Episodes
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The final episode
My final farewell to the listeners.
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“You’ve Got to Feel It to Heal It” The Grandpa Coach- Grief, Loneliness and Learning to Live Again.
What happens when the person you have shared almost your entire adult life with is suddenly gone—and you are left trying to work out who you are without them? In this deeply honest episode of Real Unfiltered Dad Journeys, Steve sits down with Michael, a father, grandfather and widower who lost…
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“What If Success Isn’t the Goal? Mike’s back on joy, love, and what Jack really taught him.
Mike thought he knew exactly what kind of dad he was going to be. Then Jack came along and blew that whole idea apart. In this raw follow-up episode, Mike returns to talk about fatherhood, rare disease, faith, therapy, marriage, and the brutal beauty of learning that being a dad is not about...
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Michael- No Alcohol, No BS. just truth of borrowed time we all have.
Most people wear a mask. Michael doesn’t. In this episode of Real Unfiltered Dad Journeys, we strip away the polished version of fatherhood and talk about what life actually looks like. From quitting alcohol and being diagnosed with ADHD and autism as an adult, to working in disability support,...
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Ben- Six months in-“Intensely Amazing & Amazingly Intense”
Six months into fatherhood, Ben is already asking the big questions: What kind of man do I want my son to remember? From screaming babies and relationship pressure to business stress, burnout, cold showers, routines, and rebuilding yourself — this episode is raw, honest, and deeply reflective. We...
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Pride and Guilt in the Same Room- Gary reflects.
Steve reconnects with Gary after more than 20 years—and the conversation gets real fast. Gary doesn’t sugarcoat anything: he became a dad in his mid-20s while serving in the Navy, spent long stretches away at sea, and later disappeared from his kids’ lives for years after a messy divorce. His...
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The Long Game: You Either Show Up or Fall Apart and the ever changing WHY
. Three guys. Three decades of life. One brutal truth: if you don’t take care of yourself, life will chew you up. This episode gets real about fitness, discipline, burnout, and the mental chaos most people pretend isn’t there. No polished influencer bullshit—just honest stories from the trenches....
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Bo-When the Dream Changes, But the Love Doesn’t.
What happens to a man when fatherhood doesn’t look anything like he imagined? In this powerful episode, I sit down with Bo, a 33-year-old dad from Kansas City who has spent the last seven years living on high alert. His son Elgin suffered a severe brain injury at birth and requires 24-hour care....
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Walking It Off: How Phil Stays Sane Enough to Be a Good Dad.
In this episode of Real Unfiltered Dad Journeys, I sit down with my longtime friend Phil for one of the most open and honest conversations we’ve ever had. We explore how his understanding of fatherhood has shifted from “protector and provider” to “guide and guardrails,” and how walking, silence,...
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Arran— Embracing Neurodiversity and Redefining Fatherhood
In this episode, I talk with Aaron — a devoted dad to his seven-year-old son, Noah, who is neurodiverse. Arran opens up about a social-media post he made after a school rejected a child with autism, sparking a powerful discussion on inclusion and the importance of understanding neurodiversity...
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Bryan’s Story: A Father’s Love Through Loss
In this heartfelt conversation, Bryan opens up about his journey as a father of four—Virginia, Dexter, and twins Celia and Ben. From the earliest days of medical challenges, including cancer diagnoses, surgeries, and a liver transplant, to the sudden heartbreak of losing his wife and partner of…
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Leading with Love: Richie Hardcore on Fatherhood and Growth
This is Richie Hardcore…. Richie is a fight coach, personal trainer, and public speaker—but in this episode, he speaks as a dad. We talk about how fatherhood challenged and changed him, from learning patience and playfulness to navigating the mental and emotional weight of raising kids. He opens…
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Franky Returns: Fatherhood, Fear, and Finding Strength
Almost two years ago, Franky sat down with me for a deeply personal conversation about navigating life as a dad to a child with special needs. Now, he’s back—and a lot has changed. In this follow-up episode, we pick up where we left off, diving even deeper into what it means to grow through...
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S4E4- Andrew with 3 very uniquely different kids , 1 who needs total care.
I’m talking to Andrew and it’s 10pm for me in Osaka and 9am for him in the US… We begin talking about the two words which he uses to describe his personal journey - ‘filling’ and ‘grateful’. Andrew has a unique and lovely way with words which I could never do, we talk about his life as dad which…
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2. Steve Coyle- a road less traveled by many.
I have known Steve for over 16 years and in this episode he shares some really personal experiences. We discuss a very wide range of issues related to being dad which encompasses how he exposes his kids to as much as he can…. One word - bees! We both discuss how to broach the topic of sex…
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1. Rod- Providing what is needed, not what is wanted while sacrificing for the greater good.
This episode I go down-under and talk Rod, who is originally from Brazil, but now lives happily in Australia with his family of 3 including his wife. We have known each other for over 20 years and we reconnected recently, he was keen to share his dad journey. Throughout this episode Rod talks...
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Being real… it starts with myself.
