The Quarterback DadCast
I’m Casey Jacox, the host of the Quarterback Dadcast. As fathers, we want to help prepare our kids—not only to enter the professional world but to thrive in each stage of their lives. Guests of this show include teachers, coaches, professional athletes, consultants, business owners, authors—and stay-at-home dads. Just like you! They share openly about failure, success, laughter, and even sadness so that we can all learn from each other—as we strive to become the best leaders of our homes! You will learn each week, and I am confident you will leave each episode with actionable tasks that you can apply to your life to become that ultimate Quarterback and leader of your household. Together, we will learn from the successes and failures of dads who are doing their best every day. So, sit back, relax and subscribe now to receive each episode weekly on The Quarterback Dadcast.
The Quarterback DadCast
From Fairway to Fatherhood: One Dad's Journey to Breaking Generational Patterns - Andre Mileti
What happens when your approach to fatherhood is shaped by a determination to break generational patterns? Andre Mileti, Chief Revenue Officer at WorkBright and father of two boys, takes us on a deeply personal journey through his evolution as a dad.
Growing up in an immigrant Italian household in Cleveland with an authoritarian father left Andre with what he calls "adaptive child wounds" that took decades to heal. Now, raising his golf-obsessed 10-year-old, Andrew, and hockey-loving 6-year-old, Matthew, he's consciously creating a different experience for his sons than the one he had.
The conversation takes a powerful turn when Andre reveals his core philosophy: "Get over your own stuff." He admits spending the first half of his fatherhood still trying to meet his own emotional needs before realizing the true joy of parenting comes when you stop making it about yourself. This self-awareness, coupled with the courage to let his children experience failure, forms the foundation of his approach to raising resilient boys.
Golf emerges as both a passion and a powerful teaching tool in the Mileti household. Andre shares the struggle of stepping back as a caddy for his son—fighting the urge to line up every putt and prevent every mistake. The pride in his voice is unmistakable when describing how his son refuses to take mulligans or gimmes, playing every hole with integrity. It's in these moments that the challenging work of breaking generational cycles bears its most meaningful fruit.
For fathers wrestling with their own childhood wounds while trying to raise strong, ethical children, Andre's journey offers both compassion and practical wisdom. By fostering belief in our children's abilities while allowing them the space to fail and grow, we prepare them not just for sports but for life itself.
Connect with Andre on LinkedIn to continue the conversation about breaking cycles and building character through thoughtful parenting.
Please don't forget to leave us a review wherever you consume your podcasts! Please help us get more dads to listen weekly and become the ultimate leader of their homes!
Hi, I'm Riley and I'm Ryder and this is my dad show. Hey everybody, it's Casey Jaycox with the quarterback dad cast. Welcome to season six, and I could not be more excited to have you join me for another year of fantastic episodes and conversations really unscripted and raw and authentic conversations with dads. If you're new to this podcast, really it's simple. It's a podcast where we interview dads, we learn about how they were raised, we learn about the life lessons that were important to them, we learn about the values that are important to them and really we learn about how we can work hard to become a better quarterback or leader of our home. So let's sit back, relax and listen to today's episode on the Quarterback Dadcast.
Speaker 2:Well, hey everybody, it's Casey Jaycox with the Quarterback Dadcast. We are in season six, which you've heard me say this before. It feels so good to say that because we're like north of 300 dads everybody. And if you'd have told me six years ago that I'd be I've interviewed 300 dads, I would have been like what Holy cow? That's crazy. But now I got a goal to interview a thousand dads and I could see myself doing it.
Speaker 2:And our next guest comes to us again through the power of the referral, mr David Fowlwealth. I hope I said his name right. If I didn't, I apologize, david, but he's from Staffing Referrals. I met him through a bunch of folks. And then our next guest is a guy named Andre Mileti, who we also know, the one and only Chris Dews who is going to be a dad. Shout out to Chris Dews, but Andre, he's been a CRO, a CMO, he's a golf fanatic, but recently he is actually the newly named chief revenue officer of WorkBright, a compliance platform that helps provide, I guess, compliance support, support overall we'll learn more about it but like for high volume employers. But with all that said, that's not why we're having Andre on. We're having Andre on to learn about Andre the dad and how he's working hard to become that ultimate quarterback or leader of his household. So without further ado, mr Mileti, welcome to the quarterback, dad cast.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much, Casey. So great to be here. Although I wasn't a quarterback in high school, I was a running back. But I did have one play where it was a halfback option where I could actually throw it, so I did get my reps in every now and then.
Speaker 2:Can you throw the ball of that mountain? Oh yeah, absolutely Like.
Speaker 1:Uncle Rico, way over them mountains. Did you see him on Instagram? He was talking about how he was on White Lotus, except he did the pose Some of you might remember me from. Uh, yeah, he's great, he's great beauty?
Speaker 2:Absolutely he is. Every time I mentioned I played football in college, I have to use an uncle Rico self-deprecating joke myself A hundred percent, a hundred percent.
Speaker 1:So great to be be here. Thank you so much for having me yeah, you bet.
Speaker 2:Um well, we always start out each episode with gratitude, so tell me, what are you most grateful for as a dad today?
Speaker 1:oh, I have the privilege of spending a ridiculous amount of time with both my boys I have. I have two boys, andrew, who's 10, and and then Matthew, who's six, and they love hanging out with dad and I love spending time with them. And sometimes it's stressful on the golf course because I'm trying to play my own game but I'm also being catty to both of them. But to be able to do that every day, wake up and be able to be here in the mornings and then have dinner with them and not everyone is that fortunate to be able to be here in the mornings and then have dinner with them, and not everyone is that fortunate to be able to spend that much time. So incredibly grateful for the amount of time I get to actually spend with them, meaningful activities.
Speaker 2:That's so cool. There's a phrase that I think it's that the days are long and the years are short. I think that's what it said and I'm I'm living that man because I mean, I got a. I got a son in college first year's, almost done. I'm like what the hell? How'd that happen? My, my daughter, she's almost done with her junior year. She's just starting her recruiting journey, um, which has been surreal and exciting and fun, and I don't know what's going to happen with her and basketball, but it's she's hoping to keep playing Um.
Speaker 2:But what I'm grateful for is um I've said this before in a few episodes, but I'm saying again time just being really, really, really present with my time and um, even like to a point where I'm slowing down, to like realizing that if I have a 30 minute gap between like the coaching world I do or consulting world I do, I can either do nothing.
Speaker 2:I can waste time on Instagram, I can waste time on LinkedIn or net, or try to find some productive, or actually I've been getting up and taking like 22 minute walks, 11 minutes out, 11 minutes back, with my dog, just like. So now she's happier. I'm getting more active at this. You know, I'm almost 50 years old. So it's like you're got to keep moving the body and just like grateful for like trying to think about how, what are every minute, how can I maximize me being a better version of me, maybe physically, mentally, spiritually, whatever it may be? Um, so I don't know, I've been thinking a lot about that recently. I'm just very grateful for like just that mindset. So I don't know, I've been thinking a lot about that recently.
