Issue link: http://tcnj.uberflip.com/i/1334674
48 The College of New Jersey Magazine TCNJ X10 PHOTO COURTESY OF TOM RILES things you need to know about … Life of Dad For the past 16 years, comedian Tom Riles '01 has been the warm-up act for The Ellen DeGeneres Show. But in October 2020, he was on the show, sitting across from Ellen and alongside his wife, Lucy, to promote the couple's book Mom vs. Dad. The book divulges the struggles and hilarity of parenthood and stemmed from Riles' success as the creator of Life of Dad, the largest online community for dads with 4 million followers. Here's how he became the go-to guy for dad content. — Kara Pothier When Riles first became a parent, he looked to connect with other guys like him. "There were lots of sites for moms," he says. "But no online social support group for dads." Life of Dad started as a Facebook page to keep family and friends updated when his infant daughter Barbara, now 10, had open heart surgery. "I didn't want it to be a sad place," he says. "I tried to share hopeful stories of how I was feeling as a new dad. Once my daughter recovered, my content became more humorous." Since then, he's built this "massive ecosystem" of creativity to share the dad experience through blogs, podcasts, videos, and celebrity interviews. Content spans from guys offering their best "dadvice," to tech dads sharing how to set up a smart nursery, to dads remembering their first cars together. Even former President Barack Obama has been in on the Life of Dad fun — when photos of dads stacking Cheerios on their sleeping babies' heads went viral, Obama posted a photo of himself putting Cheerios on a stuffed animal's nose. Life of Dad purposely stays away from content that takes sides, such as how to discipline kids. "We just want refreshing and positive stories. It's all about celebrating fatherhood." Riles doesn't pretend to be a parenting expert. "My wife and I are just figuring it out ourselves each day." Sometimes he subjects his own kids to being part of it all. "I get the 'Why are you filming this?' eye rolls a lot. But I am not above bribing them with a Target gift card when they are good sports." His kids, Barbara, Tommy, 9, and Katie, 5, are not so sure they want to start Life of Kids, but they do believe there will be a Rilesland (like Disneyland) one day. Best part about Life of Dad: "The support that dads report they get from being in the community," Riles says. "It has been beyond my expectations."