{"id":"guest:275","sourceProfileId":268,"slug":"larry-hagner","name":"Larry Hagner","headline":"You're Winning at Work and Losing at Home — The Guy Who's Been Saying It Longer Than Anyone","bio":"Larry Hagner is the founder of Dad Edge, a platform dedicated to helping fathers break generational cycles and build stronger family relationships. After experiencing abandonment by his biological father at nine months old and enduring years of instability with multiple father figures who were emotionally and physically abusive, Larry found himself repeating destructive patterns as a young father. A pivotal moment occurred when he lost his temper with his four-year-old son, causing the child to put his hands up in fear - a moment that became the catalyst for his complete transformation as a father and husband.\n\nFor over 11 years, Larry has devoted himself to studying and teaching effective fatherhood and marriage principles. What began as a personal Facebook page to document his own learning journey grew into a community of 120,000 engaged fathers seeking to improve their family relationships. His approach combines vulnerability about his own mistakes with practical strategies for emotional regulation, communication, and intentional parenting.\n\nMarried to his college sweetheart for 23 years, Larry is the father of four boys aged 10, 12, 18, and 20. He left his high-pressure sales career to focus full-time on his mission of helping fathers succeed at home. Through speaking engagements, his podcast, and online content, Larry addresses what he calls 'sad clown syndrome' - the phenomenon of successful men who are winning everywhere except in their most important relationships. His work emphasizes that anger is a secondary emotion, the importance of learning parenting skills intentionally, and the power of turning personal tragedies into tools for growth and healing.","originalBio":"Larry Hagner is the founder of Dad Edge, a platform dedicated to helping fathers break generational cycles and build stronger family relationships. After experiencing abandonment by his biological father at nine months old and enduring years of instability with multiple father figures who were emotionally and physically abusive, Larry found himself repeating destructive patterns as a young father. A pivotal moment occurred when he lost his temper with his four-year-old son, causing the child to put his hands up in fear - a moment that became the catalyst for his complete transformation as a father and husband.\n\nFor over 11 years, Larry has devoted himself to studying and teaching effective fatherhood and marriage principles. What began as a personal Facebook page to document his own learning journey grew into a community of 120,000 engaged fathers seeking to improve their family relationships. His approach combines vulnerability about his own mistakes with practical strategies for emotional regulation, communication, and intentional parenting.\n\nMarried to his college sweetheart for 23 years, Larry is the father of four boys aged 10, 12, 18, and 20. He left his high-pressure sales career to focus full-time on his mission of helping fathers succeed at home. Through speaking engagements, his podcast, and online content, Larry addresses what he calls 'sad clown syndrome' - the phenomenon of successful men who are winning everywhere except in their most important relationships. His work emphasizes that anger is a secondary emotion, the importance of learning parenting skills intentionally, and the power of turning personal tragedies into tools for growth and healing.","portrait":"https://app.conversationos.live/api/public/guest-photo/larry-hagner.jpg","originalHeadshot":"https://app.conversationos.live/api/public/guest-photo/larry-hagner.jpg","topics":["Center Stage","Fatherhood Development","Breaking Generational Cycles","Emotional Intelligence for Men","Marriage and Relationships","Anger Management","Work-Life Balance","Parenting Transformation","Men's Personal Development","Trauma Recovery","Authentic Leadership"],"expertise":[],"product":"center-stage","socialLinks":{"linkedin":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-hagner-a82b8715/","youtube":"https://www.youtube.com/@TheDadEdge","website":"https://thedadedge.com"},"sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-hagner-a82b8715/","https://www.youtube.com/@TheDadEdge","https://thedadedge.com"],"appearances":[{"showName":"Mornings in the Lab","segment":"Center Stage","date":"2026-04-15","sourceUrl":"","videoId":null},{"showName":"Mornings in the Lab","segment":"Center Stage","date":"2026-04-24","sourceUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3T0EsRTgaM","videoId":"B3T0EsRTgaM"}],"primaryVideoId":"B3T0EsRTgaM","primaryTitle":"","episodeNumber":"","authoritySegment":"","clips":[{"videoId":"B3T0EsRTgaM","title":"ANGER IS SECONDARY","quote":"Anger is a secondary emotion. You know, so we always feel something first.","description":"The foundational insight that transformed how Larry understands male emotional responses.","thumbnail":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/short-thumbs/1783504075120-59108f499297-larry-hagner-short-1-a1678d6f.png"},{"videoId":"B3T0EsRTgaM","title":"THE LOOK OF FEAR","quote":"Like, 