Family By Heart

Summary In this conversation, Dustin and Brandon catch up on their summer activities. Dustin talks about his son's progress in swimming lessons and his own experiences with concerts and fitness. Brandon shares his daughter's transition to college and his son's interest in golf. In the meat of the episode, they discuss the importance of perspective, how it can impact our lives and how t...

Summary In this conversation, Dustin and Brandon chat with Shari Maouri, an endurance athlete and member of Compound Fitness in Strongsville. Shari shares her journey from being overweight and out of shape to becoming a fitness enthusiast and mountain climber. She talks about her motivation, the impact of fitness on her life, and her experiences participating in challenging events like the 29029 E...

Summary This episode is bound to be as legendary as Dustin and Brandon's guest, Coach, who is an inspirational figure in sports and entertainment. He shares his coaching philosophy and the importance of being there for others. The guys have fun talking sports as they discuss the Cleveland Browns and their playoff drought, as well as the NBA and the legitimacy of championships won in the bubble...

Summary In this conversation, Brandon and Dustin discuss various topics related to parenting and coaching. They reminisce about their hometown and share personal stories. They touch on the importance of mental health and self-care, as well as the role of youth sports in teaching life skills. They also discuss the concept of participation trophies and the impact of building self-esteem based on eff...

Summary In this special episode for Foster Care Awareness Month, Brandon and Dustin speak with the author of The Black Foster Youth Handbook, speaker and holistic health coach, Angela Quijada-Banks. Angela shares her insights on preventing and recovering from burnout, emphasizing the need for self-care, setting boundaries, and nurturing personal relationships. She also discusses her books, includi...

Summary In this episode, Dustin and Brandon continue their interview with Carrie Danger, a DJ for a local Cleveland radio station. They discuss the power of music and its impact on their lives. Carrie shares how music has helped her through difficult times and how certain albums have become soundtracks to different stages of her life. They also talk about Carrie's journey to sobriety and the i...

Summary In this two part episode of Family by Heart, Dustin and Brandon interview Carrie Danger, a DJ for Alternative Radio Station 1073 in Cleveland. In the first part, they discuss Carrie's upbringing, how she became a DJ, and her experiences in the music industry. In the second part, they delve into the power of music and Carrie's mental health journey. Some of the icebreakers include d...

Summary In this episode, Dustin and Brandon discuss various topics related to parenting, marriage, and personal experiences. They talk about the importance of learning from others, the challenges of parenting, and the need to be open-minded. They also share anecdotes about their children's activities and the surprises that come with them. Additionally, they touch on topics such as division of...

Whether you have an autistic loved one in your family, you suspect one of your children being on the spectrum or you just want to learn some truths about the topic, this episode is one not to be missed. Hosts Dustin and Brandon speak with Leigh Merryday Porch, the author of the blog Flappiness Is and the book The Scenic Route, Embracing the Detours, Roblox and Unexpected Joys of Raising an Autisti...

In the first interview episode of this season, Dustin and Brandon interview Clarence "Tre" Anderson, a two-time graduate from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, where he is currently attending med school. The three discuss various topics related to family, health, and nutrition. They emphasize the importance of prioritizing and organizing one's time to balance variou...

In the first episode of season three of Family By Heart, Dustin and his new recurring co-host, Brandon Stafford, discuss the topic of priorities. They start by talking about their experiences with New Year's resolutions and the low success rate of sticking to them. Dustin shares that he has successfully kept a resolution to give up alcohol for three years, while Brandon talks about his resolut...

November is National Adoption Awareness Month and while many organizations recognize it as a celebration of the beauty that can come with adoption, there are several sides to each story of adoption. The adoption Network of Cleveland is one organization that advocates, supports and educates the different sides of the story. In this episode of Family By Heart Podcast, host Dustin Gruss sits down to...