Speaker 1:I'm just very grateful for like just that mindset. Yeah, absolutely it takes. It takes effort because we try to escape life so much in the minutes in between the events, right, but that's really when life happens, and I think sometime in your mid forties, you start realizing that you need to seize those moments. Uh, whether it's getting up an hour early or not, doom scrolling, which I'm totally guilty of, but, and it's okay, you're not gonna, you're not gonna bat a thousand, right? Sometimes you need to just hit the easy button.
Speaker 2:But it is sometimes funny I like to do doom scroll. Once I've like checked off things that are important to me, like got my reading done, exercise and sometimes I'll like off things that are important to me, like got my reading done, exercise, and sometimes I'll like not even doomsday, but I've got into, like Grant Horvat, do you watch him? No, youtube golf. Okay, oh, dude, if you're a golf guy, which we're going to get into.
Speaker 1:I'll have to write that down.
Speaker 2:Yeah, grant Horvat. He's partnering with, like Phil Mickelson and they've been doing like 2v2 matches. So, like recently, it was him and Mickelson versus Jon Rahm and quarterback for the Bills.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the quarterback for the Bills. They switched the range finder to meters yes, and they both hit short.
Speaker 2:Yes, so Mickelson's been doing that to people as a joke, and so why am I forgetting Josh Allen? Josh Allen did it to him and Mickelson was like at first he was kind of pissed. He's like, no, that's fantastic, I. I take it Like I got so much the fact that you just did that to me and I do it to everybody. Yeah, uh, it was pretty funny. So, um, okay, so you, you got Andrew, matt, let's, but bring me inside the Mileti huddle. And, um, I love to learn where you and your wife met and tell me, or tell us a little bit about each boy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, we met. We got started late in life, so I had moved back to Cleveland from Boston in 2009. I want to say actually met her in an elevator. Believe it or not, we rode up in an elevator. I didn't, and she was on her phone, you know, she was looking, dashing Burberry scarf over the shoulder. We got off at the same floor, though, and I couldn't I wasn't stalking. Everybody says, oh, you're such a stalker. No, we got off and she literally went into room 615. So it's not like I couldn't see, I saw, okay, 615. That's where she went in, went down to my buddies down the hall and asked him if she knows, if he knew who staged. She said no, but last second she changed her mind because she told her mother who knows, maybe I'll meet somebody. And sure enough, she did. Well, little did she know it was all set up. But that's how we met up. Um, but that's how. That's how we met and uh, yeah, we've been married for, I want to say, close to 13 years. Now we're going on our 13th year and, very cool, yeah, we've got two boys.
Speaker 1:Uh, andrew, who's uh already a better golfer than me. I mean, I play a ton of golf. We've already talked about this. I'm like a nine 10 handicap. He's already you know shooting. If he doesn't shoot under 80 he's upset, like today. This morning we played nine holes. He shot a 41 and he was really frustrated because last time he played he shot a 78.
Speaker 1:And and, uh, little does he know about the days where you struggle in the mid 80s and mid 90s. But now's he's like my wife, he's a more you know, um, my wife and I are just complete opposite personalities. So Andrew's more like my wife. And then Matthew, who's also a great athlete. Uh, he plays golf too, but hockey's his main sport right now. He's six. Uh, you know he's a bit of a. Uh, yeah, he's a hockey goon. You know, he loves the contact, he loves being goofy, silly, a lot like me, and Matthew's Andrew's a little more reserved. So golf is perfect for him. Uh and yeah, and we spend a lot of time together, sports, just goofing around. I've been goofing around being a dad and just goofing around with your kids and like, having your kids want to hang out with you is the best thing.
Speaker 2:It is the best thing, dude, and just wait till you they get to college and and and I'll I'll cross my fingers. They still want to hang out with you, but I've said this multiple times I swear like Snapchat has has made me hang out with my son a lot more from afar. That's hysterical and I never thought I would ever get on Snapchat and I know that people who listen you're going to hear the story again, but maybe Andre has not. I had a guy who told me to get on it and I'm like no, I'm not getting on Snapchat, dude, I'm like 48, it's not going to happen. Freaking awesome, love it.
Speaker 2:And we have like a 250, some odd streak day. And sometimes he'll message me on Snap, sometimes he'll text me, sometimes he'll Instagram message me, message me on snap. Sometimes he'll text me, Sometimes on Instagram, asked me I'm just like wherever the one, I'm just like and like he, he, I'm playing this afternoon after we go this. We have a little men's day today and he he's like oh, who are you playing with? And I told him he's like oh God, what a disastrous foursome.
Speaker 3:You know, have fun.
Speaker 2:Sort of like ribbing each other and he like ribbing each other and uh, he's at a tournament today, um, but uh, yeah, it's fun, man, being enjoying those moments. And just I would say, just as a guy that's got a few years of dad's life on you, it goes. Every cliche, as you know, is true. I mean, you probably remember the day when um andrew was two or three and now he's 10 and he'll be 18 before you know it. Yeah, sad man it's, it really is. So are you, guys, ohio State fans or Michigan fans? We're Ohio State fans.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I grew up a Notre Dame fan and then jumped on the Ohio State wagon in 2004. Yeah, I wanted a little winning. I mean being a perennial Cavs, browns and Guardians fan. If something good's happening in Ohio, I wanted to jump on the bandwagon. It's been a great run. In the last 20 years the Buckeyes have been crushing it.
Speaker 2:You don't follow the Greyhounds, the Loyola.
Speaker 1:Greyhounds. No, I think they made the tournament. They made the NCAA tournament once and they were like really big in lacrosse and the four years that I was there at Loyola Maryland they stunk. They got crushed by Syracuse and Johns Hopkins and I was just like there's like 50 people at these games. I'm like I went to a pretty big powerhouse school here in Cleveland and like we would have tens of thousands of people in the you know high school football games and so it was. It was that kind of experience. You probably know some of the guys they're still in the NFL.
Speaker 1:Um, I went to St Ignatius in Cleveland and so Dave Ragone, who's a quarterback coach at bears, and Tom Arth, quarterback coach at the uh, at the Steelers. Those were my quarterbacks my junior and senior year. They both played in the big game Uh. And then John Gannonannon, who's the head coach of the cardinals. He's from my, from my school as well. So like going from that atmosphere to like, hey, it's d1 east coast lacrosse, there's 100 people here. I feel bad, I'm gonna get messages on linkedin. Be like hey, thanks, buddy thanks for sharing the show go, greyhounds go, greyhounds go um, random question.