'Please don't like the look on his face was just fear.","description":"The moment Larry saw terror in his four-year-old son's eyes and everything changed.","thumbnail":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/short-thumbs/1783504094029-c2a869b0877e-larry-hagner-short-2-6f3051fa.png"},{"videoId":"B3T0EsRTgaM","title":"LEARNING IN THE STORM","quote":"There's always always always learning in the storm, you know?","description":"Larry's philosophy on extracting wisdom from life's most difficult moments.","thumbnail":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/short-thumbs/1783504112906-7376c77e1c6d-larry-hagner-short-3-417e06c6.png"}],"insights":[{"eyebrow":"ANGER AS SECONDARY EMOTION","quote":"Here's the truth about anger, man. Anger is a secondary emotion. You know, so we always feel something first, whether it's fear, whether it's sadness, whether it's overwhelm, stressed out, whatever that is, and that usually shows up as anger. So, like, a lot of people think that a lot of men out there are very angry people, right? Very angry human beings. But, if you really peel back that onion layer, it's usually not anger that's that first culprit.","context":"Larry explains the root psychology behind male anger, helping men understand that their anger is typically masking deeper emotions like fear or overwhelm. This insight is foundational to his approach to emotional regulation.","topic":"Emotional Intelligence","timestamp":null},{"eyebrow":"THE BREAKING POINT","quote":"I like went to go pick him up. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry.' And he literally just went like this. Like, 'Please don't like the look on his face was just fear.' And I was like, 'What in the world did I just do?' And I pick him up and I'm holding him. He's crying. You know, I bring him upstairs, put him to bed. And that was it, man. That was the line in the sand for me. I was like, 'No more. No more. I cannot do this this way.'","context":"This describes the pivotal moment when Larry saw fear in his four-year-old son's eyes after losing his temper, which became the catalyst for his complete transformation as a father and the founding of his life's work.","topic":"Parenting Transformation","timestamp":null},{"eyebrow":"LEARNING TO BE A FATHER","quote":"And I started looking at those things and I was like, 'What's the common denominator? Why am I pretty good at these things, but I suck at this?' And it's because I hadn't learned anything. And I hadn't invested any time, any resources, no reading of any books, no nothing about being a parent, being a husband. And I was like, 'What if I just learn something every day?'","context":"Larry realized that his success in other areas of life came from intentional learning and practice, while he had never applied the same approach to fatherhood and marriage - leading to his daily learning commitment.","topic":"Intentional Learning","timestamp":null},{"eyebrow":"GENERATIONAL PATTERNS","quote":"When I first got married man I was like you know what I'm going to make myself three promises number one I'm going to be a good husband. Number two I'm going to be a good dad and number three I'm never going to hit my kids out of anger cuz I was hit a lot and then what happened was on that horrible night my son was actually four at the time","context":"Despite making conscious promises to break the cycle of abuse from his own childhood, Larry found himself repeating the patterns, highlighting how difficult it is to change without intentional learning and support.","topic":"Breaking Generational Cycles","timestamp":null},{"eyebrow":"ACCIDENTAL COMMUNITY","quote":"I just started a Facebook page and I was just like, 'I'm just going to learn something new every day and I'm just going to post it here for my own record. Not for clicks, not for anything, just for me.' And that page grew to 120,000 people. And I was like, 'Why are these people following me? Like I'm an idiot. I'm a [expletive] I'm like I'm putting all my stuff out here and like all these mistakes I'm making.'","context":"Larry's authentic vulnerability about his struggles as a father resonated with thousands of other men, demonstrating the power of honest storytelling in building community and helping others.","topic":"Authentic Leadership","timestamp":null},{"eyebrow":"TRAGEDY INTO WISDOM","quote":"A lot of times, man, you know, we let a tragedy just decimate us, right? But man, there's always always always learning in the storm, you know? And it's if we can take some of those lessons and learn and just pivot, man, that's that's what life's all about, man.","context":"Larry emphasizes the importance of extracting learning and growth from difficult experiences rather than letting them destroy us, reflecting his philosophy of transformation through adversity.","topic":"Resilience and Growth","timestamp":null},{"eyebrow":"PRIDE IN FATHERHOOD","quote":"I'll tell you like I'm looking at my young men my two my two older boys and they're just really really freaking good human beings man. Like my my 20 year old is just so so empathetic so amazing. He's he's going into firefighting. Yeah. And he is built for that. He is he meets people where they're where they're at but he's so calm in chaos which