The TwoDads Podcast

Around here, the church is the center of everything, but that doesn't always mean it's the center of our own minds. This week, we fix that.Father Ethan Moore of isn't the priest you grew up picturing. He rides a motorcycle, he's got the hair, and he's out to reach a generation that quit listening. We sat down with one Father to get into the life he gave up to take the collar, the loneliness nobody asks about, doubt, and what he'd actually say to the folks who drifted from the pew years ago and still feel weird about it.We run a community mailbag stacked with your questions, then close with a game where we make a real priest decide whether your everyday shortcuts are sins. Some of you are in trouble.

It's Men's Mental Health Month, so we did one a little different. Spank from Gilbert Station pulled up to the table to talk about what he's going through - and the four of us got into the stuff guys around here usually dodge. Don't worry, it's still us. There's plenty of laughs, some games, and the usual nonsense along the way. It gets real, but it gets dumb too - that's kind of the whole point.

He almost didn't live to see it finished.This week on TwoDads, AJ Mast pulls up a chair. The guy behind The Boathouse at Grand Lake — the spot you've driven past a hundred times on 127 — tells us how a kid from Mercer County built a business from the mud up and beat cancer with a one-year-old son waiting for him at home.We laughed our way through it, cracked every boat pun we could think of, and somewhere in the middle he told us about the Kardashian joke he made when twelve nurses thought he was dying.This one's funny. This one's real. This one's Mercer County.Hit play.

GET YOUR OFFICIAL TWODADS MERCHANDISE---------------One Phone. Every Game. One Story You've Never Heard.You've seen his videos. You've shared his videos. You couldn't pick him out at the local Walmart.This week, the man behind ReelLife sits down with us. He's the guy in the bleachers with a phone — Coldwater on a Tuesday, Marion Local on a Friday, some Saturday tournament three hours away that nobody else is covering. If your kid is playing, he's probably already there.We get into who he is, why he started, what it's cost him, and the story behind why he keeps showing up — one he's never told publicly before.

Brooke and Braelen Bader own Made Apparel together — custom tees, every school logo in the county, and a second location coming inside a historic Versailles firehouse with a drive-thru coffee window. Braelen also runs Nite Owl Studio next door. Fifty feet of downtown Celina. One marriage holding all of it together.On this episode Mitch and Bill sit down with both of them to get the real story — how a t-shirt shop with no storefront grew into one of the most recognizable names in Mercer County, what it actually looks like to build something with your spouse, and what keeps you going when the fear is real. Plus Would Mercer County Wear It, the Junk Drawer, and Couples Therapy on the whiteboards.This one's for anyone who's ever had an idea and wasn't sure if their town was big enough for it.

How do you find the next great MLB pitcher? Brian Garman knows. As the Minor League Pitching Coordinator for the Cincinnati Reds he oversees 110 pitchers and decides who moves up and who goes home. But before he was the one making those calls he was the kid who never made it. Drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2010, Brian blew out his shoulder, emptied his savings account trying to get back, and walked away when the game said no. Today he is back inside the game he loves — this time building the system that develops the next generation of Reds pitchers. We get into what it really takes to make the big leagues, how you evaluate talent, what separates the guys who make it from the ones who don't, and how you sit across from a kid and end his dream when you once sat in that same chair. Plus we pitched fake menu items to a Cincinnati Reds employee, tested objects against Randy Johnson's fastball, and played Gate or Plate. Brian is from Wapak. We are from Celina. This one felt like home.

Emily Westerfield looks like your standard Mercer County mom. Three kids, packed schedules, the whole thing. But she just delivered her twelfth baby — and only three of them are hers. In this episode, Emily sits down with the Two Dads to talk about the emotional and physical toll of surrogacy, the stories that never made the other interviews, and how she built Carrying Dreams — an agency helping families who can't have children on their own. If you ever thought two kids was too much, this one's for you.

Keith Wenning grew up in Coldwater, Ohio, where football is woven into the culture and expectations start early. He went from Mercer County football to becoming one of the most productive quarterbacks in Ball State history, eventually chasing the dream all the way to the NFL. In this episode we talk about the climb, the reality of life as a backup quarterback, what it feels like to get that close without ever taking a regular-season snap, and what happens after the game. Keith shares the transition back home, stepping into Ray's Refridgeration, his family’s legacy business, and what it’s like entering the next chapter of life when the plan you spent years chasing suddenly changes.

This episode is a little different.We sat down with Bill Homann — the keeper of the Mitchell-Hedges crystal skull — for a short window of time, and we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. The skull is tied to one of the great modern mysteries and even inspired the Indiana Jones storyline, but this conversation goes beyond the legend.We talk about the mystery, the skepticism, consciousness, manifestation, and why Bill believes the skull can be a tool for reflection and awareness.It’s not our typical episode. It might not be for everyone. But we’re pushing ourselves to open up to new lanes and explore perspectives from around the world.If you’re willing to stay curious and hear something different, this one’s for you.

Becca Wenning didn’t move to Ohio to build a tech company.She came here thinking it would be temporary — and instead Mercer County became home. Coldwater became where she raised her three boys. A bridal shop became her proving ground. And a layoff became the moment that forced a bigger decision: play it safe… or build.In this episode, Becca shares how she went from owning a bridal shop to launching Dressit, a tech company blending weddings and AI. We talk about small-town entrepreneurship, identity, risk, parenting while building, and how artificial intelligence is quietly reshaping everyday businesses.This one is about reinvention — and what happens when the future shows up in a place you didn’t expect.

In Episode 51, we sit down with Mercer County Sheriff Doug Timmerman for one of our most honest conversations yet.With policing under a national spotlight — from Minneapolis to cities across the country — we wanted to zoom in on what it actually looks like to serve in a small community where everyone knows your name.Sheriff Timmerman opens up about his first year in the role, how the job has changed over the last two decades, the pressure of making tough calls, and what it takes to build trust when perfection isn’t possible. We talk about the heroin epidemic of the past, the rise of fentanyl, where Mercer County is headed, and what gives him hope about the future.We also get personal — from how the work affects family life, to the moments that stay with you long after the shift ends, to why he chose a career rooted in service in the first place.This episode is about responsibility, leadership, and protecting a place you call home.

This week’s episode is about faith, leadership, and the Ohio State Buckeyes.Our guest is Matthew Benson — a young CEO and the creator behind a documentary "Redemption" about the 2024 Buckeyes and their championship run.And this isn’t just highlights and touchdowns.We get into what it takes to lead under pressure, how faith shows up when the stakes are real, and how you turn a season like that into a story that actually means something.Because at the end of the day, it’s not just about winning — it’s about who you become when the pressure hits.And as always — be sure to follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. That’s how you keep this thing going and help us grow.

Today’s episode is about stepping into responsibility — sometimes while you’re still figuring it out in real time.This week, we’re joined by Alex Schmiesing from Globus Printing — a Minster, Ohio–based, multi-generation company that’s been manufacturing books and printed products for decades, and still doing it at a high level today.Alex and his brother are stepping into a leadership role that was passed down — from his grandfather, to his dad, and now to him. And we get into what that really feels like when you’re inheriting not just a business, but a legacy and expectations that don’t come with an instruction manual.We talk about what it’s like to grow into that seat, why it’s okay not to have every answer right away, and how leadership shifts when you’re also becoming a parent at the same time.If you’ve ever felt the weight of responsibility while you’re still learning — this one’s for you.