The YouTube community is full of amazing content creators and videographers. And while the platform is best known for its music, comedy, gaming, beauty, and review content, there is also a less popular, but still very relevant genre—how-to videos.
One such channel has been gaining traction and making headlines recently. Dad, how do I? is a how-to and tutorial channel founded and run by Rob Kenney. The channel aims to give practical advice on how to do more or less everyday things like how to tie a tie, shave your face, iron a shirt, or unclog a sink or drain.
However, while the channel lives up to its name and aim, i.e. of giving practical advice on things that actually matter, it is the backstory and the noble purpose of the videos that make the entire channel and the man behind it special and the reason why it went viral recently.
More info: YouTube
This How-To YouTuber became an over-night sensation when the story behind his videos reached the internet
Image credits: Rob Kenney
You see, Rob’s father walked out on his family of 8 kids when he had just stepped into his teenage years, and his mother turned to alcohol after failing to cope with the stress of living with a man she didn’t get along far away from her own home and having to raise eight kids along the way. Eventually, at the age of 14, Rob was taken in by his 23-year-old brother and his wife to live in a tiny mobile home. Needless to say, life wasn’t easy for Rob.
So, given this, Rob promised himself that he would not make the same mistakes his parents did: “My goal in my life was to raise good adults. I never wanted to be wealthy. I never wanted to be necessarily successful. My goal in life was to raise good adults—not good children but good adults—because I had a fractured childhood,” he explained in an interview with Shattered Magazine.
Rob Kenney's dad walked out on him and his 7 brothers and sisters when he was just a kid
Image credits: Rob Kenney
In response to this, he made his life's goal to raise good adults, becoming a positive dad role model along the way
Image credits: Rob Kenney
And that he did. He is now a husband of 29 years and a father of two, Kristine and Kyle. Fatherhood never really ends, but now that the crucial part is over and the kids are living their own lives, Rob turned to creating videos on YouTube, cleverly giving his work a motto: “Practical Dadvice for everyday tasks.” Sir, we salute you for the pun!
Throughout the years, he accumulated a lot of wisdom and practical know-how, which he wanted to turn into lessons that aren’t really taught in schools. Practical life lessons like the aforementioned videos. Until one day, his story reached a wider audience.
So, Rob launched a YouTube channel dedicated to giving "dadvice" on practical things that you would typically ask your dad about
Image credits: Rob Kenney
His videos cover a variety of topics, ranging from how to tie a tie and iron a shirt to how to change car oil and unclog a sink
Image credits: Rob Kenney
Word of him and his channel started making its way through the internet. Facebook user Chris Hart posted a short summary of his story and how he immediately subscribed to Rob’s channel. The post got over 263,000 reactions and 515,000 shares within the first day of posting.
Twitter users FaisalTreShah and earthygissel tweeted the same message about the man’s channel, collectively earning over 1.1 million likes and 325,000 retweets at the moment of this article (and the numbers continue to rise fast each minute). These tweets made their way in screenshot form to Imgur and Reddit, also getting over 180,000 views and 86,000 upvotes respectively.
Soon, the internet found out about his story and showered him and his channel with love and support
Image credits: Rob Kenney
Rob went viral on virtually every social media platform imaginable, garnering over 800k subscribers in mere days
Image credits: Rob Kenney
Lastly, YouTube. In perspective, on May 7th, the channel was followed by a bit over 2,500 people. Then came May 19th—having gone through a week of growth in thousands each day, the channel’s subscriber base increased by 471,000 in a single day. Now, the channel has 813,000 subscribers, and the number continues to increase wildly.
Rob’s story is one of determination and diligence with a humble and noble goal of not perpetuating somebody else’s mistakes. The backstory of the channel spoke volumes, and the internet came to respect and admire that by showing heaps of support and sharing this story as well as joining his YouTube community.
The channel's backstory spoke volumes, and the internet came to respect and admire that in heaps
Image credits: Rob Kenney
Since then, Rob has come out with a thank-you video giving his heartfelt thanks for the massive support and how he still can’t wrap his head around what’s going on, having jumped by 400,000 subscribers in a day. He also received a lot of emotional responses from others who didn’t really have a normal relationship (or any relationship at all) with their fathers, explaining how his videos brought them to tears, being reminded of missing their dads. It came to a degree where his videos now resonate on more than just a how-to level.
Check out some of his how-to videos and consider subscribing
Video credits: Rob Kenney
Video credits: Rob Kenney
Rob has since then also come out with a thank you video
Video credits: Rob Kenney
What are your thoughts on this? Why not share this story, subscribe to Rob’s channel, and let us know of some of the things that you learned from your dads and are grateful you did in the comments section below!