On Christmas Day we wanted to drive around looking at Christmas lights. We hit up a new suburb (built in last 2 years), and one that often is touted as being really hip, lots of foodie restaurants, expensive (three years ago, we actually rented there for a temporary housing situation, but couldn’t afford buying there).

Because we left when it was still a bit light outside, we went to big neighborhood park to let the kids play. Waited for it to get darker.

A lot of normal parents that I chatted with. “Cute kids,” or “what’s his name. Oh that’s a nice name.” Easy chat that you have with parents as the kids play. .

Then, a few bro dads stepped outside. And stood awkwardly close to me and dh, without acknowledging us.
Bro dad 1: “hey, how’s your Christmas Day? Had to get outside?” Said in a Keanu Reeves kind of fake smoky voice. (I love Keanu)
Bro dad 2: also in smoky Keanu voice “yeah, had to get out. We’ve got like 30 people in there. There’s a ton a food though. Wanna grab some? Seriously we have every meat....” blah blah blah.

I noticed one bro-wife is also there. Not going to describe and objectify her, but I gotta say, she seems like the only type that bro dad was going to marry.

Bro dad 1 or 2: “yeah, we going to have a football game out back tonight. Head over.” To other bro’s wife: “you girls should head over too.” Blah blah blah

That’s all I heard because I moved away. Unlike other parents, there was no chat or eye contact from them. I saw them look me up and down a bit. I notice it every time with the bros. And yep, i wasn’t one they wanted to converse with. Nor was my dh who is ‘average dad.’ (But sometimes calls our boys Buddy.)

Remember it’s in the voice. It’s in the polos. A certain type of polo. It’s in the won’t-talk-to-you-for-a-second-ness.

Peace out.

Anonymous wrote:My DH is a bro dad...AMA.

Basic Run down:
-coaches all of my boys sports
-still plays adult sports
-was a D1 athlete and had a short 2yr professional career
-calls our boys buddy for sure


Fire away!

Do you have girls? What does he call your girls?

My DH is a bro dad...AMA.

Basic Run down:
-coaches all of my boys sports
-still plays adult sports
-was a D1 athlete and had a short 2yr professional career
-calls our boys buddy for sure


Fire away!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm from Southern California (Orange County area) and there's definitely a type of Bro Dad here. Basically, they dress like high school surfer boys but they are in their late 30s and have two kids.

Typical SoCal Bro Dad:
-Drives a lifted 4x4 pick-up truck with a Monster Energy sticker on the back window, blasting Sublime or System of a Down
-Always sporting a Hurley baseball cap with a flat rim
-A plaid Billabong button up shirt and dark colored pants are what he wears to "dress up" for holiday cards
-Vans sneakers
-Owns a few pairs of Dickies shorts
-"Vacations" consist of going to Glamis for off-roading, camping at Pismo Beach, or heading to Big Bear to snowboard on 6 inches of man-made snow in the freestyle park
-Constantly bitches about "how crowded SoCal has become" and un-ironically throws out a bit of casual racism by blaming "the Mexicans"

I've yet to find similar Bro Dads anywhere else in the U.S. It's a bizarre combination of privilege, Peter Pan syndrome, being culturally stuck in the late 1990s.

I'm also in OC and I'm hysterically laughing! Yes all this exactly! It's crazy how many of them there are. So many in Huntington Beach especially

It's crazy how many men work in construction in Huntington beach and can afford to live there all while in their mid 30s.. Median home value is 850k. Same as Bethesda and more than DC. Must be a lucrative business.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think I might be a bro-dad.

Or bro-stepdad, to be more accurate. I dunno.

AMA

Do you drive a lifted pick-up truck?

No. I used to drive a lifted Jeep though, but I was single then, no kids. Now I have a Subaru wagon and a motorcycle.

For the record, lifted pick ups are kinda dumb IMO, because a full size pick up is too big to run most off-road trails. Jeeps and compact trucks with lifts are functional though.

Anonymous wrote:The bro dads I know tend to be some of the more involved dads when they do pickup and dropoff (compared to the other dads). They're happy and engaged, their kids are healthy without being too crunchy/vegan/restrictive, and they usually remember to bring their kids' lunches and stuff.

Agreed. The one bro dad I knows cooks and keeps a vegetable garden too. And yes, he works full time.

And we are grateful for our blessings.....

The bro dads I know tend to be some of the more involved dads when they do pickup and dropoff (compared to the other dads). They're happy and engaged, their kids are healthy without being too crunchy/vegan/restrictive, and they usually remember to bring their kids' lunches and stuff.

Anonymous wrote:I think I might be a bro-dad.

Or bro-stepdad, to be more accurate. I dunno.

