DADXDESIGN®
Life unfolds in one of two manners:
by default or by design.
DADXDESIGN® is a Newsletter for Dad’s who choose to parent with purpose.
Fatherhood.
by design.
Past Newsletters:
You can do all the reps—show up early, stay late, hustle harder than anyone else—and still miss the transformation. Because reps build results, but posture builds character.
At 1st Phorm HQ, you can feel it in everything: the culture, the energy, even the way every weight plate is turned perfectly upright. That’s not an accident. It’s a decision.
What driving a Cybertruck for the past year has unexpectedly taught me about projection, judgment, and the power of choosing curiosity over outrage.
Embracing High Agency—owning your outcomes and taking imperfect action—is the key to turning setbacks into forward progress.
A packed schedule, zero sleep, and a sore shoulder turned me into the worst version of myself this Easter weekend.
This post might look like it’s about a toddler spa day—but it’s really about permission. Permission to slow down. To stop earning. To remember that being still doesn’t mean falling behind.
Thirteen hit different this week. The trip was fun, but the real adventure? Watching her become exactly who she was made to be.
What we build is important, but who we become matters most.
What we build is important, but who we become matters most.
What we build is important, but who we become matters most.
What we build is important, but who we become matters most.
What we build is important, but who we become matters most.
What we build is important, but who we become matters most.
Reasonableness feels safe, sensible, and even wise. But if we’re not careful—it’ll quietly squeeze the life out of the things that make life meaningful: creativity, passion, and purpose.
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In 2006 I found myself recording my first album in Brooklyn, New York and simultaneously preparing to perform live on MTV in Times Square for New Years. It was wild.
Dictum at tempor commodo ullamcorper a lacus vestibulum. Eu volutpat odio facilisis mauris sit. In ornare quam viverra orci sagittis eu volutpat odio. Vestibulum lorem sed risus ultricies.
Dictum at tempor commodo ullamcorper a lacus vestibulum. Eu volutpat odio facilisis mauris sit. In ornare quam viverra orci sagittis eu volutpat odio. Vestibulum lorem sed risus ultricies.
Dictum at tempor commodo ullamcorper a lacus vestibulum. Eu volutpat odio facilisis mauris sit. In ornare quam viverra orci sagittis eu volutpat odio. Vestibulum lorem sed risus ultricies.
Dictum at tempor commodo ullamcorper a lacus vestibulum. Eu volutpat odio facilisis mauris sit. In ornare quam viverra orci sagittis eu volutpat odio. Vestibulum lorem sed risus ultricies.
Dictum at tempor commodo ullamcorper a lacus vestibulum. Eu volutpat odio facilisis mauris sit. In ornare quam viverra orci sagittis eu volutpat odio. Vestibulum lorem sed risus ultricies.
Dictum at tempor commodo ullamcorper a lacus vestibulum. Eu volutpat odio facilisis mauris sit. In ornare quam viverra orci sagittis eu volutpat odio. Vestibulum lorem sed risus ultricies.
Dictum at tempor commodo ullamcorper a lacus vestibulum. Eu volutpat odio facilisis mauris sit. In ornare quam viverra orci sagittis eu volutpat odio. Vestibulum lorem sed risus ultricies.
1st Phorm HQ
At 1st Phorm HQ, you can feel it in everything: the culture, the energy, even the way every weight plate is turned perfectly upright. That’s not an accident. It’s a decision.
Hey guys, it’s me again. The guy who somehow keeps ending up in conversations with people I don’t feel qualified to be in the same room with.
I recently had the chance to meet Andy Frisella.
If you know the name, you probably already have an opinion. He’s not exactly vanilla. Andy is a full-throttle, say-it-with-your-chest kind of guy. Polarizing? For sure. But fake? No chance.
We’re actually wired pretty similarly. Driven. Disciplined. Direct. The difference? I’ve got four kids and use the f-word a little less
But what stood out most wasn’t the delivery—it was the depth of alignment beneath it.
God. Country. Purpose. Ownership. Discipline. Legacy.
Those weren’t just words he said—they’re baked into everything he does. You can feel it the second you walk into 1st Phorm HQ. The place is immaculate. Everything has weight. And I don’t just mean the dumbbells (though I’ll get to those in a second).
Every detail is dialed in.
The branding. The energy. The culture. The mission. The way the team carries themselves. It’s more than impressive—it’s intentional.
The 1st Phorm gym is a perfect example. Every single weight on every single rack has the logo turned perfectly upright. Not as a one-time setup, but as an expectation. If you lift there, you know: that’s how it’s done.
It might sound like a small thing. But it’s not.
Because excellence isn’t just about big moments. It’s about what you do when no one’s watching. It’s about the things you could let slide—but don’t.
There’s a phrase I keep coming back to:
How you do anything is how you do everything.
And that phrase has never felt more true than it did walking through that building.
To some, it might seem militaristic. Extreme. Over the top. But to me, it felt like conviction. A decision to live on purpose, not default. A refusal to let apathy have the final say.
The older I get, the more I respect that.
We live in a world that loves convenience. We settle for “good enough.” We glorify comfort and call it self-care. But comfort rarely builds anything worth having. Growth isn’t easy. Discipline isn’t fun. Excellence costs something.
But it’s worth it.
And here’s the thing—I didn’t leave that meeting wanting to be Andy Frisella.
I left wanting to be better.
More intentional. More focused. More committed to the small stuff that no one else sees but makes all the difference.
And maybe that’s the takeaway here.
You don’t have to be loud to be disciplined.
You don’t have to be intense to be excellent.
You don’t have to shout to be strong.
But you do have to decide.
→ Decide to take pride in the details.
→ Decide to show up like it matters.
→ Decide to raise your standards, even when no one else will.
That’s what I saw at 1st Phorm.
That’s what I saw in Andy.
That’s what I want more of in my own life.
And if you’re wired anything like me—maybe you do too.
That’s all for today.
Godspeed.
—
PS — Yes, I was flexing my right bicep as hard as humanly possible.
Continue Reading
You can do all the reps—show up early, stay late, hustle harder than anyone else—and still miss the transformation. Because reps build results, but posture builds character.
At 1st Phorm HQ, you can feel it in everything: the culture, the energy, even the way every weight plate is turned perfectly upright. That’s not an accident. It’s a decision.
What driving a Cybertruck for the past year has unexpectedly taught me about projection, judgment, and the power of choosing curiosity over outrage.
Embracing High Agency—owning your outcomes and taking imperfect action—is the key to turning setbacks into forward progress.
A packed schedule, zero sleep, and a sore shoulder turned me into the worst version of myself this Easter weekend.
This post might look like it’s about a toddler spa day—but it’s really about permission. Permission to slow down. To stop earning. To remember that being still doesn’t mean falling behind.
Thirteen hit different this week. The trip was fun, but the real adventure? Watching her become exactly who she was made to be.
What we build is important, but who we become matters most.
What we build is important, but who we become matters most.
What we build is important, but who we become matters most.