Front Row Dads with Jon Vroman

What if the reason you're tired, foggy, and burned out has nothing to do with stress or sleep? Most high-performing men assume their fatigue, brain fog, and inflammation come from doing too much. But there's another conversation happening in functional medicine that most doctors miss completely. Dr. Torrie Thompson is the founder of Meraki Wellness Center in Austin and specializes in mold, heavy metals, environmental toxins, and Lyme disease. She's spent over a decade helping people figure out what's actually wrong when their labs look "normal" but they feel terrible. This one hits close to home for Jon. He's been dealing with Lyme, Babesia, and chronic inflammation for the better part of a decade. His CRP (a key inflammation marker) has averaged 90 for the last 10 years, with his most recent test coming in at 127. Tori told him on the podcast it's the highest she's ever seen, by a lot. If you've ever wondered why you feel off and your doctor keeps telling you everything looks fine, this conversation is for you. In This Interview: → Why mold is the most common hidden driver of chronic fatigue and brain fog in men today → The three foods that hold the most mycotoxins (and why you can't see or smell them) → How to actually test your body and your home for mold (and the testing companies to avoid) → The difference between binders that help and binders that hurt → Why standard doctors miss Lyme disease and what to do if you suspect you have it → The order of operations: why you have to clear mold and metals before treating Lyme → Why chelation can wreck your health and what to do instead → How to spot misaligned incentives when a doctor pushes expensive weekly IV drips → The cheapest, most overlooked tools for healing (PEMF, grounding, breathwork, sleep) → Why your toxic bucket size determines how sick you get and how fast you recover This Conversation Is For You If: → You're exhausted, foggy, or inflamed and your bloodwork keeps coming back "normal" → You've been to multiple doctors and nobody can tell you what's wrong → You suspect mold in your home or your body and don't know where to start → You've been bitten by a tick at some point and never felt the same since → You're a business owner whose energy is the engine and you need it back online Next Step: If this conversation made you curious about what might be sitting in your body or your home, Dr. Torrie and her team work with clients across the country. You can learn more about her practice and the work she does at drtorriethompson.com. Connect With Dr. Torrie Thompson: Website: drtorriethompson.com Instagram: instagram.com/drtorriethompson

What happens when a CEO with a young family decides to ride 2,000 miles from Mexico to Canada in 13 days to serve families he's never met? Matt King is the CEO of GoBundance, a mastermind for entrepreneurial men, and a dad to three young kids. He wasn't a cyclist. Five and a half months ago, he had never ridden more than 10 miles on a bike. Then he stood on a stage in November and announced he was going to ride 2,000 miles from Mexico to Canada in May to raise $1 million for families along the route. He told everyone before he told his wife. Before he had ever trained. Before he even owned the right bike. In this conversation with Jon, Matt opens up about why he's doing this, what it's teaching him about fatherhood, service, and modeling hard things for his kids, and what he's learned about himself along the way. He talks about the morning he quit at 3:30 a.m. in the middle of a training ride. The $100,000 donation that stopped him in the middle of a 150-mile day. The families he's already helped before the ride has even started. And why he believes the world doesn't give you permission to do meaningful things. You have to give it to yourself. The ride starts May 27th. As of recording, Matt has already raised over $481,000. Every dollar goes directly to families along the route. In This Interview: → Why Matt chose a bike instead of a car or plane to find families who need help → The morning he quit at 3:30 a.m. and what got him back on the bike → How GoBundance members are deploying as "secret agents" into cities along the route to find stories → Why his five-year-old son is his biggest fan and what that's taught him about modeling → The difference between living a legacy and leaving one → Why he tracks "return on joy" instead of return on investment → The role David Osborne played in shaping who Matt has become → How to handle the doubt, fatigue, and criticism that comes when you commit to something hard → Why oversharing might be costing you, and how to use your intuition to know what to share → The conversation he has with himself when he wants to quit (and the framework that gets him through) Next Step: The ride starts May 27th. You can follow the journey, sign up to ride with Matt at any point along the route, nominate a family who needs help, or donate to the mission at the link below. If this story moved you, the simplest thing you can do is share it with one dad who needs to hear it. Back the Ride: gobundance.com/theride