is unbelievable to me.","context":"Larry describes the fruits of his transformed approach to parenting, seeing his sons develop into emotionally intelligent, capable young men who surpass even his own development at their age.","topic":"Successful Parenting Outcomes","timestamp":null},{"eyebrow":"HUMILITY IN SUCCESS","quote":"I tell these kids all the time I was like you men are so much further along and so much better than I was back then and who I am even today. Like I learn from you guys. Now and that that is the honest truth.","context":"Despite his success in transforming his family, Larry maintains humility and continues learning from his own children, showing the ongoing nature of personal growth and development.","topic":"Continuous Learning","timestamp":null}],"quotes":["Anger is a secondary emotion - we always feel something first, whether it's fear, sadness, or overwhelm, and that usually shows up as anger.","That was the line in the sand for me. I was like, 'No more. No more. I cannot do this this way.'","I hadn't invested any time, any resources, no reading of any books, no nothing about being a parent, being a husband.","There's always always always learning in the storm - if we can take those lessons and pivot, that's what life's all about.","Your kids don't wait for you to figure it out."],"faqs":[{"question":"What is 'sad clown syndrome' and how does it affect successful men?","answer":"Sad clown syndrome refers to the phenomenon where men are winning everywhere in life - closing deals, getting promoted, building successful careers - but failing in their most important relationships at home. These men appear successful on the outside but are struggling with disconnection from their spouse and children. It's about being a 'winner' in public while the person across the dinner table has stopped reaching for you."},{"question":"How can fathers better understand and manage their anger?","answer":"Larry teaches that anger is always a secondary emotion - there's always something we feel first like fear, sadness, overwhelm, or stress that manifests as anger. The key is learning to identify what you're actually feeling before the anger kicks in. By peeling back the layers and understanding the root emotion, fathers can address the real issue rather than just reacting with anger."},{"question":"What's the most important step for fathers who want to break generational cycles?","answer":"The most crucial step is making an intentional commitment to learn. Many men excel in their careers because they study and practice, but they never apply the same dedication to learning how to be a husband and father. Start by committing to learn something new about parenting or relationships every single day, whether through books, podcasts, or other resources."},{"question":"How should fathers handle moments when they lose their temper with their children?","answer":"Larry emphasizes the importance of having honest conversations with your children about these moments. Even if the child doesn't remember the incident, the conversation serves both the parent and child. Acknowledge what happened, take responsibility, apologize sincerely, and commit to doing better. This vulnerability actually strengthens the relationship and models emotional intelligence."},{"question":"What does it mean to 'never let a good tragedy go to waste'?","answer":"This principle means finding the learning opportunities and growth potential in difficult experiences rather than letting them destroy you. Every storm, every mistake, every tragedy contains lessons that can make you stronger and better. The key is to extract those lessons, learn from them, and use them to pivot toward a better version of yourself."},{"question":"How can busy fathers prioritize their family relationships while building their careers?","answer":"Larry left his high-pressure sales job because he realized that children don't wait for you to figure it out. The key is recognizing that success at work means nothing if you're failing at home. Fathers need to be intentional about learning relationship and parenting skills just like they would study for any other important area of their life."}],"transcript":"Nobody at the Monday meeting asks the\nreal question. How's your marriage\nactually going? You're closing deals,\ngetting promoted, building something,\nand the person across the dinner table\nstopped reaching for you. There's a name\nfor it, sad clown syndrome, winning\neverywhere except the place that\nactually matters. Larry has spent 11\nyears on that problem. Larry's\nbiological father left before he could\nwalk, 9 months old, gone. At 12, the man\ncame back, said I've started over, then\nvanished again. Straight F's followed.\nAt 30, he walked into a Starbucks in St.\nLouis. His biological father was sitting\nthere. A long, hard reconciliation\nfollowed. One night, Larry lost his\ntemper at home. His 3-year-old son put\nhis hands up to protect himself. He\ndidn't see his son. That's where the\ncycle almost won. He built the Dad Edge,\nthen left his high-pressure job for\ngood, because your kids don't wait for\nyou to figure it out. If you've ever\nfelt guilt as a dad, this is the\nconversation for you. Larry, welcome to\nthe big show. We're happy to have this\nchat with you today.