When it comes to Father’s Day, the running joke is that all dad needs is a pair of socks, a tie, or some tools. While that might be true for some, dads are a diverse group of individuals: some spend 40 hours a week at the office, others are on their blue collar grind, and even more are at home handling domestic labor. Increasingly, fatherhood these days means a mix of all three.
To get some insight into how modern dads balance work, family life, and finding time to keep themselves fresh, we caught up with a pair of notable father figures—celebrity personal trainer, Jamal Liggin (father to 14-year-old Jaiya), and professional football player Kevin Byard (father to two-year-old Elianna Rose and one-year-old Kevin IV). With Father’s Day on the horizon, the proud papas open up about the best advice they’ve received about parenting, the self-care routines that help them get everything done, and the keys to a perfect celebration of dad.
WHAT JAMAL LIGGIN KNOWS BEST…
…THE IMPORTANCE OF ENJOYING TIME WITH HIS DAUGHTER
Growing up without his father, Jamal wanted to ensure that when he had kids they would get to make lasting memories together. “I treat every holiday I can get as my daughter’s holiday,” he shares. “It’s a way for her to just appreciate having a father in her life.” One of the many ways Jamal does that is by giving his daughter Jaiya the world—literally. “We go on a lot of vacations,” he beams. “We’ve gone to Hawaii together; I’m trying to go on a hiking trip to Arizona with her… She really wants to go to Alaska, and we’ll probably go on my birthday [in August].”
…HOW TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN
Although Jamal didn’t have his father in the house, he did have an uncle who filled that role for him and instilled a set of core values that the celebrity trainer still carries today. “The main thing I can take away from my uncle is to just be honest about everything, and truthful to yourself,” Jamal says. “Not necessarily truthful to other people—that’s obvious—but knowing what you want in life and attacking it.”
Jamal took that advice to heart, and the successful entrepreneur prides himself on being unstoppable when he sets his mind to something. “Everything I said I was going to do, I did, so my uncle always said he never had to worry about me,” he explains. “If I said I was going to do something for my mom, or I said I was going to make sure something happened with my business, he knew it was going to happen.”
…HOW TO REWARD HIMSELF
As a fulltime celebrity trainer, Jamal obviously cares about his physical health but there’s only so much conditioning you can do. “When you’re in the fitness world, it’s assumed that you work out all the time,” he says. “But when you’re [training] 20 or 30 people a day, the last thing you want to do is work out.”
When Jamal has downtime, he loves to explore things that fuel his passions—and stomach. “I love to reward myself,” he explains. “I have these weekly checklists that I do—20 to 40 things a day… I go back and look at all the things that I got done, and definitely like to reap the benefits. I’ll go buy a pair of shoes that I can’t get from a sponsor, or I’ll take myself out for a nice steak dinner.”
…HOW TO MIX THINGS UP
Part of being a successful businessman who sweats for a living is knowing how to mix things up. One area where Jamal does just that is with his cologne choices. “I wear [a few] different scents,” he explains. “When I’m going to work, I don’t want to wear something too strong, because I know I’ll be sweating so my go-to scent for the gym is very neutral. But when I transition to my going out scent; it’s an attractive smell. It’s not something I’m just putting on to get girls. I just want to smell good, period.”
WHAT KEVIN BYARD KNOWS BEST…
…THE RESPONSIBILITY OF FATHERHOOD
According to Kevin, having a child changes your perspective about everything. “I’m not necessarily ever thinking about myself anymore,” he says. “I’m constantly putting myself last, and putting my kids and family first.”
The responsibility of raising two kids continues to push Kevin to do everything in his power to do right by his family. “It’s definitely changed my life,” he says. “It’s been the biggest blessing for me. It gives me a different spark waking up in the morning, knowing that I have two beautiful children to take care of and make sure that they can live the best possible life. That gives me a different level of motivation.”
…WHY BEING PRESENT MATTERS
Even during football season, there’s no escaping dirty diapers for Kevin. “My wife and I have a nanny who does a lot of the caretaking throughout the week, but I’m a hands-on dad—especially on the weekends because that’s how I was raised,” he says. “I like to talk to my children, play with them, work with them on their letters, and different things like that. I’ve been changing diapers and giving my kids bottles from the beginning.”
Despite all of his success on the field, Kevin is most proud of the work he puts in off of it. “As a football player, I’m blessed to have an off season,” he says. “Unlike a lot of jobs and careers, I can come home at a reasonable time, and spend some time with my children. We have a fair amount of time where we can take weeklong vacations and do things like that.”
…HOW TO MAINTAIN HIS CONFIDENCE
Stepping onto the field every week requires a certain level of mental toughness, but when the game’s over and the pads are off Kevin maintains his edge in a more subtle way. “One of my roommates in college had a Polo cologne and it smelled pretty good,” he recalls. “I started experimenting with cologne around that time. You just kind of walk in the room with a different level of confidence when you smell good. When somebody compliments you on how good you smell; that’s a big ego boost.”
…ACKNOWLEDGE THE LITTLE THINGS THAT MATTER
When it comes to Father’s Day, Kevin isn’t the type to make a big fuss about it. “My first Father’s Day was during the pandemic. We pretty much just stayed in the house, and didn’t do anything at all,” he says. “I’m not the type of person that expects a lot of gifts, even on my birthday. It’s more about just the phone calls and just somebody thinking about you. I like to grill a little bit, go to the backyard, and get in the pool.”
Despite his laid back perspective, Kevin still appreciates being appreciated. “Last year my wife ended up getting a huge sign in the front of the house that said, ‘Happy Father’s Day,’” he recalls. “That was probably the best Father’s Day gift I’ve had.”
