What happens when you raise boys with earth-based traditions, rites of passage, and the wilderness as their classroom?

Tim Corcoran has spent 25 years answering that question. He's the founder of Twin Eagles Wilderness School in North Idaho, a rites of passage guide, wilderness mentor, and father of two sons.

He's mentored kids from age 6 through adulthood, taken over 100 men through vision quests, and built a community where families stay for 15 years because of the impact on their children. In this conversation with Jon Vroman, Tim breaks down what rites of passage actually are, why boys need challenge and mentorship from men beyond their fathers, and what 25 years of nature-based mentoring has taught him about raising grounded, confident, capable young men.

Front Row Dads is partnering with Tim for an exclusive father-son wilderness adventure this fall. → https://frontrowdads.com/fatherson

In This Interview:

→ Why earth-based traditions are needed now more than ever to raise boys into men

→ What a rite of passage actually is and why the term is widely misused

→ The difference between initiation and rite of passage and why it matters

→ Why Tim said no to leading rites of passage for 7 years until the community was ready

→ What the father-son wilderness adventure looks like (5 days, no screens, no phones, real challenge)

→ The developmental path from age 6 through vision quest and why each stage builds on the last

→ Why boys need a village of men and not just one father to model after

→ What happens when you initiate emotional maturity in boys at 13 instead of waiting until 45 → Jon's personal experience at the father-son trip and what it revealed about his own edges

This Conversation Is For You If:

→ You're a father raising boys and you want more than sports and school to shape who they become

→ You've been looking for a meaningful father-son experience that goes deeper than a vacation → You want your son to be grounded, emotionally mature, and ready to lead before he leaves home

→ You believe boys need challenge, nature, and trusted men in their lives → You're an entrepreneur or business owner and you want your son to see you do hard things

Next Step:

Front Row Dads is partnering with Twin Eagles Wilderness School for an exclusive father-son wilderness adventure this fall. Limited to 10 families. If you want to experience what Tim has been building for 25 years with your son, details are here: → https://frontrowdads.com/fatherson

Connect With Tim Corcoran:

Twin Eagles Wilderness School: twineagles.org

Purpose Mountain (adult vision quests & purpose discovery): purposemountain.com

What does mature masculinity actually look like in fatherhood, marriage, and leadership? Jeddy Azuma of Rising Man joins Front Row Dads to talk about rites of passage, masculine presence, and why boys need initiated men.

In this Front Row Dads interview, Jeddy Azuma shares a grounded and honest look at mature masculinity, fatherhood, rites of passage, and the role men play in creating safety, stability, and leadership at home.

Jeddy is the founder of Rising Man and helps men step into deeper responsibility, purpose, and masculine presence. In this conversation, he and Jon Vroman explore the difference between containment and control, why masculine leadership is often about having "the lowest heart rate in the room," and how men can stop making everything about themselves — even when they think they are serving others.

A major theme of the episode is initiation. Jeddy explains why fathers may not be the ones to initiate their own sons, why boys need trusted men and "uncles" in their lives, and why modern men still need rites of passage to mark important transitions.

This conversation is especially relevant for fathers, husbands, and business owners who want to lead with more presence, emotional maturity, and strength — without bringing battle energy into the home.

In this interview:

• What mature masculinity looks like in fatherhood, marriage, and leadership

• The difference between containment and control in masculine energy

• Why fathers may not be able to initiate their own sons into manhood

• How rites of passage help boys and men mark major life transitions

• The hidden cost of bringing warrior energy into the home

• Why men need brotherhood to process emotions before they spill onto the family

• How fathers can model courage by doing hard things themselves

This conversation is for you if:

• You're a father who wants to raise strong, emotionally grounded sons

• You're a husband trying to lead at home without controlling everyone around you

• You're a business owner who carries pressure, intensity, and battle energy into family life

• You're a man who knows he needs deeper brotherhood, challenge, and initiation

• You want to become more present, steady, and mature for the people you love most

Next Step: If you're a family man with a business and you want to become more intentional as a father, husband, and leader, Family First is the next step. frontrowdads.com/familyfirst

Connect with Jeddy Azuma: Website: risingman.org/compass Instagram: @JeddyAzuma

#Fatherhood #RitesOfPassage #MatureMasculinity #MensWork #FrontRowDads

Kyle Cease is a New York Times bestselling author, former stand-up comedian, and creator of Evolving Out Loud. He's done over 15,000 one-on-one coaching sessions and spoken to crowds of thousands completely unscripted. He and Jon met 20 years ago at a Tony Robbins event and recently reconnected through their mutual friend Hal Elrod when Kyle moved to Austin.