Speaker 2:So they were like I know they're the guardians, but they used to be the indians. Do you know the name? Are you a guardians fan? I am do you remember the name? David risky. Risky sounds familiar risky.
Speaker 2:He was a pitcher wasn't he a reliever he? So I grew up with. He was a year younger than me. We used used to play like 11, 12-year-old all-star team together. We'd have sleepovers. I'm like that's what. I think. I had more friends, like random friends that played pro sports and everyone's like what happened to you? I'm like I wasn't as good as that.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Like 1% of the 1% makes it to the next level. It's not, it's not easy.
Speaker 2:And you know what I think One of the biggest reasons and this is back, tying this back to fatherhood and even like business, like it's the word behind me Belief, belief. Yeah, now, people can't I don't know if you, if you're driving, you can't see, but there's a belief sign behind me. Yes, it's a little, but I love it, because I was talking to my wife about this last night. So my, my daughter has a call the college today at three and she had she played an open gym with a college last night and she was like, yeah, I like it. I just, you know, I don't see myself, I don't know if it was the right fit for me. I know I'm going to play somewhere, I just don't know if that's the right fit. Now, that statement alone tells me that she has 1000% belief in her abilities. And I told my wife, I said, hey, I'm not gonna be here tomorrow, but, like, when she gets done, no matter if it's the right fit or wrong fit, we just have to just continue to ignite that belief. It's not arrogance, it's belief, it's belief.
Speaker 2:And I know that, like guys like John Kitna who I played quarterback he played quarterback with me in college, I was a back tona, who I played quarterback. He played quarterback with me in college. He's years I was a backed him up before I played he. The reason he made it 17 years of the league is because he believed there's a guy named Mike Riley who played 10 years after I did. He was played in the CFL for like 13, 14 years. He won a great, great cup MVP. He won um, um shit tons of games. I actually reconnected with himed. We played golf about two weeks ago. Same thing, the belief. So I just say, like, as dads, like if we can just help anybody, that's you know, andrew gonna play pga tour. Why wouldn't he?
Speaker 1:yeah, 100 belief and and um, it's the. The challenging part of a father is being able to lay out steps for a child to reach their goals. Like, for example, today. You know my son started off with four bogeys and for him, like it's, it's over. He's like I'm like Andrew, you can birdie the next five holes, you could par the next five holes, and he automatically goes to the end result. I'm like, but it's steps to get there, buddy. Just he's like I'm going to birdie this hole and I'm going to birdie the next one. I'm like, what do you have to do first? Like let's bring it down to the step in front of you.
Speaker 1:You have your long-term goal, but you've got to kind of get that out of your peripheral for a little bit and focus on what is right in front of you. Is this next shot, this next approach shot? It's a challenge because you know kids have to. This is why I love competitive sports. You learn these life skills that that will transcend the sport. Your plan will follow you into your formative years. We'll we'll be able to guide you if you do are fortunate and blessed enough to play at the next levels. And just in business in general, just like you know, common goals and objectives, teamwork, resilience and, like what is the process, trust the process and then believe in yourself. It's tough because I mean those have to be taught, those don't come natural.
Speaker 2:No, well, they have to usually have some failure to learn that skill. You should tell your son this. So my son's college golf tournament, um, he was the. He's a freshman, so he was the alternate, so he didn't get a play. But he's like, but I'm actually it's, it's a bummer. He didn't get a play Cause I think he that's another story, but he's right, right on the edge. But the fact that he had to go walk and support his teammates is even better, because now he's going to, the fire is going to be lit better. And I said, whether you get subbed in or not, be the best teammate possible. And but the reason why I'm telling the story, the guy who's leading the tournament right now, the first day he shot 77. Guess what he shot the second day 80?
Speaker 1:63. 63. So he went the other way.
Speaker 2:That's amazing, like three and my son just texted me before our interview he was four under through four. Wow, and the I guess he's, he's going, he's quality leaving next year to go pro play like Canadian tour. And right, my son said he goes, dad, the sound of the ball hitting his face is like something I've never even heard. I go, I go, even mine.
Speaker 1:Your sweet dad gives you a pat on the head.
Speaker 2:Dad, I only hear yours hitting the hosel, yeah, hosel rockets.
Speaker 1:I. That's why I love the movie American underdog, the Kurt Warner story, my, we watch it obsessively in our house because in so much adversity, like he, he kept moving forward and and he trusted the process. So yeah, sports is such a great, great way to teach your kids how to, how to be resilient A thousand percent.
Speaker 2:Yeah, all right. Well, I want to go back in time, sir, and I want to learn about you, and I'm gonna learn what was life like growing up for you and talk about the impact those years your parents had on you from, like, maybe, a core values perspective.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, this is a tough one because I did not have, and still don't have, a good relationship with my parents, especially my father. So I didn't grow up in in the type of environment that would, you know, naturally breed the amazing person you're speaking to right now. Casey, I had to chisel away decades of adaptive child and inner wounds that were cut deep in order to, you know, become and I still am becoming, you know, the person that I am and the father that I can be. So my parents, my mother, was born in Italy. She grew up in a small Southern town in Calabria, where there was, you know, she grew up riding mules and attending to an orchard. So she came over in 1978 to visit her cousin. She was educated. To visit her cousin seems educated, but like total, like poverty, uh, in in in southern italy.
Speaker 1:And my father grew up poor too, and they met at an italian restaurant where my father was, was working uh, I mean, this is kind of out of the godfather too at this point where she went back to italy and he pursued her and literally went through a courtship of like six trips over six months with like dating and like the family following them up the hill no car bombs, fortunately, uh, but it was that sort of like arranged marriage almost, and, um, you know, my father was. He, he was older, uh, and my mother was was older, so they got right after it in terms of having kids, grew up in Cleveland, ohio, like middle class, lower middle class, but my parents were incredibly frugal, so they were very what is known as an immigrant's mindset right. So you don't spend money, you don't take risk, you save and you work, and that is how you produce your value. Your worth, right, your worth is by how much money you save and how hard you work. That being said, my father taught history for 30 years and then he retired and so, like I didn't see him really work too hard, he retired when I was in seventh grade.
Speaker 1:I loved sports. It was tough, by the way, growing up in an immigrant household in like lily white, suburban Cleveland, shaker Heights, ohio, where you know your friends go on ski trips and you know their parents are well off and they're living in you know big homes and yet you know I'm I'm just kind of getting by on the middle class side, so I got to see that and then I always felt like I was needing, longing for something right. There was always a deficit, because just my parents weren't. They weren't of that mindset of like, oh your kids have needs, let's fill those needs. It's like, no, I fed you, you're going to school and now be thankful for what you have, and so kind of a tough way to grow up. Sports was my saving grace, though. Well, first of all I was believe it or not, I mean, I was the same size I am now that I was like growing up, so like I was the fat kid, so I got picked on a lot, but ultimately, as I got older, it became good. Because I was athletic, it was able to excel in sports. So that was my saving grace. Not a surprise that I kind of passed that down to my kids and the importance of it.
