your family. but good Good on you. Yeah. So, well, I appreciate it. We're we're good now. um But I said, I'm not going to get divorced. I'm not going to leave my kids. And I'm not going to go bankrupt because of stupid my own stupid decisions.
00:25:47
Speaker
stuff happens. Those are three very powerful, very powerful commitments. And I think a man listening to this episode right now can learn something though. Those are three very powerful commitments. Well, I appreciate that. It was, um, you know, in my mind, I was like, Oh yeah, this cool. Yeah. Well, it's going to be smooth, right? So, and for a while it was, um, but by the end of it, there was a time where I remember two things happened. Uh, I live in Nashville, uh, Tennessee. I lived in,
00:26:17
Speaker
Denver at the time. But i would I landed in Denver airport. um Well, before I landed, I was flying from DC to Denver. And um this is later like 2017.
00:26:32
Speaker
And the years prior to that, after the um recession and everything, I was one of the youngest guys, like always flying. So it was me and and typically more tenured guys that were flying later. I saw more young guys flying again, but when I was in Doles airport and I see all these younger guys, and this is when like FaceTime had really kind of taken off more and more than it used to be. And I saw these bunch of dudes, nobody can see me, but I'm holding the phone from my face. Like if you've ever fallen Southwest, imagine you're in the Southwest line. All of a sudden you see a bunch of guys holding these cameras up to their phone at the same time. I was like, what the heck's going on?
00:27:06
Speaker
And what is, what's happening here? It was it was about, what was it? Six, 37 o'clock Denver. It was interesting. And I didn't know what was happening. And then I realized FaceTime fatherhood, that's what's going on. They're they're saying goodnight to their kids. And so that was a ah kick in my, in my ass right there. And then, um, I, you know, took the three and a half hour flight or whatever it was landed. It was like midnight something. And, uh, as I was walking out, I saw, I saw the, um,
00:27:36
Speaker
the gate for Nashville was probably for a flight for the next day and said Nashville and that's where we're from. And we had, we had talked about like being closer to family cause all of our families here and it just all kind of hit me. I was like, Oh crap. You know, I, I have just, it just all wants to hit me. I am at the risk. I've already left my kids to degree. My, my son, we were pregnant with my daughter at the time. I've already, I left my kid and I'm on the verge of getting divorced.
00:28:05
Speaker
I've about busted two of the biggest three goals that I said I wouldn't do. And so that was my that was my turning point and I said, okay, we're gonna make a change because you know jobs jobs will change most likely for many people, whether you want it to or not. Sometimes you know so stuff happens, jobs change, but I made it for me a point that that was not going to change. So um so ultimately, you know, changed career paths and moved back to Nashville and was very fortunate to find a ah new opportunity. Um, but that was, that was a big turning point for me and really, you know, I'm proud of it, but it also sucked because my identity was so wrapped around what I was doing. And I was the youngest key manager in a very large organization and had all the quote unquote perks of the travel life and all that stuff. But I was pretty
Seeking Good Male Relationships
00:29:00
Speaker
empty.
00:29:00
Speaker
So my circle of men was not great. It took me about a year or so to really kind of get my identity back on and live with my wife full time. Um, and then I was like, I need guys around me. I need good men around me. So I just went on a relentless pursuit to find them because guess what? Most guys are not going to come to you because it's awkward. It's, you know, whatever you have to go and find them.
00:29:27
Speaker
and step into the awkward and be bold. And when you do, I'm letting you know when you find the right guys and you're gonna you're go find some guys and won't click, so to speak. But when you find those guys, you are gonna be smarter, stronger, more confident, um and also less lonely. you know And I say that in a way of when when we don't have a check and balance system for our own thoughts,
00:29:54
Speaker
then the narrative usually doesn't go super positive. It can either be hyperinflated or it can go the other way, which is what I've found too often is happening, is that ah it's you don't you don't have a positive narrative. um And I think it was Einstein that said, you know, a problem cannot be solved with the same level of thinking that created it. So that's why I need men around me.
00:30:23
Speaker
Now, this is a very, very powerful conversation, Zach. I really appreciate you ah revealing your story because I think people learn from these stories ah much more effectively than they learn when we just simply share concepts with them. sure And I'm enjoying the latter half of this podcast a lot more than the beginning of it.
Invitation to Sovereign Man Meeting
00:30:48
Speaker
Yeah, appreciate it.
00:30:51
Speaker
Zach, your podcast, Skill Dad podcast is one that men ought to check out, ought to listen to. We're going to make sure we put um that in the show notes and I run Sovereign Man really to be a place where men can have a brotherhood and can find their their men and
00:31:18
Speaker
I'd like to invite you to come to one of our meetings as a guest. I'd like you to come and check it out. yeah I think the men ah would be men that you would go, yeah, these are good men. And I think the men would say the same about you. so I appreciate the invite. but Yeah, I'll talk with you about that offline. yeah You're a smart man. You care deeply about men, fathers, children,
00:31:46
Speaker
And you've taken the time to become the best version of you that you can become. I can see that. And I respect that greatly. And I thank you for coming on the show today. It's really been great having you on here, bro. Absolutely. And thanks for doing what you're doing. The more ah more we can get guys surrounded around the same banner, ah man, what a cool world we're going to live in. And it's just I'll tell you what, man.
