The truth about fatherhood, exhaustion, mental health and why I created TWENTY

There was a period of my life where, if I am being honest, I did not really recognise myself anymore. From the outside everything probably looked fine. I was working hard, building a business, being a father, doing all the things you are supposed to do as a man and as a dad. But internally I felt exhausted. Not just tired physically, properly exhausted mentally as well.

The weight had crept on slowly over time. It was not some dramatic overnight change. It was stress, long days, convenience food, putting myself last constantly and telling myself I would sort it out “when life calmed down”. The problem is life never really calms down. Especially when you are a parent.

I think a lot of fathers go through this quietly. You become so focused on providing, protecting and making sure everyone else is okay that eventually you stop checking in with yourself altogether. You convince yourself that feeling run down all the time is normal. That waking up tired is normal. That having no energy left by the end of the day is just part of being an adult.

But deep down, I knew I was unhappy.

I remember looking at photos of myself and feeling uncomfortable. I stopped wanting to be in pictures. I felt older than I actually was. Slower. Heavier. Less confident. But the hardest part was not what I looked like, it was what it was taking away from me as a dad.

There were moments with my daughters that should have felt easy and joyful, but internally I just felt drained. They wanted me to run around, play, go out, be silly with them and fully engage, and sometimes all I could think about was how tired I felt. I would still do it because I love them more than anything in this world, but inside I knew I was not giving them the best version of me.

That feeling stays with you.

There is a guilt that comes with fatherhood when you know your children deserve more energy, more patience and more presence than you feel capable of giving at the time. I think that is what affected me most mentally. It was not vanity. It was not about abs or aesthetics. It was the fear of slowly becoming a tired, disconnected version of myself while my kids were growing up right in front of me.

And the scary thing is those years go quickly.

One day they want you to carry them everywhere, then suddenly they do not. One day they want to hold your hand constantly, then they grow older and more independent. I started realising I did not want to spend those years mentally exhausted, watching moments instead of properly living them.

I knew I needed to change something, but I also knew that spending hours every week in the gym was never going to fit my life realistically. Between family, work and responsibilities, I did not want improving my health to come at the cost of even more time away from the people I was trying to do it for in the first place.

That is honestly why TWENTY became so important to me.

At first, it was just about trying to feel better physically. Twenty minutes a day felt achievable. It felt realistic. No long gym sessions. No trying to force a lifestyle that did not fit around being a present father. Just focused, effective training that worked around my life instead of taking me away from it.

But what surprised me most was how much it changed me mentally.

Slowly, I started feeling like myself again. I woke up with more energy. I felt clearer mentally. More confident. More positive. I stopped feeling constantly sluggish and lethargic. I became more patient with the kids. More engaged. More present. I actually wanted to go out and do things again instead of sitting there feeling exhausted before the day had even properly started.

The biggest transformation was never physical for me, even though the physical results came too. It was getting my life back emotionally.

It was enjoying moments again instead of surviving them.

It was having the energy to properly play with my daughters instead of counting down until I could sit down again. It was wanting to be in photos with them instead of avoiding the camera. It was feeling proud of myself again. Feeling capable again. Feeling like the version of myself my children already saw in me all along.

That is why this means so much more to me than fitness.

TWENTY was built around real life. Around busy parents, busy people, people struggling mentally, physically, emotionally, trying to balance everything while slowly losing themselves in the process.

Because I know exactly how that feels.

And if you are reading this feeling the same way, please know you are not alone. More people are struggling quietly than you probably realise. Sometimes the hardest thing is admitting you are not feeling okay, but that honesty can also become the start of changing your life.

For me, this was never really about getting in shape.

It was about becoming the dad my daughters deserve while there is still time to enjoy every moment with them