I Disappeared for 4 Months… Let Me Explain (And What’s Up With Teenagers?)

I disappeared for 4 months… and there’s a reason.

This episode is raw, unfiltered, and straight from real life. No studio setup. No polish. Just a dad navigating a new routine, sleepless nights, bandages, family, and trying to still show up as a man, a father, and a provider.

Sometimes life doesn’t slow down for you to “create content”… and sometimes that’s exactly when you need to speak.

Then we get into something every parent understands…

👉 What is it with teenagers?

Why do they move so slow when you ask them to do something?
 Why do they forget everything you just said?
 Why does everything feel half done unless you remind them 10 times?

Instead of just venting, we break it down:

• What’s actually going on in a teenage brain
• How nutrition and lifestyle are affecting their focus and behavior
• Simple ways to communicate better and get through to them
• How to guide them without losing your mind

This is real talk about parenting, discipline, and raising strong, capable young men in a world full of distractions.

If you’re a parent, you’re going to feel this one.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hey everyone. So it's been a while. It's been about four months. So let me talk to you. Like I said, I disappeared for about four months, but not because I didn't care. It's more because life hit differently. So new baby, a 17-month-old, bandages, no sleep. Now why bandages? Um for those of you that don't know, um, my 17-month-old has a really rare genetic uh skin thing called epidomyis bullosa. Short it's EB. So his basically his body doesn't produce the collagen 7 gene. So his body, his skin is really um fragile. So sideus nick or any friction causes, you know, cot cell blistering. So we have to like lance those blisters, uh, bandage him up. Uh it's being a challenge. So, you know, rather than both of us work, uh, one of us had to give up our careers and and that ended up being me. Um some home now uh doing some uh sort of uh remote work at home and looking after the little guy. Uh with a lot more than I thought it would be. Uh constant visits to the hospital and doctors and bandaging and being a nurse slash I wouldn't say doctor, but uh trying to find solutions. So it's being tough. I was hoping to get more podcasts out, um and all the production time and things just don't allow for it. So you all have to forgive me because I will have more podcasts coming out, but it's gonna be not so refined and it's gonna be real. So yeah. Anyways, that's my reason for not being there. Um But I mean I had to learn a whole new routine, you know, starting off in the morning with like feeding and getting things ready and checking bandages, and it's not just like feet, it's like arms, it's knees. Now he's crawling, so it's like crazy. I've had to I got a little queasy when the first time that I had to like lance blisters, but yeah, I have to handle it, and it's it's a definitely a pivot. But I realized something. This is exactly when you should, you know, be talking, and when knife when life's not that perfect, right? So you guys are my area that I can vent to. I don't really talk to that many people anymore. Um, so I'd love to hear back from you uh how things are going on in your life, what challenges you have. That's great. Um just keeps it real for me as well. So speaking of real life, let's talk about teenagers for a second. Um wondering if any of you guys have any teenagers. So I've got uh an older son who's around 12 years old, going on to that 13. And um, you know, it's uh he's a good kid. But I mean, have you guys come to the point where you ask them to do something and they move like time doesn't exist, it's super slow. Um you tell them three things to remember and they remember like 0.5 of it, nothing gets done. Uh they do the job that you tell them, but like it's totally incomplete and you have to do it all. Um I find like even with like chores and things like that, it's like a full-time reminder system, basically. Sorry, that was my chair. I didn't uh I didn't uh relieve myself of heart. Um but yeah, so that's kinda the funny things that I'm dealing with, you know, in in my life with uh teenager that's going on. Um it's like half the time I think he hears me, but I don't think he receives it. So you know, I start thinking, is it really them or is it how we're trying to reach them? I just you know I'm trying to remember what it was like being that age again, and um you know what solutions do we have? I don't know what you guys are thinking out there. Is it is the brain still developing? I think I think that's always the case. I remember like when we were in high school, you know, the big thing for me was we were all like in peer pressure. You go into high school and you know, there's peer pressure to like smoke as obviously like weed. Um I never really got into that because I was in in uh in sports and things like that. You know, hormones all over the place. I mean for sure he's getting into girls. Um I don't think I mean I think low energy from poor nutrition is always the case, but uh he's pretty good. I've got him uh in a lot of sports and and eating well. And then I totally think, and I don't know about you guys, but I think it's a different time, you know, depending on how old you guys are. Um, you know, I'm in my in my mid 30s, uh, early forties. Um I'm not gonna tell you my age because I think that's uh bad, but um let's say let's say I'm 40. Okay. Um I feel like they're overstimulated. I don't know if you guys agree. Phones, games, dopamine overload, like I think I found that even in sports, you know, as he goes into sports, I find that if he has uh say screen time, like he's on YouTube or you know, looking at stupid stuff, or you know, he's on his phone playing a game or looking at something. It seems like they're a little more stupider. I don't know. So I don't know if it's if it's the brain thing or or what's out there. I mean, we expect adult discipline from a brain that's probably still buffering, so I gotta start forcing myself to kind of understand it and see it from that way. So, how can I keep him stimulated? Um, I think one of the things I I started, you know, for the last couple weeks, and I'm starting to see a little bit of benefit is trying to keep instruction simple, giving him one task at a time. I mean it's annoying as hell, but giving him one task at a time, making eye contact. I'm starting to teach him the importance of eye contact because I don't know about you guys, but you don't get eye contact for any of this generation right now. They're too busy, you know, thinking about things, and I don't know if their minds have the ability to work on multiple things or what, what's