Embracing Fatherhood: A Journey Without a Playbook Fatherhood often starts unexpectedly, and as John Styes, CTO of Fateless Games, shared on the Dad and Daughter Connection podcast, the experience can utterly reshape one's life. For John, his journey with fatherhood began during his college years, a time when he was unprepared for the complexity of raising a child. However, that unplanned start became the foundation on which he built a life rich in lessons and unforgettable moments. From his first experience as a young dad to raising daughters across different ages and stages, John’s story is a testament to perseverance and unyielding love.

Overcoming Initial Fears and Finding Balance Fatherhood, especially when raising daughters, can come with a unique set of fears. John reflected on moments of uncertainty, particularly during the teenage years when daughters become guarded and pull away. He shared his challenges with balancing affection while respecting their boundaries, only to witness them return as loving, independent adults. These experiences taught John the importance of patience, understanding, and waiting out the phases of adolescence. It's in these moments of uncertainty that he demonstrated resilience—being present, offering love, and never giving up on the bond that anchored the father-daughter relationship.

Still, balance wasn’t always easy. As a CTO of gaming company Faithless Games and a divorced father juggling co-parenting responsibilities, John had little spare time. Yet, his unwavering priority was always clear—his children. Whether it meant bringing them to work, balancing projects with family time, or dedicating weekends as “dad time,” John found creative ways to ensure his involvement. His advice for other dads? Even when the path gets rocky, focus on being there consistently. Every moment, no matter how small it seems, counts.

Creating Memories That Last a Lifetime Looking back, John fondly remembered making precious memories with his kids, whether it was road trips, bonding over gaming, or seasonal traditions. Sometimes, these moments didn’t seem to matter in the moment—like a family trip to the Grand Canyon filled with complaints—only to later become the memories his children cherish the most. The lesson here is to keep trying as a dad, even when it feels like your efforts aren’t resonating. Over time, it's these experiences that leave lasting impressions.

The Rewards of Fatherhood Through All Stages of Life John’s journey as a father culminated in having another daughter later in life with his second wife, offering a fresh and fulfilling perspective on parenting. From helping his new wife navigate first-time motherhood to re-experiencing the joys and challenges of raising a young child, this phase emphasized dedication and intentionality. Together, they embraced consistent involvement—from band trips to shared hobbies—strengthening not only their bond with their daughter but also their relationship as a couple.

Final Thought: Love, Patience, and Presence John Styes’ journey reminds all fathers that no matter how life unfolds, every effort counts in the eyes of your children. Whether grappling with the unexpected, balancing life’s pressures, or creating those cherished memories, it’s the love, patience, and presence that shines through. Fatherhood is, indeed, an ever-evolving process, and as John highlighted, it’s through continual effort that fathers leave an indelible mark on their daughters’ lives. Stay patient, be involved, and remember—the journey is worth every moment.

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Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:05]: Welcome to Dads with Daughters. In this show, we spotlight dads, resources, and more to help you be the best dad you can be.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:16]: Welcome back to the Dads with Daughters podcast where we bring you guests to be active participants in your daughter's lives, raising them to be strong, independent women. Really excited to have you back again this week. As always every week, I love being able to sit down, talk to you, work with you as you're going through this journey of fatherhood and looking to find ways to be that dad that you want to be to your daughters. And that's what this show is all about. This show was created for you as a way to be able to not only connect you with other dads and other people that have resources or have other experiences, but as a way to be able to lift that burden in some aspect because none of us step into fatherhood with a playbook. There is no one right way to father. We can learn from so many others that have gone through this journey, and that's why this show exists. Every week I love being able to bring you different dads, different people with different experiences that can help you to be able to share some of their own experiences, what they learned, what worked, what didn't work.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:01:20]: And we definitely, every week, learn something a little bit new. And I my hope for you is that you will as well. Today we've got another great guest with us today. John Stice is with us today and John is the CTO of Faithless Games. And John and I have known each other since we were both very young and we were reminiscing a little bit in our time playing Atari and original Nintendo and being able to grow up over the years. But we both have daughters And I reached out, asked him to join us, and I'm really excited that he said yes. John, thanks so much for being here today.