\nHey, Johnny, get this, man. You're 30\nyears old. You walk into a Starbucks in\nSt. Louis, and sitting there is the man\nwho abandoned you at 9 months old. The\nsame man who told the 12-year-old boy,\n\"I've started over.\" What do you do? Do\nyou say, \"Fuck you?\" Do you walk out?\nWhat do you do? What do you say? Because\nmost people either punch or leave. The\nguy coming up right now did something\nmuch harder. Nation,\nmeet Larry Hagner.\nWhat's up, Larry?\nWhat is going on, That is about the\nsickest commercial I think I've ever\nseen. Holy cow.\nHey, Grant, Sophia got paid this week,\nso Sophia's in some new gear. It's uh\nmaking her\n>> Sophia looks like she just got [ __ ]\nbrought off a god damn Amish farm. We\nneed to put her in some [ __ ] better\ngear. Jesus Christ.\nWho the [ __ ] is dressing her?\nLarry, where are you joining us from?\nAre you in St. Louis, Larry? Yes, sir.\nYes, sir. What's up, gents? Welcome to\nthe show. Welcome to the big show. Glad\nto have you here. Dude, I got to be\nhonest, I'm a little bit nervous having\nthe conversation because you drop some\nstuff, man. Man, you got you you you've\nyou're you're I got to think your\nstory's going to be relatable to a lot\nof dudes. Where do you want to start\nwith it?\nMan, I'll start Yeah, we can start right\nthere if you want.\n>> So, actually, before we do that, you\nheard Keith and Johnny talking about\nanger and anxious and time. I saw you\nnodding there, family, and dads, and so\nforth. Any relatability there about\nabout those things we were talking\nbefore we brought you in?\nMan, anger and time? Yeah. Yes.\n>> Yeah. So, I think, you know, it's when\nwhen it comes to men, right? I mean, I\nthink it's safe to say, man, I I'm in\nthis camp, too. I think one of the most\nmost reoccurring motion emotions that we\nfeel as men is anger. But, you know,\nhere here's the truth about anger, man.\nYeah. And I didn't say Anchorman. I said\nanger man.\nIt's good. Well, But, we're fine. I'm\nYeah. Here's the truth, you know, you\nknow, anger is a is a secondary emotion.\nYou know, so we always feel something\nfirst, whether it's fear, whether it's\nsadness, whether it's overwhelm,\nstressed out, whatever that is, and that\nusually shows up as anger. So, like, a\nlot of people I think\nthink that a lot of men out there are\nvery angry people, right? Very angry\nhuman beings. But, if you really peel\nback that onion layer, it's it's usually\nnot anger that's that first culprit.\nIt's it's it's really all about, you\nknow, what am I feeling before I get\nangry. So, I want to give that\nunderstanding out there first.\n>> Bunch of other ones, yeah. Although, I\ngot to say, brother,\nI'm going to have to categorize myself\nas not most men, and I'm going to\ncontribute this to my\nmy father who is my my non-blood dad,\nand he would literally when we met when\nI was like seven. And he said to me, he\nsaid, \"Laddy,\" he said,\n\"I'm I mean, I only met him once. The\nsecond time I met him, he was basically\ntalking about being my stepdad.\"\nAnd anyway, he said, \"Look,\" he goes, \"I\njust want you to understand. You're\ngoing to see me mad about as many thumbs\nas you have on your hands.\" And I was\nlike, \"Two?\" And he's like, \"Maybe.\" And\nI I never I I can't remember\nhe died when I was 21.\nI never We're talking 14 years. Never\nsaw him mad.\nThat's crazy, man. And it was really\nhard. I mean, it it's it is so difficult\nto get me mad. I mean, and at my age\nnow, I I don't give anybody the power to\nmake me mad. But Larry, how about the\nawareness of John's stepfather in that\nmoment, right? Like and we're talking\nlike we're not talking I'm suspecting\nJohnny we're not talking about a man in\nin the in 2026 with some emotional\nawareness. We're talking back in the\n60s, 70s, Larry. And he says to his 60s,\nI wasn't even born yet, weirdo. Oh,\nyeah, sorry. Yeah, SO\nYEAH, SO WE'RE TALKING about a man who's\ntalking to his stepson and and having\nthat awareness. That that's pretty\nfascinating, Larry, is it not? I want to\nI mean, I John, I'm so sorry your your\nyour your stepdad, you know, obviously\ndad but not blood related dad passed\naway at such a young age. But man, I\nwant to I would love to hang out with\nthat guy.\nYou know,\nman, I've I've been doing this mission\nHe had\ngraduated MIT in 3 years.\nHe's a chemical engineer, created his\nown chemical plant. He sold he's a you\nknow, he ended up selling it\nunfortunately right before he got\ncancer. But yeah, he was a\nhe was a huge piece of who I am for sure\nbecause it's like the\nmy my dad, my blood dad who made me, he\nwas I got that just [ __ ] diving\nheadfirst from him, right? And the the\nthe flip side of have the okay, diving\nheadfirst, you could really [ __ ] up, but\nyou're not going to\nyou're you're not going to display this\n[ __ ] up with anger. You're going to stay\ncalm. And it's pretty [ __ ]\ninteresting mix that I got, you know.\nYeah, man. I I can only imagine. And I\ndo have a question about the chemical\nplant. Can I ask a question about that?\nOkay, so I've seen the Incredible Hulk\nand I'm looking at you.