Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Laferriere And Evan Berger
Hi Kevin Laferriere and Evan Berger, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Kevin and Evan started out doing sketch comedy at night in Hollywood back in 2013. After doing that for a few years and even making a web series with other comedians, Kevin and Evan both started having kids which, of course, puts a lot of the creative pursuits on the back burner. Evan had his first child in 2015 and Kevin had his first in 2016. They still hung out a lot seeing as they were both the stay at home dads, although mostly at the zoo or playground. They realized there wasn’t a lot of parenting podcasts directed specifically at dads. So, they started a weekly podcast called the Dumb Dad Podcast. The name pokes fun at the trope of the TV dad who, when left along with the kids, nearly burns down the house just trying to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. On the weekly pod, they would discuss their week and always share their dumb dad moment. I time where you really dropped the ball as a parent. The podcast was going well, and they would still occasionally audition for a commercial while also working nights as bartenders after their wives came home. Then the pandemic happened.
Kevin and Evan were instantly our of their job as bartenders and was back as only stay at home dads. Their families decided to pod(no pun intended) together. A little while into the pandemic, Kevin’s wife suggested they try out TikTok as it was the most popular thing to do. They started it out as a way to promote their podcast, but it soon became a creative outlet for them to revisit their sketch comedy roots but this time directed solely at the life of parents. Their content took off very quickly with their “Confessions of a Parent”, “Parenting Through Time”, and their largest viral hit, “Dad’s Press Conferences”. In just under 5 years, they have over 1.3 million followers across platforms and now tour the country doing a one hour sketch comedy show.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It was a very smooth road at the start. After a few videos that were duds(who hasn’t), they really took off with their “Confessions of a Parent” video and then gained a huge surge in followers with their “Dad’s Press Conferences”. The struggle has been the continued need to grow as a brand. Your currency is your followers and The Dads now make money off of brand deals. Sometimes it’s hard as a creative to understand if you’re getting low views because your content just isn’t connecting with audiences or if the algorithm has changed. It sounds silly, but keeping the audiences engaged daily is a challenge. The Dads liken it to being a writer for a late night show. “The Show has to go up every night”.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We specialize in parenting comedy from the perspective of stay at home dads who aren’t incompetent but do make mistakes because every parent does. We’re known for our Press Conferences, where we have the Dad’s talking to the press pool after a day of parenting and explaining their failures that day, and our Parenting Through Time sketches which takes you through how parents handled different topics throughout the decades.
What we’re most proud of is making content that feels honest and real to other parents. We’ve had people DM us or come up to us after a show and tell us they felt so seen when the watch a certain video. Bringing joy to people while also helping them laugh through the wild nature of parenting has been a wonderfully humbling experience.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Our wives, Annie Laferriere (@annielaferriere) and Katie Berger. Without a doubt we would still be yucking it up at the zoo dreaming about what could be if it wasn’t for our wives who’ve encouraged us every step of the way. Both are still active members of the team and help us with content constantly.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thedumbdads.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedumbdads/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDumbDads/
- Twitter: https://x.com/TheDumbDads
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBN0i4RMt8wvH5khyPKb9Xg
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedumbdads?lang=en
