The balance of fatherhood, business, and life doesn't come with a guidebook, and most days, they’re competing for your attention.
This Father’s Day, we brought together three founders, Rob (Mitchells), Matt (Good Sort Soap), and Aaron (Just Another Fisherman), for an honest conversation on what it actually looks like to show up across all of it.
They grew up together in Tauranga, surfing, skating, fishing, and chasing winters down south, and now find themselves in a very different season: building brands, raising families, and navigating both the pleasures and pressures that come with both.
What ties it all together isn’t perfect routines or having it all figured out. It’s the small, daily foundations they come back to, habits that support how they show up for themselves, their families, and their work.
This is an honest look at what that really means in practice: the routines, the challenges, and the mindset shifts that help them keep showing up, everyday.
Let’s start with the story of how you all know each other… go:
1. Matt: We all met at college. Rob and Aaron were good mates through skating, and I was the new kid from the country. Eventually I became part of the wider crew. I've got a lot of great memories from those years, shooting guns and throwing parties at my family's orchard in Te Puna, New Year's at Aaron's parents' place in Whangamatā, and snowboarding road trips with Rob in my beat-up Holden. It's pretty special that after all these years of building our lives and raising families, we get to work together on something like this.
2. Aaron: Met the Lads while attending intermediate and high school in Bay of Plenty. Rob and I connected through skateboarding, and I met Matt later on at college. All our mates hung out together, and we enjoyed an epic lifestyle together. It was such an epic time of our lives.
3. Rob: We are old high school mates. We grew up in Tauranga interacting with all the things the Bay had on offer; fishing, surfing, skateboarding + some snowboarding down at Ruapehu.
Tell us a bit about your background, and what led or inspired you to building your brand.
1. Matt: I grew up on an orchard in the Bay of Plenty. After college I completed an engineering apprenticeship and spent around 16 years in the industry. It was a great trade, but I always knew I wanted to build something of my own. My wife and I moved back to the Bay in 2018 after our first son was born, and bought our avocado orchard the following year. After the cyclones of 2022-23 we had a lot of bottled avocado oil from damaged fruit. It was around that time I began experimenting with cold-process soap using that oil. I was stoked with the resulting bars and I realised I'd stumbled onto something worth building on, and Good Sort became a thing.
2. Aaron: From a young age, I started fishing with my dad, and then I found myself immersed in the Skateboard culture in the BOP. Working in skate shops and skateboarding with my mates, I went to Hamilton after college to do a Bachelor of Media Art degree, majoring in Graphic design. I had a passion for design, fashion and skateboarding. After my degree, I moved to Auckland, working in fashion stores and trying to practice graphic design within the market. I then found myself at HUFFER, a classic NZ apparel brand. I started as a Junior, doing everything from cleaning floors to small design projects, working under the original founder Dan Buckley. As I developed a knowledge of Garment design, I ended up working as Head of Design for HUFFER and designing menswear collections. In this period, I reconnected with my passion for fishing and integrated some of it into my design. During this period, I met my wife, Penny Styles, and we got married, and we decided to start a Boutique Production company, “MMS” that manufactures and offers design solutions in the apparel industry. At the time, I was also struggling to find apparel that I wanted to wear and that related to my passion for fishing. So I started the idea that is now JUST ANOTHER FISHERMAN. Taking what I had learned from the skate industry and Huffer, JAF was born.
3. Rob: My background is professional snowboarding. While it had incredible highlights it also came with a lot of injuries. The recovery process from these is what inspired me to create a natural range of bone broth health products. They’re designed to help keep people doing what they love for as long as possible - Traditional nutrition for modern life.
Fatherhood often shifts how we approach life and work. How has this influenced you - and the standards you hold for yourself?
1. Matt: Becoming a father has changed me more than anything else ever has. It makes me think a lot more about the example I'm setting. My boys make me question things about myself that I wouldn't otherwise so It's definitely raised the standards I hold myself to. I know they're always watching and I keep that in mind no matter what it is I'm doing.