\nAnd I'm I'm wondering did he throw you\nin like one of those one of those, you\nknow, things that he went into and then\nall of a sudden like John came out just\nlike bam.\nFunny enough, he he did not understand\nmy my love for lifting weights. Cuz he\nwas he was so, you know, like book\noriented. You know, he he spent his time\nthe time that I spent in the gym as a\nyoung boy, he spent time reading type\nstuff, you know. But he was so patient\nwith you, John. He was so and you talked\nwith his patience with you, right?\nYou've talked about the way he treated\nwith you.\nWell, I think it would have even more\nso. He was like, you know, when you're a\nkid, you're like, well, what happens if\nwhat why don't we just take all the\nmoney and split it up so everybody\ndoesn't have to go have a job? And he'd\nsay, okay, well, that's a good question,\nbut what happens if one guy that gets\nhis share of the money decides he\ndoesn't want to do what he needs to do\nto hold up his end of the bargain. So,\nhe would just, you know, he wouldn't\njust a normal Oh, that wouldn't work,\nyou know, kind of dust you off. He would\ntake he would take me with his silly\nlittle questions as a kid\nand present a question back to me to get\nme thinking.\nYou know, so he was really he was he was\nhe was a wise dude, for sure. Yeah. It's\nawesome man.\n>> John Keith and Larry this morning on\nMornings with the Larry with Keith John\nand friends. Hey Larry, take take us to\nthat moment. You're with your 3-year-old\nson.\nYou lose your temper.\nYour son puts his hands up. When I read\nthat, man, I just I I got to be honest,\nI clenched because I I've been there. I\nI've been I've been the person on both\nsides of that situation. I'll be I'm\nbeing vulnerable with you right now.\nAnd your son put his hands up and not to\nhit back, but to protect himself. Ish.\nWhat happened in your body in that\nsecond? Because that moment, Larry,\nthat's not just a parenting story.\nThat's the origin story of everything\nyou have built, which frankly brought\nyou on this show today. Talk about that\nmoment.\nYeah, man. Worst moment probably I've\never had as a dad.\n>> I can relate, brother. I thank you for\nsharing that. I I relate. I'm with you\nthere.\nYeah, definitely worst time I've ever\nhad as a dad and I'll tell you you know\nwhen I first got married you know not\nnot only I mean you guys heard about my\nmy own biological father. Yeah. And but\nthere there were several you know my mom\nwas married a total three times and\nthere were several men in between you\nknow in between there and every guy was\nthe same guy just a heavy drinker just\nan abuser just just heavy hands heavy\nwith what they would say emotionally so\nlike when I first got married man I was\nlike you know what I'm going to make\nmyself three promises number one I'm\ngoing to be a good husband.\nNumber two\nI'm going to be a good dad and number\nthree I'm never going to hit my kids out\nof anger cuz I was hit a lot and then\nwhat happened was on that horrible night\nmy son was actually four at the time is\nwe were getting ready to move and I was\nI was packing up his playroom and I was\nin a horrible head space I was in sales\nat the time I lost my biggest customer\nthat day which was going to impact our\nincome by about 40% thought I was going\nto lose my job my wife was a\nstay-at-home mom my head was a mess.\nPacking up all of his stuff stressed out\nabout moving three hours of work my son\ncomes down four years old and I look at\nhim and I said hey buddy I said do me a\nfavor dad just worked three hours to\npack all this up I was like please don't\nget any toys out of the boxes and here's\nsome toys right here that you can play\nwith and I'll be back in 30 minutes dad\nis just going to take a break and you\nknow what I look back on that now and\nI'm like what in the world was I even\nthinking like that's like somebody's\nstarving and going\n>> Telling an alcoholic not to have a drink\nwhen it's the drink when the [ __ ]\nbottle's on the table.\nExactly so it's like yeah it's exactly\nlike that you know I always say it's\nlike going to a buffet and you've been\nfasting for 21 days be like look at the\nfood but don't eat it you know.\nAnd so I come down and what do you think\nhappens he got out tons of toys made a\nhuge mess\nand I like just turned him around and I\njust reacted and I swatted him on the\nbutt and I spanked him and as soon as I\ndid that I was like oh and then he\nhere's the thing man here's the dark\npart he he fell\nand I was like oh my god like what did I\njust do?\" And he he fell like face\nfirst. He didn't hurt himself when he\nfell. He just kind of tumbled over. But\nthen he like rolled over on his back and\nI like went to go pick him up. I was\nlike, \"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry.\" And he\nliterally just went like this. Like,\n\"Please don't like the look on his face\nwas just fear.\" And I was like,\n\"What in the world did I just do?\" And I\npick him up and I'm holding him. He's\ncrying. You know, I I bring him\nupstairs, put him to bed. And I And that\nwas it, man. That was the line in the\nsand for me. I was like, \"No more. No\nmore. I cannot do this this way.