This Father’s Day, we’re spotlighting a few special dads in our community and hearing from them, in their own words, about the life-changing experience of fatherhood and its intersection with mental health.

And from now until September 3rd, Maggie Marilyn is donating 100% of profits from Somewhere Man sales to Beyond Blue.

To learn more about Beyond Blue, you can visit their website here.

You uprooted your life in New Zealand to move your young family to Sydney this year. How big a deal was that? And what challenges come with relocating as a young family to a new country without the help of your family/grandparents etc?

I count myself lucky to be running a software start-up that gives me the opportunity to work from anywhere in the world, and because being at the beach is our happy place, we chose to move to Sydney to Launch Zavy and raise our little family. Honestly, the move is feeling really good so far. It's been a crazy couple of months adjusting to our new place with two little ones who absorb the change in different ways but we're getting there, figuring the balance out and being ok with being a little disoriented for now.

You and Adelaide both have important careers, and I feel like the traditional roles of parenting have blurred a lot for our generation - Dads are doing more housework and childcare, and mums are working more and keeping their careers. What conversations did you and Adelaide have about this when you first had Munro and had to find some kind of trade-off?

Adi and I have always tried to live harder and do it all. We often have urges to put our feet up on a little Greek island or something and maybe we still will, but I think about this concept regularly: Is creating success in a career worth it? Does the world need what I feel the need to do? We talk about why we want to push ourselves in this way often. It usually comes back to the fact that both of us want to make a positive impact on other people's lives through our work. But we also want to make sure we don’t lose out on time with our babies and miss how they see the world so we're basically just flying by the seat of our pants and trying to have it all. So far it's working. Adi is able to balance writing feature films and shooting commercials while being more of a mother than I could have ever asked for, for our Munro and Lucca. But we've also been conscious to slow down, which for us means zooming out and realising that we're still young; life is long, and slowing down for a year or two isn't going to stop us reaching our goals. We try to manifest and live the words of ‘Vienna’ by Billy Joel.

The pressure to be a pillar of strength for your partner and newborn baby are enormous for first-time dads. Did this pressure weigh on you at all with Munro, and if so, did you have any father figures or role models you could seek advice from? What are your memories from that season of your life?

Before becoming a father, and in particular in the lead up to Munro's birth, I had always assumed that my Dad would sit me down one day and spill the beans on what it means to be a good dad and how to be a good dad. But for those nine months I was left to my own devices and there were moments when it bothered me that Dad hadn’t sat me down for that conversation – I thought that’s what was meant to happen, and that I was missing out on gaining critical knowledge that would set me up to take care of Munro. I never told Dad I was feeling this way; I didn’t want him to think I wasn’t mentally prepared for what was ahead. But then Munro arrived and I realised Dad had given me everything I would ever need to be a good father simply by being the parent that he was and still is to this day. I realised that fatherhood isn’t something you sit down and prepare your son for – instead it’s what they’ve spent your whole life building you up to be, every single day. Since Munro was born I’ve found comfort in knowing that I’ll do my best by him and all he will need is my unwavering love, which he has in abundance.

I think solid, nurturing and conscious parenting holds some of the greatest power to create position change for the next generation. What kinds of conversations have you and Adelaide had about the values you want to instil in Lucca and Munro?

Adi and I have a secret word between us that has always been our centre of gravity; it keeps us aligned with each other no matter what. The meaning of the word describes our invisible alignment and commitment to staying on the same wavelength; it's how we approach life together. I think that word is reflected in our desire for our babies to always feel loved, safe and happy, and to reciprocate those values to those around them.

And lastly, as we approach Father's Day, reflecting on your parenting journey - what are you most proud of?

Bear with me on this one, but I'm proud of how easy it is for me to smile, and the impact that smile has on me. There's so much to absorb physically and mentally when your children are first born - it goes from zero to one hundred in an instant. Nothing prepares you for that. And I was worried that I wasn’t feeling the “overwhelming sense of love” that everyone seemed to talk about feeling at first sight of their babies being born. But then it happened, not overnight, but it crept up on me through all the little things and I caught myself smiling uncontrollably whenever I was with them or was thinking about their little faces or hearing their sounds. I'm so proud, grateful, and lucky to experience that feeling.

Mike wears Somewhere Man Grey Crewneck and Tailored Trousers

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