I went through hell and came out harder.

My divorce broke more than a marriage — it broke the time I had with my kids. The distance, the court battles, the endless hours working just to hand over my paycheck… it all pulled me further from them. I wasn’t a bad dad — I was a man trying to survive. But when the system takes your time, your money, and your peace, there’s not much left to give.

I lived in places no kid should have to visit. I drove hours for a few minutes just to be told I wasn’t doing enough. I worked 12-hour shifts, slept through my life, and woke up broke and alone. The courts called it fair. I called it hopeless.

But I didn’t quit.

I found a group of brothers who refused to let me fall. They held me accountable, pushed me to grow, and reminded me who I really was. I didn’t become a leader by choice — I became one because I had no other option but to rise. I learned how to stand tall, speak truth, and walk with integrity. I became the man I always needed — and the father my kids deserved.

Now, I get to be there for my kids. They talk to me, trust me, and see me as the dad I was fighting to be all along. That’s what this movement is about — giving other men that same shot. Because too many fathers are forced to carry the weight alone, and too many men are taught that asking for help makes them weak.

It doesn’t. It makes you human. And it’s time for men to start standing together again.

ManUp exists for the ones who never quit — the men who fight through every setback, who show up even when it’s hard, and who keep moving forward when the world tells them to give up. We build each other up. We teach. We lead. We protect.

I started ManUp because I wanted to give back the same strength that saved me — to create a brotherhood for men and fathers who just need a place to breathe, to rebuild, and to remember who they are.

This is more than my story — it’s our story. We’re not victims. We’re not lost. We’re men who MannedUp.