ROB KENNEY

“THE DAD OF THE INTERNET”

Wants You To Know You Are Loved

by Laura Neutzling

EVER WANTED TO KNOW HOW to tie a tie? Change your oil? File

your taxes?

Maybe someone taught you these things. Someone who’d walk you through basic life skills and impart their wisdom along the way. Maybe it was your mother, your father, or a trusted family friend.

But what if you didn’t have a person like that in your life? Sure, you can easily find a DIY video to give you the basics on just about anything you need to know. But would that video make you feel any less alone? Would that DIY have something special that speaks to you the way a parent would, or a trusted friend?

Rob Kenney has made it his mission to fill the gap for many, who maybe didn’t have that special person to help them navigate life. And he does it with a balance of practical advice, encouragement, and even prayer.

Rob’s father left their family and his seven siblings when he was fourteen years old. Being the oldest, Rob was heartbroken to see his younger siblings without a dad around to help them figure out basic practical skills, as well as the emotional things, the stuff many of us have relied on our dads to model to us.

Rob felt this missing piece for a long time. But it wasn’t until he became a father himself that he decided he could fulfill the wish he’d always had for his siblings: to be a voice and a trusted friend people could come to if they had questions, or needed encouragement, or were missing a fatherly presence in their life.

That’s when Rob decided to start a YouTube channel.

“I was just trying to help thirty or forty people when I started—I thought I’d download the information from my head to people who needed it. So what it’s become has been beyond me, but I give credit to God for giving me this platform, to be able to share His love with people.”

Those “thirty or forty” people Rob was trying to help has turned into more than 4 million subscribers on Rob’s “Dad, How Do I?” YouTube channel, where each month he gets millions of views on his how-to and inspirational videos. From teaching people how to shave, to caring for a lawn, to working with tools, to simple cooking tips, Rob is there with a smile, some encouragement, and an inspirational word to help others navigate life. He also hopes along they way, they feel like they’re being seen, heard, and taken care of.

“I’m grateful for the platform,” Rob says, “but the flip-side is that it breaks my heart how much it’s needed. To hear the stories of how people have never heard the words ‘I’m proud of you, I love you, I’m praying for you.’ There’s just so much hurt out there.”

Rob knows there’s so much more to being a dad than fixing things around the house or showing your kids how to fish. The key to Rob’s beloved status as “The Dad of the Internet” is that he shares his heart. And in a world where we often don’t know who to trust, Rob is a light for people who are looking for a friend to ask that simple question, “Dad, how do I?”

Adapted for print from the Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer YouTube series. Watch Rob tell his story now! Just put your phone in Camera mode and hover over this code.

You can find Rob’s book Dad, How Do I? wherever books are sold.