JOSH DUHAMEL: OVERCOMING IMPOSTER SYNDROME & MOVING TO THE WOODS

Summary

Podcast Summary: Not Skinny But Not Fat
Episode: JOSH DUHAMEL: OVERCOMING IMPOSTER SYNDROME & MOVING TO THE WOODS
Host: Amanda Hirsch
Release Date: May 13, 2025

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of Not Skinny But Not Fat, Amanda Hirsch welcomes renowned actor Josh Duhamel to discuss his journey through Hollywood, personal challenges like imposter syndrome, and his unique lifestyle choice of embracing a more rustic life away from the bustling entertainment industry.

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Early Life and Career Beginnings ([15:00] - [20:00])

Josh Duhamel opens up about his upbringing in North Dakota, where he initially aspired to become a dentist. Despite achieving his degree in biology, Josh harbored a secret desire to enter the entertainment industry. His career pivot began unexpectedly when he participated in a modeling competition in New York, where the runner-up was none other than Ashton Kutcher. Although Josh didn't secure the top spot, this experience ignited his passion for acting.

Josh Duhamel ([16:20]):
"I think secretly I wanted to do this. I just did not have a clue how to do it, you know, because there's no entertainment industry in modern North Dakota."

Despite early setbacks and years of hard work, including acting classes and auditions, Josh eventually found his footing in Hollywood, leading to roles in popular films and television shows.

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Transition to a Rustic Lifestyle ([09:05] - [16:00])

Amanda and Josh delve into Josh's decision to establish a residence in North Dakota and Minnesota, away from Los Angeles. Josh shares his experiences renovating cabins and living a more hands-on, rural life.

Josh Duhamel ([09:10]):
"I'm from North Dakota. Got a place out in the woods in Minnesota. So I'm often in ranchy type stuff."

This lifestyle choice reflects Josh's desire to reconnect with his roots and provide a stable environment for his growing family, balancing the demands of his acting career with personal well-being.

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Family and Personal Life ([26:50] - [34:00])

Josh discusses his marriage to Audra, also from North Dakota, and their journey together in raising their children. He touches upon the challenges of balancing a demanding career with being present for his kids.

Josh Duhamel ([30:13]):
"He’s gonna be fine. Yeah, it doesn't really matter."

He expresses the emotional toll of being away for extended periods due to his work, missing significant moments in his children's lives, yet strives to remain connected through video calls and active participation when home.

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Overcoming Imposter Syndrome ([58:30] - [59:15])

One of the pivotal moments in the conversation is Josh's candid admission of struggling with imposter syndrome throughout his career. He reflects on the feelings of not belonging and the long journey to self-acceptance.

Josh Duhamel ([58:33]):
"I had imposter syndrome. I felt like I was not. I was, like, faking it, and I was a fraud, and I wasn't. I wasn't supposed to be here."

Through directing and taking on more creative control, Josh found validation and a sense of belonging within the industry, emphasizing the importance of recognizing one's own worth and contributions.

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Work-Life Balance and Parenthood ([29:14] - [47:50])

Amanda and Josh navigate the complexities of parenting while maintaining an active career. Josh shares anecdotes about his children, including their milestones and his approach to fostering a balanced upbringing.

Josh Duhamel ([32:12]):
"You want to be tough kids who can go out and, like, take down, you know, whatever they need to in the world."

He emphasizes the importance of allowing children to experience the world tangibly, encouraging them to explore and learn beyond the digital realm. This approach aims to build resilience and independence in his children.

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Future Projects and Personal Growth ([37:00] - [58:00])

Josh reveals his passion for directing and producing, highlighting his latest project—a comedy about fathers competing for a spot in a prestigious preschool. This venture allows him to shape narratives and tell stories that resonate with his own experiences as a parent.

Josh Duhamel ([38:05]):
"It's about these two dads fighting to get their kid into the last spot in the super pretentious preschool."

Amanda and Josh also engage in light-hearted discussions, including a playful quiz about his previous roles and his stance on modern social media trends like TikTok.

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Advice and Closing Thoughts ([58:00] - [59:58])

Towards the end of the episode, Josh offers heartfelt advice to his younger self and listeners grappling with similar insecurities.

Josh Duhamel ([58:33]):
"If I could tell myself one thing, it would be that you do belong."

