The Dad Project
The Dad Project
Podcast Description
The Dad Project is dedicated to celebrating and uplifting single fathers of colour, sharing their powerful stories of perseverance, love, and hope. By highlighting their unique journeys and the challenges they overcome, the project seeks to dismantle stereotypes and emphasise the importance of men’s mental health and emotional well-being.
Through authentic storytelling, The Dad Project inspires understanding and compassion, fostering a community that values the strength and dedication of these fathers and encourages them to share their truths.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores themes of resilience, mental health, and parenting challenges, sharing powerful stories like Kiran Dhilan's battle for 50/50 custody of his autistic son and Aaron Dale's insights into co-parenting and personal growth.
Real stories. Brave voices.
The Dad Project is dedicated to celebrating and uplifting men, sharing their powerful stories of perseverance, love, and hope.
By highlighting their unique journeys and the challenges they overcome, the project seeks to dismantle stereotypes and emphasise the importance of men’s mental health and emotional well-being.
Through authentic storytelling, The Dad Project inspires understanding and compassion, fostering a community that values the strength and dedication of these fathers and encourages them to share their truths.
What happens when the corporate ladder you’ve been climbing leads to a cliff edge?
At 49, Jason had everything on paper-successful career, family, financial security. But beneath the surface, he was drowning. Depression, hypertension, high cholesterol, fatty liver, pre-diabetes. The price of “success” was killing him slowly.
Then came the moment that changed everything: leaving his corporate job to actually be a father, not just play one on weekends.
In this raw episode of The Dad Project, Jason shares his journey from outsourcing parenthood to a nanny, to rediscovering himself through a simple Instagram post of Bilbo Baggins that sparked a complete life transformation. From barely able to walk up Surrey Hills to becoming a personal trainer at 49, helping others escape the same trap he was in.
This conversation digs deep into:
• The identity crisis that hits when your job title is your identity
• Why “manning up” is the worst advice for struggling men
• The fear that drives midlife transformation (and why it’s not what you think)
• How staring at a photo of your 3-year-old self can unlock who you really are
• The brutal truth about aging: will you be a burden to your children?
(00:00:00) Introduction: Breaking the Silence on Men’s Mental Health
(00:01:45) Leaving Corporate Life to Become a Present Father
(00:05:20) The Power of Presence: Redefining Fatherhood
(00:12:13) The Identity Crisis: When Your Job Title Disappears
(00:15:10) Depression, Diabetes, and Rock Bottom at 49
(00:22:10) Finding Your True Self Through a Child’s Eyes
(00:28:03) The Hobbit Moment: When Everything Changed
(00:36:07) From Wine to Wellness: The Journey to Sobriety
(00:41:02) Rediscovering Adventure at 49: Mountain Bikes and Swimming Lessons
(00:49:01) From Client to Coach: Finding Purpose in Fitness
(00:58:20) The Mental Game: Why Fitness is Really About Self-Image
(01:17:44) A Father’s Promise: Don’t Become a Burden to Your Children
Jason’s message is clear: “If you can’t get up off a chair by 70, you’re heading for a care home. The promise you made to that newborn baby—to do anything for them—does that include becoming their burden?”
Whether you’re stuck in corporate burnout, struggling with your identity, or just know something needs to change—this episode will challenge everything you think you know about strength, success, and what it really means to show up as a father.
🔔 Subscribe for more honest conversations about men’s mental health, fatherhood, and finding purpose in midlife.
📲 Follow Jason
Instagram: @fitinmidlife
TikTok: @fitinmidlife
Facebook: @fitinmidlife
📲 Follow The Dad Project
Instagram: @thedadprojecthq
TikTok: @thedadprojecthq
YouTube: @thedadprojecthq
X (Twitter): @thedadprojecthq
LinkedIn: The Dad Project
#MensMentalHealth #MidlifeCrisis #CorporateBurnout #FitnessJourney #Depression #Fatherhood #PersonalTransformation #TheDadProject #MentalHealthMatters #LifeChange
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