\" And I\nstarted thinking about every single\nthing in my life that I was somewhat\ngood at. At the time I you know, I was\nin fitness, martial arts. I was I was\npretty good at my sales job. And I\nstarted looking at those things and I\nwas like, \"What's the common\ndenominator? Why am I pretty good at\nthese things, but I suck at this?\" And\nit's because\nI hadn't learned anything. And I hadn't\ninvested any time, any resources, no\nreading of any books, no nothing about\nbeing a parent, being a husband. And I\nwas like, \"What if I just learn\nsomething every day?\" And when I first\nstarted Dad Edge, and I'll finish with\nthis, never did this for a following.\nNever did this for like clicks or\nanything like that. I'm I'm talking like\nthis was 2012. So this is like a long\ntime ago. Yeah. I just started a\nFacebook page and I was just like,\n\"I'm just going to learn something new\nevery day and I'm just going to post it\nhere for my own record. Not for clicks,\nnot for anything, just for me.\" And that\npage grew to 120,000\npeople. And I was like, \"Why are these\npeople following me? Like I'm an idiot.\nI'm a [ __ ] I'm like I'm putting all my\nstuff out here and like all these\nmistakes I'm making. And but these\npeople were just like really really\nengaging in it. But that was that was\nthe catalyst, man.\nGood for you, Larry. Dude, that's so So\nso I I I I'll share with both you. I I\nhad a similar moment. I I remember like\nit was [ __ ] yesterday, Larry. We were\nin the garage. Carter was coming out of\nthe house and he's hearing a lifting.\nAnd he was running late, Johnny. He's\nrunning late. Trying to get him to\nschool and I was on the bottom of the\nstairs. I remember like it was He was on\nthe top of the stairs and Larry Johnny,\nI just [ __ ] freaked out.\nI just blew a fuse, freaked out, got He\nwas crying, upset and and I was about to\n[ __ ] smack him on the ass, Larry.\nI drove him to school that day. That\nrest of the day, I wouldn't [ __ ] look\nto my own mirror and I said to myself,\n\"What the [ __ ] are you doing, man?\"\nAnd I never did That never happened\nagain.\nEver. Because I did not like my\nbehavior. I did not like my moment and I\ndid not like the look on his face and\nthe tears in his eyes when I when he was\nlike like almost like saying to me,\n\"What the [ __ ] you doing?\" And I I I So,\nLarry, when you told that story, I can\nreally completely relate to that.\nWell, as as I kind of join in the\nsharing so\nwhat I've what I cuz I've actually We've\nall had these moments.\n>> Yes. Yeah. [ __ ] if you if you say as a\nparent there's not a moment you wish you\ncan't take back. Some are going to be\nbigger than others, for sure. But, my\nmiddle daughter, man, she was a I've\ndone it to all of them, but I mean my\nmiddle daughter was was the most\nfriction. She was just just just like me\nand there's\nAnyway, so long story there's a there\nwas a few times where I just [ __ ]\nacted out of character, you know, and\nand it was triggered by something that\nshe did, but something that should not\nhave triggered me that way and I was\nlike way too hard on her.\nAnd and it wasn't like I was, you know,\nanyway, it was way out of character. So,\nI went back to her and I said, \"Hey,\nkiddo.\"\nAnd I didn't person.\nI said, \"Do you remember this time?\" And\nthe first one I talked about, she was\nprobably\nI don't know, 10. And I described it. We\nwere here, we were in our gym, this\nhappened. And on the way home, once we\ngot in in private, you know, I just, you\nknow, kind of let you have it on what\nwas going on. And I just got to say,\nwhether you remember this or not, I said\nI I I'm really sorry. You didn't deserve\nthat.\" And she goes, \"Daddy.\" She goes,\n\"It's okay. I don't remember.\" Yeah. It\nmust not have been as bad as you\nthought, but it and it was it was it was\nobviously for her, but it was for me,\ntoo. It was [ __ ] cleansing cuz I\nneeded to let that [ __ ] I had been\nharboring how I behaved in that moment\nfor [ __ ] years. It was like, \"God\ndamn it, I need to get this out.\" More\nimportantly, I need her to know that I\nrecognize that that was not\nthe dad that she knows and I I needed to\napologize. It was really [ __ ]\npretty empowering. And then and I did\nThere was probably three or four of\nthose that I did over the course of\nprobably a year or so. It's interesting\nwhat you said, Johnny, cuz I haven't I\nhaven't had that conversation with\nCarter and I feel like I need to. Even\nfor myself, I suspect he's not going to\nremember. Probably not, but it's it's\nfor you and what When she said she\ndidn't remember, I was like, \"Fucking\nInside I'm thinking, 'Thank you,\n>> Yeah. So, then, Larry, your son, have\nyou had that conversation with your son?\nOh, man, many times. And if I showed you\na picture of him right now, he's like\nhe's 18 now and he's like a freaking\nspecimen. He was the He's like, \"Dad, do\nyou remember when you were You're lucky\nI didn't kick your ass right now.\" Oh,\ndude, yeah, no kidding. Like it it's\nfunny, man, because like he\nhe's the center for his varsity football\nteam. He's been on on the offensive line\nfor for 10 years or all through high\nschool, but But yeah, we talk very\nopenly about it. Like he's attended I\nmean, I've spoken on stage several\ntimes. This is the story that I always\ntell. At least four or five times he has\nbeen in the audience and he has heard\nthis over and over again. Yeah. We've\neven talked about it on the podcast. We\ntalk about it very very openly. And it's\nfunny, man. He's like, \"Dad.