The NJ DAD Podcast

A simple outing with your kids comes with negotiations, bathroom stops, and requests to see someone who may not even live in the state.

Andrew talks through five places we bring our kids: schools and activities, restaurants, grocery stores, general errands, and car rides and road trips. There’s the challenge of getting out the door, figuring out restaurant behavior, fielding backseat requests, and occasionally running an errand just to run out the clock.

Then comes the top five list of kid requests: a bathroom, something to buy, an immediate return visit, complete control of the ambiance, and a reunion with someone entirely unrelated to the outing.

Follow the New Jersey Dad Podcast with Andrew Parise and share this episode with a parent who knows “one quick stop” is a bold promise.

At 25, stretching was optional. At 45, stretching is the sport.

Andrew explores the world of middle-aged dad sports: his disastrous experience in a men’s pickup basketball league, his much more successful return to softball, and the increasingly serious competition surrounding bowling, golf, cornhole, bocce and every other activity dads refuse to play casually.

It’s about dead legs, adult-league characters, postgame beers and the reason grown men still need somewhere to compete. Maybe we aren’t trying to become young again. Maybe we just miss playing.

Andrew sits down with Ryan Lamon, founder of Smiley Impact, for a conversation about creating content, building a brand, connecting with people, and using media to make a positive impact.

Ryan shares the thinking behind Smiley Impact and his mission to help businesses and personal brands grow through authentic storytelling, video, photography, social media, and creative marketing.

ABOUT RYAN LAMON
Ryan Lamon is the founder of Smiley Impact, a New Jersey-based creative marketing company focused on helping businesses build visibility, trust, and meaningful connections through high-quality content.

Learn more about Smiley Impact:
https://www.smileyimpact.com/

Follow Smiley Impact on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/smiley_impact/

Follow Ryan:
https://www.instagram.com/ryanlamon_/

The NJ Dad Podcast with Andrew Parise
Episode 52

As Andrew prepares to turn 45, he looks back at three very different jobs that shaped him: bartending, teaching baseball, and working in show business.

From making people feel welcome and dealing with irrational sports parents to surviving rejection and having the nerve to put your work into the world, each job offered lessons that followed him into fatherhood, relationships, and the New Jersey Dad Podcast.

Three jobs. Nine lessons. And one common thread: the small things are often the whole job.

Episode 51 of The New Jersey Dad Podcast with Andrew Parise. New episodes every Thursday.

Back to school isn’t just for the kids. When a new school year begins, the entire family has to change gears.

In the 50th episode of the NJ Dad Podcast, Andrew talks about back-to-school jitters, waiting to find out who your teacher will be, the annual school-supply run and the ever-growing collection of apps parents are suddenly expected to understand. He also looks back at his own teachers and school experiences and compares what back-to-school felt like as a kid with what it looks like now as a dad.

Episode 50 is a milestone, too—an opportunity to appreciate how far the show has come without dwelling on it for too long. There are more stories to tell, more fun to have and plenty of road ahead.

Another school year begins, the whole family gets involved, and the NJ Dad Podcast keeps moving forward.

I genuinely thought I’d go through life with the energy of a golden retriever—always moving, always looking for the next thing and never really calming down.

Then, slowly, I became a guy who wears the same dad shirt multiple nights in a row, worries deeply about the state of other people’s driving and somehow learned how to handle paperwork, bills and the daily machinery of running a household.

In Episode 49, I’m talking about the things I never thought I’d become—and how growing older, becoming a husband and raising kids quietly turns you into someone your younger self probably wouldn’t recognize.

Not necessarily cooler. But surprisingly competent.

Andrew is breaking out four Top 5 lists covering sports, fatherhood, middle age and the things every dad believes he has mastered.

In Episode 48 of The NJ Dad Podcast:

• The five greatest sports movies
• Things dads claim they know—fixing things, knowing celebrities and somehow coaching future professional athletes
• Andrew’s essential dad items, including his chair, whiskey, Spotify, slip-on Skechers and cordless drill
• Things nobody warned him about in his 40s—from hangover and workout recovery to how quickly time passes with your kids

Four lists. Twenty selections. Plenty of questionable expertise.

The New Jersey Dad Podcast with Andrew Parise is an honest and funny look at fatherhood, marriage, suburban life and getting older without completely growing up.

Everybody knows “Escape (The Piña Colada Song).” But have you ever actually listened to what the hell is happening in that song?

This week on the NJ Dad Podcast, Andrew takes a closer look at one of the most cheerful-sounding songs ever written about two people quietly trying to cheat on each other — with each other.

From piña coladas and getting caught in the rain to marriage, boredom, dating profiles and the strange things we somehow accepted as romantic, Episode 47 is a New Jersey Dad examination of a song we’ve all been singing for decades without asking nearly enough questions.

New Jersey Dad Podcast with Andrew Parise
Navigating suburban fatherhood with a wink and a whiskey.

What really happens to men after 40?

In this episode, Andrew Parise welcomes Dr. Peter Marta for a candid conversation about hormones, testosterone, aging, and the lifestyle choices that have the biggest impact on long-term health.

They discuss why so many men experience declining energy, motivation, muscle mass, recovery, and libido—and why many of these issues can be addressed with a personalized, evidence-based approach instead of simply accepting them as part of aging.

Dr. Marta shares his philosophy on optimizing health through nutrition, exercise, hormone evaluation, functional medicine, and individualized care, while separating common myths from medical reality.

About Dr. Peter Marta

Dr. Peter Marta is a board-certified physician and surgeon practicing in Paramus, New Jersey. He is the creator of Codex, a comprehensive men’s health program that blends conventional and functional medicine to help men improve hormone health, physical performance, metabolic wellness, and quality of life as they age. 

Learn more:
Website: https://www.petermarta.com
Office:
275–277 Forest Ave., Suite 125
Paramus, NJ 07652
Phone: (551) 278-5898 

We’re told to chase our dreams, but very few people talk about what that actually looks like.

For Andrew, it’s recording podcasts after the kids go to bed, learning editing software from scratch, posting videos that barely get seen, celebrating small wins, and showing up again the next day anyway.

This episode isn’t about quitting your job or chasing fame. It’s about giving yourself permission to pursue something meaningful alongside the life you’ve already built. Whether it’s a creative project, a business, or simply becoming a better version of yourself, there’s value in doing the work—even when nobody’s clapping yet.

With humor, honesty, and a healthy dose of New Jersey sarcasm, Andrew explores why the journey matters more than the outcome, why it’s okay to be an amateur, and why sometimes the dream is just having something that’s yours.

In this episode:

Why pursuing something doesn’t have to become your identity
Building a podcast from the ground up
Balancing family, work, and creative ambition
Learning to enjoy the process instead of chasing validation
Why “livin’ the dream” isn’t always glamorous—and that’s the point

Grab a drink, pull up a chair, and join the conversation. Sometimes the dream looks a lot different than we imagined—and sometimes that’s exactly what makes it worth pursuing.