Pops and Son Conversations
Join US Air Force Veteran, Presidential Achievement Award Recipient, author, philanthropist, and social media influencer, Rob Malloy, and his son, author and model, Javan Anderson, as they navigate the generation gap with humor and heart.
On this podcast, Rob and Javan tackle a wide range of topics – from life lessons and fatherhood to current events and pop culture – offering a unique blend of old-school wisdom and new-school perspectives. Expect lively debates, unexpected insights, and plenty of laughs along the way.
Tune in to Pops and Son Conversations and discover:
- Candid conversations: Rob and Javan share their honest thoughts and experiences, providing a refreshing take on intergenerational relationships.
- Diverse perspectives: Hear how Rob's traditional values intersect with Javan's modern outlook, creating dynamic and engaging discussions.
- Humor and heart: Enjoy a show that's both entertaining and thought-provoking, leaving you with a smile and something to ponder.
Subscribe now and join the conversation!
Pops and Son Conversations
The Man in the Mirror: Finding Your Way When No One's Looking
Ever felt like you're supposed to have it all figured out but secretly you're drowning in doubt and uncertainty? You're not alone.
In this raw, unfiltered solo episode, Rob "Pops" Malloy steps up to deliver a message straight from the heart to men everywhere who are silently struggling. With his son taking the day off, Rob seizes this moment during Men's Health Awareness Month to speak directly to those carrying burdens they've never been taught to process.
"Dear Son, you're not lost, you're just becoming," he writes in a powerful letter that forms the centerpiece of this episode. Drawing from his own journey as a father, mentor, and once-confused young man himself, Rob dismantles the harmful notion that masculinity means having all the answers or suppressing emotions. Instead, he offers a refreshing alternative: true manhood is about showing up authentically, embracing your journey of becoming, and understanding that vulnerability isn't weakness—it's wisdom.
As he approaches his 50th birthday, Rob reflects candidly on regrets, celebrations, and the liberating understanding that while our past decisions shape us, they don't define us. His message resonates with surprising depth: you don't need perfection to become the man you're meant to be. You need presence, patience, and purpose.
Ready to stop suffering in silence? This episode isn't just content to consume—it's an invitation to join a community of men walking similar paths. Share this message with someone who needs it, then connect with us at PopsandSonConversations.com because your journey of becoming doesn't have to be walked alone.
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Okay, welcome to another amazing episode of Pops and Son Conversations. And guess what, ladies and gentlemen, it's a solo act today. It is just me, your favorite soul fox, rob Malloy, doing a solo job. Look, it's still Men's Health Awareness Month. I gave my son the day off and I wanted actually to have an opportunity to speak to him. Other fathers, other sons, other brothers out there, and I wanted to send a message out today. This episode is personal. There's no guests, no extra voices. It's just me and you, son, of course, in spirit. All right. So, look, this message today is for the ones out there.
Speaker 1:You may feel like you've been left to figure it all out alone. You know the ones that's out here suffering in silence, you know, walking around with a smile but carrying the weight of the world on your back. If you ever looked in the mirror and asked yourself, you know, am I doing a good job? Am I enough doing a good job? Am I enough? If you've ever, you know, just laid there awake at night, wondering, you know, why am I still stuck? Why aren't I reaching my goals? You know it can be tough out there, I understand. So you may be feeling unseen, unheard or just unsure. So I want you to sit with me for a minute, because I've been exactly where you are. Now I can't say precisely where you are, because we all have our own unique journey, but what I can say is I've battled the silence, I've wrestled with some issues, personal doubt. You know I've walked a lot of roads without direction, even at a young young age.
Speaker 1:So I want to talk to you guys today, not as a critic, but as a man who sees you Not as a preacher, but a father, a brother, a coach, someone who knows what it's like to carry questions with nobody to answer or nobody to ask. So, look, you don't need perfection to become a man. What you do need is you need presence, you need patience and, as you know, I strongly feel, you need purpose. So lean in on this one. This one's for you All. Right Again, look, nobody has all the right answers. These are my personal opinions. This is my perspective as a dad, as a brother, as a man, someone who was a husband, brother, you know, as a man, someone who was a husband, you know, as a coach, a mentor, a mentee. I've been on all sides of it. So let's do this.
Speaker 1:You know I decided to give a title for this particular episode, and I want this to be something for the sons out there, so I labeled it. I titled it Dear Son, you're not lost, you're just becoming. Yeah, that was fly right, all right. So look, let's talk about what it means to become, because truth is, most young men aren't lost, they're just not given room to grow. Aren't lost, they're just not given room to grow.
