People

1 Comment Posted on People, Storytelling, Uncategorized

I Guess We Need to Talk About the Fact I Shaved My Head, Right? 3 Reasons I Chose the Bald Look.

For nearly two years of my life, for continuity purposes, it was important that I maintained the same look as my doppelganger on the soup package, for my journey on The Lifetime Network’s This Time Next Year; which just aired last week. But now that the episode has aired, I was ready to move on; yet it’s impossible for a guy who is known for having hair to abruptly shave it all off with a zero guard and not be met with this response:

“Wait, what?! What did you do? You can still grow hair right? Why did you shave it all off?”

Therefore, I figured I owed it to the entire world to explain my specific reasons why I would choose the life of a bald man; for now, at least.

1) I was ready to experience a dynamic character transition, like Thor in the new Ragnarok movie.

I’ve never been the kind of guy who could keep the same hairstyle. Ever since college, I’ve had this habit of buzzing off my hair, then having it sort of short for a while, then shaggy for about 2 weeks, then my wife would make me get it cut… to which I would return to the buzzing it all off again.

So perhaps it’s understandable that psychologically, I have been more than ready for quite a while to return to my “bald by choice” status. After modeling my look after another person for nearly 2 years, I was ready to look like “myself” instead.

2) I wanted to prove to myself that having hair was not a confidence crutch.

A secret that many men keep, but most don’t admit, is that they fear, at any age, they will go bald; and therefore, will believe the misconception they are less valuable as men. This is so much of an epidemic, that in my most popular YouTube channel, I serve as a mentor in reminding younger men (who are showing signs of balding) that they are judged by society for other reasons (like being confident, being skilled, being helpful, etc.) but that hair is simply a distraction from their true identity.

I have preached that message so much that I felt it was important that I myself proved that my hair was not a source of my confidence. So I did. And I was right. I don’t need hair to be confident.

3) I knew it would be a smart move in making more revenue as a YouTuber.

My YouTube channel for this blog (Family Friendly Daddy Blog) did not get the newly required 1,000 subscribers before February 20th that it needed to continue to be monetized. Therefore, I needed a way to make up the money I’m losing now. So I figured I could make up the difference on other channel (Nick Shell), the one dedicated to mentoring younger, balding men.

Fortunately, my gamble paid off. My subscribership to that channel is now soaring, now that I’m bald by choice, which hopefully will lead to more revenue maid from that channel.

But really, my decision to shave off my hair was this simple: I wanted to. I felt like it.

So I did.

4 Comments Posted on People, Storytelling, Uncategorized

What It Was Like Meeting My Doppelganger on “Dudes From Different Latitudes” of Lifetime’s “This Time Next Year”

I am completely satisfied and proud of the way my episode turned out. That was my 7 minutes of fame, and I’m grateful for every minute of it.

However, so much of the footage was cut. For example, the main thing you didn’t get to see was when I actually met my doppelganger Steve for the first time.

He and I were both driven separately to this Mexican café somewhere right outside of Hollywood. When we met, we immediately hugged, then my first words to him were, “Man, you’re a good looking guy!

Naturally, he instantly returned the same compliment.

We exchanged gifts soon after: I brought him a Nashville t-shirt and he brought me a Canadian t-shirt; as he lives north of Seattle, in Canada.

Then with Steve’s phone, we took some selfies, including one of us making the “Campbell’s Soup” face.

Steve and I were able to spend the whole day together from that point forward, including just waiting around the dressing room, as other guests on the show would stop by and ask us, “What was your guys’ goal?”

Our simple and strange response: “To find each other.”

To which they would ask, “Oh, you two are brothers?”

Then another simple and strange response from us: “No, he was on a package of soup.”

I liked Steve so much that it really is a shame he and I truly are “dudes from different latitudes.” I am convinced he would be a friend I would hang out with a lot.

And this is funny too: In the weeks leading up to the show airing, he was “liking” my Facebook posts about the show, though no one realized who he was at that point.

