Every year around Father’s Day, social media is graced with pictures, messages, and tributes dedicated to dads far and wide. Dads who come in all forms, and teach their kids about the meaning of hard work, share their best advice (and a good ole’ dad joke or two), and even show you how to tie a tie for that first date. While today is a day of celebration for some, not everyone grew up with a father figure in their lives whom they could turn to for love + support.
Meet Summer Clayton, Internet dad.
Summer (also known as @yourprouddad) on TikTok, has taken the internet by storm over the last two years for posting videos showcasing skills, giving advice, and even sharing virtual meals with his 2.9M followers (or kids as some say!). Check out some of his videos if you ever…
graduated and want to celebrate that feat…
@yourprouddad Congrats Graduate. 🎓🎉❤️. I’m so PROUD of you. And I hope YOU are too.🙂
always wanted to learn how to tie a tie but never had someone around to show you how…
@yourprouddad How to tie a tie!
needed someone to share a meal with…
@yourprouddad I hope your Wednesday went well today! Did you make a new friend this week? 🙂
or even just needed someone to check in.
@yourprouddad When I feel down going on a walk seriously helps so much. Sometimes I just walk and talk to myself about how I feel.
In speaking about what he hopes people will take away from his content, Summer shares “There’s no perfect father or parent! No one. My hope for people enjoying this content is that it allows them to reflect on the ‘golden rule,’ and allows them to heal from their past and grow confidence in the ability they have to be their best selves in the future – for themselves and for others. Maybe my content allows them to learn a new skill, grow the confidence they need to meet new people and grow into a new healthy, supportive community, or identify what a healthy relationship is supposed to look like.”
Summer continues by sharing “I hope that one day my viewers realize they no longer need my content or virtual companionship because they’ve healed from past hurts, built the skills they needed, or built an amazing group of people to call your friends or ‘chosen family.’ I just want to share the love God has for us by practicing kindness every day. I didn’t always have the best relationship with my dad and wasn’t always treated the best by my peers growing up, so it just made sense to help others who may be going through similar things experience a little bit of joy in their day to day and maybe learn a valuable life skill too!”
Be sure to follow Summer on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@yourprouddad and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/officialyourprouddad/.
