Hope you had a solid weekend. A couple of things:

• If you’re enjoying these emails, we’d love it if you could share them with your dad friends. 3 referrals (link at the bottom) gets you a sweet Dad Day magnet, sticker, and coaster.

• Keep sending us your BUILD photos for our Friday sends. Whether it’s a DIY project, something you’re working on with your kiddos, whatever - we wanna see it.
  

📕 DAD WISDOM 

Their Own Manual

There's this weird thing that happens at playgrounds. Parents huddled in corners, quietly comparing notes on sleep schedules and milestones while their kids do the real living.

But what if the biggest parenting lesson isn't found in some book or Instagram account? Maybe it's in accepting that every kid comes with their own operating manual that nobody gave you.

Some kids sleep through the night at 6 weeks. Others are still waking you up at 6 years. Some hit every milestone early. Others take the scenic route. Some face challenges that redefine what success looks like entirely.

The truth is, we're all playing different games with different rules. The parent whose kid has a medical condition isn't playing the same game as the one whose biggest worry is travel soccer schedules. The single dad isn't playing the same game as the two-parent household with built-in backup.

But here's the thing - recognizing this isn't about comparison or excuses. It's about having the wisdom to see your journey for what it is, not what everyone else's looks like.

Your struggle is real. Their struggle is real. And both can be true at the same time.

BADASS DAD 

Kelly Starrett

When fitness guru Kelly Starrett isn't redefining movement for NFL players and Olympic athletes, he's raising two teenage daughters who can navigate class 4 rapids better than most adults can parallel park. At 50, the bestselling author and founder of The Ready State doesn't just talk about optimal movement—he lives it alongside his wife Juliet, a whitewater world champion herself.

Their parenting philosophy? "What we want to raise are two young guides who can drop into a situation." That explains why their 9-year-old was tackling the Grand Canyon and why both daughters have been to guiding school. The river, Starrett explains, teaches "being uncomfortable, negotiating a difficult rapid, planning, cooking, cleaning, and being self-sufficient."

When young athletes worry about starting families, Starrett has a simple message: "You have no idea how rad your life is going to be. It just gets better and better."

His number one skill he's passing down? The ability to talk to strangers. Because while fitness might be his empire, he and Juliet believe "people are what's most important on the planet right now."

→ Follow Kelly here

DAD TOYS 

The Cooler That Doesn’t Need Ice

Tired of soggy sandwiches and coolers that actually cool for about 3 hours? Anker's new EverFrost 2 electric cooler just killed the ice run. This beast chills 30% faster than traditional coolers and can actually freeze stuff (down to -4°F) when you need it to.

The removable battery runs for 52 hours, and you can slap on a second one for weekend-long adventures.

→ Get it here

DAD BOD 

Stop Waiting

NYT best-selling author, Adam Bornstein dropped some knowledge in a recent newsletter around “action.”

Takeaway…

The only wrong choice is no choice at all.

We get paralyzed waiting for the perfect diet, the optimal workout, or the magic motivation moment. Meanwhile, the dad who just started walking daily or swapped one soda for water is already winning.

Science gives you guidelines, but real-world experience shows what works for YOU. No study predicts how your unique body responds to changes. You have to try it yourself.

Action creates momentum. Momentum builds confidence. Confidence drives motivation. It all starts from doing.

Stop waiting for permission. Go. Now.

JUNK DRAWER 

DAD HUMOR