One of the famous questions people have asked me about him was whether I thought we actually looked alike.

He says I look more like his brother than his own brother looks like him. Meanwhile, I say that I look more like his picture on the package of soup than he does.

For what it’s worth, one of my cousins took a picture of Steve on the TV screen when the show aired and posted to Facebook. Turns out, Facebook’s facial recognition software immediately detected that Steve was me.

So apparently, we can at least fool a computer.

I thought it was cool how on the first part of my segment, I told Cat Deeley, “He may even be 6′ 3”.

My prophecy came true: Steve is 6 foot 3 inches tall, in noticeable contrast to me being 5 foot 9, as we walked through those This Time Next Year doors on stage.

Steve really is an awesome guy. I told him if he’s ever in Nashville, he’s got a place to stay. To which he immediately made the same offer if I’m ever in British Columbia.

All because of a package of soup.

1 Comment Posted on People, Storytelling, Uncategorized

What It Was Like Meeting Cat Deeley, Both Times, on The Lifetime Network’s “This Time Next Year”

Other than the lead singer of the country group Alabama, Randy Owen, whose son Heath is my age, I had never actually met anyone famous before. (I grew up in Fort Payne, Alabama; the same hometown as the group, during the 1980s and 1990s, which was the prime time of their success).

Honestly, I’ve never been the kind of person who has been too caught up in meeting celebrities. Since 2005, I’ve lived in the Nashville area, where you assume that everyday you’re unknowingly standing in the same room as some successful musician or songwriter.

But the way I’ve always perceived it, I felt it would be dehumanizing to reduce a celebrity to approaching them in an attempt to get their autograph, or these days, a selfie.

That’s why back on Valentine’s Day 2010, when I just happened to be in the Cool Springs Whole Foods getting flowers for my wife, and Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman where there having lunch, I did my best to pretend I didn’t see them.

Granted, I immediately texted my wife a picture from far across the store where Keith and Nicole hopefully didn’t catch me, but still… I had no interest in going up to them and making a fool of myself and saying, “Uh, hey, uh, Keith, man… I love your songs, man… that one where you talk about driving a car… and Nicole, you were my favorite part about the Val Kilmer Batman movie…”

But now, I have officially met a world-famous celebrity. And let me secret the record straight: She is the real deal.

I’m referring to Cat Deeley, the host of So You Think You Can Dance, and now also, This Time Next Year; the show where I made my TV debut this week.

In case you’ve seen my episode, “Dudes From Different Latitudes”, you know that I met Cat Deeley twice; with a year in between.

She truly is an exceptional human being. I can see why she was chosen as the host for this show; serving both as a sympathetic cheerleader and a bright narrator.

Granted, I was the token comic relief for my episode, as the other 5 guests on my episode had deep, heart-felt stories. So when it came time to meet me on the show, she had to shift her role to reflect the quirkiness of my personality and the novelty of my year-long goal.

I have to say, I wasn’t nervous at all. But had I been, she would have put my nerves at ease. That’s one of her many talents.

When we shot the first part of the episode out in some nameless, mysterious studio in Hollywood in November 2016, the director had Cat and I redo the end of the scene.

That’s because right before I stood up to go walk out that magical door for my year-long journey, she hugged me in support of my goal.

But the moment after I walked through the overly illuminated door, I was greeted by the producer, who explained with a smile, “You did great! But I’m being told we have to reshoot that last part. Cat hugged you. She’s not supposed to hug anyone on the show.”

So we redid that part, and this time, she remembered not to hug me. But right before they pressed record, during those couple of seconds where no one could hear what she was saying but me, she told me, “You’re freakin’ awesome.”

I share that story because it illustrates how warm and encouraging her personality is. I also sensed that was her way of saying, “I could use a laugh right about now,” in the midst of all the serious stories she had been hearing that day.

If so, I’m glad I could brighten her day, as she surely brightened everyone else’s.

