LORD, HELP US! I find myself uttering this often, especially as I read the news about another fallen man.

I’m so disturbed by what I just read in a Michigan coaches DMs (now fired Falcons
coach). I’ve long admonished the college sports industry for blaming the kids for the failure of the adults in the room, but this one takes it to another level that I struggle to find the words for.
On the same staff at Michigan, we have one coach who used his university access to hack into women’s accounts to steal sensitive photos & records. The Head Coach, Sherrone Moore, was having an affair with at least one of his staffers, openly following OnlyFans models & DMing women on Instagram and now, allegedly sexually harassing a woman who had reported a violent rape by one of his other coaches. That assistant coach, married with three children, is accused of horrific things and is now fired as well.

We see a lack of leadership at every level: our president mocks our women’s hockey team. The founders of the most successful companies on earth are in the Epstein files. Some of their worst (or typical) moments resurrected two decades later. Their wives, ex wives, employees and children deal with the shrapnel sprayed about by their baser moments.

Young Men, and Men at large, I’m begging you to find integrity NOW. I don’t say this
from a high horse. I say this as a reformed dirt bag. I recovered from heroin addiction
after a year of incarceration 23 years ago. What seemed like a terrible rock bottom,
served as a shock to my system and by the hair of my chinny chin chin, I made it out. I
needed counseling, 12 steps, accountability, a peer group who wanted better for me,
more counseling later, a church body who helped refine that process. I needed
pre-marital counseling to push me to a higher level. But I’m so so grateful for the pain
& foundation of that work as I entered marriage, and eventually fatherhood.

Brother, hear me. It is SO MUCH easier to serve & love a wife than to live a double life.
It is SO MUCH easier to be respectful (or say nothing) rather than to be demeaning.
You, as a man, are called to care for women & children.
This past week we saw a clip of a man hiding behind a wall while his female friend was
attacked with a knife – and the world reacted in outrage. Why? Because it has been
understood since the beginning of time that men are to use our strength to protect, not to be a predator.
We all get a bad name when this behavior is so pervasive, but we need leaders to set
the tone. There are MANY good men out there, but they have to be sought out. And
they don’t happen by accident.
If you are an organization, hire with integrity. Whatever short term gain you get by hiring
dirt bags will be LOST when the behavior gets exposed.

Men, DO THE WORK NOW. No matter how powerful you become, you will be torn
down by the darkness that you allow to permeate. IT WILL COME TO LIGHT.
In this day of our internet and digital communication, there are no more secrets. There
are only screenshots and data and receipts of all of your communication, your location,
your search history, your consumption.
Your words will reveal what you consume. This coach was DEEP in a dark form of
pornography and that brother had a WIFE and THREE CHILDREN. His children will
forever have to READ the vile vile words that were typed to a woman that was not his
wife and see the bruises that he inflicted upon a WOMAN.

I’ve traveled the country the last few years teaching Personal Branding to athletes. It is
also a thinly veiled exercise for me to spark self examination! I beg them to write and
reflect on their life and start building a plan. This is because it helped save my life, but
ALSO because I have worked with the most famous & powerful athletes in the world. I
have watched their kingdoms fall, their wealth stripped away and their reputation tarnished. All because of a lack of integrity.
Dostoevsky said, “the second half of a man’s life is nothing but the habits he has accumulated in the first half.”
We all tell ourselves we can live fast & free while young, but for many, you can’t turn
that switch off without some DEEP work to change. The second half of your life, if you are so lucky, you will have dependents who will feel the reverberations of those habits- good or bad.

I’m begging you: examine what’s going on in your own heart, relationships, and life.
What do you need to heal? Where do you need accountability? Who can help you find it?
Ask these questions now, because there will be far deeper and unanswerable questions asked later by your wife, children, family, by victims of your behavior and their families and lastly, by law enforcement.

I beg of you to do this NOW. Your future YOU will thank you, but most importantly, your future wife, children and all of those you can affect, will thank you even more.

Start today.

Further Education:

⬆️Salomon brought me down to The Running Event, the largest running trade show of the year. I take you inside the industry, the products and the trends for 2026.

⬇️The BrandFathers new episode is out! We talk Agency Activations and the slow death of the agency model. The Creative Internet loses it’s mind over an AI Hockey Photo and we explain how & why you should go News Sober immediately.

News & Notes:

I’m continually inspired by Jason Wilson who was featured in the documentary, The Cave of Adullam. He wrote a book called The Man The Moment Demands. It’s amazing. Follow him here:

H&R Block rolling out some hilarious social content ahead of Tax Season. This makes sense as they’ve hired Gary Vee’s Vayner Media to do help with their content.

The Steph & Under Armour breakup is worse than we thought. I knew this on the DAY his contract was over, he wore Nike Kobes. Not a good look. Bimma Williams and I will break this down on YouTube soon! He just started his YouTube channel. Go Subscribe if you love intelligent discourse on sneakers, fashion and the collaboration space.

My Favorite Podcast finally did my favorite movie of the last decade, SICARIO. If you love films, cinematography, back stories (& you love sports), you’ll love The Rewatchables.

BLESSINGS:

In light of the topic this week, I feel BLESSED to have positive men in my life, even when I was not positive myself.
My father, Paul, was present and positive — and the effect of that is exponential for boys and young men. I see it in myself now.
My childhood friend, Ricardo, always tried to encourage me in the right way when I strayed. He drove hours to visit me in jail. He remains a friend today.
My friends in recovery helped me stay accountable and grow through many life changes.
My friend Lanny & his wife Jen, volunteered for pre marriage counseling when they had 4 kids under 5 and graciously walked my wife and I into marriage.
My counselor, Michael, walked me through lots of grief when I had many friends die over the years. He helped me navigate the new emotions that come with parenthood and how to manage better.
My dear friend & now pastor, Adam, has been an incredible source of wisdom and counsel over the years.
My friend, Paul, showed me the ropes of Financial Wisdom and growth.
My friend, John, helps me decide what are actually Worthy Wins.
There are too many to thank, but I’m grateful for them all.
I hope & pray you can find a few too.