Mick Unplugged - Raw, Unfiltered, Purpose: The Dad Edge Unleashed with Larry Hagner

Episode Date: February 9, 2026

Larry Hagner is the voice behind The Dad Edge, a top-ranked podcast transforming the lives of millions of men into better husbands, fathers, and leaders. A man on a mission to create legendary legacies, Larry fearlessly turns vulnerability into strength, redefining what it means to lead at home and beyond with unwavering purpose and relentless empowerment.Takeaways:The "Because" - Your True North: Larry emphasizes that while "why" focuses on immediate motives, understanding your "but why" (your "because") reveals the deeper purpose driving your actions, like avoiding the "drift" or fulfilling a life of intentional impact.Intentional Living Through the Brave Man Code: To escape feeling overwhelmed, Larry champions living by the Brave Man Code (Bond, Raise, Amplify, Vitality, Enjoy), setting three SMART goals in each category weekly to ensure deliberate progress and a balanced, joyful life.The Power of Community and Shared Vulnerability: Building a community like The Dad Edge Alliance allows men to overcome the isolating tendency to "white-knuckle" life's challenges, fostering an environment where shared experiences, mutual support, and vulnerability lead to profound personal and familial growth.Sound Bytes:"The definition of hell is meeting the man that you could have been when you're laying on your deathbed.""This will never happen when I have kids. I'm going to be a good dad.""I truly believe we get one shot at this life, like just one. And why not make it amazing?"Connect & Discover Larry:Website: thedadedge.comWebsite: goodmenproject.comInstagram: @thedadedgeFacebook: @larry.hagner.3YouTube: @TheDadEdgeBook: The Pursuit of Legendary Fatherhood: Break Old Patterns and Create an Epic Legacy as a Father and Husband🔥 Ready to Unleash Your Inner Game-Changer? 🔥 Mick Hunt’s BEST SELLING book, How to Be a Good Leader When You’ve Never Had One: The Blueprint for Modern Leadership, is here to light a fire under your ambition and arm you with the real-talk strategies that only Mick delivers. 👉 Grab your copy now and level up your life → Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million  FOLLOW MICK ON:Spotify: MickUnpluggedInstagram: @mickunplugged Facebook: @mickunpluggedYouTube: @MickUnpluggedPodcast LinkedIn: @mickhunt Website: MickHuntOfficial.comWebsite: howtobeagoodleader.comApple: MickUnpluggedSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, I'm really proud of this episode that you're about to listen to with my buddy, Larry Hagner. We go places in this episode. We talk about his because, and you're going to get emotional hearing it. So at the end of the episode, I really want you to get there when Larry's talking about his most favorite or most memorable dad when. I mean, he gets extremely emotional. So if you are a father, this episode is for you. Get your kids together. If you're a father and you have young ones, this episode, you guys need to listen together.

It's going to be amazing, amazing, amazing, and I'm not going to hold it up. Ladies and gentlemen, I present my good friend and all-American dad, Mr. Larry Hagner. You're listening to Mick Unplugged, hosted by the one and only Mick Hunt. This is where purpose meets power, and stories spark transformation. Mick takes you beyond the motivation and into meaning, helping you discover your because and becoming unstoppable. I'm Rudy Rush. Trust me, you're in the right place. Let's get unplugged. Larry, how you doing today, brother?

I'm speechless, man. I've never had an intro like that. I'm like, wow, that's really cool. I want to meet this guy. Very well deserved, man. Very well deserved. Huge fan of the person that you are. You and I've gotten to talk recently. And I become even more impressed. You know, like when you, when you listen to someone, I already told you I'm a huge fan of your podcast. One of my sons is very, is very much. visiting me out of town and we he's been binge listening to a few episodes of yours but then when you get to meet that person for real and they're even more magnificent than you think they are like that's always refreshing and that is who you are now. Oh man. Thank you so much. To be honest man, I feel the exact same way about you. I just want to hedge on the show on the dad edge podcast. Like it was just such tremendous chemistry and such a good conversation and you provided so much value I know for the for the audience.

It was just awesome. So I appreciate that and back at you. I appreciate you back, man. I appreciate you back. And, you know, my show, I always like to start the conversation around your because, that thing that's deeper than your why, right? Like your why, probably your kids,

the legacy you want to leave behind. But when I say but why, you usually start that sentence with because of X, Y, and Z. And I care about the moment you say because. And so all the things that you do, you know, your mission to help men live legendary lives. What's your because? What's that purpose for Larry Hagner to do those things?

