There is a difference between being present and being reachable. Ben O’Meara is learning that in real time.
Ben lives in Austin, Texas and serves as Chief Brand Officer at Huckberry, a brand many of us have been fans of for years.
If you have watched Huckberry’s 72 Hour Challenge series on YouTube, you have seen Ben in action. Two teams. 72 hours. Over 100 challenges. Toyota 4Runners. Mountains. Rivers. Gear pushed hard in the real world.
It is durability under pressure. Performance in motion. Real field testing. But the most important tests do not happen in the Rockies. They happen at home.
The Downshift
Ben describes his work world as fast paced and high output. Campaign launches. Creative reviews. Big wins. Big stress. The hardest part of parenting for him is not logistics. It is the transition. Leaving that frequency at the front door.
He protects family time. He is physically there. But often his brain is still spinning on a project or deadline. His wife said something that stuck.
It is one thing to be in the room. It is another thing to be reachable.
That is the work now.
Adventure Is the Reward
The most rewarding part of fatherhood for Ben has been watching his daughters fall in love with adventure. His family travels often. They spend time outside. They test gear with him. They sit in on video edits. They show up to his sandlot baseball games.
He used to think balance meant clean separation. Work in one box. Family in another. Now he believes integration beats isolation. The more he brings his girls into his world, the more connected they feel. Instead of building walls between passions and parenting, he invites them in.
He hopes that by showing them what lights him up, they will learn how to find their own spark.
Community Matters
Growing up, his mom always told him that you are who you hang with. That advice hits differently as a dad. You cannot raise great kids in a vacuum. You need other fathers. Other families. Community that fills your cup and challenges you.
Your kids are not just listening to your advice. They are watching your friendships.
And in classic Ben fashion, he has one practical tip for new dads. Skip the fancy diaper bag. Buy a great outdoor backpack with real pockets. You will use it long after the diaper days are over.
The Daily Rhythm
Ben wakes at 5am. That window before the house wakes up is sacred. Movement. Exercise. Reset.
Breakfast with the girls. School drop offs. Full workday. Pickups around 5. Dinner together. Bedtime routine. His wife works full time too, and he calls her the glue. They hold weekly meetings after the kids go down. Tea or sometimes something stronger. They talk through schedules and remind each other to find joy in the chaos.
Reset Button
When things feel loud, Ben runs. Short run. Long run. It does not matter.
Running clears the mental clutter and creates momentum before a big day or after a heavy one. Add the right playlist and it works every time.
Non Negotiables
Saturday morning pancakes with music blasting in the kitchen. Morning workouts. Community. He plays on an Austin sandlot baseball team called the Moontowers. The friendships built there will last a lifetime.
Fatherhood for Ben is not about separating life into neat boxes. It is about integration. Bring your passions home. Slow the frequency. Be reachable.
Raising kids in a major city has a rhythm of its own. Faster pace. Tighter schedules. More noise. Billy Parks knows that rhythm well.
Billy lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their two boys, ages twelve and fourteen. By day, he works as an investment professional. By night and weekend, he’s deep in the work of raising teenage boys in a world that’s always online.
Parenting in the Age of Screens
Ask Billy what the hardest part of parenting is right now and he doesn’t hesitate. Technology.
Managing screens without turning into a full-blown psychopath is a daily challenge. There’s no clear roadmap, no perfect system, and definitely no magic hack.
Billy’s goal isn’t control for control’s sake. It’s raising kids who know how to engage with the world without being consumed by it.
He doesn’t want to raise screenagers. He wants to raise capable humans. Billy has written openly about navigating tech and teens, including a thoughtful piece on giving his son an iPhone (a loaded gun). You can read it here.
Watching Independence Take Shape
The most rewarding part of fatherhood, especially at this stage, is autonomy. Billy lights up when he talks about seeing his boys run their own program. Getting themselves where they need to be. Handling responsibilities without constant reminders.
Those moments signal something deeper. Trust. Confidence. Growth.
They’re proof that the slow, often invisible work of parenting is doing its job.
The Crew Matters
One thing Billy wishes he’d known sooner is how critical community is. Finding like-minded dads to walk the journey alongside you isn’t optional. It’s essential.
Advice is helpful. Books are useful. But nothing replaces a crew of parents in the same season, dealing with the same chaos, and finding ways to make it work together.
In Billy’s world, the village is real. And when things get hectic, the squad shows up.
via @billyfilm IG
A Typical Day, LA Style
A normal day looks like two working parents and two busy kids operating in urban sync. Mornings start with breakfast before the boys take the train to school. They’re even working toward a couple days a week where the kids fully own breakfast themselves.
Afternoons and evenings are filled with practices, games, and quick dinners. Sometimes that means cheap-and-cheerful neighborhood spots. Sometimes it’s eating at home. It’s nonstop movement. Pickups. Drop-offs. Hangs.
Weekends slow down in a different way. Less structure. More dirt. More outdoors.
Keeping Perspective When It Gets Messy
When work, life, and family all hit at once, Billy admits it doesn’t always run smoothly. Sometimes it clicks. Often it doesn’t.
The key is perspective. Progress over perfection. Keep moving forward, course-correct when needed, and don’t beat yourself up for missing a step.
When he needs to reset, Billy heads outside. Away from tech. Into the dirt. Whether it’s fishing, riding motorcycles, or just being in nature, the outdoors recalibrates everything.
Non-Negotiables and What Matters Most
Billy’s one hard line in dad life is simple. Don’t mess with mom. She’s the heart and soul of their home, and everything flows better when that’s respected.
When he gets time alone, he gravitates toward the same things he loves doing with his kids. Fly fishing. Sea fishing. Motorcycle rides. Movies. Dirt under his boots.
Billy’s story is a reminder that modern fatherhood doesn’t require perfection. It requires intention, community, and a willingness to keep learning as the kids grow.
You can follow him at @billyfilm.
We’ve been talking about this for a while. Guys Being Dads is live.
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Some episodes are just two guys talking through parenting, marriage, work, and friendships. Other episodes bring in fellow dads to share stories and lessons they’ve picked up along the way.
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