What does mature masculinity actually look like in fatherhood, marriage, and leadership? Jeddy Azuma of Rising Man joins Front Row Dads to talk about rites of passage, masculine presence, and why boys need initiated men. In this Front Row Dads interview, Jeddy Azuma shares a grounded and honest look at mature masculinity, fatherhood, rites of passage, and the role men play in creating safety, stability, and leadership at home. Jeddy is the founder of Rising Man and helps men step into deeper responsibility, purpose, and masculine presence. In this conversation, he and Jon Vroman explore the difference between containment and control, why masculine leadership is often about having "the lowest heart rate in the room," and how men can stop making everything about themselves — even when they think they are serving others. A major theme of the episode is initiation. Jeddy explains why fathers may not be the ones to initiate their own sons, why boys need trusted men and "uncles" in their lives, and why modern men still need rites of passage to mark important transitions. This conversation is especially relevant for fathers, husbands, and business owners who want to lead with more presence, emotional maturity, and strength — without bringing battle energy into the home. In this interview: What mature masculinity looks like in fatherhood, marriage, and leadership The difference between containment and control in masculine energy Why fathers may not be able to initiate their own sons into manhood How rites of passage help boys and men mark major life transitions The hidden cost of bringing warrior energy into the home Why men need brotherhood to process emotions before they spill onto the family How fathers can model courage by doing hard things themselves This conversation is for you if: You're a father who wants to raise strong, emotionally grounded sons You're a husband trying to lead at home without controlling everyone around you You're a business owner who carries pressure, intensity, and battle energy into family life You're a man who knows he needs deeper brotherhood, challenge, and initiation You want to become more present, steady, and mature for the people you love most Next Step: If you're a family man with a business and you want to become more intentional as a father, husband, and leader, Family First is the next step. frontrowdads.com/familyfirst Connect with Jeddy Azuma: Website: risingman.org/compass Instagram: @JeddyAzuma #Fatherhood #RitesOfPassage #MatureMasculinity #MensWork #FrontRowDads

📥 Download the free Family Covenant Guide — create your own in one night: https://frontrowdads.com/familycovenant FRD members Mike Green and Samuel Shreve break down something Samuel built for his family called a covenant — a set of promises the whole family writes together about how they want to treat each other. Not dad's rules. Not abstract values. Real promises that a seven-year-old helped create and that are hanging on their wall right now. They cover how to run the meeting, how to get the kids involved, and the simple tools (like "ouch, oops") that give your family shared language for the hard moments. Twenty minutes. Practical. Something you could do tonight. 📚 The Front Row Dads Book List: frontrowdads.com/books

Dr. Kelly Flanagan is a clinical psychologist with 20 years of experience, a Front Row Dad since 2020, and the author of several books including Lovable and True Companions. His newest book, The Road Less Triggered, is about the moment your heart closes — and what to do about it before you set your relationships back. In this conversation, Kelly and Jon get into why having the right communication tools doesn't matter if you shut down in the moments that matter most. They explore defensiveness, boundaries, the difference between reacting and responding, and what it actually looks like to keep your heart open when everything in your body is telling you to close it. If you've ever known better and still lost it with your wife or kids — this one's going to land. 📕 Grab The Road Less Triggered + $348 in pre-order bonuses: roadlesstriggered.com 📚 The Front Row Dads Book List: frontrowdads.com/books

This conversation was originally shared inside the Front Row Dads community — just for members. But it was too important to keep behind closed doors. Ali Jafarian sits down with Philip McKernan — world-class speaker, coach to pro athletes and top executives, and the man leading a retreat for FRD fathers at a 500-year-old castle in Ireland this June. Philip also led two powerful sessions at FRD Live 2025. They dig into the hidden guilt driving so much of our parenting, why doing the opposite of your own father still isn't authentic, and whether who you are — not what you do — is actually enough for your kids. Philip says something you won't forget: if you can't find value in just sitting with your child doing nothing, it doesn't matter what you do for the next 25 years.

Alison Armstrong has been studying men since 1991. What started as a personal mission to stop bringing out the worst in them turned into over three decades of research, workshops, and books that have changed how thousands of people understand relationships, masculinity, and what really drives human behavior. In this episode, she sits down with Jon Vroman and goes deep on what none of that research prepared her for — what it looks like when these dynamics show up between fathers and their children. What you'll learn: The 6 Dominant Drivers — building, knowing, sharing, growing, expressing, and enjoying — and how to spot yours Why your dominant driver is visible to everyone except you How a dad's drive to build can unintentionally crush a child whose driver is joy The "hidden why" behind everything you do — and why it lives in your blind spot Why Alison banned her husband from Disneyland (and what that taught her about overprotective fathers) What her stepson meant when he said "Greg was the man" — and why Greg may never have known The shame conversation every father needs to hear: why penance is easy but forgiveness takes courage Jon also shares an unscripted moment from his son's birthday that brings everything Alison teaches into sharp, personal focus. Learn more about Alison's work at alisonarmstrong.com