I got to be honest, man. I think I have a few becausees, but one is I know how it feels to, you know, be in the drift. Is what we call it in our community is, you know, is you're just drifting, right? It's nothing's necessarily wrong, broken. We're not tremendously uncomfortable. But once you're out of that drift, you realize how uncomfortable you actually really were. right not living like this very purposeful life so um i think it's really i mean i i i truly believe we get one shot at this life like just one and why not make it amazing why not make it as

legendary and is as amazing as possible right because it maybe maybe it's this you know i i don't know if i've ever even been asked this question but that's one reason but here's another you know it It goes down with a with a with a quote that I heard from Napoleon Hill, which is the definition of hell is meaning the man that you could have been when you're laying on your deathbed. And I don't know what it is. I even get the chills saying that. And I remember the first time I ever heard it where exactly where I was and what I was doing.

And I was like, whoa, it was like a wrecking ball just went right through my heart. And I was like, whoa, I cannot imagine a life like that. Like I just can't. And then there's another because. and the other because is I'm raising four men, right? I'm raising four young men. And, you know, my family, you know, generations, like we've always had, there's been a serious pattern there.

And I'm happy to go into that. But I'm like, I'm not going to do this on my watch. Yeah. Like these kids are going to have a different experience and they're going to become different men. And so I would say those three reasons are why because. Amazing. And getting to know you like I have.

And I told you when I was on your podcast, how a huge fan of you that I was and how we have some similarity. So, you know, you kind of went past the cycles a little bit. And I definitely want to go there. Let's talk about the cycles that you're changing in your life because everyone that's a subscriber to this show, you understand that's exactly part of my because, right? I didn't have representation in my household. and the cycle had to change with me. The buck had to stop with me, right? Like I told you, Larry, like I had a dad physically in my household, but emotionally I never knew he was there.

And he probably never knew I was there, right? What are the cycles that you're breaking or that you're changing as well? Well, I think if you, it's always good to also to be talking to someone who understands this, right? And you experience it firsthand. You know, my, my mom was married. me and my parents, I honestly believe parents do the best job that they can with what they have at the time. So, and being a 50-year-old man for raising four boys, I'm like, I can't remember. I can't even count how many times I've messed up.

There's so many, right? Yeah. And but I look back on that and my mom was married three times. And there was just a revolving door of toxic men that just came in and out of my life, whether she was dating somebody for a week, a season, a year, or they were roommates or they were married. like there was a variety of them, but they all had the same type of mentality. They were all toxic. They were all drinkers. They were all abusers. It was a lot. And I remember growing up in that way and add to insult to injury, my biological father, I never knew growing up ever. My mom and him were married for four years. And they had me. And then after they had me, they got divorced. And I have no recollection of my dad. They got

divorce within the first year I was born. And then when I was four, my mom got remarried. That guy adopted me. He became my dad. I thought that was my dad from the very start. I actually thought that's how dads come about is they moms go out and find a dude and bring him home. Here's your dad. Like I had no idea that I literally had no clue that I had another dad. And I finally had an opportunity to meet my dad when I was 12, my real dad. And it was two years after my mom's second divorce to my stepdad who had adopted me. And, and, you know, and, you know, and, you know, I had no idea where he lived. I just knew his name. And then we met. And we had a relationship for about six months. And he left again. And that killed me. Killed me. And I remember like literally sitting,

and I have a 12 year old. I remember sitting on the edge of my bed and hanging up the phone, the landline, because there were no cell phones back in 1987. And I remember just sitting there asking myself, what, what just happened? Like, did I just lose my biological father for the second time in my life. I think I just was sort of questioning that. And I just remember sitting there and be like, I started to cry and I was like, this will never happen when I have kids. I remember saying that out loud when I was 12. This will never happen when I have kids. I'm going to be a good dad. So like I literally from 12 years old, I was like, I want to be a good dad. But here's the interesting thing, Mick. I mean, you know this from teaching leadership. The desire to be a good dad has nothing to do. It has a

bit to do, but it's not going to get you to great dad or fulfilled dad or our good dad, right? It's the desire. It's important, but it's not going to get you there. And what I found was is the biggest missing ingredient because I had a really a really bad moment with my four-year-old who's 18 now, who I wouldn't even mess with to save my life. I always promised myself, I will never strike my children out of anger ever because I was hit a lot. When my son was four, he stepped out of line. I turned him around. I swatted him on a And unfortunately, I hit him so hard. He lost his footing and he fell flat on his face.