\" And it's\nkind of the same thing. He's like, \"I\ndon't remember it and I forgive you.\"\nAnd you know, nothing like that has ever\nhappened since. Yeah. But yeah, we talk\nvery openly about it, very authentically\nabout it. We don't hide it at all.\nThat's beautiful. Yeah, man. Married?\nOh, yeah, man. Married to my college\nsweetheart. We've been married for 23\nyears this year. We've been together for\n30 years. Wow, 30 years married, Johnny,\nFour kids, Four boys, right? How old are\nyou, brother? Put that in context.\n>> Yeah, I know. I was going to cuz when\nyou said 18-year-old Johnny, I was like,\n\"What the [ __ ] you 20? Like, what do\nyou have a kid when you were two?\" Like,\nyou look about 30. How How old do you\nthink I am? You look about 35, 38. I\nappreciate that, man. I'll be 51 in 3\nmonths. What?\nNo, you got to Hold on, you got a full\nhead of hair under that hat, too. I got\na full head of hair. Hold the horses\nhere, Kai. Hold the horses. You Johnny,\nsomething's going on here. You're You're\n51? I'll be 51 in July.\nDude, you got good lighting like me and\nAnderson. I So, we're both 54, man.\nWelcome to the club. [ __ ] I honestly\nthought when you said you had an\n18-year-old son, I'm like, \"How the [ __ ]\nold is this guy?\" I thought you were\nabout 38, seriously. Oh, man, I love\nyou. I love you. Thank you so much.\nYeah, I would not I would have been in\nthe wrong I would have been not even in\nthe not even close to 50s. I would have\nbeen I would have been in the\n40s, most likely early 40s.\nYou know, I I would have been I could\nhave even gone to the late 30s, for\nsure. Hold on, hold on, Johnny. I can't\nsee his head. It's big. It's growing.\nHagner, your head's growing right now,\nman. You got to I just want to hug you\nguys. Well, see, I thought for sure like\nwe have this other guest on this he\njoins on Friday. He's a He's a\ntruly a doctor, a professor, I should\nsay.\nAs a [ __ ] professor who I can't\nremember what college he teaches at. He\ncomes on and he says that his age and we\nwere kind of surprised and I'm like and\nhe had a hat on for\nYes. Take the hat off cuz usually\nthere's then the hat will reveal, but\nrather the hat trick didn't work with\nyou.\nWell, yeah, Petro's in the comments. He\ngoes, Petro pulled his hat off and I was\nlike, \"Okay, I see it now.\" Well, I\nmean, seriously, I think maybe he looks\nlike 35.5. It's funny how Anderson Petro\npicks half because he's not going to go\nto 40. Yeah, Petro thinks he looks 35.5.\nI love it. I actually love it. He So,\nyou got You got four boys. You must look\nat your boys\nand as a dad\nI'm I'm I'm going to make some\nI'm going to suspect look at your dad\nyour boys with pride knowing that you\nset them up hopefully on a better path\nthan you have been on. You shared with\nyour experience being raised by\ndifferent fathers and perhaps a\ntumultuous life life growing up.\nI'm suspecting your boys have a pretty\nsolid foundation. As a dad you must look\nat them with pride.\nI really do and\nyou know there there's a lot of play at\nthat man. I\nYou know I I'm a pretty humble dude. You\nknow I always feel like I can't take\ncredit for that because I always say man\nyour dad not only screwed up so many\ntimes he screws up every single day but\nyeah I've got a 20 year old 18 year old\n12 year old 10 year old and I'll tell\nyou like I'm looking at my young men my\ntwo my two older boys and they're just\nreally really freaking good human beings\nman. Like my my 20 year old is just so\nso empathetic so amazing. He's he's\ngoing into firefighting. Yeah. And he is\nbuilt for that. He is he meets people\nwhere they're where they're at but he's\nso calm in chaos which is unbelievable\nto me. Yeah. My 18 year old like I said\nhe he looks like a special forces like\nhe could kill you and he he would if he\ngot pissed off enough but he\nhe is like the most loving most loyal\njust just incredible human being. He's\nhad the same girlfriend now for four\nyears and just an unbelievable and I\ntell these kids all the time I was like\nyou men\nare so much further along and so much\nbetter than I was back then and who I am\neven today. Like I learn from you guys.\nNow and that that is the Oscar truth.\nYeah. Yeah. Hey Johnny you You got to\nfully you got to give yourself some\ncredit because there's no question\nthere's nature and there's nurture but\nwhat you're describing is nurture. Yeah.\nYeah. Hey Larry we had you for 30. Do\nyou got to rock and roll do you want to\nstick around for lunch with myself and\nJohnny? I can stick around for a little\nbit if you want. I'd love that.\n>> good. Absolutely yeah. So I cuz I got so\nJohn when we come back we'll get into\nthis one. Larry John always talks never\nlet a good tragedy you know good try\nnever let a tragedy what's the Johnny\nwhat You're really good at butchering\nthese [ __ ] really smooth statements.\nPlease, go ahead. Never Never let a good\ntragedy go to waste.