2. Aaron: Massively, it’s taught me so much about myself, my values and what I want to be as a Father to my son. Having such an open, fun relationship with my son is such a humbling experience. I am still learning and feel grateful to do things together and have such a great bond through skateboarding, Fishing, travel, and Evan fashion.
3. Rob: Fatherhood is still very new for me. We welcomed our daughter to the world 5 months ago so it has been a big life shift. Aaron and Matt are both further down the track with their families so it's been inspiring to see how they have navigated being Dads.
At Mitchells we talk a lot about daily foundations: the small, consistent inputs that support how you show up. As a dad, what do your daily foundations look like?
1. Matt: For me it's pretty simple. Real food, regular movement, time outside, and a bit of quiet before the day gets going. Most mornings start with a cup of tea, a few minutes of silence and a cold shower out on the deck. Most days I'll swing a kettlebell around or head out for a run. I try to cook a decent meal most nights. When I’m consistent with those basics, everything else tends to look after itself. I feel lighter mentally and have the energy to keep up with the groms.
2. Aaron: I talk with my wife about this a lot, and it's about giving him the foundations to grow, making sure he knows he is supported and loved, while giving him freedom to make mistakes and follow his passions. We want him never to be scared to discuss anything with us. That love and trust is our foundation.
3. Rob: At the moment with the age and stage our daughter is at, it’s been about how I best show up and support my wife. Women play such an important role for our kids at the baby stage but us as partners / dads play a just as crucial role as support crew.
What does “showing up well” as a man, across business, family, and personally mean to you in a real, day-to-day sense?
1. Matt: For me It's about trying to live in a way that's consistent with the values I say I have. Keep my word. Own my mistakes. Manage my emotions instead of letting them manage me. Look after my health. I also want my boys to see someone who backs himself and has the guts to have a crack at things that matter. I hope seeing that encourages them to back themselves and build the life they want. I don't get it right every day, that’s okay. The goal isn’t perfection. You pay attention, and look at where you can do a little better tomorrow.
2. Aaron: It's believing in myself. It's showing my wife, Son, team, and friends that I am confident and there for them as a business owner, partner, dad, and founder of J.A.F - Health is Wealth and Knowledge is Power. So I just need to be a better version of myself every day, and not be scared to fail or what people think, as that is hard in this industry.
3. Rob: To me it's super important to be present at home. Being Interactive and united as a team unit. If my home cup is full, it makes it easier to show up with more in the tank at work.
All three brands are built on strong, similar values: quality, integrity, and simplicity. How do these values guide your decisions, especially when things get busy or challenging?
1. Matt: I've found that when life gets noisy, having clear values keeps me on track. They become a filter for where I spend my time and energy, whether it's Good Sort or life in general. For me integrity is following through on what you say matters, especially when it's inconvenient. Simplicity is stripping away the unnecessary so you've got room to focus on what actually matters. And I think quality is what naturally follows when you care about the process. Do the little things well and the outcome usually takes care of itself.
2. Aaron: It's about staying in your lane, knowing your brand values, and never forgetting where you came from. I feel very lucky to do what I do and share it with mates I have been friends with for over 20 years. Either fishing, skating, or now building businesses together. Trust your gut.
3. Rob: I’ve found that when you know your values and use them to guide decisions within the business, things get clearer and decisions get somewhat easier to make.
There’s often a lot competing for your attention: work, family, health, responsibility. What helps you stay grounded when life feels full? What are your non-negotiables?
1. Matt: For sure life gets hectic when you're trying to juggle a business, an orchard and a young family and I've learnt that if you treat everything like a priority, nothing really is. For me, family time and exercise are non-negotiables, so I've become a lot more comfortable saying no and protecting time for the things that matter most. Every couple of months I'll disappear for a fishing trip, a hike or a roadie somewhere. A bit of time on your own gives you the chance to check in, reset, and remember what's actually important.
