12. "The 'Stache Life" with International Mustache Competitor, Josh Summerlot

Fatherhood On Fire

Josh was the 5th place finisher at the 2017 World Beard and Mustache Competition in Austin, TX. His daughter, Poppy, was born at the end of 2018 and Josh missed the 2019 competition in Belgium. We talk with Josh about the 2021 World championship in New Zealand and the decision process he and his wife are going through.

Josh is traveling enthusiast and a bit of a thrill seeker. New Zealand has been a bucket list destination for a long time and being host to the 2021 Championship it is very enticing to go. However, it would be an expensive trip. Although his wife, Chelsea, would be all on board for the trip he says there is still a sense of selfishness about dragging the whole family across the world so he can compete in a mustache contest. To learn more about the facial hair community check out the North American Competitive Beard And Mustache Alliance.

Josh gives us the inside scoop on No Shave November which raises awareness and funds for cancer prevention and research. As well as Movember whose tag-line is Grow A Mo, Save A Bro. Movember raises fund and awareness for prostate cancer, testicular cancer, as well as mental health and suicide prevention.

We also discuss Josh's approach towards fatherhood and the internal competition we all face to both spend time with our family and fulfill the role as provider. Josh shares that his father was around but did work a lot and often wasn't able to be present with the family. He says now becoming a father he's realizing that he draws on this past experience to fulfill provider role more than he previously realized.

He talks about the impact it would have when his dad was able to show up for his little league games. And the feeling that we would get to play harder. That he needed to step up, needed to show dad that he could do this. He felt like he had to work harder for his dad's approval, to impress him, so that his dad would see that he could hold his own.

In that void Josh got to spend a lot of time with one his friends fathers and their family. Who took Josh to his first Red's baseball game and would all go fishing together. But furthermore, Josh got to see his friends parents as total people. He got to witness them resolve arguments as well as love each other. Discipline together and parent on the same page. When they weren't on the same page they could work through it quickly.

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