And he was okay. Thank goodness. And I went to go help to pick him up because I was like, oh my God. Like what did I just do? Like literally like it was that fast. I was like, oh, what did I just do? And I was like, hey, are you? And I went to go pick him up and he saw me coming at him.

And he literally just like, please don't hurt me. Like literally you like shook. And I was like, what am I doing? Like I, this is exactly what I said. I wasn't going to do. Like what is happening and why? And then that was 2012. And then that was it, man. Like I surrendered to God. I surrendered to everything. I was like, please just, I just want to learn this. What's the best way to learn this? I just need to learn it. And that's, that's, that was 13 years ago. Actually, gosh, 15 years ago or 14 years ago. And that's all I've been doing is learning.

Like, everything that we do is learning. That's it. Dude. And again, that's part of the reason. why I'm a huge fan of you and what you do, just that, that vulnerability, that transparency, that honesty. And you just said something that I believe into. Like I heard you say, good father, right? And I think a lot of times, whether it's fatherhood, leadership, entrepreneurship, whatever, there's such a, such a spell on being great that sometimes we forget that you control good, right? Like, I can't be great every day, but I can definitely be good, right?

Greatness usually is someone else's opinion of you anyway. Like, you can be good, and I think in order to be perceived as great, you've got to have several good moments or several good things that you do. And you've interviewed and talked to thousands of fathers, right? Former Navy Seals, athletes, entrepreneurs, you name it. what do you think or a couple of traits that all good fathers have that all good dads have?

I think that's such a good question. I think they're lifelong students. I really, really do. And I think that they're willing to drop the ego, right? And when I say ego, like that's just something that really, really protects us, right?

It's like, you know, it's really odd. You know, if you really think about it. This perfect example, right? My 18-year-old son, he just turned 18, and he's like, hey, I want to pick up guitar.

I want to learn the guitar. So he's been watching YouTube videos, and he's leaving for college in eight months. And I'm trying to figure out every which way I can to spend time with him. So I'm like, hey, can I learn guitar with you? So I went out and bought a guitar and we're learning guitar together. And but I think it answers your question, like, what separates a good dad is like being like, I don't know how to play guitar. Let's go learn, right?

versus like, I'm not going to pick up the guitar because I don't want to sound bad or I don't want to look bad or like I'm just not musical, right? Or I'm just not good with a guitar. Anybody can learn anything, right? Literally anything. It's just a matter of like, are you going to allow yourself to learn it? Are you going to engage in a process to learn something? So to answer your question, I think a good dad does two things. He sidesteps his ego.

I'm like, nope, I'm never done learning ever, ever, ever. In fact, like, you know this as well as I do. I have two adult children now. It's like a totally different world now. Like, you know, connecting with them and trying to like, it's like you can ground them anymore or anything like that. It's like a totally different game. And like I'm so I joke all the time.

I'm like, I'm learning a whole new season of fatherhood right now. And that's raising adult kids and my little kids at the same time. But yeah, two things. Learning and being able to just surrender the ego. Amazing. And you just hit on something to like, I'm not going to say I'm lucky or fortunate.

I don't mean it in that sense. but my kids are relatively close in age, right? And so there were cool moments for me when my children got into their late teens and early 20s when you definitely go, you're still dad, you're still a father. But then it morphs into like friendship. It morphs into like best friendship. And that is such a very cool thing because it's something

I never got to experience, as I'm sure you did it neither. And so to have that moment, man, like, even thinking about it, I can sometimes get emotional because it's just like, wow, like I have like my kids best friends, right? You know, like, we, they're comfortable to talk to me about anything and not be judged by it. They're, they're cool telling me when, you know, they've had good days, when they've had bad days. or it's like, hey, dad, I need you to be dad right now. Right. Like, talk to us about that because that's what I hear you saying, right?

It's like, holy crap, they're growing and I'm growing. And it's like, we enjoy doing things together. We really do. It's really interesting. Like I even tell my adult kids this, right? I was like, because, you know, we, our relationship is dynamically changing just a little bit, you know, just a little bits over time, you know, being that my old. This is 19 and, you know, the other one's 18.