John Styes [00:02:00]: Thanks. Thanks for having me. It's good to be here.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:02:02]: Well, I love having you here. And the first thing that I always love to ask is a way for me to turn the clock back in time. So I'm gonna go all the way back. And I know you've got 4 kids, 3 daughters, and you had one child back in college and then you had your others along the way, But I wanna go all the way back to that first moment when you found out that you're going to be a dad to a daughter. What was going through your head?

John Styes [00:02:28]: Well, it was not a traditional way of finding out, I would suppose. I was a junior in college. I had met a girl at a frat party, and I invited her to a frat dance and things happened. And a month later, she gave me a call and said, hey. Just wanted to let you know I'm pregnant, and I'm gonna keep it. And so I don't know what you wanna do, but I'm just letting you know. And that was the start of the conversation. So it wasn't that I never saw her again.

John Styes [00:02:57]: We were still kinda talking and stuff. But she lived in Grand Haven, Michigan, I think. And I was in, Mount Pleasant at the time at Central Michigan. And, yeah, it was quite a shocker. So when you find out, a lot of things flash through your mind, and it was quite an experience. So, yeah, I mean, it instantly changes your perspective, and it was quite a moment.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:03:20]: Now, I I mentioned the fact that you've got 3 daughters, and they're spaced out in years. Talk to me about those other moments and how that may have differed from that first moment.

John Styes [00:03:32]: Well, so I had a son next. We graduated. There's a whole story that we could go into about my the the efforts that were required to be a dad for the first one. But for the second daughter, it was a little bit more, you know, we were married and I wouldn't say it was planned, but it was just like she she just said, hey. I know we just had Parker, but by the way, I'm pregnant again. And I was opening up a gate to the apartment complex I was at, and I was just like, okay. Like, you know, like, it was just a it would and she she loved to spring them on me, my ex wife, with it was just always these weird she not, like, didn't sit down and, like, there's, like, a dinner and, like, we're talking and, like, hey. I gotta tell you something.

John Styes [00:04:12]: She was just always just so nonchalant about it. She's just like, hey, by the way. And so that one was that one. And so by the third one, it's kinda old hat, and your ears, like, okay. Yeah. Okay. Not expected, but, you know, you do what you gotta do. And then I, ended up getting remarried again, and that one was spaced out quite a bit and from the others.

John Styes [00:04:33]: And it was just basically, like, my wife, she's like, look, I wanna have a kid, and we're gonna have a kid. And I was just like, okay. A month later, she told me, you know, hey, I'm pregnant. And I was like, okay. Great. You know? So that's what she wanted. And I was secretly hoping that it was gonna be a girl for her because she's kind of like a very girly girl, and she wants to do, like, the dresses and the high heels and the makeup and all that stuff. And whether that goes as planned when they get older, you never know.

John Styes [00:05:00]: But, you know, that was her aspirations. And she's like, I at least want 1 kid. And so with that in mind, I was like, man, I hope it's a girl because then that kind of like checks all the boxes for her to kinda like get what she wanted.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:05:12]: Now I talked to a lot of dads over the years in this podcast and a lot of fathers talk about fear when it comes to raising daughters. And now you've had daughters and sons, so you've seen both and experienced both. As you think back on your experience in being a father to a daughter, what would you say has been your biggest fears in raising your daughters?

John Styes [00:05:38]: There's a segment that they hit somewhere around, I wanna say like 13 years old, where they're starting to go through puberty, their body's changing, all that stuff. And as a dad, with all of my daughters, especially my first one, like I was very my ex, she was working a lot. I was like studying and bouncing around my knee, trying to do my, you know, all my work to get done for to get through school. So, like, we bonded really close during that time. And she would sleep in our beds probably longer than she should have and all kinds of stuff. But there got to a point where she just didn't want you to touch her anymore, and she didn't want you to hug her. And you weren't cool anymore. Your jokes weren't funny.