Speaker 1:But yeah, my dad was very authoritarian, like he did not have a soft side. I've never heard him say I'm sorry, you know, and it's unfortunate because I'm never going to be able to have those conversations with him. He's still alive, but you know he's pretty down the road in terms of dementia where you know he doesn't know what day it is and he's going to be going into a, you know, full time assisted living facility here in the next couple of weeks. You know and I kind of need to check that one off the list Like there's really not much I can do there to heal those wounds. I've had to not with him, at least I've had to heal them on my own. But, um, I was a bad kid so didn't get what I needed at home, didn't get the resources, so I needed love, I needed to find ways to make myself feel good. So, whether it was positive or negative attention, I was going after it. So, positive on the sports side, negative on throwing eggs at houses and cars and stuff like that.
Speaker 2:Right, how did, how did mom and dad get from Italy to Cleveland?
Speaker 1:dad get from Italy to Cleveland. Yeah, so they, they got married in Italy and then went back to Cleveland and their plan was always to move back to Italy, um, and they started pumping out kids. So all four of us within four years, I have an older brother and two younger sisters and, um, we spent I spent every summer in Italy for at least three months in this, in this small village, which was great, um, but at the same time I also didn't really get a chance to like have friends in summer. So, like, it was like, oh, here's the foreign kid that's back, you know, um, with a beret and a mustache, uh, coming back in in May, that's a great look. Bring that back to Cleveland, dude. Totally, totally Little, uh, little mock turtleneck too, why not? So, yeah, it was back and forth.
Speaker 1:And then, unfortunately, my father had a job opportunity that fell through, and then they were like sort of stuck in Cleveland and my mother would still go back every summer and she still spends a lot of time in Italy with her family. All of my relatives are in Italy. I don't really have any family here in Cleveland and so, yeah, it was an amazing way to grow up. But at the same time, I think, my father.
Speaker 1:It impacted my father negatively because his goal, his dream, was to move to Italy and to live there and it just didn't pan out, uh, and he hated teaching public school and he did it for 30 years and he was out and I feel like he kind of just like gave up on life. Um, and so I saw that and I said to myself, like, like my core values, accomplishment, effort, like determination, these sort of things were born out of this need to to kind of fill this void from my, my childhood and seeing, not that my father mailed it in, I don't want to say that, but he, you know, I didn't. I didn't see him have a strong drive the way that I had and the way I learned. It was from sports.
Speaker 2:Is mom still with us? She is.
Speaker 1:She's still with us, she's still putzing around a little bit. They live two minutes away and so do my sisters, so it's nice we're all still around. And she I mean it was kind of on her she raised, like my father never did one diaper, he never went to one parent teacher conference other than like if anything was a C or a D, like there was verbal or physical altercations to deal with, like my mother had to deal with everything. And so here she is, as English is her second language. Irresponsible for four kids all within. You know a a, you know within within four years apart and having to just survive. So she's in survival mode. So in terms of, like, getting needs met from my mother, it was, it was pretty tough. I mean only now I can look back and say, man, how hard has her life been and how she's been able to just barely survive. Because then, when my father retired, like hey, I've got four kids that are about to go into college and high school and we weren't going to go the public school route. So she had to step up, she had to work, and I think a lot of my hustle comes from her for sure. What did she do? She taught Italian at the university, john Carroll university and then she was an Italian interpreter. So she used her resources right, like what's the one thing she knew. She loved her heritage, she loved Italian, and so she taught, she taught school, and then she helped a lot of the Italian patients that came over from Italy to the Cleveland Clinic to get treatments. Luckily, teaching at John Carroll afforded us the ability to go to either John Carroll or any other Jesuit school for free, or else we wouldn't have been able to afford it.
Speaker 1:Wow, I actually remember wanting to afford it. Wow, I actually remember. I remember wanting to play D1 football. So, like graduated Ignatius, I wanted to play football. That was my goal. I wanted to play D1 and I didn't get an offer from Fordham but I got a substantial package where they wanted me to, to to at least try it out for the team, knowing that I would make it. But it was too expensive and so and so I remember the phone call I remember driving my dad was like you're not going there and like, boom, dream, saturn over right then. So I was like, all right, I need to find a school that I can go to that's going to give me a good enough financial aid package that doesn't have football and it's Greyhounds Go Hounds.
Speaker 4:Hi, I'm Betsy Robinson, ceo of Tier 4 Group, a women-owned and diversity-certified technology recruiting and executive search firm that connects exceptional talent with extraordinary companies in 43 states across the US.
Speaker 4:At Tier 4 Group, relationships are at the heart of everything we do, whether it's with our clients, our candidates, our vendor partners or with each other. Our mission is to go beyond transactions and create long-lasting partnerships. We don't just help companies find talent, we help them find the right talent, and that starts with truly understanding our clients and candidates. It's not just about filling roles. It's about fostering success for the long term. This is the recipe for success that's landed us on the Inc 5000 six consecutive years and has us outpacing our competition across the country.
Speaker 4:And I'm thrilled to support Casey Jay Cox's podcast across the country. And I'm thrilled to support Casey Jaycox's podcast. Casey's philosophy aligns perfectly with ours prioritizing relationships over transactions. His insights on building trust, empathy and connection resonate deeply with the way we do business at Tier 4 Group. We were honored to have Casey as our keynote at our 2024 kickoff, and all of our new hires read his book when the Relationship, not the Deal when they start here with us. So if you're looking for a partner who values relationships as much as results. Visit us at tier4groupcom or connect with me, betsy Robinson, directly on LinkedIn. And, while you're at it, keep tuning into Casey's podcast. You'll walk away inspired to strengthen your own relationships, both personally and professionally. And, as Casey always says, stay curious.
Speaker 2:And that that makes sense. When you said you got your hustle from your mom, and that's that's hustling, I mean you're, you're trying to figure it out and you like, well, I can speak Italian. Well, I can teach it. There's not many Italian teachers over here in the States.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:You know, sorry about your pops man. I lost my dad December 29, 2021. Dementia was the big one that got him. Yeah, we went through, mainly me and my wife. We were kind of the solo because my sister wasn't really in a spot to help. So, like a week after we got married, my uncle says to me hey case, you might want to think about getting a two bedroom apartment because your dad's going to come live with you. And I'm like that's not going to happen. So like for 20 years I was in and out of assisted living facilities.