What starts as a conversation about Kyle's work turns into a real-time coaching session where Jon opens up about patterns he's been carrying for years. This is not a polished interview. It's two men letting the conversation go wherever it needs to go.

What they get into:

→ Why your triggers are mirrors showing you something about yourself

→ The shadow of achievement and the wound of unworthiness underneath it

→ What happens when you stop needing your wife to hear you and start hearing yourself

→ The difference between agenda-driven living and soul-driven living

→ Why the patterns that made you successful are the ones ready to go → How Kyle lets his 8-year-old daughter lead their adventures by listening to her heart

→ The healing process: catch the pattern, stop feeding it, find the core wound, bring love to it

→ Why letting everything fall apart might be the most powerful thing you can do

→ Love liberates. It doesn't bind. What that actually means in a marriage.

If you've done years of personal growth work and still feel stuck in certain patterns, this conversation might crack something open.

🌐 kylecease.com

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You don't need another thing on your calendar. You need the one thing that makes everything else better. Family First is a live weekly call for dads who protect their priorities → https://frontrowdads.com/family-first/

FRD members Jason Lee and Taylor Frame sit down for a real conversation about what's actually working at home right now. Jason has a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old and is deep in the sleepless years. Taylor has a 10-year-old, a 6-year-old, and a 3-year-old and has been through it. Different phases, same mission. Two dads comparing notes.

What they get into:

→ Why both of them filter all productivity and business advice through one question: do you have kids?

→ Why every kid is a different project and you can't parent them the same way

→ How Taylor built systems around outdoor living (e-bikes, outdoor showers, gear stations) because his family falls apart the minute they go inside

→ Why Jason is learning to stop resenting the middle-of-the-night wake-ups and start seeing them as moments he'll miss

→ The question Taylor asks instead of "be careful" that gives his kids room to think before they jump

→ How Jason uses a harness to let his kids learn to run and fall without smashing their face

→ Taylor gave his 10-year-old $100 at a mall and what she did with it surprised him

→ Why a good life isn't a life without problems and why the hard parts are usually the best parts

If you're in the early years and feeling like you can't see straight, this one's for you. If you're past them, it'll remind you how far you've come.

FRD member Mike Green with a quick one for dads before Mother's Day. If you've ever scrambled at the last minute, grabbed flowers from Trader Joe's, and hoped for the best, this is for you.

Mike breaks down the Platinum Rule, which is not treat her the way you want to be treated, but treat her the way she wants to be treated. Sounds simple. But how do you actually know what she wants? Mike shares three curiosity tools that replace guessing with intention:

→ Ask — but ask thoughtfully and early, not the night before → Observe — watch for the patterns, what drains her, what lights her up, take notes months ahead → Empathy — step into her world and feel what this season of life actually feels like for her

Then he gives you a simple past, present, future filter to design a day that's actually about her experience, not just your effort. Short, practical, and worth 6 minutes of your time before Sunday.

FRD member Mike Green sits down with fellow FRD member Danny Mulvihill for a conversation every dad needs to hear. Danny is a father of two daughters (10 and 14) and has been married for 17.5 years. For most of his adult life, he was the master of "I'm sorry, but." The words were there but the energy was off.

Two years ago, after a heated argument with his older daughter, his wife pushed him to go upstairs and repair it before bed. He didn't want to. He climbed those stairs, fighting it every step. But what happened when he got there changed how he shows up as a father.