It’s been a few months since I put out an episode because I have not been in a headspace which I think warrants one. Tonight I decided to have a bash and see what came out… it’s just me
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Stuart Mundy -unfiltered
Stuart is a father to 3 kids, 2 are identical twins and the 3rd is the eldest, all are girls. I have know Stuart for about 20 years and what he shares here is just amazing. He talks about his journey of becoming dad and how his own dad modeled so much for him. He lost his dad before he became one...
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Travis Dales - unfiltered
This is Travis Dales and he shares his dad journey for the first time on a podcast, my podcast! He became a stepdad in 2009 to his wife’s son and found slipping into those stepdad shoes easier than some by becoming his friend first. He and Damen are like best friends and tells me how special it…
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NEW NAME…NEW FORMAT… updated dad!
It’s been a journey for me AGAIN since august and here is the goss. I can do this, and I’m feeling like things are different.
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Jill Rabin- Pediatric Speech & Language Pathologist & Certified Lactation Consultant
Jill Rabin and I have been in contact since January 2023, when Chris a big supporter of Jill was on the show in January, and then Edwin another dad who also spoke highly of Jill. Without these dads, I would have not been able to have this beautiful and real chat with Jill who harbors over 35…
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Mike’s journey as dad, 8 years in with Autism and Apraxia
This week so talk to Mike who is a dad of 3 lovely kids, however it was a real journey to get to having their first child Mathew due to sad losses of miscarriages. So when Matthew came along is really was a blessing like no other. At his 12 month screening it’s here where things started to look...
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Brady’s journey as dad 16 years and 11 years in with downsyndrome.
Where do I begin to write about what this episode is about because there is so much awesomeness in this episode with Brady. At 29 he became a dad to Nash. He shares vivid memories about how he cried while telling his rockstar wife that Nash had downsyndrome while at her bedside. He is so open…
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Martin- I (we) need to listen to his advice.
Martin is my cousin and he has lived with cerebral palsy which has given him a few big challenges in his life so far. After a very tough arrival into the world, he shares how he would have liked more help at school and was punished for not completing school work at school fast enough..unreal. He...
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Alan’s journey as dad - 9 years in with downsyndrome.
Alan Lawrence from ‘That dad blog’ joins me on the show this week. He’s dad of 6, going on 7 later this year with them adopting another child from Columbia. He loves being dad and loves big families like his wife, Nikki. Nine years ago Wil was welcomed into the world and Alan shares how he did...
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‘The One Year Old Podcast’
It’s 1 year since I started- where has the year gone! This episode I reflect on dad chats which really made me think and question myself and my experiences, reactions and more. At the end of the episode you will hear advice from some of the dads I have talked over the last year. Looking forward…
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Mark’s journey as dad - under 10 years in (downsyndrome)
Mark is my first ‘in person’ guest for the show, and it was so amazing. Mark talks about the first days, how the doctor didn’t want to confirm Nina’s diagnosis while trying to be there for his wife and Nina, both who were in serious situations. His northern Irish accent makes his story and…
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Daniel’s Journey as dad- Menkes Disease
Daniel Defabio is no foreigner to being on a podcast or film, or anything because his journey as dad has meant that he wants to share his story about Lucas and Menkes disease to everyone. We jump right into how we as dads can battle with not letting our tears out, which is such a great way to...
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Andy’s journey as dad with Downsyndrome- 3.5 years in.
Andy joins me this week from the US. Almost 3.5 years ago Reily became the 3rd member of the family, and 15 mins after her arrival into the world, the doctors were letting Andy and his wife know that she had Down syndrome. Andy is real about he processed that news as he opens up about life. This…
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JAMIE’S 15th BIRTHDAY
So Jamie is 15 and like almost all parents we say to ourselves the same thing- I can’t believe it. Well I think this year I feel a little different and less stressed about it. I previously would get anxious and stressed because of multiple reasons. Listen in to get some. So one thing is for...
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Edwin’s journey as dad- Downsyndrome (3 years in)
We are back to the USA this week to hear Edwin share his real journey as dad to Thiago. We talk about how challenging it was, and with how he and his wife found out there was a high possibility their first child would have downsyndrome…. in the carpark outside the hospital. COVID played a big…
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Brook’s journey as dad, 7 years in. (Brain injury at 2 days old)
Brook Seal became a dad in his early 20’s which was not long after he lost his own dad. Now at 38, he and his wife sport a family of 5 kids, the most recent is under a month old now. His second youngest is Ziggy who is now 7 suffered a cardiac arrest just 2 days old, which resulted in a serious...
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Ra’s journey as dad, 8 years in (Autism x2 & ADHD x2)
Ra joins us from Melbourne, Australia where you never know what weather you can get on a daily basis, which is often like our lives as dads to kids with special needs. Ra shares his journey with his two boys who have both been diagnosed as autistic with ADHD, the eldest Wyatt 8, and Cole 6. We…
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The 3 expats in Japan.