Speaker 1:Society expects results right away. Family expects a young man to be stable. Your peers expect for you to perform, but nobody teaches you how to process. Nobody teaches you how to process. No one tells you it's okay to not be okay to to admit that you're, you're scared, you may be confused or you just plain tired of pretending, like you, you can't figure it out and you don't want to continue the facade like everything is OK and you got it all together. So so let me say this loud and clear You're not late, you're not broken, you're not weak, you're becoming, and becoming takes time, it takes mistakes and, trust me, a whole lot of grace.
Speaker 1:So let me share something with you, because I actually decided to write something. I don't do it often, but when I do put my head down and write and focus, I can put some things together. So this is what I wrote just for you. Dear son, I know you're tired, tired of trying to figure it all out on your own, tired. Tired of trying to figure it all out on your own, tired of wondering if you're good enough, smart enough, strong enough, like tired of holding things in because nobody ever gave you a safe space to to just let it all out. But let me say this, and let me say this very clearly you are not lost, you are not becoming, you are becoming. You are not lost, you are becoming. And even when the roads feel dark, I promise you you're still on your way. See, life doesn't hand you a map. It hands you moments, moments to rise, moments to fall, moments to choose who you want to be, even when the world is shouting who it thinks you should be. I need you to know. It's OK to be unsure, it's all right to cry, it's OK to not have all the answers. You're not weak for feeling. You're actually wise for acknowledging.
Speaker 1:Son, being a man isn't about being cold, hard, tough and emotionless. It's about showing up. It's about owning your truth. It's about healing, growing, building a life you're proud of, not a life that just looks good on the ground, or whatever. Your social media is right. You don't have to become your pain. You can become your purpose.
Speaker 1:If your father wasn't there, if life beat you down, if love portrayed you, you still get to choose how your story unfolds. You're the author. You get to write and rewrite the chapters in your life. You're not your failures, you're not your setbacks. You're not who they say you were. You are still becoming. So. Take your time, but don't waste it. Take a deep breath, breathe out deep, love yourself enough to forgive yourself and remember, no matter how far you've gone, you can always come back home, son, with love. Pop.
Speaker 1:Look, I know for me, writing this letter is near and dear to me, because I've never had a letter written to me. I love my dad. He's amazing. He showed me how to be a man, how to be responsible, how to be accountable, how to be a protector and provider, and that's amazing. So you know, I just want to encourage all of you guys, even the fathers, that you know you feel like you're not doing enough and you can actually do more. I get it. I understand that. Even with that, I don't want you to feel any type of way I don't want you to feel like because you didn't make enough money, because you didn't have all of this wealth to give to your heir. You know we're still learning. We're still learning on a daily basis. We're still figuring it out.
Speaker 1:You know it gets real interesting because as you become older I'll be 50. Right, I'll be 50 in October and I still look back and sometimes I think you know what I could have did this better. I could attribute, I could have contributed a little bit more here. I also think about the things that did work out Four beautiful children, one son, three amazing daughters, building a legacy while I'm here, not waiting for my name to mean more when I'm gone. So this journey, even having this platform y'all, has been pretty incredible. It's been therapeutic. It's definitely been a growth spurt for me in all aspects spiritually, emotionally, physically, even from a financial standpoint, learning how to be a better steward over the things that God has blessed me with. So you know, just big shout out to everybody. You know your support is is always appreciated, you know.
Speaker 1:So you know I think about sometimes the things that, the things that I feel like I could have done better, but the things that I've learned, though you know I was a late bloomer, I'll admit it and what I mean by a late bloomer is really understanding the power of purpose and understanding the motivation of being on a mission and turning your pain into progress and just being a pupil of life and taking every lesson, every experience and allowing that to mold my present and future, and not holding on to the past. I think that's one of the biggest things, as men, we deal with is just thinking about regret. What if we went to college? What if we didn't go to college? What if we became an entrepreneur early in life? What if we took better care of our bodies? What would our health look like now? What if we made different decisions and the people that we decided to be in a relationship with or invest time in, our resources and in our mental capacity, our emotions, you know you got to take in consideration, but you can't let that be who you are or who you are becoming. You have to allow all those experiences to help mold your future, should be motivating, should be inspiring.