But then I got 12 and a nine year old too, all boys. And, you know, the, the interesting thing that I tell, especially my oldest right now, because he's, he's out of high school. He's, he's a volunteer firefighter. He's going through EMT training right now and then paramedic training. And then he's going to the fire academy. So he's like a, you know, full blown, like, I'm out of school, adult type of person, right? But he still needs guidance and he still needs some discipline, you know, and that kind of thing. And when I have to, you know, pull those levers, I remind him, I'm like, hey, you know, I just want to remind you something.

We ain't best friends yet. Okay. I'm still your dad. Right. You got plenty of friends. You don't need another one. And I ain't going to be one of them. I was like, we are friends.

Okay. We are friends. But that's not to confuse our relationship with we're friends and I'm not your dad. Okay. I was like, now, when you're in your mid-20s and 30s, that's a little different. Right? I'm always going to be your dad. but we're going to ease more into that probably friendship type of phase.

But as of right now, when you're still trying to figure out life, I'm not your friend. Like, I love you, man. I love you way more than any of your friends do. But I ain't your friend. Yeah. I'm your dad. I can still tell you what to do. No, I'm with you on that because I think for me, like, I definitely had that phase where it's like, hey, I'm still dad.

And for me, it was because you still need money, I'm still dad. Right. So, Larry, I promise you you're going to get to a phase really quick when they go get, maybe not their first apartment, but usually that second one, because the first one, they still need that. And then it's like, hey, you want to move. You want to break this lease or, you know, you got to do whatever. You're on your own now, right? You're off daddy's payroll. That's when it becomes really cool. So I promise you, Larry, there is light. Yeah, yeah. But, but, you know, the cool thing is this, though, is we do, we're really engaging in a lot of friends stuff lately. You know, so. it's like, yes, I'm still their parents. So like, I'll give you an example. So like, I'm really, I'm like methodically and like strategically like inserting myself into my 18 year old's life because he's going to be the first one to leave the nest here in eight months. So every three weeks, we go get he go, we go get haircuts and I get a beard trim and then we, we go out to eat or we we go do something fun. Every three weeks, like that's our cadence. And when we, when we leave the barbershop, we've already made an appointment for the next three weeks. So the cool thing about

that is that, you know, when we go out, you know, yes, we talk about dad, son stuff, right? But he also asks a lot of questions and we have conversations that I think are more friendly, right, that I don't have with his little brothers, like his 12 and 9 year old, right? It's more like man to man talk. Yeah. Which I really love how that's evolving into. Yeah. Yeah.

That's awesome. So I want to talk to the male listener and viewer right now, whether you're a father or not, because, you know, your conversations are much deeper than obviously. just fatherhood, too, like you're a big proponent of legacy. And you talk a lot about legacy. So for the person that's listening or that's watching, Larry, and they're struggling because they feel like they're just surviving, right? How do you help people to start building intentionally,

to start living intentionally? Because I know intentionality is a huge pillar of your discussion. So talk to that viewer list. or force really quick. I think there's a few different ways that you can do it. And it just depends on, I think, what really works well for you, right? So can I give you an example that is probably extreme, but it's how I live. Yeah. So I have a whiteboard here. And you'll find me every single Sunday sitting in something. And I take my clients to those two. I actually run guys through groups like this. It's called the generals tent, the generals tent. And what we do is,

plan for mission success for the week. I've never been in the military or anything like that, but this is how we roll, right? The military is very effective in how they do. They know what mission success looks like and they plan accordingly. So the way I live life and the way my clients live life is we live our life within what's called the Brave Man Code, the Brave Man Code. It's a system. Brave stands for bond. Bond is your marriage. That's the B. R is raised. That's fatherhood. A is amplify. That's your business, your wealth, and your money. V is vitality. That's the food, the beverages, whatever you put in your mouth, and also the media and whatever you're taking in in the brain, which the output of that is your energy. And I know this might shock you,

but the E stands for joy. And when clients come and knock on my door and they're like, you're going to hold me accountable for joy, I'm like, absolutely. Three missions a week of joy. And they're like, why? I was like, if you have no joy, you have no joy to give. So I think to answer your question, to live intentionally, what I do within that Brave Man code is I will, I will actually identify three smart goals per week in those five categories. So I'm going to do three things with my wife or for my wife. I'm going to do three things with my kids or for my kids, right? I'm going to do three things within the business that moves the needle. Vitality, same thing. What does my nutrition look like? What does my exercise look like? What does my hydration and