\nWell, the tragedy\nfor Larry was unfortunately the way you\nwere raised when you think about it. And\nyou had a moment, dude, where you're\nlike, \"I'm not letting this [ __ ]\nhappen ever again.\" And when I hear you\ntalk about your boys, and maybe you\ndon't realize this as we reset hour two,\nbut when you talk about your boys, it\ngoes back to that moment where you said,\n\"I got to [ __ ] learn how to be a\ndad.\"\nLike you think about that. Had you not\nmade that decision, I need to learn how\nto be a dad. And Keith and John talk\nabout all the time. We're not taught\nwhen we're raised how to be dad or how\nto pick our partners. The two biggest\ndecisions in life are not raised to how\nto learn that. And you had a moment\nwhere you're like, \"I got to [ __ ]\nfigure this out.\" Now, listen to you\ntalk about your boys today, Larry,\nseriously.\nThank you, man. You know, I I First of\nall, I want to comment on that. Never\nlet a good tragedy go to waste. I I've\nnever heard that, John, but I got to\ntell you, man, that is something that I\nthink every single person in your\naudience needs to hear because I think\n>> yeah, brother. A lot of times, man, you\nknow, we you know, we we let a tragedy\njust decimate us, right? But man,\nthere's always always always learning in\nin in the storm, you know? And And it's\nif we can take some of those lessons and\nlearn and just pivot, man, that's that's\nwhat life's all about, man.\nWell, you know, in a in\na lot of times this stuff we to to a\ncertain extent we bring ourselves. When\nI say that, I mean we we all want more.\nWe want this. We want all that. We We\nwant these this better life. Well, what\nyou're asking for is life to [ __ ]\nkick you in the nuts because life's not\ngoing to get easier. You got to get\nbetter. So, life's going to put the\nobstacle in front of you. If you can\novercome that obstacle, you become a\nbetter version of yourself, which means\nthat's life That's how life gets easier.\nLife didn't change. You got better. And\nif people can reverse the table and see\nwhen when you're asking for more, brace\nyourself cuz here comes the [ __ ]\nOh, yeah. Big time, man.","conversationTopics":[],"images":[{"url":"https://raw.githubusercontent.com/morningsinthelab/mitl-cdn/main/guest-headshots/larry-hagner.jpg","label":"authority_portrait","description":"","type":"authority_portrait"},{"url":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/announcement-cards/1783504075642-52a0384d3ed5-larry-hagner-announcement-fa9c98b0.png","label":"Announcement card","description":"Pre-show shareable graphic generated by the Authority Page Builder.","type":"announcement_card"},{"url":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/story-plates/1783504075217-3ae9ea592c4b-larry-hagner-plate-1-2778c69a.png","label":"ANGER AS SECONDARY EMOTION","description":"","type":"story"},{"url":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/story-plates/1783504094143-865d00d23ae8-larry-hagner-plate-2-280a85fb.png","label":"THE BREAKING POINT","description":"","type":"story"},{"url":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/story-plates/1783504113641-83d2053a5fda-larry-hagner-plate-3-2b4b4771.png","label":"LEARNING TO BE A FATHER","description":"","type":"story"},{"url":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/story-plates/1783504133965-e652dff0730c-larry-hagner-plate-4-a06176ee.png","label":"GENERATIONAL PATTERNS","description":"","type":"story"},{"url":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/story-plates/1783504151411-b477ceb57920-larry-hagner-plate-5-d639505f.png","label":"ACCIDENTAL COMMUNITY","description":"","type":"story"},{"url":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/story-plates/1783504168855-b2e6f3e8ca06-larry-hagner-plate-6-a4283473.png","label":"TRAGEDY INTO WISDOM","description":"","type":"story"},{"url":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/story-plates/1783504185902-4e5bd9eec977-larry-hagner-plate-7-df729acd.png","label":"PRIDE IN FATHERHOOD","description":"","type":"story"},{"url":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/story-plates/1783504203969-cd7844ba9fad-larry-hagner-plate-8-84a6847f.png","label":"HUMILITY IN SUCCESS","description":"","type":"story"}],"livingPortrait":"https://pub-176ab0b7668b46259a6c72d4ad146d40.r2.dev/transitions/1783504151993-292b9dc72b5f-veo-1783504151993.mp4","heroVideo":"","heroPoster":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/B3T0EsRTgaM/maxresdefault.jpg","storyVideo":"","mediaKit":"","sourceUrl":"https://guestengine.live/profile/larry-hagner","publishedAt":"2026-04-25T13:35:38.560Z","publicationStatus":"published","canonicalUrl":"https://mornings.network/shows/center-stage/guests/larry-hagner","verifiedVideos":[{"status":"available","videoId":"B3T0EsRTgaM","title":"Larry Hagner: The Dad Edge Founder on Fatherhood, Leadership & Being a Better Man","channel":"Mornings in the Lab with Keith, Jon & Friends LIVE","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/@MorningsintheLab","thumbnail":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/B3T0EsRTgaM/hqdefault.jpg","verifiedAt":"2026-10-04T00:40:23.869344+00:00","evidence":"https://www.youtube.com/oembed?format=json&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3T0EsRTgaM"}]}