This is Richie Hardcore….

Richie is a fight coach, personal trainer, and public speaker—but in this episode, he speaks as a dad. We talk about how fatherhood challenged and changed him, from learning patience and playfulness to navigating the mental and emotional weight of raising kids. He opens up about masculinity, the role of fathers in different cultures, and why support networks and honest conversations matter—especially for parents of children with unique needs. It’s a real, reflective, and inspiring chat about what it means to show up as a man and a father.

You can find Richie’s website and social media here.

https://www.richiehardcore.com/

https://www.instagram.com/richiehardcore/?hl=en

Almost two years ago, Franky sat down with me for a deeply personal conversation about navigating life as a dad to a child with special needs. Now, he’s back—and a lot has changed.

In this follow-up episode, we pick up where we left off, diving even deeper into what it means to grow through fatherhood, not just as a parent, but as a man trying to hold everything together. Franky opens up about earning a cybersecurity certification with no previous IT background, balancing the pressures of work and home, and the role his wife’s support has played in helping him keep moving forward.

We talk about the emotional toll of caregiving, the quiet guilt and burnout that can build up over time, and the fear many special needs parents carry but rarely talk about: What happens when we’re no longer able to care for our children?

This is a conversation about resilience, identity, and learning to show up even when we feel like we’re running on empty. It’s real, unfiltered, and full of insight for any parent navigating the complex, ever-changing journey of raising a child with additional needs.

This episode is probably brought to you by ‘It Takes a Village NC

https://www.ittakesavillagenc.com

Franky’s podcast - The unfortunate privilege podcast

https://open.spotify.com/show/7meEuAT7apvoxsCZWmqiXF?si=qEXH0kloSp-1PGjbHRIzug

I’m talking to Andrew and it’s 10pm for me in Osaka and 9am for him in the US…

We begin talking about the two words which he uses to describe his personal journey - ‘filling’ and ‘grateful’.

Andrew has a unique and lovely way with words which I could never do, we talk about his life as dad which is so special.

For the last 7 years as caretaker for his youngest, Hadley, it is hard to imagine sometimes how bloody hard it must be, but like most dads, he steps up to the plate, like I did and like most dads do when we have a child with extra needs.

Does that come at a mental and physical cost? Maybe it does, for me it has.

That’s when Andrew shares that in the last week he cried in the car on his own,, while listening to music LOUD, and while it was not planned (never is) it is most needed and allowed him to give himself some self love and self compassion, resulting in him to be able to do what he does all over again., hoping that the sun will always come up the next day.

THIS IS A REAL UNFILTERED DAD JOURNEY.

If you would like to share yours, please get in touch on realufdjpodcast@gmail.com