sleep look like? And then for my joy, like one of the things I think that is 70, percent of men report being lonely. I know it sounds kind of crazy, but like I go and either walk with another friend of mine here in this neighborhood and we just walk for an hour, or I'll go have coffee with a buddy, or I'll get on a Zoom call with one of my friends and we'll have a virtual coffee and there's no agenda. I just want to, hey, how is life, right? And that brings me another thing too that brings me joyous scripture. Every day I'm in a Bible study, even with my oldest son. And just you have to have that joy. And so many men will sidestep that because we grind and I really think and don't get me wrong I work I'm a huge fan of working insanely hard

like outwork people like but at the same time that has to be balanced with a little bit of oxygen because otherwise no one wants the 24-7 grinder type a warrior man right they also want the less overwhelmed compassionate hey bring it in like hey we're all here right and you if you have no joy you have no joy to give but living intentionally how I teach is three smart goals in those five categories per week, and they actually go on my calendar. And I'll tell you, man, it's an incredible way to live because like every week I get to do a planning, but I also get to do an after action review. I got four kids. I have several moving parts of my business. Like my health changes. I need different things. And so does my marriage.

So I'm looking back on previous week or even we be like, hey, what's needed this week? Like what do what actually needs to happen? I hung out with these two kids last week. These two kids got neglected. So I'm making sure that they get attention. So it's things like that living very intentionally strategically almost, I know it sounds kind of crazy, but methodically. And I know that might sound like a hard way to live. It brings me so much and my client brings me so much joy and my clients because there's no guesswork and what I'm going to do. And there's no like, yeah, I'd like to do that thing. I'd like to take my wife out on that date, you know, sometime. Oh, no, no, I'm doing that Friday. That's happening Friday. So like that, I think that.

That's one way of several that you can live. It's amazing, man. It's amazing. And, you know, going to the dad edge for a quick moment. But, yes, a podcast. But it's also a community, man. And I see that in a lot of the things you were just saying, right? Like go meet with someone and have a cup of coffee.

Go for a walk with someone. Like almost encouraging, inspiring, letting people talk. because I think there are a lot of times where us as men, we feel like we have to be tough. We have to have all the answers. Us as parents, us as fathers, right? Like the buck stops with us, right? You and I talked about that a little bit.

The buck stops with us. Let's talk about the dad edge as a community. What does that mean to you personally, right? Like what does it mean for you to build this community of fathers and dads and help everyone and also learn from other people because that's also a community, right? Community is never about the person to organize it. It's about the tribe within. Tell us about what that community means to.

Well, thank you for asking, number one. But I'll start this with kind of a funny story. Back in 2015, when I first started the podcast, in which, by the way, I'll say a name. And if you don't know who he has, I would love to introduce you guys. He would wonderful podcast guest. his name is Aaron Walker lives in Nashville. He's best friends with Dave. You know Aaron?

He's been on mine. Yeah. Oh, man. He was my first coach. Wow. I look Big A, right? Yeah. I just love him, man.

And, you know, he's like, he's a little bit ahead of me in life, not too far. And but when I first started this, you know, 11 years ago, Aaron was one of the first guys that I think he was like within the first 20 episodes he came on. And I was like, who is this guy? This guy's awesome. and he runs a mastermind called ISI. And he's like, you need to come be a part of this. And I was like, why? He's like, Larry, do you have any men in your life that like support you?

And I was like, well, yeah. Like, you know, I'm still friends with guys I went to college with. He's like, no. That's not what I'm talking about. He's like, I'm not talking about the guys you go out and drink beer with. Okay. Yeah. I'm talking about guys you have good, deep conversations with about everything.

Good Christian men in your life. Do you have that? And I'm like, sadly, I don't. I really don't. And so I was like, all right, Aaron, how much does it cost to join this mastermind? He's like $500 a month? I was blown away. I was like, I can't afford that, Aaron, no.

And he's like, Larry, he goes, and I'll never forget this, Mick. And you know, Aaron, he goes, Larry, he's like, Larry, let me ask you something. He's like, you're doing a really good thing with the dad edge, okay? he's like, but if you don't know where you're going, this thing is going to burn down in a month, in a year. He's like, but I know that I can help you. And with the right direction, we can get you there. And he's like, or you can go out of it alone.