going through your head, but eye contact is one of the least things that we're getting. Um also make them repeat back what I'm asking. So I'll give them instruction and be like, hey, what did I say? Just I mean, I think I sound like an asshole sometimes, but um it's it's to help him out, right? And I think the main thing I do is I tell him, Listen, I'm not not trying to give you a hard time, I'm not trying to be a jerk, and it's not that I don't love you. If I didn't love you, I really wouldn't give you know a crap or or talk to you about it. Um one of the other things I I you know started was tying responsibility to reward. So it's not a punishment for earning. Um do this, unlock that. In in a way, I guess. Um, so like hey, you know, we you we gotta, you know, you wanna play games later on, you wanna you wanna go out and hang out with friends, um let's get all the stuff done. Like we need to get things done together and worked as a team, and it gets done. So that's been working for me as well. And like I said, nutrition is pretty good for him, but I'm just making sure that every now and then you kind of slack off a bit, right? Like in the morning you're in a rush sometimes, feeding the baby, getting things done. You know, you're like, hey, grab an egg go from the fridge, uh, make something. So for the most part, nutrition is pretty good, but I'm trying to focus on more protein in the morning, eggs, yogurt, you know, less junk, and uh and hydration. Hydration's a big thing, less pop. Um, even if it's like diet, whatever. I mean it's not good for them. Oh, the other thing I forgot to tell you guys is like during Christmas, I ended up finding out I had like type 2 diabetes, so that was another crazy thing that happened. I was looking forward to eating. So eating was kind of different for Christmas, but um I I guess from my doctor, I got a really good doctor. Um, they talked about it being reversible, so um just changed everything about my eating, less carbs. I just got into for my uh for this into baking, and I you know, I was starting a uh school group um for baking, uh called daily bread for Wonderless Warrior, and that stopped, so I gotta start back up with that. But I mean I wasn't eating more bread, but I changed things up. I mean I love bread, um it's just the European in me, right? Um, but I altered the type of bread I made, so more protein bread, more carnivore bread, um everything I ate, and it's crazy. I dropped from like 180 to like 166 right now, um, and got cut in a matter of weeks, which is nuts. Um, so I'll s I'll share that story in a bit. Um and maybe some like tips and things like that if any of you guys are struggling with that. But I think the best thing that ever happened to me was finding out that I had type 2 diabetes. The plus on this is that you know I'm I'm on the way and I just got a checkup and and um I improved like a hundred percent. So um it's uh it's pretty cool. Anyways, so yeah, just going back to nutrition. I think nutrition is key. You can't expect focus from a body running on sugar and snacks, and I definitely see a difference in my son, uh, or in my teenager son, um, in that. Um nutrition is key, and even just kind of going back to the baby with E B. Um, I talked to some really cool doctors in Germany uh that are that kind of deal with these kind of uh situations we don't really have that much options in Canada. Um and really, you know, I get I get I know there are a lot of people that think otherwise, and I'm not turning into, you know, like a carnivore guy by by all means, but uh a lot of focus, especially in this condition, is on uh is on meat and eating protein and animal fats and collagen because the fact that he loses doesn't have collagen, you can't really put it topically, and even all those creams that you see um that women use a lot or some guys I guess putting it topically doesn't do anything, it just acts like it just puffs up your skin. It's a temporary solution, but for him it won't do anything. So, in order for it to work, he has to eat the collagen and have it going inside of him, and even that's like really rare. So there's still a lot of research, but the main thing here is protein is key, and animal protein is key, and I've seen that so I've like started making bone broths and um just like steaks and soups and marrowbones, um, crazy things. I found out that you know for babies and just in development uh in children and and us as well as we get older, uh D you know it's uh the DHA is is um is essential for us and we get that from like fish. But um it's gonna sound great gross, but lamb brains, lamb brains uh or just ammo brains in general, but uh lamb brains have higher DHA uh 300% more than like fish. So with the baby did that in and an old European um recipe uh poaching them and then grilling them. And yeah, they love them, the boys love them, and they eat that regularly, so it's uh I'm seeing a difference in it as well. So I mean you don't have to get to that extent, but yeah, just nutrition in the end. Um at the end of the day, you know, we're not raising kids, we're raising future men, and especially at a time like now, we have to do our best uh as dads, as moms. Um it's hard, and you know, I feel for all you guys like I I barely have enough time in a day. I got so much laundry to do, baby sleeping right now. Um I'm kind of trying to I don't want to rush through this podcast, but I wanted to kind of touch base with you guys because it's been a while. Um I probably don't have that many followers yet, but uh if you like it, please tell your friends about it and follow on. Um like I said, I started this just to keep in touch with the outside world while I'm I'm here looking in full time because I really don't have that much time. So again, I'd love to hear comments from you and love support. Um chat about your life, like let me know what you know what you guys are going through, because then I feel alive in that way, that that other people going through stuff, right? Uh and even if it's a great thing, I'd love to hear about great things about you guys as well. So definitely reach out. Um if you're parenting and trying to figure this out too, you're not alone. You know, um I'll be sharing more of these. Uh plus fitness, parenting, real life. Don't know what I'm gonna be talking about, but I'm just gonna get out more regularly and talk to you guys about life in general. So hope you're having you know a good time and and you guys are are well. Um and other than that, you know, I don't I don't really know how to sign things other than buy. So have a great weekend. Uh spend time with your family. Don't have family, spend time with friends. Uh, and definitely reach out more. Alright? Take care. Take care of yourself. God bless. Bye.