2. Aaron: I feel as I get older I get better at managing my work-life balance. A few years back, I went through some dark times, which has taught me to be more aware and not sweat the small stuff. My Non-Negotiables these days are quality time with my wife out of work. We have worked together for nearly 15 years. My son, Health, Good food, friends, fitness and of course fishing and the outdoors.
3. Rob: Family, Exercise, Sauna, & Ocean Swims with Mates
Every season of life comes with its challenges. What have been some real pressure or harder moments you’ve faced in business or fatherhood, and what’s helped you move through them?
1. Matt: One of the biggest challenges has been raising our oldest son. We knew early on that he experienced the world differently, and when he was 6 we found out he has autism spectrum disorder. I eventually realised my way of parenting, the way I'd been brought up and what came naturally to me, wasn't working for either of us. I was trying to change him, when really I needed to change my perspective. Rewiring the way I thought about fatherhood was uncomfortable but it's made me a better dad, and probably a better person. That experience and those years of cyclones on the orchard taught me the same lesson: wishing reality was different doesn't change it. Accept things as they are and focus on what you can actually influence. Wake up, have a cup of tea and a cold shower, and carry on.
2. Aaron: In business, it would be knowledge. Being a creative, you get excited and fizzed up about doing events, products, marketing, etc., but these can sometimes add costs, create resource pressure, and result in poor performance. I have learned this over time and am grateful for the experience of others to help guide me and the business. In my situation, this affected work and Business because of Penny and me working together, and this then made it home to our personal environment As a father, it'ss learning to be open and to listen, learning to engage in what your child is into,
and listening and watching as they grow. Learning to be patient has been the most helpful. Not reacting. Every child is different and reacts differently to each situation.
3. Rob: By far the most challenging season of my life to date was trying to show up and run the business completely sleep deprived. It coincided with onboarding new team members / off boarding team members / a warehouse / office move and fit out of the new location. All while juggling a new born. I definitely hit the ref governor a number of times. I was not my best self through this period.
Father’s Day offers a moment to reflect: what does it mean to you to be a “dad”, and how has that evolved overtime?
1. Matt: Fatherhood is the most meaningful thing in my life, and my biggest responsibility. Early on I thought being a good dad was mostly about providing for my family and being a good role model. Those things still matter but these days I think more about: Am I present with my boys? Do we have fun together? Do they know they come before anything else I've got going on? Am I really listening when they're trying to tell me something? It’s a daily practice and I often fall short, but when I get those things right, I hit the pillow at night feeling good.
2. Aaron: I think being a father is like being a Best mate: don’t judge, Don’t control, just be there, spend time together, support in a loving way. Share your knowledge and build memories. I think when my son was younger, I relied on me more; now it's about sharing time together.
3. Rob: This will be my first one, I am so grateful to be a Dad to our daughter and look forward to many more
What are you currently working on, in life or business, that you’re excited about?
1. Matt: Good Sort, without a doubt. It's been incredibly satisfying to see an idea slowly come to life. There has been a lot to learn and plenty of mistakes made, but I'm really enjoying the process. The vision has always been to build a natural skincare brand that feels like the surf, skate and snowboard brands I grew up with, where quality, craftsmanship and a love of the outdoors were part of the identity. I'm excited to see where it can go outside of that, I look forward to seeing where fatherhood takes me. I’m pretty sure fatherhood’s a lifelong apprenticeship. Maybe one day I'll find total inner peace and learn to levitate, but until then I'll keep working on the things that matter.
2. Aaron: Personally, been working on my fitness and mental health. A lot more skateboarding, walking, weights, and Pilates twice a week with my wife, which is good for core strength and to do something together other than work. I am also doing a decent amount of fishing and am in the early stages of planning a big reno on our house. Work is all about refining the machine. Margins, Process, Brand direction, Retail- there is always so much going on in our business, so it's taking one day at a time. And being healthy and on point makes that so much more enjoyable.
3. Rob: Personally I am constantly working on strength and fitness to keep doing what I love for as long as possible. With the business… well you will just have to wait and see!
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