The better you take care of yourself, the better you'll be able to care for others. In this episode of Family By Heart, host Dustin Gruss shares his 10 forms of self care that will transform your life. If you’re like most people, you probably do a pretty good job of caring for the most important people in your life. However, you probably forget the most important person: You. The belief at Fam...

"The ability to seek advice or be vulnerable without fear is priceless and as fathers, we don't have that in this current environment" writes the author, Shannon Carpenter, in his article for CNN.com, "The male loneliness epidemic and how it affects fathers." In this episode of Family By Heart, two stay-at-home dads, host Dustin Gruss and Carpenter, discuss the article and:...

Taking time for yourself to recharge, recover and even challenge your mind and body is an important part of being an affectionate, effective and competent parent. In this episode of Family By Heart, host Dustin Gruss shares his experience and the lessons he learned when he took the "12 Hour Walk Challenge", based off of a book written by Colin O'Brady. Topics Dustin covers: - A synop...

After a summer hiatus going on adventures and being all sorts of exhausted from the kids being home all summer, Dustin and Family By Heart Podcast announces "We're Back." In this brief episode, Dustin reintroduces himself for the new listeners and brings everyone up to speed on what he and the family have been up to, unveils a new logo, changes he has been making with his coaching, s...

The world of foster care is ever changing and often you'll find it is foster care alumni who are the ones working tirelessly to see that it changes to support the next generation of youth coming through the system. One such person is Jamole Callahan. After spending his teenage years in the foster system with not a whole lot of say as to where he went and what would happen with him, Jamole beca...

"If we love others only when they are deserving, then who would ever be loved?" This powerful quote is one of the beautiful statements that Dad teaches his young daughter, Maeva, in the beautiful children's book by Justin and Alexis Black, I Love You More Than Cereal . After growing up in the foster care system of Detroit, the Blacks have made it their mission to help other foster yo...

According to author of Girl Dad, Madeline Anderson, "One of the most amazing relationships you can have is being a Girl Dad." Whether by birth or unexpectedly thrust into the role as a foster or adoptive parent, some men aren't quite sure how to approach the role of being a father to a girl. After researching and interviewing many father/daughter relationships, Madeline wrote her boo...

Kristen Adkins is a foster mom turned adoptive mom turned foster parent coach, helping others who have decided to look into the journey of foster care. In addition to her coaching she also started her own podcast, Impressing Minds and has a book coming out in 2023, "Called to Foster".  In this episode Dustin and Kristen talk about their experiences getting involved with foster care, how they...

After experiencing first hand the mental and emotional toll infertility puts on a marriage and the man (in addition to the presumed and obvious toll it takes on the woman) licensed social worker, Steven Miller, decided to turn his focus to helping other men dealing with infertility and the anguish it would cause. As a result Steven is now an advocate for awareness and education on infertility and...

In recent weeks Dustin Gruss has had to witness his 3 year old son show frustration that his skin color was different and a group of high school students hesitate to list a quality or characteristic they like about themselves. Realizing that this is a small sample of a larger scale problem with our kids not being confident in themselves, Gruss realized this may be an issue that starts with us, the...

After an unsuccessful first round of IVF, doting husband Ryan Smith began a process with his journal, researching and writing the things he wish he would've known as his wife, Katie, and he began their 5 year journey into the world of fertility struggles. That process would result in his incredible book, "FINALLY! An Infertility Book for Dudes", which helps break down the terminology and experienc...

Back for the 2nd episode of the second season of the Family By Heart Podcast, host Dustin Gruss shares the experiences and lessons his family learned as they hit the one year anniversary of the adoption of their 2 boys.  Adoption in any capacity has its difficulties and growing pains, but there are lessons that can be learned in any situation and how you adapt is vital. In this episode Dustin...

Family By Heart is back with Season 2 and thankful for everyone that listens. But are you listening to the people in your life?  In this episode Dustin Gruss, (Host, Coach and Speaker), talks about how important it is to give the people in your life your undivided attention and not only will you avoid troubles by doing so but you just might pick up on things that aren't being said with words....