And he just, we're on a Zoom call. And he's like, call me back within 24 hours. I think it, I looked at the clock. I think it was just before 10 a.m. and I think I called him at 10.14. I said, I'm in. And I was like, I'll stay a month. And I got in that room very first Monday morning. And I was like, and I was surrounded by 10 other men, Christian business owners. And I was blown away. I was like, every answer to every question that I ever wanted to ask is actually in this room. And they really care. They really care about each other. Like, this is amazing. So I stayed in that program for a year.

And then I started my own, start at the Dad Edge Alliance community, very similar. And what does this mean to me to answer a question? Mick, when guys come in and they're like, hey, man, I'm done white knuckle on this. I'm just done. I'm like, I see you. I love you. And I was you. I know exactly where you're at.

Come on in, man. The water's warm. and then these guys start to learn, right? They get really excited. They start implementing these skills within marriage and like how they're more patient fathers and they're having better conversations. Like all these amazing things are happening. They're coming back and reporting this.

They're like, oh my gosh, this is the most amazing thing ever. And when I see guys with their hair on fire for this stuff, I'm getting the chills talking about this. Dude, this gives me so much hope that we, I know this sounds like woo-woo, but dude, this gives me so much. much hope that we can actually change the trajectory of families just by doing this work, by more men doing work like this. I believe that with every ounce of me, man. Yeah, totally agree, dude. Totally agree. So before I get you out of here on my rapid fire top five, man, I want to

give you the floor just a moment to talk about some of the things you have going on, where people can connect with you, how they could potentially join this community and all that. So the floor is yours, man. Oh, thank you so much. I really appreciate that. Yeah, I mean, I always start with the podcast, you know, like I joke. I was like, I got almost 11 years of content. I've got enough content to keep you busy there for quite some time. We talk about several different areas, you know, marriage, parenting, your health, your money and your joy and your faith, if that's your thing. That's a big thing to us. So the podcast is everywhere. If you, want to if you're a reader i've got six books out there three kids books three chapter books um i just

released the pursuit of legendary fatherhood it just came out um september 16th that's a great place to start because literally everything we've ever taught in the alliance i pretty much put it at book so it might be a good place to start you can find that if you go the dad edge dot com for slash legendary book you can find it there and if you're like hey yeah i've gone down the road of reading and YouTube and listening to podcast and it doesn't move the needle. All it does is just give me a bunch of ideas that I never do anything with. Then the mastermind might be for you. If you go to the dad edge.com forward slash mastermind, you'll see two different pathways.

One is the alliance. That's for our career guys. And one is called the Dad Edge Business Boardroom. That's for our business owners out there. So we've created two separate programs because, I mean, I think you and I agree that entrepreneurs, we're wired a little different, you know. A little cuckoo. in a good way. But we have different needs. So that's why we separated those programs. And then I do

one-on-one coaching as well. Good stuff. I'll make sure that we have links to all of that in the show notes, the descriptions. I will make sure I post some things on social too to just get people there because I'm a huge fan of that. I mean, like I said at the beginning, my boys enjoy your podcast. And so that means something to me when they listen to it and binge listen and actually talk to me about some of the conversations. That's when you know it's the right thing. I got to be honest with you, Mick, man. I've been doing this for a long time. It's one of the best compliments I've ever received. Like for a dad to pass along information to a son, we don't pass along information that we don't believe in, right? In fact, we're really picky about that stuff. So like, dude, I, I receive that

in a way that like it almost makes me emotional. So thank you for that. That means that you pass. You Ask us on to your son. My gosh, thank you. No, man. I mean, it's because it's powerful. And I'm going to say this so Larry doesn't have to. But if you are a father, Dad Edge podcast is something you need to be subscribing. You need to be following. You need to be listening to. If you are a son, right, which most of us are, I don't put an age requirement on that.

you need to be listening to the Dad Edge podcast. And I would say, take a few episodes and listen together because they do spark conversation. And that's why I love it so much. It's not just listening. It's, oh, there's dialogue. Oh, someone is going through something that I'm going through right now. Or holy crap, I thought it was just me. And someone else is struggling with that.

Like, that was something that me and my son who's here with me this week, that we both laughed at. like, oh yeah, we do posture a little bit. Like there is that time where a son is like, yeah, I don't have to listen to dad. And then it's like, wait, dad, I need you. Yeah. It's like, how do you go from posturing to admitting that I need that? Like, that was one of my favorite episodes. I love that, man.