John Styes [00:06:17]: There was just a lot of things. And it was it it like as a dad, you're you're like when the first time it happens, you're like, oh, man. Like, you're just hoping that they get back to where you've got that little girl again that you can hold and hug and give little smooches to and stuff. And they eventually like get out of that phase, like somewhere around 17, 18, 19 years old. And then they then they love you again. So I don't know, like I don't know if every dad gets that experience, but like, with all 3 of mine, like, my one of my my daughter now, she's 15, gonna be 16, and she's in that phase right now. And I kinda know it still kinda, like, hurts you because you're just like, oh, man. Like, no.

John Styes [00:06:54]: I wanna give her a hug, and she's like, she doesn't wanna give you that close hug and everything. And then she's coming around. But, like, all of my daughters went through that where they went through a phase of you're not cool. Don't bother me. And now they're back the oldest 2 are back to that calling dad. How you doing? Love you, dad. And want the hugs and all that stuff. So, you know, it gets good again.

John Styes [00:07:12]: But, yeah, the first time around, it was quite fearful. Did you do something wrong? Do you try to force him to hug you? Do you just give him space? You don't really know what to do.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:07:20]: Now I know that you have 4 kids, so the experiences that you've had with your different children, your daughters are going to be vastly different from one another. What would you say has been the most memorable experience that you've had thus far as a father

John Styes [00:07:35]: to a daughter? There's a bunch of stuff, but I have, you know, recorded some crazy videos of my kids doing doing just really funny things. And, like, sometimes girls are, like, just really, really funny, these little characters. And they're so sophisticated at a young age, and and they'll just say the wildest stuff. And so, like, I have tons of recordings of that. But there's one that's kind of funny. It's it's maybe not funny to my ex my ex girlfriend after I started dating again after I my divorce. But my oldest daughter, she was extremely jealous and possessive of me. She was and so I started dating again, and it was my ex girlfriend, she didn't like at all.

John Styes [00:08:11]: And so she would terrorize her, do things, but it was actually with the rally of this this story. Sorry. So I started you know, I was with the rally and we just got married and stuff. And and Keegan, like, took some some photo that I had in, like, a photo album. It was just, like, her, myself, and my ex girlfriend. And she left it on the bed. She put it on the bed to, like, sabotage the you know, even though we're already married, it was like so my wife, Riley, she was just like, just, you know, they went at it, like, so much, like, at the very beginning, but now they're they're best buddies. But she was extremely possessive and jealous, and she didn't like my ex.

John Styes [00:08:44]: So why she put the picture of the ex on the bed is if she was, like, romanticizing the ex or whatever of, like, how good it used to be here. I think she was just trying to sabotage it. She was just being, like, a a jealous girl, but it was funny.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:08:56]: And when you have multiple kids and your situation was even different because you had kids that were with you sometimes, but not all the time. And then and then you had another child that was living in the house. What would you say is the favorite things that you did or do and share with each of your daughters?

John Styes [00:09:17]: Keegan, my oldest, we have just, like, a really special bond because she was my my first. And so there was a lot of, like, first things with being a dad and stuff like that. So, you know, like, her and I will talk on the phone a little bit more than the others and stuff like that. But her and I, like, we played Dominion, the game, together. She got really into board games, and she credits that to me forcing them to go and do that stuff. So anytime she comes over and visits, she wants to play Dominion or some other board game. And now she's got her fiance playing some games, and she has a little group of friends that at her college, university, she has that plays together. And then my youngest daughter, the first set, Brooklyn, her and I, I think she's like a gamer, but she just kinda recently discovered that she's a gamer.

