Dadwell & Co.

Jesse Hora is an illustrator, muralist, designer and partner at MAKE & Co., a small but mighty husband-and-wife studio specializing in branding, creative direction, graphic design and mural design. He and designer, Abigail Wynne focus on making beautiful and insightful work for premium and authentic brands. If you've spent anytime in a cool Chicago spot, there's a good chance, you've enjoyed a MAKE & Co. mural.

Jesse is dad to his 3-year-old daughter and 3-month-old son.

In this episode, Jesse recounts how his father's custom paint shop and motorcycle restoration work proved to him art and craft could feed a family of ten. We talk about the supernatural power infants have to melt hearts, soften the toughest of men, and bringing estranged family closer together. And we talk about why it took over two years for him to make the case to his wife that they were ready to launch their own studio. Jesse also shares how bi-monthly drinks with a few trusted dads might be all the parenting therapy any of us needs. Finally, Jesse and I discuss how nothing should be out-of-bounds for fathers—especially pirouettes with pre-K ballerinas.

Keep up with Jesse →
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A personal reflection on Season Two from the show's founder and host, Antonio García.

Max Wastler is Senior Director of Brand & Reputation for Maritz, the company that effectively created the incentives industry. From the gold watch, to travel and loyalty programs, Maritz focuses on the science and art of people and potential.

Prior to his work at Maritz, Max was the founder of Rivver Co., a branding and marketing consultancy based in St. Louis, Missouri where he contributed ideas, designs, photography, products, strategy and writing for a client roster that included Basil Hayden's Bourbon, Gitman Bros., J. Crew, Lands' End, Patagonia, and Ralph Lauren. His work has been recognized by publications including Condé Nast Traveler, Dwell, Esquire, GQ, Men's Health, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Max is step-dad to his two daughters: ages 11 and 8.

In this episode, Max and I talk about the roadtrip moment when his hero father became a mortal man in his eyes. Max shares the three moronic moments (his words, not mine) that changed the course of his career and life forever. He offers a view into the first 6 months of step-fatherhood and explains how being a step-dad to pre-teen girls is like being a permanent freelancer to very discerning clients. We also talk about how Max's 38(!) jobs—ranging from a swim product specialist to a reality show host to acting CMO for a digital publisher—have shaped his balance of full-time employment and free-time exploration.

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Michael Kiser is an innovation strategist in the world of beer and craft beverage. His studio and editorial outlet, Good Beer Hunting, is both the leading voice and instigator in the beer world—analyzing the market, pushing the story, and launching new brands. Michael was named one of Imbibe Magazine's "75 People & Places To Watch" in 2015. He has an MFA in poetry from the School of the Art Institute and lives in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, a city he's called home for 16 years, but still dearly misses the mountains and rivers of central Pennsylvania.

Michael is dad to his two sons: ages 5 and 3.

In this episode, Michael and I talk about all the places a young man searches for father figures. We talk about the dangers of static thinking as an entrepreneur and how sometimes you have to force yourself to learn the hard things that don't come naturally. He explains how he channels shame and negative self-talk into powerful motivators and what happens when the anguish of entrepreneurship eclipses other life trauma. Michael also shares how his boys continuously reframe his notion of ability and limitation. This is a deeply personal and cathartic episode.

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John Jennings is a Professor of Media & Cultural Studies at the University of California at Riverside.

His work centers around intersectional narratives regarding identity politics and popular media. John is co-editor of the Eisner Award-winning collection The Blacker the Ink: Constructions of Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art and co-founder/organizer of The Schomburg Center's Black Comic Book Festival in Harlem. He is co-founder/organizer of the MLK NorCal's Black Comix Arts Festival in San Francisco and also SOL-CON: The Brown and Black Comix Expo at Ohio State University.

If all that wasn't plenty, John is a 2016 Nasir Jones Hip Hop Studies Fellow with the Hutchins Center at Harvard University. John's current projects include the art collection Black Kirby: In Search of the Motherboxx Connection, the horror anthology Box of Bones, the coffee table book Black Comix Returns (with Damian Duffy), the supernatural crime noir story Blue Hand Mojo, and the New York Times best-selling graphic novel adaptation of Octavia Butler's classic dark fantasy novel, Kindred.

John is eagerly anticipating the birth of his first child—due just two weeks away when we talked.

In this episode, we talk about marrying later in life and starting a family in your 40s. We talk a lot about what it means to leave a legacy. We talk about storytelling, design, and the construct of race—as well as the complexities of raising a black boy in America. John offers two distinct perspectives on all these topics as both a member of the academy and a critical maker.