Speaker 2:This is like the height of my corporate career was really like, kind of like you know, things were going well, but behind the scenes, taking care of pops was like brutally hard. So, um, I will say the only only advice I can give you if going through dementia is when you try to reason with the unreasonable, they, they, they will believe what they think. I mean, my dad thought I stole all of his money to build our home 10 years ago. Wow, I'm like hearing that was like a punch to the face, you know and like, and I had to like finally get over it. Like it's not him, but the blessing I'd say is, like you know, when COVID hit, it was an excuse. I didn't have to go see him, as guilty as and I feel still guilty saying it, but that's the truth.
Speaker 2:But I interviewed somebody on this journey of podcasting. This is where I feel like power of the universe, or spiritual or God, whatever you want to call it for anybody's beliefs. But this guy challenged me. He goes your dad's still in there, Go find it. And I was like God, dang it. And when he said this to me I literally just said okay, and I remember I in the heart of COVID, uh, for like a good four or five weeks I went like four days a week and then it became fun again.
Speaker 2:And then I took my son and we had like one of the most craziest stories ever where my dad accused one of his nurses that he said the only reason you're in here is because you're horny. And I'm like dad, you, what are you doing? And I was like oh my god, I'm so sorry to the nurse and she laughs. And my son, who's 15 at the time, like thought he was watching Revenge of the Nerds, you know, for the 17th time he was laughing so hard. But it's like those memories, um, and then he would pass away, like you know, a couple weeks later. So it's like um, um, I'm, I'm. You know you guys can get to a spot of peace and if you can't, you can't, but like you're at peace with it, you've done everything you can and just, it's a tough, it's a fricking brutal disease dude.
Speaker 1:It's brutal, yeah, it's brutal, it and it got work. Like he didn't take care of his body and he didn't take care of his mind. And so I, nutrition and fitness and exercise are so important to me and like constantly learning new things. Like you don't have to like, yes, dimension gets all of us, but it doesn't have to start hitting in your mid seventies Um, you could still be crushing it, you know, being on the golf course and running companies in your eighties if you take care of your body and your mind and um, and it really comes down and it's so. It's amazing.
Speaker 1:I really do believe that they're both connected and a lot of it has to do with you know, your um, your core and your ability to see. The minute I had a friend who's a doctor. He said the minute you stop being able to squat, you're, you're going downhill and so just just keep. Just keep that skill and whatever you need to do to physically keep doing that and then learning new things. You know just, I think I think I just saw my dad deteriorate over the course of of you know, 20, 30 years of just like not learning things, not taking care of his body, just sitting in front of Fox News for 25 years, you know, and it's just like all right, dad, I'm not doing that. I'm not doing that, I'm going. I'm Benjamin Buttoning life. I'm going the other direction, man.
Speaker 2:At least I'm going to try to, I mean, well, that's the example I think we have to set for our kids. Like, try to. I mean, well, that's the example I think we have to set for our kids. Like, um, I work out five, six days a week. No, I'm not working out like I did in my twenties and thirties but, um, like, I used to do CrossFit and I do old band CrossFit, which is like modifying everything did not get hurt, Um, but I just started this like dumbbell strength program and it's like it's I mean it, it's the same thing squatting and lunging, and I used to not do like kind of heavy weights because I just didn't want to get hurt, because I was getting hurt from all the football I played in college.
Speaker 2:But I got spot on my wife and I talked about the same thing. So, if that is, if you're listening, take andrew's advice from his doctor and take. You know it works for me that, like, find a way to stay active and don't be the dad says well, I'm over. Do five squats? Start there better than zero, and then the next day you do six.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yoga has been my saving grace. I've been doing it consistently now for 13 years, although there's been two, two there's been two points where I was out of practice for a year. But I don't go a week without three or four like hot power vinyasa um yoga classes and um, it's like double sessions, man, it really is like it is tough. But I see some of the guys in there and gals and they're in their mid seventies. I see some of the guys in there and gals and they're in their mid seventies, late sixties, and they have incredibly fit bodies and their posture is great and it's no surprise how they, how they've been able to maintain that supple back. That's what my yoga, tammy Schneider, if you're hearing, supple back is the key to, to aging gracefully.
Speaker 2:I did hot yoga for a little bit and then I stopped when COVID hit, cause we kind of like everybody got shut down. But my very first yoga was with a client, so kind of random biz dev story clients like you ever do yoga. I'm like, no, he goes, I'll go ahead. I'm like, dude, I'll do it. And so I told him I'm like I'm going to yoga with a client. It's kind of weird, but what the hell? And it was like the best, I dream yoga for the rookie.
Speaker 2:Because there was like this hot chick right in front of me and I even told my wife, everybody at home. I was like this is the best next time I go on. It was like freaking jabba the hutt in front of me and it's he stunk so bad. I was like dude, what did you do to your body the night before?
Speaker 1:Yeah, you can't. You can't go eat a ton of Mediterranean food, uh, right before yoga, and you got to keep your body clean before you go. And I stay in the front row so I have no distractions. I love the front row. I'm the front row shirt off guy, that's it. That's it. And if anybody wants to see my big, sweaty body, that they can look the other way. But I'm here and I'm sticking around, so good um, how so how?
Speaker 2:how about what the challenges you had kind of growing up the the some of the adversity you talked about? How did it tell me how that impacted your, your siblings?
Speaker 1:my brother. It's been a challenge with him. He, he, he had um and still has a um, a disease, it's um epilepsy and it's been a challenge for him. So he's kind of always been on his own path and struggling through that Um and and it kind of it. It it created a wedge between us. We were really close growing up, but then as we got older it just became, uh, it it created a wedge between us. We were really close growing up, but then as we got older it just became. It just became harder and harder for us to connect and I was, you know, driven out of you know my family and tried to find my own family and my own you know clan through you know my friends.
Speaker 1:So, like my friends became my family, my sisters were like incredibly protective over my, my. Like my friends became my family. My sisters were like incredibly protective over my, my, um, my mother, and so they essentially did whatever she wanted and needed, right, they stayed close to home, they followed go they um or they followed the. They followed the, the path you know that that my mother had put out. There I was more of the black sheep, so it was different for them, I think, because I think my mother, my mother really has a great relationship with them and they have they have a lot of good connection there. And my sister, my sister, who's actually in Huntington beach, california, she's moving back now. And then I have another sister that's just around the corner, uh, two minutes away, so she's gonna have her both of her girls, uh, back for the first time in gosh 25 years. Wow, yeah, wow um but they've been successful.
Speaker 1:You know, like they not my watch my sister raise her kids. I hope I'm not going to send her this because I'm about to throw her under the bus. You know she, she raises them more traditionally. You know, uh, where? You know I, I see her parent. I'm like that sounds like mom, that sounds like dad and you know, and it's.