John Styes [00:10:00]: So she was never really super interested in that at first, but now she's really into it. So now she, you know, she always is asking me questions about gaming rigs and computer hardware and stuff like that. So, you know, that that's her thing now. And then my youngest daughter, Aria, we're still kind of fostering what her adult likes are gonna be. She's still kind of in the kid likes, but her and I will go and she loves to go finding, like, LPS's, the littlest pet shop characters. And so she collects those. And so, like, her and I, like, you know, I help her collect those things. And so we we do that quite often.

John Styes [00:10:33]: She also loves to go to me with, like, in half poke bowl, which is like a sushi with or it's like Chipotle but with sushi. So her and I do that every once in a while. So we enjoy that.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:10:43]: That. Now I know you're busy. As I said, you're a CTO of a gaming company called Faithless Games, and you've been in working with other companies as being as you have been a father with gaming being of a large part of your life in developing games and working with companies in that regard. So I know earlier you talked about your your ex being very busy, but I know that you are very busy as well. So talk to me about balance because every father has to figure out that balance between work and raising your kids. So how did you best balance work as well as raising your daughters?

John Styes [00:11:20]: I don't know if I balanced it well, but I did my best. And especially when I was early in my career, I was working on sports games, and they were extremely demanding. So you would have, like, a 2 month window of you at you could your 2, 3 month window of your working normal hours, and then it goes to crunch until I was on a football game. So we would go all the way up to about the summer before football season started, and we were crunching through the entirety of the summer, maybe even a little bitter into early spring. Then they would give us a month off, and then it was the 3 months where it was normal. Then it was back to crunch again. So during those crunch moments, you know, we were both working parents even before we split, and my buddies would laugh at me that I worked with. I would have a double stroller, at the time and bring Keegan along.

John Styes [00:12:07]: She could walk and and have the 2 little kids in the double stroller, her tagging along behind me, a playpen stuffed underneath the double stroller, roll it into an office, close the door, throw on some Disney show, put them in a playpen, try to do as much work as I could, and manage between like, I got really good at bouncing a baby and typing. So it was tough. I'm not gonna lie. It was it was pretty tough. Like, that was a very demanding job. And the other thing too, like, with, once we split up, I took them every weekend. And when I was dating, it was always a friction point with any person I was dating. Whereas, like, every weekend, I was like, look, I have the kids.

John Styes [00:12:48]: We didn't do, like, the split week thing because she ended up moving kind of far south from me. So it wasn't manageable of me trying to go there and, like, drop them off at school or something. There was just no way. So I just I just ended up taking them every weekend. So I would get them Friday right after they got out of school, and I had them through the entire weekend. And I didn't really know how much that I mean, it that kind of stuff affects kids, like, them feeling like they don't really have a home. You know, they're they're moving around a lot. I feel bad about that.

John Styes [00:13:18]: But they also do have some, like, really good memories of, oh, dad, you, like, had us every weekend, and we would look forward to the weekends. And it was really nice to kinda hear that stuff come from them later on because we were literally trying to do our best, between the 2 of us to make it make it work. And I think that's, like, the important takeaway is, like, even when you don't think it matters to them and it doesn't seem like it registers, it does. Every little thing registers. And that's, like, even, like, vacations and stuff. Like, I for my 40th birthday, we we took a car trip to the Grand Canyon and then stopped in in Hollywood. We stayed at a bed and breakfast there for a couple days, and then we were going all over. We went to Disney World, you know.