They get into:

→ How to name the specific thing you did wrong and then stop talking

→ Why you can be right or you can be connected, but rarely both at the same time

→ How the repair process actually shortens the gap between blowing up and catching yourself

→ Why proper repair is sometimes better than never having the rupture at all

→ The long-term stakes of how you apologize to your daughters and what it teaches them to accept in future relationships

→ How learning to repair opened the door to showing real emotion in front of his kids for the first time

Lorra Dailey is the daughter of lifetime FRD member Seth Dailey. She's been going to personal growth events since she was 9 years old, firewalked with Tony Robbins at 12, and has traveled the world from China to Nepal to Costa Rica.

Now she's built Thrivable, a personal growth community for young people ages 9 to 17. Think of it like FRD for kids. A community where young people get tools, accountability pods, weekly calls, challenges, and a tribe of other kids who actually want to do big things in the world.

Jon sits down with Lorra to hear how she got here and what she's building.

They get into:

→ How her dad planted seeds by bringing her to events even when she was coloring in the back of the room

→ The bulletin board quote that made her say yes to Tony Robbins after she already said no

→ Why she believes good intentions as parents are no longer enough

→ The five pillars of Thrivable and what a typical week looks like for members

→ The story of a 12-year-old boy who was being physically bullied and found his confidence through the community

→ Why kids already know this stuff and adults are the ones who got trained out of it

→ The question she wants every parent to sit with: are you more concerned with your children being comfortable or with them being capable?

If you've ever wondered what it would look like if your kid had a community like yours, this is it.

🌐 thrivablekids.com

This is Part 2 of our conversation with Jefe Greenheart — filmmaker, documentary maker, and one of the most beloved brothers in the Front Row Dads community.

If Episode 1 was about who Jefe is, this one is about how he actually lives it out.

He breaks down his Three P Framework for parenting — Presence, Play and Patience — and gets honest about why driven, creative dads like him struggle most with the one that should come easiest. He shares the phone commitment that changed how he shows up at home, how to film your kids without losing the moment, and why Play might be the most underrated tool in a dad's arsenal.

Then the conversation opens up into something bigger. Jefe shares the vision behind Story House, his Austin studio built intentionally close to home, and a new offering he's developing called the Video Letter of Wishes — the piece he believes is missing from every family's estate plan. Not the money. The wisdom.

In this episode:

• The 3 P Framework and why Patience alone won't cut it

• How to capture your family's moments without losing presence

• The annual highlight film tradition every dad should steal

• Why your story is a gift — and it's time to share it

Jefe Greenheart is a filmmaker, documentary maker, and one of the most beloved brothers in the Front Row Dads community. He's been with us for seven years and this conversation was worth every one of them.

Before he was behind the camera telling other people's stories, Jefe was on the verge of something big — a PBS pilot that could have made him a household name. Then COVID hit. Then life hit harder. And somewhere in the middle of his wife Kelly's health crisis, a solar eclipse on a paddleboard, and a long-overdue conversation with his estranged father, Jefe found what he was actually here to do.

In this episode we talk about:

• Walking away from fame to be present for two kids

• Carrying your family through a dark season without losing yourself

• The "sacred interview" that healed years of silence with his dad

• Why your family's story is more valuable than you think — and how to capture it before it's gone

Part 2 of this conversation drops in two days. You're going to want to hear it.

Michael Diettrich-Chastain is a new VIP Front Row Dads member, father to Juniper with another baby on the way, and the founder and CEO of Arc Integrated, a leadership development consultancy. He's spent years helping leaders ask better questions of their teams. In this conversation with Jon, he breaks down how those same skills apply to being a better husband and father.

They get into:

→ The shadow side of being a question asker (and how curiosity can backfire)

→ Why your energy matters more than your words (anxiety is excitement without the breath)

→ How DISC styles change the way you should approach a conversation

→ Stop coaching your kids. Start connecting with them.

→ The check-in rituals Michael uses with his wife Robin

→ A simple question Michael asks teams that unlocks what they're not talking about

If you've ever caught yourself asking a question to make a point instead of to actually understand someone, this one will land.

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📚 Want to win at home and in business? These are the books that helped high-performing dads create deeper relationships and stronger lives—without sacrificing success. 👉 Get the list: https://frontrowdads.com/books