Speaker 1:I think this is an important thing. It's like breaking the cycle. My wife sends me stuff all the time on Instagram and and like you've got to learn how to break the cycle right, we don't want to become the parents that our parents were to us becomes natural for us to just parent that way and some of the ways are good. But for most of us, you know, know, because this is a massive generational difference between you, know parents that we were in the born in the mid 40s to early 40s, to like our parents now, like we have a lot of information, a lot of books, a lot of content that we've learned like the right and wrong way to do things right, and so like you've got to break that cycle, my sisters are kind of just in line, like tradition's best, let's just do it the old Italian way, and my wife and I are more hippie dippies trying to do more gentle parenting, I guess.
Speaker 2:Can you think of an example that might speak to, like a dad listening Like what does break the cycle mean? What would be an example where you do it one way but then you break the cycle. What does break the cycle mean? What?
Speaker 1:would be an example where you do it one way but then you break the cycle. You know, like trying to get your kids to do something by by fear that you're going to take something away, you know, like that was just, if you don't do this or if you do that, I'm going to do this or I'm going to go take that away. Like that creates this idea that, like they're, they're not safe, they're not secure and you could potentially pull things from them at any given point. And instead being able to parent with this idea of, like, walking them through the different options and then letting them do it. Like my wife is constantly saying, let them, just left them.
Speaker 1:There's this book called let them. I haven't read it yet, but that's all I hear her saying. I think I should probably read it. But like, just let them.
Speaker 1:Let them make mistakes Instead of like constantly trying to avoid mistakes and putting fear and consequence in front of them. Let them make the mistake, Because what that does is it's going to build up so much gunpowder behind the bullet that when they get older, they're going to make really big mistakes when they get the freedom and that's what happened with me I made really big mistakes. It was like hold him in, hold him in and now, all of a sudden, I'm 18 and I'm gonna make some really, really bad decisions, whereas, like, if I learn early on that there's consequences and positive and negative things can happen to me based on my decision making. I'm going to be trained and develop the skills so that, when it really matters, I'm going to be able to not be impacted by my adaptive child Like this, this child that reminds me of who I like. I'm making decisions based on still being that hurt, inner, that seven-year-old, and I'm going to make decisions based on being an adult and and thoughtful consideration of of the options in front of me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's good, dude. You made me think of an example. So I was in height of COVID, you know, when everything shuts down. My wife and I realized our kids were like in ninth grade and seventh grade. At that time we're like holy shit, we're doing way too much for our kids. And I just interviewed a guy named Swen Nader who wrote a book called you have not taught until they have learned, and he played for a basketball coach. Some people might've heard of a guy named John Wooden. Um, no, not bad, not a bad coach. Um, yeah, he's got a reputation. Yeah, I guess he likes to win for like seven years straight. Um, he, uh.
Speaker 2:It was such a powerful book for me because we were those parents doing too much and not like the snowplow, but maybe we and I think a lot of it was by like our own, like we went, we had way more ER trips than any of our friends with our kids really. So I kind of like scarred us of, like we don't want to keep going to the ER, or son had a seat, two seizures that freaked us out, which we don't know why, and then it never happened again. So but we said let's stop making excuses and no, you're going to fricking, cook your own meals. And we, we literally went cold turkey. And then now they were the most resourceful kids and, like that's the goal, we want them not to need us. Yeah, that's our, that's our job, and so I I think it's important to think about, like you know, um, and it could be breaking the cycle, anything could be with exercise.
Speaker 2:Hey, your dad didn't work out what you do, my dad didn't work out either. Well, that's, I'm working out, I played. Yeah, exercise is what we do, whether you're vacationing, whether you're traveling for work. Freaking, figure it out, figure it out. You know, hike, take a walk, do something. But, um, how about your was your wife? Did she have good still have a good relationship with her parents? She?
Speaker 1:has a good relationship with them. She has, you know, her parents divorced when she was 12 years old and so that became a challenge because her mother, you know, had to deal with it. She essentially had to become a parental figure, taking care of her mother and like she had unmet needs. Now, so funny how both of us found each other with all this baggage but, but they ended up getting back together and they're great people. They have higher EQ, I think, they're thoughtful, um, everyone has their baggage, baggage but she's got a great relationship with them. Now where she's in constant contact with them and we see them.
Speaker 1:I'm actually renovating my mother-in-law's kitchen right now as we speak. This is how good of a relationship. Don't get me wrong, I'm charging her, but I do this on the side. I in doing construction and and loving carpentry, so so, uh, yeah, I'm going over to allison's house three, four days a week where, uh, let's see, the granite is getting installed, the quartz is getting installed tomorrow, and then I'm doing the backsplash and we're done. Look at you, but, uh, but yeah, that's it. Man, I'm just it's life is just a big point system.
Speaker 2:Right, we get points, give points I wish I had those handy skills.
Speaker 1:So good on you, brother, for being able to do that stuff um, to your point about like letting, like a good one is caddying. So I caddy for my son when he does competitive us kids golf and at first I was just like showing. I was like lining up a putt for him and then like watching him, like on every bit and to the point where he he couldn't then play without saying, dad, does this look right? Dad, is this right, is this right? My wife's like what are you doing? Like you're turning him into a manic, like just let him do it and if he fails, it's on him.
Speaker 1:He will then learn and he will do he'll. He'll be able to. He will then learn and he will do he'll. He'll be able to overcome it. And my initial thought is like, no, if I help him line up this putt or tell him, hey, he's got to put the ball in his stance a little bit because it's a downhill lie, I can save him a stroke and we can win the tournament. But it's not about winning the tournament, it's about letting your kid fail and then just supporting there, not telling him what he could have done wrong, but just supporting him Neutrally.
Speaker 2:So that's. That's easier said than done.
Speaker 1:Oh man, it's so hard. I screw up to the point. I screw up all the time.
Speaker 2:Well, how did you so if there's a golf dad at home and I actually learned that too? I mean, I've seen my son some monster rounds. I've seen him shoot some freaking amazing rounds that blew me away how did you finally get coached by your wife without letting your ego get in the way, to be able to say you know what Shit. Maybe I am the problem, maybe I need to just chill out, if you can think about that moment.
Speaker 1:I've learned over time that my wife is the boss and she's usually right about things. So I've just I check my ego and say, okay, and then she also. You know, she started catting for him, you know, and she might not know how to use a range finder, but you know, she's just going down the center of the fairway and he's doing his thing and like, at the end of the day, it's not about the medals and the winning or losing. And it's hard for me, uh, because I am so competitive and I loved playing and play competitive sports growing up. Um, it just, it just took a second for me to to really recognize that, you know, because you, once again, you don't want to see your kids fail and anything you can do to avoid it I, um, that's really good dude.