Men's Role in the Political Climate
00:32:09
Speaker
um
00:32:12
Speaker
I know you don't want to get political. And we'll wrap the show up with this. I think the election of Donald Trump last week was men stepping up and standing up in a very, very big way. And um it's a good thing. It's a good thing. It's about it's about fucking time. you know You know, the last few years, men have been under attack and assault by all these radical, crazy forces, godless forces, in my opinion. and They just about had enough and they stepped forward. I remember, you know I was listening to Elon Musk's on Joe Rogan's podcast.
00:32:51
Speaker
And I listened to the entire episode, and this was released the day before the election last Monday, a week ago today. And Elon Musk basically said, look, we need men to show up because men don't show up. Women, 54 percent of the electorate is usually women and 46 percent is men. That's a big gap. And yeah Elon said, look, women support Kamala more, men support Trump more.
00:33:14
Speaker
If men show up, we win. If they don't, we lose. That's basically what he said. right And I just sit sat there and I said, it's an interesting observation. In my own opinion, I didn't think women were supporting Kamala as much as ah ah the polls were saying. And it turned out that I was right. um You should be a pollster. I was accurate as some of them. have began Dude, i i do what I thought was going to happen was a lot closer to what actually happened than what most of the pollsters did. So i'll I'll say this. um ah In university, I studied international politics. And since then, politics has been a passion of mine, particularly US politics in Canadian because I live in Canada. But
00:33:56
Speaker
um I saw on Tuesday, ah Musk, because he has access to data, was ah posting on X. He said, men are showing up in record numbers. And i'm like and and the the post was almost like a little bit of a surprise. He was a little surprised that was happening. And I'm like, hey, Elon, why are you surprised? You're a man. You know what's going on in the world.
00:34:23
Speaker
um I'm not at all surprised. i I kind of figured men would crawl over broken glass to go vote in that election. There was nothing that was going to stop me. I have to stay in line for 30 hours? No problem. I'm not leaving. I got a cop-out piss in it. I'm ready to cast my ballot. ready go because Because men were at a place where they realized that this was it. They had to stand up and be counted or else.
00:34:47
Speaker
everything that the left was saying about him was gonna be proved to be true. And they stood up and they were counted and you know men voted in numbers that they've never voted for before in an election yeah ah last time. And I think it's partly because there's men like you, men like me, men like Larry Hagner from Dad Edge, men like Ryan Mickler from Order of Man that are stepping up, sounding the alarm and calling for men to step up, all men to step up. And I think inside,
00:35:16
Speaker
the breast of every man, man, there's a warrior, there's a badass within that is there, he may be dormant, but you challenge him enough, he's gonna come out. but yeah When he comes out, look out, look out, you ain't gonna stop him, nothing's gonna stop him.
00:35:33
Speaker
right you know And to me, that happened last Tuesday, but it also happens in you. I'm listening to you and what you said and what you did and those three powerful goals that you set for yourself, never gonna get divorced, never gonna leave your kids behind,
Zach's Three Commitments
00:35:48
Speaker
right? What was the third one?
00:35:50
Speaker
Not gonna go bankrupt from my own stupid decision. Not gonna go bankrupt from from a dumbass decision. I just thought, I listened and I go, that's a man. That's a man drawing a line in the sand making a fucking powerful declaration. And I'm like, my respect for you when I heard those three just went from here all the way up to here. And I'm like, yeah.
00:36:09
Speaker
This a dude I can hang with. This a dude I, this a dude I'd fly down to go to be with in Nashville, shoot some guns and, and have some laughs with. You know what I mean? Just because that's the kind of man you want to know and have in your life. Yeah. And that's important in my opinion. Well, I want to tap on one thing you said, and I'm going to illustrate and we can, you know, wrap this and do it again. Sometimes it's fun. Um, you know, how do I want to put this? Okay.
00:36:40
Speaker
So I found something, uh, over the last couple of years and just went and I was like, you know, I'm going to make some stickers. Why not? That stickers are cool. I really like stickers, whatever. So I've got these stickers and I'll show you. So skilled dad sticker, but I don't really do it to like go say, Hey, you know, Google's my podcast. This is what I use it for. And it's the most beautiful thing. I love it because something you said about when guys get fired up. Now the one only kind of challenging thought is,
00:37:08
Speaker
right now, like people can get fired up about a lot of different things. How about we get fired up about the same thing? So let's build our team and then get fired up together. Um, and so what we do is around being dead. Um, but if I see a guy doing something really cool and he's got his kids or he's just struggling and he's got his kids and I'll use the example of I was going to Phoenix.
