Where no woman has gone before: the Dadlabs.com interview
Parent Hacks: The Dad Labs Review
I had a planets-and-stars-aligning moment while I was in Austin, TX attending SXSW. I met Troy Lanier, Clay Nichols and Brad Powell of Dadlabs.com. These talented, savvy, accomplished men are producing some of the funniest, best-quality parenting video around, and I had the pleasure of catching up with them for lunch. It was obvious after about five minutes that we were destined to be friends, given the joking and the laughing that was going on. We talked business, kids, geeky stuff, nipples, and plenty more.
At the end of our lunch we had the brainstorm that I should come out to the Dad Labs studio and film a short interview with Daddy Brad and Daddy Clay (as they're known in their videos). I've never done any kind of filming in my life (wait, I take it back -- I was in a CNet video about this thing called "the World Wide Web" in the 90s), but I felt so at home with these guys that I was game.
The lab itself is a thing of beauty (here are a couple photos) and the shooting process is fascinating. There was a big camera and a microphone and lighting and the little "Take One, Take Two" snappy board thing you see in the movies. (No catering or Perrier, though, which I've been assured will be provided during my next visit to Austin.) Here's the interview, in which I highlight Michelle's alphabet magnet hack and Stu's now-famous "The Problem is the Problem" hack, and generally flail around trying to describe Parent Hacks (let's just say I don't exactly have my elevator pitch down).
And after all that, Clay drove me to the airport to catch my flight home. These guys are tops. I have big hopes that we can work together again.
Tags: Dadlabs.com
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Great interview, congratulations! I wasn't aware of dadlabs before, but it's hilarious!
Posted by: thisbiochemicallife | 23 March 2007 at 02:11 PM
What a marvelous interview. Of course, since I am your mother, I am a bit prejudiced!!
No, really - absolutely delightful. Those guys have great personalities.
Posted by: Roz | 23 March 2007 at 02:49 PM
Hi, Asha! I enjoyed the interview. That was fun to watch. I am loving the website.
Posted by: Hot Wife | 23 March 2007 at 03:55 PM
We love Dad Labs. We saw the breast pump video a while back and its a favorite.
My new favorite is the Bathtub 101 video... it deals with poop in the tub (among other things) and I couldn't stop laughing.
http://www.dadlabs.com/general_parenting/bathtime101_poop_in_the_tub.html
Posted by: Jim | 24 March 2007 at 07:56 PM
They showed me an unedited version of Bathtub 101, and we were all cracking up!
Posted by: Parent Hacks Editor | 24 March 2007 at 08:09 PM