What's caught me this week (which aligns to recent podcast episodes): NPR ran a Father's Day survey saying 9 out of 10 new dads felt fatherhood hit them harder than they expected — big identity shifts and all that NPR link. Then PBS dropped a piece on the actual brain changes — “Dad Brain” isn’t just a meme; there are structural shifts that seem to boost empathy and caregiving instincts PBS link. Feels relevant because it explains why some of us suddenly get softer around the kids, or why patience shows up in weird ways. But it’s not a free pass — being more empathetic doesn’t mean discipline goes away. If anything, those brain changes give you a better toolset for steady leadership: be present, set clear boundaries, follow through. Been thinking about how that identity shift affects the way we lead the household. What was the biggest surprise in how you changed after the first kid showed up?

Brothers — I need your honest feedback on something. The podcast has changed. The StrongDad Show is now Between the Noise. Here's why. The StrongDad Show was built around education — guest interviews, structured content, information. And that stuff has its place. But I realised the community itself is where that knowledge lives. You don't need me to teach you. You need somewhere to breathe. So the whole purpose of the podcast has shifted. No more structured lessons. No more guest formats. Just 10–15 minutes, every day, where we slow down together. Where we name the things most dads feel but rarely say out loud — the exhaustion, the weight, the guilt, the quiet pride, the dreams we're still carrying. A space to step away from the noise of the world, sit with your own thoughts for a moment, and come back to your family a little more grounded. That's Between the Noise. The first episode is live now. I'd love you to listen, tell me honestly what you think, and if it resonates — share it with a dad who needs it. https://open.spotify.com/episode/5L1RhNHtXRXuxKfSClSOft?si=EPgx-f4PRnWFy8iI8VF2Tg You're the best!

Gentlemen - we want StrongDads to be a focused, powerful, and incredibly beneficial community for our members, where we're all aligned on our purpose of being here. Therefore, we have written the constitution below as bearing for the work that we do here. Read the below and commit to this. Comment 🔱 in the linked post to confirm your commitment. "We are here to make each other better men, better fathers, better husbands, better leaders, and that's the only reason we exist. We're honest, even when it's hard; there's no bullshit, and we call each other out on our excuses. We support each other to bring out the best of us. What is said in StrongDads stays in StrongDads because this is a sacred space of complete confidentiality. But we are not here to complain. We're here for solutions and accountability. And every problem is met with a question. 'What are you going to do about it?'"

9 out of 10 dads said fatherhood makes them deeply happy. The researchers literally said "we didn't see that one coming." Think about that for a second. The people studying us were surprised that we love being dads. A new global report from Equimundo interviewed over 5,000 fathers across multiple countries — read it here — and found that the more hands-on care we do as fathers, the more stress we carry and the more meaning we find. Both things. At the same time. That's not a contradiction. That's just what it actually feels like to be a present dad. What hit me hardest though — three in four dads said they're losing sleep over money. And that financial pressure was connected to every single other wellbeing measure in the study. It's not just stress. It's a weight that bleeds into everything. We talk a lot in here about showing up for our kids. But showing up is harder when you're lying awake at 2am doing mental maths. So let's be honest with each other: When you think about your role as a dad right now — what's the thing that gives you the most meaning, and what's the thing keeping you up at night? Drop it below. No judgement in here.

11 nights in Cyprus and not a single training session. That is the first time I’ve been away on holiday and not trained. It felt good. But, having arrived home at 0030 this morning, I had a pretty big item on my to-do list. The gym. The two images are sad selfies. The video shows the first major superset of the chest and back session from the Simple Size and Strength programme… Weighted pull ups and flat bench press. Felt great to be back at it 🔱💪🏽