Fostering a Fatherhood Community
00:37:33
Speaker
I was in a layover layer was supposed to be an hour. I had all my kids went to the food court,
00:37:37
Speaker
And, um you know, it ended up being four hour labor. It was just ridiculous. So I'm trying to get food for my kids. I see this guy over there, big dude, young guy, has a little baby by himself and he's just, you know, trick, you know, rocking the baby, trying to get the chill out. I walk over to him, I give him the sticker and I say, Hey man, I just want to give you something. And I just give him the sticker. And so there's, there's three phases that happens every single time.
00:38:02
Speaker
I give somebody a a sticker and it's usually looks at me like, are you trying to sell me something or are you a threat? Should I, do I need to fight? Like, do I need to rustle up? Who are you? Cause we're not used to random people coming up to us. I'm that guy now, apparently. The second thing is they see it and they, they immediately smile. Almost. I've i've had one dude and my wife was with me. It's so cool. We're in Vegas and I, you know, at the end of these cool stickers out,
00:38:25
Speaker
And he is like, no, I'm good. So that's fine. One dude out of probably 500 of these things, that's not bad stats. Um, but the third thing is the shoulders fall and I see a wall fall and they're like, Oh man, thank you. Because there's recognition. It's just one dude to another. I don't have an agenda except to celebrate you. And I want you to believe whether you're you are or not, I want you to believe that you can be.
00:38:52
Speaker
a skilled dad and everybody takes that and puts it in their own way. Um, so something you said, like you gotta send me a sticker. I need a sticker. how I got you. I'll send you, I'll send you a stack of them and I want you to hand them out and want you to have the same experience. you've got you're The fourth thing that happens sometimes is that some of them, some men are starving so much for some of this interaction that all of a sudden they will just talk. And so I'm not a psychologist, but I will talk to a dude.
00:39:22
Speaker
and And if I ever talk to you, if you're listening, like I'll encourage you, I'll support you and I will also challenge you. And I hope you challenge me too, because challenging thought, if every one of us is the same, then somebody's not needed. Um, but you, you mentioned that, um, when men show up, we win. Well, I think one of the most dangerous ideas in modern society is that if men show up, they win. So what I'd say is what happens when we show up together, um,
00:39:52
Speaker
and community to our families, to our work in a good way, but also provide that, you know, proper harmony. Um, when we show up, we win.
Power of Community Support
00:40:03
Speaker
And that's why guys like you and me and Larry, you know, I love that. But guess what? If you're listening, you're part of that too. You don't need podcasts for it. Get away sticker, come up with your own thing. Just connect with people in a positive way. Um, yeah because regardless of who is in office. Because guess what? It's going to change in two years, which means and two years in four years, in two years, we're going to start getting hit again with this whole never ending cycle. Whoever's up there is going to be up there. But it doesn't matter as much if we're all together here.
00:40:36
Speaker
And that's where I like to talk. I think it does matter. I'm going to beg to differ with you. I think it matters a great deal who's in charge. I think we need to make sure that we fight for the people we want in office. Because when we don't, then the wrong types of people get in office and stupid things happen to all of society, like man and manhood and boyhood being denigrated, like girls having to have boys with mental problems, pretend they're girls and go into their change rooms and mess with them.
00:41:01
Speaker
and it it matters a great deal who's in office and we gotta fight to make sure that the right sort of people win and the wrong sort of people lose. But everything else you said about me needing to get together and be in family, 1,000%, I'm all over that. That's very important. Just because someone's in office doesn't mean we we give up our responsibilities to do what we need to do at a local level. In fact, the fact that Trump is in office means you gotta do more at the local level.
00:41:28
Speaker
because you got him as an example. So you be the example now stronger, better at the local level. Yeah. And yeah that's that's what we got to do. That's what I think you you nailed what I was trying to hit. and I'm not saying that it's not important because trust me offline, we could talk all about that. And I do have my views. And I think it's incredibly important. and I think the the bigger idea is that ah when we are together on the local level, and then even beyond, because we all know people in different places,
00:41:58
Speaker
Um, then I think that's an incredibly powerful thing that it provides in itself, its own form of check and balance. And, and I think that's a, that's a great thing because it's not as a very fine line, uh, between the guy walking next to you and you we're, we're all running a very similar race. Um, it's just a matter of, as soon as we start thinking that it's completely our own, um, we're missing out on opportunity to be impactful and and be impacted.
00:42:29
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 1000%, man. I yeah really appreciate you taking the time to come on the show.
Conclusion and Call to Action
00:42:40
Speaker
Let's chat for a couple minutes offline. I'm looking forward to being on your show. And I'm excited to to keep talking and do other things to help get the word out. Absolutely. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. Yeah, yeah, you bet. And that's all right.
00:42:58
Speaker
Thank you for listening to The Sovereign Man podcast. If you're ready to take charge of your life and become the man you've always wanted to be, we invite you to join the movement at sovereignman dot.ca.