In part two of this conversation, our guests, a marriage and family therapist and father, and a Marine Corps veteran, mentor, and father, shift the focus to parenting through adolescence and young adulthood, and to the question of where men actually go to connect with each other.

We talk about what fear based parenting looks like in the moment, from watching a child navigate risk and independence to setting financial boundaries that hold even when it's hard to hold them. Both guests share specific, practical examples of how they've handled money, driving, jobs, and the temptation to smooth things over for their kids instead of letting them feel the natural consequences.

The conversation then turns to male friendship and why it's often harder for men to build the kind of connection that comes more naturally to women. One guest describes intentionally building a small group of men he trusts enough to be vulnerable with. The other shares how he's shaped his barbershop into a place where honest, accountable conversation between men is the culture rather than the exception.

This episode is a continuation of the ideas raised in part one, and it can be listened to on its own or alongside it.

Our guests: 

Kyle Harwick is a husband, father, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Orange County specializing in men's mental health.

https://nextwavecounseling.com/

AJ Trujillo is an Afghanistan War veteran who turned a childhood shaped by instability, violence, and addiction, and his own post-war rehabilitation, into a career devoted to service. He works directly with veterans, first responders, and at-risk youth, with a particular focus on incarcerated young people whose voices are too often left unheard. His path from combat and personal crisis to purpose now shapes the compassion and resilience he brings to that work