Speaker 1:I know for me, you know I think back. What, what I could have been doing. I could have been out in the streets, I could have been selling drugs. I could have been an alcoholic. I could have been doing. I could have been out in the streets. I could have been selling drugs. I could have been an alcoholic. I could have been a drug addict. I could have been a thief, you know, I could have been in prison for making you know some bad decisions, especially unnecessarily and being influenced by the wrong people.
Speaker 1:So there's just so many things to be grateful and thankful for, but honestly, we also have to leverage those things. We have to leverage them. We have to leverage them in terms of letting our sons know, even letting our daughters know, letting our community know that, hey, you know what? We didn't make all the right decisions and some decisions just was flat out stupid. All right, dumb, dd, dumb decisions. We've, we've all made them. But we've also made some very pivotal Decisions. We've also made some, you know, incredible, amazing decisions that change the trajectory of our lives.
Speaker 1:So really we have to, we have to create that balance, the balance of accepting who we are but knowing and understanding that we are continually growing and developing. We have to understand that the choices that we've made in the past have molded us, but it didn't completely define us, because we still can make decisions and choices every day can definitely help you, enhance your journey for tomorrow, or three years from now, or 30 years from now, and so embrace your journey. It's your journey. Each one of us has a unique walk in this thing called life, and the path that we go is going to be the path that we decide to go. You got to understand that the influences on the outside of you.
Speaker 1:If it's not beneficial, if it doesn't enhance you, If it doesn't inspire and motivate you, if it doesn't bring life into your spirit, you don't have to accept it. You literally do not have to accept it. You have the opportunity to make a decision. You have the opportunity to make choices. You have the opportunity to work towards your goals and dreams unapologetically. It's 100% on you. If you say, yes, I'm going to do this, I'm going to make things happen, I'm going to execute the plan, I'm going to write the vision, then that's exactly what you can do, that's exactly what you got to do. So, again, I want to encourage you, because I know that every day is a different day and sometimes we get caught up in these thoughts, thinking that we're not enough, that we can't move forward, that we're not being the best that we can, that we don't even have it in us and we just roll it through the punches every single day. That doesn't have to be your future. It doesn't have to be your right now, your decision away of changing your life Real talk. I mean, it's up to you and it's just that simple.
Speaker 1:So, you know, big shout out to all the fathers out here. You know we recently celebrated Father's Day. It was a pretty amazing day. I got a chance to spend some time with my dad, mr Robert Lee Malloy, 81 years old sharp, and you know he dropped some gems. He dropped some gems and so I can't wait to have dad on the show really, really soon. You know that's going to be exciting. Got a chance to spend some time with my brother as well. I only have one brother, just like only have one son. Got a chance to spend some time with Jaden. You know we we we're business partners, so we have a lot of different experiences that we know are very special and unique. So we love, we love our journey. It's pretty amazing, so we're really thankful for those opportunities.
Speaker 1:Now, if this message kind of hit you in the heart, I want you to do two things. First thing I want you to do is I want you to share the episode with a young man who needs it. Like, don't gatekeep, is that what the young folks say? Don't gatekeep, don't keep it to yourself. You know there's a son, there's a nephew, a little cousin, a young brother, a coworker, a godson you know, out there that thinks that nobody sees them. You know you got to let them know that you do. And the second thing I want you to do is I want you to reach out, like this isn't just a podcast, this isn't just something you know to listen to once or twice a week, you know. So we want you to actually hit the link and or visit a Web site Pops and Son Conversations with an S dot com. That's Pops and Son Conversations dot com. And look, you know we've got more talks. We have, you know, more resources. Continue to build this community and and you don't have to walk this journey alone anymore.
Speaker 1:That's the biggest message, that's one of the biggest reasons why we put this platform together. So that's why we want more people to share it. It's not just for the men, it's pops and sun conversations. But listen, we want our mothers, our sisters, our companions, our wives, our daughters. We want them to know that we're actually having these conversations, and I think that would be encouraging, right?
Speaker 1:So I mean, this isn't just a podcast, it's a podcast, it's an entire movement, because, I mean, think about every generation of sons needs real men to say you're not broken, You're just building, you're not late, you're right on time, and that's what this is all about. So check it out. Until next time, I want you guys to continue to embrace your journey, stand tall, grow slow and always remember you're not lost, you are becoming All right. So, peace, love, legacy. It's your favorite civil fox, rob Malloy, aka Pops, signing off. We'll see you guys next, next episode. And again, don't forget our Patreon. We're rocking that out, we love that community and we're embracing all of you guys. So until next time, blessings, peace and we out.
