Dad Who Grew Up Without A Father Starts Basic Skills YouTube Channel
He teaches skills you’d normally “ask your dad” about for people who live alone or don’t have dads of their own
If you’ve spent your time in quarantine wondering, “What’s the purest thing on the internet right now?” well, look no further. Rob Kenney’s massively popular YouTube channel, “Dad, How Do I?” has found its way into everyone’s hearts after recently going viral thanks to Reddit and Twitter. And, of course, to Kenney himself — who has one heck of a heart-wrenching backstory with his own dad.
When he was just 14, Kenney’s dad abandoned him and his siblings, according to a recent interview he did with Shattered magazine. After his dad left, Kenney moved in with one of his older brothers. He’s since gotten married and raised two children of his own, both of whom are adults. His daughter, Kristine, 27, earned a handful of degrees and certifications toward helping her work with kids. His son, Kyle, works as a software engineer.
He channeled those empty nest feelings into creating “Dad, How Do I?” on YouTube about a month ago, where he shares “practical ‘Dadvice’ for everyday tasks.”
Kenney told Shattered he wanted to leave a legacy, particularly for those who struggle with a broken family or absent parent. So far, the videos cover topics like checking the oil, checking your tire pressure, how to fix a running toilet, how to tie a tie, and how to iron a dress shirt.
“I want it to be about everyday tasks, but I also would like to pass along some of the wisdom I’ve learned along the way to encourage people,” Rob said. “I thought I was just going to be showing people how to do stuff, but it’s kind of resonating on a whole different level.”
After the interview published, “Dad, How Do I?” began gaining traction on Twitter and Reddit, with many people overcome with the sweet purity of Kenney’s channel (which now has 855,000 subscribers).
The entire internet it seems is extremely here for everything about this YouTube channel, because something as genuinely good as this is a very necessary and welcome distraction from the never-ending peril that is our collective reality.
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After the outpouring of support made its way to Kenney’s various inboxes, he shared a video to his account thanking everyone for their kind words.
“I’m a bit of an emotional wreck,” he admits.”The pain is pretty real in our world, and hopefully, this will help alleviate some of it.”
