Dads are useful for a lot of things. They make for good pillows, give great hugs, and bring home pizza fairly regularly. Now that COVID-19 has everyone locked inside, dads are also making breakfast every morning, teaching PE class and entertaining their kids — all while hitting work deadlines and taking video meetings. To celebrate Father’s Day, seven Levi’s® dads share their stories and lessons from fatherhood.
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Michael Giordano | Men’s Stylist
Enzo (21, not pictured), Eva (19)
Kids really grow up between 18 and 21. When they were 14 and 15 years old, we used to call them bad roommates: they ate all the food, wouldn’t clean up after themselves, were constantly borrowing money. Enzo lives up in Portland, and Eva is home from college with us. We can talk about more adult things now. I love it. I’ve also noticed she’s picked up my cleaning habit. She’s the one going around spraying bleach water or doorknobs. It’s like having a good roommate now — who you can still kinda tell what to do.
Nobutoshi Nakao | Senior Designer, Men’s Denim Bottoms
Kanaru (11)
My style is nothing special. I wear clothes related to my hobbies, like fishing, classic cars, motorcycles and movies, that make me feel good. I have a lot of T-shirts in my collection. And if Kanaru wants them, I’ll pass them down. But I think she’s more inspired by her friends — and the internet. She just got a new phone last Christmas, and she’s on it every day. She’s on FaceTime chatting with her friends all the time now. She also watches Tik Tok and YouTube videos from all over the world, and takes inspiration from those, so I feel like her style is kind of mixed. It’s cool and different.
Lenin Lora | Sales Operation Manager
Holiday (8), Elijah (5)
The quarantine has been great for my family. I taught my son how to read. All four of us have been camping in the yard. We’re just trying to keep it fun for them.
When I was growing up, I loved skateboarding and graffiti. They were what I was passionate about. And I want the same for my kids. I don’t care what it is — but I want them to have their own identity. They don’t have to be like anyone or fit in. I’m Dominican, my wife is mixed — it’s already hard enough to fit in when you don’t look like everyone.
Josh Farrell | Marketing Manager
Leon (2)
None of the playgrounds are open, so we have to find different activities to do every day, like follow the trash trucks around. It’s a transcendental experience, like, “Let’s go outside and follow someone’s cat around or something.”
Eventually life will go back to some semblance of normal. I’m sure I’ll be going back into an office eventually, and I imagine I’ll look back on this time really fondly. As of now, I feel really lucky to be able to share this time with him. And overall, he’s pretty stoked that he can hang out with us every day.
Nick Rendic | Global Head of Design, Dockers
Mila (12), Nico (11), Uma (6)
I used to just focus on going to work Monday through Friday and bringing home the bacon. Now I have to be a teacher and a delivery service. It’s been crazy! It’s been great though, don’t get me wrong. We all surf, and we’ve been spending the lockdown at our beach house out in the central coast of California. The house isn’t very big, and it’s always loud. But we’ve been doing PE classes that are just all of us surfing.
It feels good, like I’m still relevant. I think they’re gonna think that their dad’s old pretty soon. But right now, I’m enjoying still being the hero.
Todd Shapiro | Global Design Director, Men’s Tops
Ozzy (4), Avery (5 months), Ziggy (5 months)
My day started at 5:30 a.m. The twins were crying, and the oldest climbed into bed and started kicking me. The hardest part about being a dad is staying patient. There’s a lot of crying and fighting, and kids don’t understand everything going on. But the best part about being a dad is when they come up and give you a smile and want to hug you.
I grew up playing soccer, and I’m teaching Ozzy to play. I’m trying to pass down activities I’m into and see if they’re into them or not. Ozzy really wants to be a paleontologist right now — a soccer-playing, skating paleontologist.
Paul O’Neill | Head Designer, Levi’s® Vintage Clothing
Louie (6)
That’s my son Louie. We dress alike sometimes when we can. It doesn’t always work. If Louie is wearing shoes or sneakers, he wants me to wear the closest clothes to what he has. He’s really into it. It’s just a fun thing. It’s a little bit cheesy, obviously, but fun.
Louie’s definitely into music, and he has taste. He tells me to turn some stuff on, and tells me to turn some stuff off. He takes after me. I was seeing trash metal shows in Dublin when I was 11 or 12. How crazy is that? I’d never let Louie go into the city when he’s 12 years old.
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