John Styes [00:14:00]: And we stopped at the Grand Canyon, and the whole time they were, like, complaining. And I was like, oh my gosh. These kids are like, oh, we wanna go. It's boring here and all this stuff. And now it's all they talk about. It's like, you remember the time dad took us to the Grand Canyon? I was, like, all I remember is that you guys did not have a good time, and you guys were just giving me the business about everything. And so somehow, like, it turns into, like, a positive memory. So I think that's one thing for fathers to think about is, like, even when at the time, it doesn't seem like it's really important to them, it really does become something important.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:14:30]: Yeah. You never know what specifically is gonna stick with your kids or the memories that will be poignant ones to them until later on when they reflect back. And like you said, sometimes it's like, really? That's the memory that you remember where in your head, you have a completely different recollection of it, but the way that they've filtered it is such that it was poignant to them and meant a lot to them, even though it may not have seemed like it did at the time. So appreciate you sharing that. That's a fun memory in that regard. Now I mentioned the fact that you have 4 kids and you've had a number of different experiences from being a young dad in college, working to be that engaged dad while working on your degree to then having other kids while you were young in your career, and then now having another child when you were a little bit older and raising her along the way as well. So I guess one of the things in that period of time, you've had to be a co parent, a parent, and more. So I guess let's go back a little bit in to being a co parent because I know that a lot of dads sometimes struggle with that in figuring out what is their how do they create that best balance there to be able to create a a good relationship with your act, but then as well keeping up that positive relationship with their children as well.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:15:50]: So talk to me about what you had to do, whether it was early on after the divorce into being that early co parent to as they got older and kind of the way in which the relationships changed over times and how you were engaged in different ways as they got older as well?

John Styes [00:16:06]: Yeah. I guess, like, at the very beginning, obviously, it was it was not the best of situations. And I would I would say to, like, any person out there that experiences something kind of, like, raw, that you just gotta have to kind of keep a mindset of, like, look, it's gonna get better. Like, I think that's, like, just just the message to the person out there. I've had a friend recently call me and share a similar story. And I'm like, look, dude. Like, it's gonna get better. Like, I I've been through it.

John Styes [00:16:32]: I know it's tough, but it'll get better. And I think one of the things that I tried to do was always be available even when, like, I wanted to do something on a weekend or whatever. Like, I took the kids as much as I could, and I never brought any of that drama to them. They were always insulated from it. The most you can the best thing you can do is insulate them from that. And even if you feel like the other person's the bad guy, it's just good to just kinda stay positive on that. Because the kids, they'll sort of recognize that stuff as they start to get older. I know with my youngest, she, for the longest time, thought that I just up and left, and that was the reason why we got the divorce.

John Styes [00:17:12]: And so she had a little bit of anger inside way deep down that she always just felt. And it wasn't until she got older, and she she kind of understand understood the circumstances. And then she's just like, okay. You don't wanna, like, feed into that. You just wanna just, again, just be positive. Be the person that's always there. Always make sure that they feel like they have a place in your house. That was the other thing.

John Styes [00:17:35]: Like, it was a great advice my mom gave. It's just, you gotta have a room. Give them a room. Make sure they have their stuff, a room. So they feel like that there's they're not just vagabonds, like, visiting your house. So that was some great advice. I I always thought that that really helped with them. And I think the other thing was she started having children with another person.

John Styes [00:17:55]: And then there started to be, oh, I wanted to hang out with Emilio, but I gotta go to dad's house. Well, bring Emilio too. And so, like, we ended up, like, we're all good now. So but we're all this big, weird family now, where everyone, Emilio or Olivia, here are 2 others. They can come over. It's not a big deal. So it's not easy to navigate that, but I think it it is the best thing that you can do for all of them. And, yeah, you gotta kinda swallow a little bit of that pride sometime to just say, but you just gotta do it.

John Styes [00:18:32]: And you'll definitely reap the rewards of that positivity.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:18:35]: And talk to me about the fact that you had another child later on when you were a little bit older. And there's a couple questions here that I have in my head, but about what it was like for you being a little bit older father, then having a young child again. But second is being able to introduce your new child then to your other children and allowing them to create a bond together, similar to what they've they're creating with their other siblings now with their mother, and what you had to do to be able to create that as well.

