I'm Having a Kid (and Starting a Podcast...)
Thirty Seven. That is the age I will officially become an adult. Legally, most countries say you become an adult at 18. Scientifically, a person becomes an adult once their neurological development is complete at age 24. But thats all bullshit. Adults don’t use fake IDs. And while 25 year old Nicky Smokes might be considered an adult in some societies, in America he’s what we call a certified Fuck BOY.
In my personal opinion, one only becomes an adult once they have another human life they are responsible for, and come February 2025, that will be the case for me.
Now obviously many people mature at a much faster rate than myself. Some folks are forced into adulthood at a much earlier age due to a myriad of stressful family/work situations. And I know plenty of people that complain incessantly about being washed up after their 25th birthday for no good reason other than the fact they can’t handle hangovers anymore. But for me, I knew the only thing that could ever shock my brain out of childhood, would be having a child myself. Just last Fall I was 36 at a Nicky Smokes “smush party” with all 23-25 year olds and honestly, I felt scarily comfortable there.
Probably because in my eyes, I've remained the age of 24 since 2011. And I’ll tell ya what, these past 13 years stuck in Never Never Land have been the best of my life. But it’s finally time to put down the fairy dust and come back down to earth (Peter Pan reference, not a drug reference).
I’m incredibly excited for this next chapter of my life and think I’m as prepared for it as I’ll ever be. Even just bought my first apartment. However, as someone who has built his entire career around frequent international travel, my impending fatherhood has led to a lot of work related anxiety. Once the water breaks, my galavanting around the globe is gonna come to a screeching halt. For how long? I don’t know. All I can tell ya is that my paternity leave will be longer than Big Cat’s and shorter than Smitty’s (touchy subject…)
Nonetheless, I wanna still be putting out content during my hiatus and the months to follow when traveling abroad will be out of the question unless I'm trying to fast track a divorce. Thats why I’m starting a… (drum roll please)……travel, geography, culture, history podcast called DROP A PIN (DAP).
WOW. Another barstool podcast. Groundbreaking stuff.
Honestly I should’ve been doing one of these for years and can’t say I haven’t tried. Shoutout Worlds Still Spinnin’
and the Barstool Gold Production, "Donnie Did"
But I’ve never had my own producer at Barstool and producing my own videos and podcast simultaneously just hasn’t been feasible. However now, I’ll have some help. Meet my co-host Uncle Chaps.
While I was looking for a content outlet at Barstool that doesn’t involve traveling, Chaps was looking for a content outlet that doesn't involve talking about the military. And seeing as Chaps is a culturally curious cat who traveled a bunch during his military days and has been producing his own podcast for the past year, he was a great fit to help me get this off the ground.
A little more about the pod. Every Monday we’ll be dropping a pin somewhere on the map (country, city, town, region, etc.) and diving DEEP. We’ll be talking about that specific location’s history, culture, cuisine, notable residents, crazy stories etc. And when possible, interviewing guests with personal experience in whatever spot we choose. The great thing about the pod is one week we can have a guy on who’s been to every country in the world tell us about the time he was locked up in Syrian prison after he was accused of being a U.S. Spy (the subject of our first episode out now)
and another week we can have on a guy like KB who has never left the United States, tell us about why Kent Ohio is such a magical place to go to college (KB actually wants to talk about the country of Bhutan(?) when he comes on the pod but you get the picture).
Now I’m under no illusion that I’ll be an an elite podcaster right off the bat. But I’m confident with enough reps and some help from a veteran podcaster like Chaps, I can become a good one. I also fully understand most of you would much prefer more Wonton travel vlogs over a Wonton podcast. But hey, once I get the baby situation under control, the travel vlogs will resume and this Drop A Pin podcast will be the perfect platform for me to share behind the scenes stories, interviews, and commentary from my most recent travels.
All I ask is that you give this pod a shot while I'm going through this insanely stressful/ultimately rewarding transition in my life and who knows, maybe some of you will become full fledged Pinheads! So give it a listen and follow our socials below:
IG: @DropAPinPod
Twitter: @DropAPinShow
TikTok: @DropAPinShow
P.S. You'd think I'd want my last trip abroad as a childless man to be somewhere I could cross an insanely cool experience off my personal bucket-list. But nope, I'm going back to Turkey to get my balding co-workers new hair. Not all heroes wear capes.
