Why I Started Dadurday

The origin story of the greatest dad-driven newsletter.

Bryton Udy
August 03, 2023

When I was a kid, maybe 7 or 8, I was asked the question that adults ask kids without fail:

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"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

-Every Adult Ever

All the other kids in the class had said something along the lines of; Baseball Player, Marine Biologist, Actor, Weatherman, Zookeeper, Singer, Astronaut, etc. I probably said NHL Hockey Goalie based on what I was interested in at the time, but there was another answer that I never said because I was too embarrassed and thought the class would laugh at me.

Two decades later, and I have accomplished some pretty cool things in my life. I played high-level hockey as a goalie, not quite the NHL, but I did receive a scholarship offer from a Division 1 school. But instead, I chose to pursue my passion for music. I joined forces with a childhood friend, and we formed a country music duo called Leaving Thomas. We toured Canada, playing all the major music festivals, had several top 40 radio singles, were nominated for two Canadian Country Music Awards, and performed for major label executives and at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville.

While pursuing my music career, I completed my marketing degree and started my own marketing company, where I helped businesses and organizations with their marketing, building websites, social media campaigns, podcasts, videos, and more. I had accomplished all of these amazing things, but there was still something missing.

If you would have asked a few of my classmates back in grade three, they would have said I was living the dream. I became what many kids grow up wanting to be. But I still wasn't who I wanted to be when I grew up.

The truth is, even since I was a little kid, the only thing I knew I wanted to be when I grew up was a Husband; and a Dad.

I'm truly the luckiest guy in the world - words I believe any father (and husband😉) should say.

I'm now a father to an 18-month-old boy we call Remi, Husband to my beautiful wife and parenting superhero, Kimberly. And I truly feel like this is what I was meant to do, and who I was meant to be. (Cheesy, I know, but true!)

So Why Did I Start Dadurday?

Before Remi was born, I tried searching for some blogs, videos, books, podcasts, anything I could get my hands on that would be of help in becoming a dad. I found some nuggets out there, but there wasn't a place that had everything in one place. A resource or community that I resonated with.

Since Remi is the first grand-baby on both sides of the family, Kimberly and I were finding it tough to find the support and connection (granted it was during COVID) of other new parents and younger families, since none of our siblings have kids yet.

I didn't grow up in a religious household, but Kimberly's family went to church when she was younger, so we decided to seek some community at our local church. We found some amazing new friends who were our age, had kids our age, had similar values and parenting styles as we did. It was a relief to have other parents around to talk to, bounce ideas off of and share stories with.

Finding this community and network of like minded dads sparked something in me.

Ultimately, I started Dadurday to be a place for dads to connect, get inspired, find comfort in the parenting journey, share their stories and to have a laugh.

I believe that being a dad is the most important thing a man can be. And to celebrate that, honour that, and support that, I created Dadurday.

I hope that you find value in this newsletter, blog, brand, or whatever this thing becomes in the future, and I look forward to sharing the Dad-ing journey with you all.

To Dadurdays with the kids,

- Bryton