John Styes [00:19:09]: Yeah. So I think, like, when when the new mother comes into the picture and she has her kid with you, the question may come up of, like, do you like my kid as much as you like your other kids? And I think that you have to navigate that question and give her a lot of reinforcement that, yes, they're all my children. I I love them all equally, and there's no favorites or I don't it it it gets it gets hard to navigate that sometimes because I think the new mother comes in and she just feels like, oh, you've already done this before. And so you're just gonna be, like, not really engaged, and you might not go to a doctor's visit. And you should've went to the doctor's visit because if it was your first kid, you would've went to the doctor's visit. So there's things like that. I think you just have to kind of, like, tread carefully. And, again, just a lot of affirmation to the new mother, to your new new wife or whatever that, yes, you're gonna be there.

John Styes [00:20:00]: Yes. You love it equally. And then with the kids, nothing really stands out to me as, like, a formal like, it was just like, oh, we're having a kid. And they most of them were older, so they were just like, okay. You know, whatever. The youngest the the youngest daughter, Brooklyn and Aria, did have some, like they were just kind of, like, sisters, like, back and forth kind of thing, you know, fighting with each other and teasing each other and that kind of stuff. Don't touch me. Was a little bit of that, but it it it really kinda fizzled out pretty quickly.

John Styes [00:20:30]: So Brooklyn was getting older too. So it wasn't too bad, but they were already kinda used to their mom had already had new kids. And so this just wasn't like it wasn't really a huge event for them. It was just like, oh, great. You know, I got another brother or sister coming. You know, it really didn't really didn't phase them too much. So but, yeah, I think I think the the more of the lesson to be learned was, again, with with the with the new mother.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:20:53]: And talk to me a little bit about being an older dad and being able to keep up with that young kid running around the house. And I know that now she's in her teenage years and almost 16. So

John Styes [00:21:05]: talk

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:21:05]: to me about what that's like for you now that you like you said, there was some time between Brooklyn and your youngest, and then having to get back into dad mode.

John Styes [00:21:15]: The biggest thing on my mind was, okay, these other times, I don't know if it's the right word, but see it through, like, I wasn't there the entirety of from born to 18. You know? I was I was a part time dad through most of that, and so there was a lot of things that were missed, and you weren't there at every moment. And and so, like, doing it again, sometimes there's, like, new things that that crop up that you never seen before or didn't experience, so that that was cool. But then also, you you in the back of your mind, you're like, okay. Like, I wanna do this right. You know, I wanna make sure everything's perfect this time around. And so that was on my mind a lot, I guess. Just trying to make sure I was as good as I could be.

John Styes [00:21:53]: And as far as keeping up with them, I'm pretty surprised still, so I don't know.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:21:56]: Always a kid at heart.

John Styes [00:21:57]: Always a kid at heart. Keep at the gym, and then you can keep up. But, yeah, just to continue on that, my wife and I, we travel around with her. She's in the band, my daughter. And so we go to all over Texas, like, you know, whatever game she's playing at. She's a bit spoiled. Her mom spoils the crap out of her, but we go all over the place and we we follow her around. And so, you know, get to do all that stuff.

John Styes [00:22:18]: And, you know, it's it's it also is like a good mother, father building moments. You know, it keeps our relationship, I think, strong too. Like, having a lot of those experiences. Like, okay. We're traveling to Giddings, Texas, you know. So that's, like, an hour in a car where we're just talking to each other. And so it's good. I I like it a lot.

John Styes [00:22:35]: There's a lot of, like, really good memories Brian and I have just, like, going to see ARIA Place.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:22:39]: I definitely have those memories as well with my own daughter when she was in high school doing band and traveling a bit for that and being able to have those conversations. We always finish our interviews with what I like to call our fatherhood 5, where I ask you 5 more questions to delve deeper into you as a dad. Are you ready?

John Styes [00:22:57]: I'll do my best.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:22:58]: In one word, what is fatherhood?

John Styes [00:23:00]: I think it's time. Making time.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:23:02]: When was a time that you felt like you succeeded at being a father to a daughter?