AMA

Do you drive a lifted pick-up truck?

I think I might be a bro-dad.

Or bro-stepdad, to be more accurate. I dunno.

AMA

Considers other men to be his heroes -- typically a sports star, very successful businessman, or sports broadcaster/personality. Seeks to "friend" as many of these "heroes" on Facebook as possible

Who else would be a man's hero besides another man? I've never met a man whose hero was a woman, that would be weird and ghey.

DMV bro-Dad:

Most likely went to Catholic high school

Constantly on cell phone with a buddy

Talks incessantly about sports, his kids playing sports, his past sports exploits

Works in real estate, mortgage brokering, or sales

Wife used to be pretty

Was in a fraternity; brings that fact up often

Has no interest in talking about anything other than sports, his kid's sports, or his past sports endeavors

Yells loudly from sidelines at kid's sporting events (and/or is an assistant coach)

Plays golf; loves to talk about it

The only books he will read are biographies of sports heroes

Loves Dewey Beach

Loves the Outer Banks

Takes over grilling duties at other people's houses

Spends far too much money attending sporting events at the college he attended

Still goes to homecoming with fraternity buddies

Considers other men to be his heroes -- typically a sports star, very successful businessman, or sports broadcaster/personality. Seeks to "friend" as many of these "heroes" on Facebook as possible

Drinks copious amounts of beer; used to be Coors Light, but recently "discovered" craft beer and talks incessantly about it

Possesses an innate ability to determine within seconds who is a fellow Dad bro and who is not. Once he senses a fellow Dad bro, the two begin a dating phase and are virtually inseparable and/or constantly talking to one another on cell phone ... about sports.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm from Southern California (Orange County area) and there's definitely a type of Bro Dad here. Basically, they dress like high school surfer boys but they are in their late 30s and have two kids.

Typical SoCal Bro Dad:
-Drives a lifted 4x4 pick-up truck with a Monster Energy sticker on the back window, blasting Sublime or System of a Down
-Always sporting a Hurley baseball cap with a flat rim
-A plaid Billabong button up shirt and dark colored pants are what he wears to "dress up" for holiday cards
-Vans sneakers
-Owns a few pairs of Dickies shorts
-"Vacations" consist of going to Glamis for off-roading, camping at Pismo Beach, or heading to Big Bear to snowboard on 6 inches of man-made snow in the freestyle park
-Constantly bitches about "how crowded SoCal has become" and un-ironically throws out a bit of casual racism by blaming "the Mexicans"

I've yet to find similar Bro Dads anywhere else in the U.S. It's a bizarre combination of privilege, Peter Pan syndrome, being culturally stuck in the late 1990s.

Fascinating. What do these people do for a living? What are their wives and houses like?

Lots of them work in small and mid-sized family-owned businesses, especially in the construction trades. They hire lots of "the Mexicans" to do the hard labor while they/their fathers count the money. A lot of them f#cked around for a few years after high school, went to CC or CalState school part-time and got a "business" degree, and are taking over the reins of the modestly lucrative companies built by their dads.

Forget Hollywood or Silicon Beach, real estate is truly the lifeblood of Southern California. Everyone has someone in their family who is a licensed contractor, house flipper, mortgage originator, RE agent, landlord, or plumbing/electrician working on new developments.

Otherwise, a lot of the "bro dads" work for action sports companies - surf wear, outdoor gear, etc. A lot of the famous surf companies have their headquarters in Orange County. Basically working on lifestyle brands.

HFS. There is a guy like this two streets down from me. Also lots of calf tats.

My neighbor has calf tats, works in sales, plays guitar, drives a large truck, etc. His father had a family owned business in the construction trades but he did not take it over. Seems be really involved with his kids and a fun dad.

Is he a bro dad?

Guy from SoCal who originally got this thread going:
This guy you have described is 100% a Bro Dad.

Ps - just found out ain the last few weeks that my DW is pregnant with our first kid (a boy). Still deciding if I’m going to go total SoCal BroDad or hew more to my wife’s DC roots (and not totally embarrass her)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bro dads are fun and healthy.

Untrue. But LOL.

They drink too much and fall for moronic diet fads. They Guy Fieri out with age and resemble sunburned, mildly racist manatees well before they turn 50.

GUy is the ultimate cal bro dad

Yuck, NO. Bro dads are good looking! Geez

No. They look stuck in No Doubt videos and get ruddy and fat, and their tats get stretched.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bro dads are fun and healthy.

Untrue. But LOL.

They drink too much and fall for moronic diet fads. They Guy Fieri out with age and resemble sunburned, mildly racist manatees well before they turn 50.

GUy is the ultimate cal bro dad

Yuck, NO. Bro dads are good looking! Geez