Even if it’s a long shot, I hope she’s reading this now. I want her to know what an amazing job she’s done as a host on This Time Next Year.

And that’s the case with all the other people who were featured on the show with me. We all spent a lot of time together and got to learn each other’s stories. This was a common theme in every conversation:

“Wasn’t Cat just great? She has such a way of making a person feel comfortable and natural.”

So yes, that’s what we were all saying about her. And that’s what I’m saying about Cat Deeley again today.

Honestly, it would be my dream to co-host with her someday.

If nothing else, I can now officially say I have met a famous person. Plus, she handed me my guitar.

Yes, a famous person, who is really really cool, touched the same guitar I played the song “Dudes From Different Latitudes” on.

I think I’ll be bragging about that for a while.

Leave a comment Posted on fatherhood, parenting, People, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Holly: Nearly 2 Years Later, It’s Hard to Imagine You Having Any Other Name

1 year, 10 months.

Dear Holly,

Like your brother’s name, Jack, you also have one of those classic, easy to spell, easy to recognize, but not overly popular names.

Every generation has its Holly, yet the name never quite pings the radar like the names Jennifer or Amanda from my age group, nor Chloe or Sophia in your age group.

Everyone knows a Holly. It’s a name that’s been around for quite a while, too; since the 1930s.

But I am pretty confident to predict that there will never be another Holly in any of your classes throughout school.

Whereas I pretty much immediately named your brother before Mommy had a chance to offer up anything, that’s how it was with naming you, but the other way around.

Mommy always had the name Holly in mind, if we ever had a girl.

So when we found out you were going to be a girl, there was no thinking to be done. Conveniently for me, Holly was a name that easily worked.

I’m trying to imagine you by any other name.

I could potentially see Jenna.

And even though I really like the name Lola, you don’t look like a Lola.

The funny thing is, I don’t know what a Holly is supposed to look like.

Anyone I’ve met named Holly has looked completely different from the next one.

I am very proud of your name. It’s not a name I would have thought of on my own, but thanks to Mommy, it was the only name ever considered.

Perhaps subconsciously, I’ve always seen your name as the perfect feminine foil to your brother’s classic masculine name.

If I’m going to have a son with a undeniably masculine name like Jack, who’s into Pokemon and Halo, then my daughter needs to have an undeniably feminine name like Holly, who’s into Minnie Mouse and baby dolls.

You were meant to be my Holly.

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on fatherhood, parenting, People, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: More than 7 Years Later, I Am Still Very Proud of Your Name

7 years, 3 months.

Dear Jack,

A poll was recently conducted which showed that 18%, nearly 1 in 5 parents, regret the baby name they chose. But more than 7 years later, I can immediately confirm that I am part of the 82% who has no regrets about this.

I am sure there are some subconscious rules that parents have regarding the overall themes of potential names for their baby.

As for me, it is part of my own identity that my own children have classic, easy to spell, easy to recognize, but not overly popular names.

For me, the name Jack perfectly fits this description.

While Jackson (Jaxson, Jaxon, etc.) is undeniably a popular name for boys your age, it is not the same case for the name Jack.

You are the only Jack in your entire grade. Yes, there are Jacksons, but not other Jack.

And it’s been that way ever since you were 7 months old and began daycare.

Even when I was growing up, I never remember there being a Jack in my grade, or any grade before or after mine.

The immediate reason I chose to name you Jack was because that’s my dad’s name. I gave you your first name, and Mommy gave you your middle name; which is William, the name of Mommy’s father, who passed away shortly after Mommy and I were married nearly a decade ago.

While Jack is a very popular go-to name for male protagonists in TV shows and movies, it’s not very often in real life you meet someone named Jack.

It’s a good, strong, masculine name that is instantly interesting; as if it has its own built-in story.

You were so easy to name. And if this can make sense, you definitely wear the name quite well. It’s hard to imagine you having any other name.

You were meant to be my Jack.

Love,

Daddy