Speaker 2:I hope there's a younger parent, um, I think and you have to go through that as a dad or mom, because sometimes it's easy to be the one to like protect them and they want to. But I think about all the times I sucked, that's what I. I remember the, all the games I played great. I remember the moments of adversity that shaped who I am. I remember doing you'll appreciate, I think you'll appreciate this as a golf dad.
Speaker 2:So my son, when he was like, call it like eight or nine ish, he was in the district tournament and he rips driver down the right side for him and then he's got, we think, he comes up on his ball, he hits a shot to the green. It's like at that age if you're making bogeys or pars, you're going to be right there and he, he hits his second shot. He's got like 30 feet for birdie. I'm like perfect, great start. All of a sudden he goes to mark his ball and he's like he's looking at it. He tilts his head both ways and I'm like, oh no it's not his no, and I'm like, but there's no way.
Speaker 2:Because I'm like there's no way it was right. I watched where the ball ended up and you know now the, the dad, me, their little angel, pops up and says please do the right thing. I've trained you to be right, to be honest, the old devil said oh that's your ball, that's your ball, that's your ball.
Speaker 2:then I'm like come on angel, come on angel, come on angel. And he walks up to the rules official and rules official goes he's a sir, I think he hit the wrong ball. And the rules official goes like I'm like bro, he just owned it. Like I was so pissed at this rules official, like I had to really bite my lip as a dad. I'm like how about celebrate the fact that he was honest, a hundred percent, you know? So the two kids in his group, they walk off the green cause they're tired of waiting. So the guy makes my son walk all the way back by himself in the middle of the fairway and they, they figure out it's a two stroke penalty. So now he's hitting five from the middle of the fairway. So he rips five. Now he's got a double break. Putt 40 footer, 40 footer.
Speaker 2:I'm like dude, this is a fricking nine or 10 to start the day. Yeah, he puts it to like two inches and I and he walks off and I sat after the round. He was so like he's bummed and he kind of finally got together. I was like dude, I don't know if you know you didn't qualify, but I can give two shits. You know, I'm so fricking proud of you. It was just in a bad mood. I said you're all the things we talked about, like ethics, honesty do the right thing. You just take that and that was the best seven I've ever seen in my life. He starts laughing. He's like what I go? Dad, buddy, I would have taken a freaking nine, I would probably three.
Speaker 1:put it from there easy yeah, the character building of that. And how great to have role models in golf like scottyffler and Justin Thomas who call strokes on themselves. Sahif Tagala In the last year. They get to see adults at the next level performing that way.
Speaker 1:My son to this day he's 10 years old. He won't take a mulligan and he won't take a gimme. So good, I love that. And he plays it all the way out and he sees dad, dad's like I'm hitting another one, screw that shot. And he's up there and he's like no, I, you know, duck hooked. It Doesn't happen often, but like he'll stick with it and so important and I think it's just.
Speaker 1:I'm so proud to see him because I didn't grow up with that. I grew up with the when no one's looking, take advantage because the world's out to get you and nobody's here to help you and so you're going to have to survive. It's your survival instinct, right, that's my adaptive child Find a way to survive whether you have to lie, cheat or steal. And it's taken years to shed this, decades to shed it. And the fact that he already has that strong character, it's just like I mean I'll give a nod to my wife because she's the one that pushes that and I just I get behind it, but it definitely makes you proud. Best seven I've ever seen. I like that. That's so cool.
Speaker 2:I've ever seen. I like that. That's so cool. What would be, um, if you had to think about like two or three core values as we get ready to wrap up here? That might summarize what we've talked about. Um, we've hit on a lot of cool topics, but like what would be a couple, two or three topics that are that dads can take from our conversation. Um, that you've seen, you know, been really dramatic or impactful for you and your family, but other dads can maybe learn from our conversation and say, man, these are, these are a couple of things I took from Casey and Andre and I want to apply these themes in my, in my family, to try to really become that better quarterback or dad in my home.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just um. First is like get over your own shit. I think I spent the first half of my fatherhood still trying to get my own needs met and I think you really, really start getting to experience the value and the joy of being a father and being able to guide a human being that you created. Once you stop making it about you. We're all still just those kids that want attention and love and are hurt. The minute you start living for your family and not living for your unmet needs, you are going to get so much more joy out of life. It's such a big one. It takes practice, without a doubt, because every day there's that inner child that's saying, you know, like this isn't fair, I never got things like this, like my son's like, oh, I didn't get to play oak hill, why didn't I get to go? I'm like, come on, dude, I had to steal my first set of golf clubs and orange top lights. Yeah, so that's a big one. Um, it's a big one, um, I think.
Speaker 1:I think the I didn't steal my first golf clubs, by the way, maybe one or two irons here or there, but like I putt right-handed cause I only I'm a lefty, but I only putt right-handed, cause I probably only had access to a right-handed putter. Um, there's letting. Letting your kids fail is going to resilience and grit, I think like so important in sports, in life, in business. When you hear anyone talk about how important grit is, let them. Let them. Let them fail, let them get through it and figure out a way to get through it. I think that's. That is such a big one.
Speaker 2:Gold dude, I think if you're a dad or mom, listening in, that last part of this episode doesn't doesn't hit you in the face. I think you're not being honest with yourself Because so many of us I mean I'm 49. Sometimes I have to catch myself. I'm like not about me and I've like always would tell my kids dad has no eligibility left. Guys, I'm not doing this for me. So, unless your goals have changed, but don't tell me you want to do something, but then don't put in the work. That's.
Speaker 2:My job is to help you get the framework when, 18 years, you're in the house and then when you go, you can do what you want to do. But remember, like I would just like a good coach that helped me in my journey they, they helped push me to help see what was possible. But you got to do the work. But it's not, it's not about me. Also, and if your goals have changed, perfect, let's find a new activity.
Speaker 2:Um, but I love that you said I mean letting your kids fail. It's super hard, but, like like I mentioned before, dude, I I had some brutal failures and but I'm but I'm grateful for them and I use them as rocket fuel. You know, yeah, Um, if there was to be one area of your dad game that you might want to improve up on, that might speak to dad at home. You know, I'll lead my witness here, Andre, mine's patience, and after interviewing over 300 dads, I became better patient because I'm practicing it Whenever I interview a dad, cause I'm reminding myself it's like choosing the outcome of how I want to do. And so for you, what would what might be an area, your dad game that you're you know, maybe it's not where you want it, but you're you at least can honest, be honest yourself and say man, this is something I'm gonna work to get better at yeah, reacting to my kids when they don't, when they don't listen.
Speaker 1:you know, I just use the dad horn sometimes and and it's just like man, I'm doing so, I'm doing all this work, I'm being this amazing dad and we're trying to be, and it's just like, can you get behind me here? Do I have to fight?
