How Gino Quillamor and Slick Rick Navigate Modern Fatherhood

When Gino Quillamor and Eric Virata (aka Magic 89.9’s Slick Rick) are not on air bantering and talking about daily life with commuters on the hit radio show Boys Night Out, the two attend to their lives as fathers to their kids and husbands to their wives. But juggling hosting, father duties, and other side jobs can be quite a feat, and who better to turn to for real conversations about fatherhood than fellow dads?

Why Slick Rick Started the Dad Squad Support Group

It was for this exact reason that Slick Rick found himself establishing the Dad Squad, a small group composed of close dad friends. “There were a lot of mom groups and I noticed that there were no dad groups locally. So I was like, ‘okay, might as well put one together.’”

Today, the Dad Squad has seven active members. This includes Rick, Gino, as well as fitness coach Chappy Callanta, Martin Reyes, Raoul Reinoso, Tony Atayde, and Vikas Gogna, Sam YG’s brother.

How Modern Dads Navigate Fatherhood Struggles

While the Dad Squad is no frills and no-nonsense, it serves its main purpose as a sounding board for members to share their own struggles and gain insights from people they trust. In Gino’s case, he had to prepare himself for the realities of fatherhood—especially now that he has two kids, Alec and Alana, with his wife, Colleen.

“When a mother gives birth, obviously we all know it’s difficult. It’s amazing what they do and they go through so much physically, emotionally, and mentally. That’s always talked about. But what I think that gets overlooked is how a dad also feels, especially for dads who aren’t always prepared,” he said.

“I think that’s also one of the conversations I have with a lot of dads. I mean we do watch out for
our wives because of postpartum depression and whatever but at the same time, guys do feel something. It may not be depression but there are a lot of feelings there going on which you don’t necessarily know how to process and it makes it easier if you have people that you can talk it about with,” he adds.

Gino shares that the Dad Squad assures him that he is not alone. “It’s kind of comforting to know that ‘hey, I’m not the only one and that’s fine.’ I guess it’s easier to have someone to talk to.”

 Real Talk: Is Fatherhood a Full-Time Commitment?

While they enjoy the dad-life, they know that fatherhood is not all sunshine and a bed of roses.

“It’s tough,” Gino says. “It’s not something that you go into and not be prepared for. Nor, is it something that you want to do half-baked. And I would tell everyone if you are okay with being a father but you’re not so sure about it yet, don’t do it. It’s a massive responsibility and not something that you don’t want to take lightly,” he adds.

Rick adds that fatherhood is a total commitment. “To be a father, you have to go in with your head first. It’s also a full-time commitment to the person that you are with. You put things in perspective,” he shares.