Mark joins me in person with Carl online for a chat about how they are traveling in life. Carl and Mark were both previous guests (see links below) and both of them have kids with Downsyndrome. We also have lived in Japan for an extended time which gives us a unique perspective on life here and...
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Casey’s journey as dad, 6.5 years in. (rare disease-CTNNB1 syndrome)
Casey Parks shares how it all began with Ford back almost 6 and a half years ago. There were difficulties from day with one Ford, but the doctors seems uninterested. He and his amazing wife Effie Parks, who is a huge rare disease campaigner (https://effieparks.com/) knew that something was not...
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Garry’s journey as dad, 27 years in. (cerebral palsy/quadriplegic)
Garry has an amazing son- Christopher. Christopher has CP, diabetic and is quadriplegic. Garry dedicated his life to being there for him until Christopher asked his dad to… ‘just be my dad’. Garry talks honestly and openly about his journey of acceptance and the immense love he has for…
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2023…so far- it’s been… interesting.
I talk about the last 46 days of my world with Jamie and the family. It has been a pretty tricky start to the year for me health wise- colds, ribs, flu.. but laughs along the way too. Optimistic that things are just going to get better.
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Ted’s journey as dad, 9 years in. (autism)
Listen to Ted talk about his journey as dad to Leo who is 9 and Autistic. Ted lives here in Japan like myself. He tells me how over the last few years his marriage has fallen apart and he now puts all his energy and love (which you will hear) into Leo who now doesn’t go to school. He quit last…
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Rob’s journey as dad (autism)
Rob shares his journey as dad but it’s different, like most of dads stories are. He talks openly about his own mental health journey and his self admission into the Mental health hospital a few years ago which was a step he originally wasn’t sure if it would do anything. Well it did, and he talks...
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Chris’s Journey as dad, 2.5 years in. (downsyndrome)
Kicking off as the shows first dad of 2023, is Chris. Twenty seven months in to being dad to Bodhi, Chris shares his road this far. From when they got the pre birth diagnosis of downsyndrome, Chris read a ton of books (along with his wife), and talked to friends and friends of friends about how...
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Douglas’s journey as dad, 14 years in. (autism) (Part 1)
Douglas shares how when Micah was born there were tough times, it was touch and go at the start. He talks about what we wants for Micah at school, how the school system is like a brick wall so often.
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The 2022 wrap up.
It’s been amazing and insightful… let’s carry on in 2023.
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Frankie’s journey as dad, 11 years in. (Dravet Syndrome)
Frankie and I have a few things in common. One of these is it took him 11 years to realize he needed to take care of himself mentally and physically. Like so many of us dads, we are so in the zone of being the caregiver/caretaker of our special needs children, that we can’t even see what damage…
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Mike’s journey as dad. (Rare disease SPG50)
About 6 months ago they got Jacks diagnosis, and all the mile stone talk prior to that, well just went out the window and this made things tough and tricky for Mike. After I reached out to him, he heard me talk about the poem ‘Welcome to Holland’ which has allowed him to see where they are and…
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Joe’s journey as dad. (Autism)
I met Joe over 20 years ago in London and he remained a true friend and mate over the years, and to hear him talk about challenges he faced and still faces as dad to 7 children by 4 women, it definitely comes with regrets, reflection and ownership of what has happened. We get into a talk about…
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(full episode) Adam’s journey as dad (Rare disease CRELD1)
FULL EPISODE-Adam joins me to tell me about his journey becoming a dad to his child with extra needs. I heard Adam on the podcast ‘Once upon a gene’ https://open.spotify.com/episode/2WlydzeiQRVsusEuJxYOu2?si=Vw1MN61gQc-1PDGDhCPMYg and I decided I would like to talk with him about his ‘dad story’....
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Adam - (Part 2 of 2) The loss of Lola combined with the arrival of Alfie
Part 2 of 2 is when Adam talks about one of the most challenging and monumental moments in his and his family’s lives, the loss of Lola 4 days after Alfie was born. He tells us how he got through and how they continue to talk and celebrate Lola’s life. It is very much part of the grieving process...
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Adam - (Part 1 of 2) ‘Fifteen ambulances called in 3 months’
(This is part 1 of a 2 part episode) Adam talks about his road to being a dad with his first- Daisy who just turned 7, then they had Lola. That’s where life took many many turns-He talks about how after so many hospital visits with Lola due to her seizures they were able to manage things at home...
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Carl’s journey as dad, 10 years in. (downsyndrome adopted )
Carl and his wife adopted 2 Down syndrome kids a few years ago. Both are just under 10 now. It’s been a real ride and it’s only just getting started. He talks about his frustrations in how he can’t really do much when the kids come back with bruises here and there. With kids who are non verbal…
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Tommy- catching up.
Tommy comes back for a catch up and we talk about life and it’s ups and downs.
About this show
Dads and fathers are real and I love to talk with dads about how they get through life because, I enjoy hearing the stories and life journeys they encounter along the way. It’s real and unfiltered all the way.
Hosted by
Steve-sharing journeys of dads.