John Styes [00:23:06]: I think when I see them graduate.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:23:08]: Now if I was to talk to your kids, how would they describe you as a dad?

John Styes [00:23:12]: He thinks he's funny.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:23:13]: He thinks he's funny?

John Styes [00:23:14]: He thinks he's funny.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:23:15]: Does that mean that you're not funny?

John Styes [00:23:16]: I think I'm funny, but they don't think I'm funny. I do play a lot of jokes on my kids, and they don't like it.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:23:22]: Now who inspires you to be a better dad? My dad,

John Styes [00:23:24]: for sure.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:23:25]: Now you've talked about your own experiences, but as you think about other dads, what's one piece of advice you'd like to give to every father?

John Styes [00:23:33]: I think, again, it just rolls back to the just wait it out. Just keep plugging away at, you know, loving them and giving time to them and just always being there and making memories. And again, if even if it doesn't pay off, all those conversations, all those arguments that you may have, you know, disagreements, advice that you give that they seem to ignore, they actually listen and they sometimes it doesn't change their mind. Sometimes, it does a year later, and you just never know. So it's just keep trying. Keep trying to be a good dad.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:24:04]: It's always a struggle sometimes to be able to do it, but you have to just keep pulling yourself up. And there's gonna be good times, there's gonna be challenging times, but in the end, it is worth it, just like John said. John, I just wanna say thank you. If people wanna find out more about you, about what you're doing with faithless games, where should they go? Fateless.gg. And I know you've got a new game that you're being you know, you're you're putting out into the world pretty soon. Tell me more about that.

John Styes [00:24:30]: Yeah. So it's called God Forge, and it's a, mobile game. It's like Raid Shadow Legend. You get yourself, gods from all kinds of different backgrounds, whether it's Egyptian or Asgardian or Babylonian, Aztec. And so you you collect it's it's a hero collector, so you collect the gods and then you battle them against other gods and and you upgrade them and

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:24:52]: Is that available now or when will that be available?

John Styes [00:24:55]: That's gonna be in beta, I believe, in the fall if everything goes well.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:24:59]: K. So everyone, watch out for that game and check out fateless games, and you'll be able to learn more about what John is doing. John, I just wanna say thank you. Thank you for sharing your story, for being here today, and for all that you're doing to be the best dad that you can be, and I wish you the best.

John Styes [00:25:14]: Yeah. Thank you, Chris. It's so great to run into you again and talk to you some. And I mean, it's been a long time. One of my oldest friends, like I said, that I've known since 2nd or 3rd grade, and it's great to reconnect with you. It's great to see that you're doing so well, and you've got a great podcast. I I always keep an eye on you and see what you're up to. So I wasn't completely surprised when, you know, you're you you told me you got this podcast.

John Styes [00:25:36]: I already knew about it because I've been following you. Big fan of your work. So keep it up, man.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:25:41]: If you've enjoyed today's episode of the Dads with Daughters podcast, we invite you to check out the fatherhood insider. The fatherhood insider is the essential resource for any dad that wants to be the best dad that he can be. We know that no child comes with an instruction manual and most dads are figuring it out as they go along, and the fatherhood insider is full of resources and information that will up your game on fatherhood. Through our extensive course library, interactive forum, step by step road maps, and more, you will engage and learn with experts, but more importantly, dads like you. So check it out at fathering together dot org. If you are a father of a daughter and have not yet joined the dads with daughters Facebook community, there's a link in the notes today. Dads with Daughters is a program of fathering together. We look forward to having you back for another great guest next week, all geared to helping you raise strong empowered daughters and be the best dad that you can be.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:26:39]: We're all in the same boat, and it's full of tiny screaming passengers. We spend the time, We give the lessons. We make the meals. We buy them presents and bring your a game. Because those kids are growing fast, the time goes by just like a dynamite blast. Calling astronauts and firemen, carpenters and musclemen, get out and beat the world to them. Be the best dad you can be. Be the best dad you can be.