Just so you know, we really do listen to the podcast. I love that, man. Thank you. All right, Larry, I'm getting you out of here. Rapid Fire. Rapid Fire. Quick Five. What has been your favorite?

favorite dad win that is like always memorable that stuck in your mind to this day. You know, I mean, man, there's, I don't know if I call them like wins, but I would just tremendous gratitude for something that might have transpired, right? I might get a little emotional on this one, but I'll answer it fast. My son and my 18 year old and I did a bodybuilding show together in 2022. And it was his idea. I tried to talk him out of it. he was 14 at the time but i was he looked at me on new year's eve back in 2021 he's like hey

me and you we're going to do a bodybuilding show this year and i was like uh what he's like yeah and it's also in 16 weeks i already researched it and i was like you're too young for that he's like no i'm not i can be 13 and i'm like uh and i was like i was like i don't know about this mason he's like we get to train together every day and i was like i'm in i'm in done let's do it so we it. He got second place in his two categories. I got second two categories. That doesn't matter. That didn't. So I share that with you because after that happened, we sat down and he's like, what was your fair? I asked him, I was like, what was your favorite part of this whole thing after the show? You know, we were eating like pizza or whatever. And he's like, he's like winning my second place.

I was like, yeah, of course, man, right? You worked hard for it. He's like, what about you? I was like, I don't care about anything. I was like what I want. I was like this and I started to cry when I told me this. I was like spending every day with you in that gym. 16 weeks. It wasn't like the weights. It wasn't the training.

It was the connection, the conversations between the sets and making this memory with you, man. Like that's it. Like metals will come and go and dust will get on them. But man, this, this isn't the hard.

drive forever for me. So that's probably one of the biggest. I love that. Didn't mean to make you cry, but I love it. So question two, I'll lighten it up a little bit. You shouldn't do this, but I'm going to ask you anyway. Who's your favorite son and why is it Mason? Don't ask her.

Mason, you know, I got you brother. That's so funny, man. That's set me up for that one. Yeah. something you have for that. What's the most powerful book that you think all fathers should read? I think Wild at Heart by John Eldridge. I think it's such a good book. Such a good faith-based book, too. I think it kind of opens a man's heart a little bit more to Christ, which I love and it also gives them some earthly, really, really great things to latch on to.

Okay. Okay. What's one lesson that fatherhood has also taught you about leadership? Well, in the beginning, it taught me how horrible the leader I was and I thought I was, right? I think one of the biggest things that fatherhood has taught me about leadership is how clearly I communicate. Like, me telling my son, hey, go clean your room is my version of clean and his version is totally different. So I'm like, okay. So I think it's being very, very clear with communication, right? And also I think it's being very, very proactive with seeing things. out there before they happen versus like hey he needs you do this thing right now versus like hey we need

get ready for this thing right yeah good stuff for if you had one dad superpower what would it be if i had one and didn't have it yeah one dad superpower i would to be honest one thing that i struggle with um and i and i truly believe it's a it's a superpower is um i'm a pretty resilient person until I go past my resilient point and then it's hard to reel me back if that makes sense. So sometimes if I get really, really spun up, I have to like almost remove myself from a situation so I can like just recalibrate again because it's almost like I can't reel it in. It's very hard for me to do that once I've crossed like a line. Yep. Good stuff. Good stuff. Last one. Saturday morning.

Pancakes with the fam or a solo workout listening to your podcast? Well, as in me. Yeah, you. I actually don't listen to my own shows. Same. Yeah, just, but solo workout for sure. And I'll tell you why. I always get up.

I'm the first one up in my family on Saturdays and I hit the gym. First thing I do. And then it's funny you mentioned this because I'm literally taking my, I'm getting up early on Saturday, taking my nine-year-old to Taekwondo at 9 o'clock. And then we're going out for pancakes after that. Like, no kidding. We planned this last night. So it's so funny you're asking you that. That's hilarious.

Larry, man, I appreciate you more than you know. We need to do some recurring quarterly dad segment with Larry just to just because it's my show and we can. do it. But we should definitely have some recurring Larry in our life, man. Well, I agree, man. I'd love to have you back on the Dad Edge podcast because I felt like we just like scratched the surface. I'd love a round two with you anytime, man. Consider that done. Consider that done. I appreciate you, brother. For everybody that's watching or listening, remember your because is your superpower. Go unleash it. That's another powerful conversation on Mick Unplugged. If this episode moved you, and I'm sure

or did, follow the show wherever you listen, share it with someone who needs that spark, and leave a review so more people can find there because. I'm Rudy Rush, and until next time, stay driven, stay focused, and stay unplugged.