I know a little bit about you and how you said that you've been building things for what feels like your whole life, but was there a particular project or a moment that kind of defined your dad construction career? Was there one that really stood out to you in that sense?
Yeah. There was a couple different builds. I think it was the first time I made a Rube Goldberg machine and it went super viral. It was the biggest video I'd ever had at that point. And that was a big wake-up call to me to be like, "Oh, I'm a video creator, but my ability to work with my hands is something that sets me apart, that not everybody does that, especially not millennials."
So then it was like, "Oh, I think that's a part of my brand." Spending 10 years in L.A. trying to be an actor, you constantly hear, "What's your brand? What's your brand?" And early on, you don't know. You're just making it up. You're like, "I don't know. I'm like Michael Cera and Joseph Gordon-Levitt mashed together."
That's funny.
But the more I started to really do my own thing, my brand sort of just showed itself to me. And then once that started to happen, it was like, "Okay, this is my path. Okay, cool." Everything started to make more sense.
Well, and I would imagine that creating structures for your kids and for your family brought a lot of meaning to what it was that you were doing as well, which I think is a fairly unique experience as a creator.
For sure. Becoming a father is such a humbling experience and changes you in this magnificent way because you're forced outside of yourself and it gives everything you do new purpose because it's for a reason. And building something ... I love working with my hands, because when you make something, you get to see the fruits of your labor afterwards. Like when I used to build houses in South Dakota, we'd frame up a house and you'd get there, there'd be just a floor and you'd leave and it's all framed up. And you're like, "That's a house now. It's going to be a house."
When you build things with your kids, you get to see the whole thing come together, but then after that, you get to see the joy on their faces for years to come. And honestly, I think the biggest reward for me is when I hear my kids brag about me, when they're like, "Oh, my dad can do that," and like, "Oh, my dad built this." I think that's the coolest thing is when you get to feel like that hero to your kids, because you built them the thing. And that's what the show is about is, is passing that feeling on that makes me cry right now to other dads and giving them the opportunity to have that same experience with their kids, where their kids ... Because it's not about me coming in and building the thing for them. It's about me coming in and helping them build the thing so that their kids can go, "My dad built that."