Speaker 1:Everything is a battle you know, so I think it's the patience part for sure. Uh, learning how to respond to my kids so that they don't. Learning how to respond to my kids so that they don't. I want, I want them to learn how to. I want to be able to engage them so that I get their attention and I get them to do something that needs to happen, like getting out of bed, instead of just going back to my you know caveman, you know chromosomes and say just yell.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:That's the big one. Yeah, for sure For me.
Speaker 2:No, that'll speak to others for sure. Um, well, if people want to connect with you, if your story um has touched a core touch to heart, um, they've been intrigued by what you're doing. They want to learn more about, about, about, work bright Um. Tell me what's the. Tell us what's the best way for people to connect with you.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm not on a TikTok yet, like you, cool dad, you. But LinkedIn, linkedin's the easiest one, for sure. Just hit me up on on.
Speaker 2:LinkedIn. We'll make sure that's tagged in the show notes for the record. On the on the TikTok I was on TikTok until about two months ago. My daughter's boyfriend saw like the Instagram reel that my marketing guy does for me. He's like you should put this on Tik TOK. I'm like, bro, I'm 49. I don't know, I don't know, I don't know how to Tik TOK. He's like I'll teach. I was like, okay. So back to your point about being a lifelong learner. I'm like I didn't know anything about a podcast five years ago. I didn't even. I didn't know how to write a book. I didn't know what it's, but it's fun when you learn.
Speaker 1:That's what life's about. There's a whole world out there, things that you can discover and then, achieve.
Speaker 2:All right, it is now time to go into the lightning round, where I ask you random questions. I'm going to show you the negative hits of taking too many hits in college not bong hits, but football hits. Your job is to answer these ideally as quickly as you can, and my job is to try to get a giggle out of you. All right, okay, true or false, you are still a part of the dog pound. True, solid, true or false? Bernie Kosar is your favorite quarterback. False, great quarterback though 19. So good.
Speaker 1:I saw him on an airplane. Oh quick, bernie Kosar story. We're getting on an airplane flight to like LA from Cleveland, or no, from LA back to Cleveland, Sorry about the lightning round. And he's behind me. No, he's in front of me and he's struggling to get his bag into the first class cabin and there's a bunch of people behind me and he looks at me. He goes, sorry about it, and I go it's okay, bernie, I'll block for you any day. And he grabs my shoulder. He goes.
Speaker 2:Thanks, brother and that was it. Oh, smiled I. Did he have the entire flight home? Did he have the flowing long hair still?
Speaker 1:no, no, not yet, but he's. He's definitely special in the 80s so you were like bernie kozar's offensive lineman is what you're saying oh, 100 on the plane stopping, stopping everybody giving Bernie space, the week Giving Bernie space, to give A hundred percent.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, tell me the last book you read.
Speaker 1:Ooh a beautiful town about Shaker Heights, ohio, where I live right now.
Speaker 2:Okay, Sounds good. What would be the one genre of music that might surprise your?
Speaker 1:coworkers. I don't know, I'm pretty foregone conclusion there. Like, being an indie folk guy, I'll throw a little like I mean, yeah, like 90s rap, hip hop.
Speaker 2:I was on there, dude.
Speaker 2:True, true I actually did biggie smalls this morning in my workout. Oh I love it. God, biggie is so good. I, I didn't. I wish I was more of a biggie fan during the minute I liked him, but I didn't really listen to him as much. But I really like the old school 90s rap so good. Um, if you were to go on vacation right now, you and your wife sorry boys, you guys are staying home. Where are now you and your wife? Sorry boys, you guys are staying home. Where are where would you take your wife?
Speaker 1:Let's go to Italy, let's do Como, let's do the Lake District.
Speaker 2:Okay, have you? I'm sure you've been to Venice. I have. That's one of my favorite places in the world.
Speaker 1:I love Venice. It's so special, the entire country.
Speaker 2:Just and my father-in-law. But I went shout out to bruce. If you listen, you know like when you go like was it called san marcos square, they have the uh, like all the buildings are so close and they have like the white chalk on the on the brick walls where it's like arrows are getting back to san marcos square. He just said, get get lost. And if you get lost, look for the arrows, they'll take you right back to san Marcos Square. And we found like this hole in the wall I mean no offense to the restaurant dump, like a little, and it was a grandma, a mom and a daughter and there was three tables and there was a line of like 10 people. I'm like, I'm like my wife, like I don't know about this one, like I think this is the place. There's no one in, there's three tables and 10 people. Let's go here. We literally stand in line. The coolest meals ever. Yeah, so authentic and that's great. Okay, a couple last questions. Tell me your favorite comedy movie ever?
Speaker 1:That's a tough one Step brothers, I'll say anything. Will Ferrell and his prime, I think.
Speaker 2:I think those are good. Those are. Please come, best friends. Yeah, touch my drum set. If there was to be a book written about your life, tell me the title. Ooh, the Tale of the Four Scorpios. Okay. So now, andre, you're never going to believe it, it's already sold out. I actually, when you typed that, I was on Amazon, I hit publish Pre-sales going freaking nuts, barnes and noble, they're sold out airports. I can't get enough copies, it's everybody's. So now netflix is trying to get a touch with us right now. That's it. You become the casting director. Who's going to star you?
Speaker 1:it's, critically, jeremy piven is, I always get the piven. I get the ari gold piven all the time. So I think jeremy JP is going to. It's going to star me Solid.
Speaker 2:Well said, I like that. Yeah, okay. And then last and most important question Tell me two words that would describe your wife.
Speaker 2:Selfless and thoughtful Bingo, solid ones, brother Lighting rounds, complete. We had a couple of giggles, uh, self-induced. I always laugh at my own jokes. That's what good dads do. Um, it has been an honor getting to know you.
Speaker 2:I'm grateful for david and mr dews for um, making us, uh, connected and um, I'm grateful that you took the time to to share your story, which I I'm confident uh, there's a dad out there that that will help, will help realize that, hey, if you're going through a tough time and maybe mom and dad's way she's not the best You're not alone.
Speaker 2:And, um, if you, maybe you, if you're a mom or dad out there and you have had a dad with dementia that you lost a life I got, we got that in common. So, um, I think when I started this podcast six years ago, man, the goal was really to just bring we're all going through shit and as much as we have, whether you're a CRO, you're a former executive at a company or a bus driver or stay-at-home dad, your kids don't give two shits everybody. What they care about is hey, can we go keep catty for me? Hey, can we go get ice cream? Hey, can we go play catch? Right, we go get ice cream. Hey, can we go play catch Right? And so I think we can all, as dads, really humble ourselves to realize the most important job is the one we all have in common is just like creating good humans, creating good character. Um, that's what it's about. So I appreciate you giving your time, and I know it'll possibly impact your family specifically with some of the stories you shared.
Speaker 1:Great, it was great talking to, great, getting to know you really appreciate the time you bet man.