Brooklyn Dad's Push for Support Transforms into a 1,500-Strong Fatherhood Community

Yahoo

6 days ago

When Parents Next Gen winner Joe Gonzales became a father, he noticed how isolating it could be. That's why he created Brooklyn Stroll, a community for dads that's taken the borough by storm.
After the birth of his son, Joe Gonzales was struck by how isolating new parenthood could be. He searched for a community of dads, somewhere to share everything from teething tips to the more vulnerable sides of fatherhood, like mental health, but came up empty. So, he created one himself— the Brooklyn Stroll Club. Gonzales' dedication to improving his community by creating connection is why he's a Parents Next Gen winner.
Gonzales introduced the idea on TikTok, and it quickly took flight. His post went viral, drawing thousands of views, likes, and comments from dads craving the same connection. What began as a simple idea has grown into a thriving community of more than 1,500 fathers, offering online and in-person connections. While many members are still deep in the trenches of sleepless nights and midnight feedings, the Brooklyn Stroll Club has become a space for dads in all stages of parenting. It's a place to share stories, get advice, and build meaningful relationships rooted in shared experience.
We sat down with Gonzales to learn more about the future of the Brooklyn Stroll Club—and his vision for a more connected, compassionate generation of fathers.
What inspired you? How did this start?
I started the Brooklyn Stroll Club in 2024 when I became a dad, and my life changed completely. Really, we just started in the park as dads just wanting to meet up. And it quickly grew to over 1,500 dads who are on our online community who chat daily about their experiences, tips, and are really just looking for encouragement in fatherhood. And then we do monthly meetups to really help dads build confidence. For some dads, it's their first time outside with their child.
I know your son is young. How are you raising him to be a changemaker?
I'm raising my son to be a changemaker by showing him that his parents take risks, love deeply, and pursue things they're passionate about. And I want him to feel confident in everything he does, in everything he tries. Even though he is little, he is always watching. I'm modeling the behavior for him so he can implement it later. I'm raising my kid to be a changemaker by the way we live our lives.
It's nice that you'll get to grow with these fathers because it sounds like you're all kind of in the same phase. Are there other dads at different stages of their journeys?
It's been really cool being a dad with a one-year-old because we've seen dads in the community who have just learned they are expecting. Then some dads have newborns. Those guys are in the trenches of figuring out how to do it. Then we have dads who have older kids, so they can share knowledge from their experiences with us. There's a little bit of everything.
We hope to encourage not only the dads who are coming in, but also ourselves as we grow together. The community changes every year, and it changes with every kid. Every person's journey of fatherhood is unique. And so you can find somebody who has at least something you can relate to in the community. And I think that's super important.
With all of the people you've met and talked to, what's one thing you've heard that stuck with you?
One sentiment that I hear from the community is that they didn't know how much they needed the community, and I think that's the most important thing: being able to be vulnerable and open. And when you can find that and truly understand that it's helping you and growing you, I believe we can shape the next generation of fathers.
At some point, the strollers get retired. Do you see meet-ups where it's sometimes just dads without their kids?
We want to create experiences not only for dads and their children, but also experiences to help dads with mental health, self-care, and everything that goes along with processing fatherhood. Once we did a boxing meetup, and in the future, we want to do meditation classes, things like that.
It's like this: How do we serve ourselves better? How can we better serve our families? How can we better serve the community around us? Those are the questions that we hope to answer as we become better fathers. Fatherhood is complex. Our hope is to give dads the tools that they need to be better for their families and themselves.
The conversations I've had with dads are that they put themselves last, and I think that's always tough to hear.
I'm sure people hear 'Stroll Club' and think you're just having meetups with your children. But this is really about dads finding connection and that friendship.
Yes, that's the most important thing. Dads in a group chat talking about what they're going to do for dinner, what they're going to do for bedtime, or how they're going to do it. To me, that's the most impactful part of it. When you're with your kid, it's always chaos, but there's beauty in that as well.
Read the original article on Parents
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