For a long time I told myself the two-and-a-half to three hours of yoga before sunrise was discipline. On Father's Day, I'll be honest about what it actually was: a way to run away. My daughter was a newborn, my wife needed me, and I was sneaking off — sometimes falling asleep on the mat, too dead tired to even finish — because becoming a dad had shocked me and shown me everything I was quietly avoiding. This one's for the brother who's in that stage right now: it's not weakness, it's hard, and turning around to actually show up is the thing that makes you the man you want to be.
What you'll take away:
- Why a "wellness practice" can quietly become an escape hatch — and how to tell the difference
- What new fatherhood exposed in me: the things I was truly running from
- The honest cost: deprioritising my wife and daughter while I "worked on myself"
- Why the caretaker role doesn't come pre-installed for a lot of men — and why that's worth naming, not hiding
- The mirror question: is what you're chasing costing you your relationship with your kids or your partner?
- Who really put those expectations on you — and why you're the one who gets to make the conscious choice now
- Struggling in silence vs. reaching out: why a mate you can talk to without judgment changes everything
The core idea: most people wait for their life to change. You don't have to. Change your state, choose how you show up — starting with the people in the next room.
CTA — you don't have to struggle in silence. If you're a new dad in that stage, reach out — have a mate you can talk to without judgment, and if you want another man in your corner, message me. If things feel dark, please talk to someone today: Lifeline 13 11 14 (AU).
Chapters:
(00:00) Intro — Man In Your Corner, Father's Day
(00:42) Two and a half to three hours of yoga before sunrise
(00:52) Falling asleep on the mat, never finishing
(01:04) The honest admission — "it's really a lie"
(01:33) Sneaking off for two hours to finish the practice
(01:46) I was using it to run away
(01:57) Parenthood really shocked me
(02:04) The things I was truly running from
(02:16) New dad, struggling? Reach out and talk
(02:29) Have a mate you can speak to — no judgment
(02:38) Escaping being with my wife and daughter
(02:53) Deprioritising the provide-and-protect role
(03:20) I chose to become a dad
(03:24) Recording this on Father's Day
(03:44) So proud of the dad I've become
(04:11) Train Hard Men's Club — Father's Day morning
(04:27) Why was I running away from my problems?
(04:57) We only planted the seed — a dad's different story
(05:05) For men, the caretaker role isn't the default
(05:36) Is it costing you your relationships?
(05:48) A long, good, hard look in the mirror
(06:15) I was running away from showing up
(06:46) The expectations I put on myself
(07:08) Who put those expectations on you? You did
(07:25) You're making the conscious choices
(08:05) If you blink, you'll miss it
(08:38) It's not easy to be a dad
(08:43) Struggling in silence
(08:51) Maybe we don't have to struggle — maybe we can connect
(09:13) Most people wait for their life to change
(09:23) Change your state, choose how you show up