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Charlie Smith is my best friend. We've known each other for almost a quarter century. And our lives have run in an uncanny parallel ever since we met.

Additionally (and in no particular order) Charlie is a director, designer and educator.

Charlie works in innovation consulting, combining motion design and video with human-centered methodologies to capture, interpret, and curate qualitative design research into concise, empathy-driven, human stories that change hearts and minds.

Charlie also teaches Video Storytelling at the IIT Institute of Design, where he helps students sharpen their narrative video skills, shape audience-focused stories, and explore storyboarding, camera and production workflows.

Little known detail: Charlie is a closet sneakerhead. He got into the hobby as a way of intentionally doing something fun for himself after settling into fatherhood. As a designer, he's interested in the sneakers from fashion and product design standpoint, but what he's more intrigued with is the psychology and commerce ecosystem surrounding it all. If you need help identifying dope kicks, he's your guy.

Charlie is dad to his 4-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter.

This episode feels less like an interview and more like a phone call between best mates. We skip the formalities of the show to dive right into our parallel struggles and compare notes as only pals could. We talk about our kids' media consumption, the psychological benefits of taking the long view on things, and how critical it is to team up with your partner first and remember your kids are part of your life—not the center of it. We also chat about the value of indulgence every once in a while.

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Matt is a DJ, musician and entrepreneur.

As a DJ, Matt's played all over the world—from Miami to Milan—and performed twice at Lollapalooza. As a musician, he's helped record numerous records with bands Written in the Sand, INNKEEPERS, The 1900s, and P1XEL & The Silver Sphinx. And as an entrepreneur and business owner, he and friend, Emilio Abadia (aka E-Six), co-founded Crossfader King and helped countless young DJs get their start.

Today, Matt continues to move dance floors at his Chicago residencies, as well as entertaining the masses at corporate and private parties. Last year alone, he worked with the likes of The Waldorf Astoria, Major League Soccer, The Chicago Blackhawks, Gucci, Moët... and the list goes on and on.

Matt is dad to his 3½ year old daughter.

In this episode, Matt details his journey from basement bands to dive bar DJ to nightlife entrepreneur; he shares how and why music makes him more empathic and emotionally-connected to his daughter; why he only plays house and disco at home; and how he and his wife make their dual-entrepreneur household work.

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Soundcloud

George co-founded Greater Good Studio with his wife and partner, Sara, and a commitment to advancing equity with design. Before that, he spent seven years at global innovation firm, IDEO, and was, for a brief time, the first human-centered designer at the Chicago Transit Authority.

Since founding Greater Good, George has worked across complex social issues such as criminal justice, civic engagement, public education, public health and youth development. George is also a frequent speaker, workshop facilitator, and an Adjunct Full Professor at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

George is dad to an 8-year-old, a 5-year-old, and a 4-month-old.

This is a big episode. We cover a lot of ground and some pretty heavy, emotional stuff. George talks about his personal struggle with extrinsic motivation and the lasting effects guilt, shame and expectations can have on children (and in some instances generations to come). He explains how he and his wife and co-founder implement family systems to handle household drudgery and how they hold each other accountable with brutal honesty and critical feedback. We also talk about how Buddhism—specifically meditation and reincarnation—offer a release valve for modern life.

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Medium

A quick 20-minute recap of the first six episodes of Dadwell's inaugural season. Antonio summarizes each episode with commentary and key takeaways.

Edwin Lee is Design Lead at WeWork Labs.

For over a decade, Edwin has worked alongside strategists, user researchers, and fellow designers to help companies develop new products ideas and place people at the center of the design process.

He co-founded Ghost Lab—an independent design studio combining design thinking and design craft—to prototype early-stage product designs and brand identity systems.

He currently works at WeWork Labs—the We Company’s global innovation platform. WeWork Labs provides opportunities for early-stage startups and forward-thinking enterprise companies to connect with fellow entrepreneurs, mentors, and provides access to education resources and programming needed to scale their business.

Edwin is dad to his 5-month-old son.

In this episode, Edwin wades through the fog and “firsts” of early fatherhood. Blurry-eyed and sleep deprived, Edwin explains how he and his wife share the demands (and the doting) in these early days; the importance of paternity leave for perspective and prioritization; and how he plans to sidestep traditional “Korean dad” tendencies through open affection and open-mindedness when it comes to his son’s career choices.

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BK12 Challenge