Amanda and Josh wrap up the conversation by encouraging listeners to watch Josh's latest show, Ransom Canyon, and hinting at the possibility of a second season due to its popularity.

Josh Duhamel ([59:15]):
"If you're gonna watch it, watch it all the way."

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Conclusion

Amanda Hirsch and Josh Duhamel share an authentic and insightful dialogue that not only explores Josh's professional journey and personal life but also delves deep into universal themes like self-doubt, work-life balance, and personal growth. Listeners gain a comprehensive understanding of Josh's multifaceted life, making this episode a must-listen for fans and those seeking inspiration in overcoming their own challenges.

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Notable Quotes:

• [58:33] Josh Duhamel:
  "If I could tell myself one thing, it would be that you do belong."

• [09:10] Josh Duhamel:
  "I'm from North Dakota. Got a place out in the woods in Minnesota. So I'm often in ranchy type stuff."

• [32:12] Josh Duhamel:
  "You want to be tough kids who can go out and, like, take down, you know, whatever they need to in the world."

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This summary captures the essence of the episode, highlighting Josh Duhamel's journey, personal insights, and the meaningful conversation he shares with Amanda Hirsch. Whether you're a fan or new to the podcast, this episode offers valuable perspectives on navigating success and personal fulfillment.

Transcript

[Amanda Hirsch]

You guys, it is all happening. The moment that we have been waiting for. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is back. The wait is over for season two and it's coming back to Hulu with an all new season on May 15th. You guys. Yes. Three days from now, if you're listening, on Tuesday is going to be May 15th is going to be the time that you can open up Hulu and watch Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 2. We finally get to find out what's going on with our favorite saints and sinners. Are Taylor and Dakota still together? Are Jen and Zach still dealing with the aftermath of that trip to Vegas? Will Whitney be led back into mom talk after her actions last season? Plus, Demi and Jesse drama, Leila's shocking discovery, Miranda's arrival to clear up the swinging scandal, and more. This season is a tangled web of jealousy, X's and drama and I cannot wait to binge watch you guys. It's going to be insanity and I know you guys are as obsessed as I am, so this one is for us. And of course, I will be talking about it on Instagram and sharing my thoughts because there are gonna be thoughts. Do not miss the new season of the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives coming to Hulu May 15th. Cannot wait to binge with you guys.

[Josh Duhamel]

The following podcast is a Dear media production.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Welcome back to the not Skinny but not fat podcast. I'm your host, Amanda Hirsch, and I still can't believe that I get to chat with some of my favorite star on my very own podcast where you'll feel like you're just talking with your best friends in your living room. You know what's so crazy, guys? Hey, what's up? How are you? I love you. I miss you. Happy Tuesday. If you listen on Tuesday and welcome to the show Notes, think about because I always am changing up my mic setup at home. Like, I just got a new mic. I just got a new stand. I changed stands three times because I want to like when I do from home, like, I want to be comfortable. I want it to sound good. I want it to be good. But then I realized, like sometimes when I'm like, you know, poo pooing my setup, I'm like literally the greatest, biggest podcasters in the world. Like do this. Like we're they're home with their zoom recorder. It's not the zoom. Like you zoom in a meeting. There's like a recorder called zoom recorder plugged into their mic. We all have the shore mic. Like we're all doing the same and we're all recording ads. So, you know, we're all, we're all in this together. I'm drinking my protein hot chocolate. I know, throw up on me, vomit on me. But I'm here to show you. I'm here to be transparent. And like, I just realized, like, people don't talk about it enough. Like, it is hard. I mean, I've been talking about a lot. It is hard sometimes it, it's hard to work out. It's hard to eat healthy. Let's stop pretending that it's like changing your life and you love it so much. And it's like, no, no, you want to eat the burger, you want to eat the Mac and cheese. Like, it might not make you feel good, but you want to eat it. You don't want to be that guy that like, can't eat it at the table. But I'm really like, I, I talked to you guys about this, like, after Lenny the Body. I think I'm at the same way now that I was with Noah. Like, when I got back from the hospital. Like, that's how different it is. Which sounds crazy to you, but, like, number wise, it's true. But I am feeling already much better from, from starting to just change it up. Like, change it up. I started working with a nutritionist and like, all of a sudden I'm like, oh, you don't eat like almonds, avocado, like cottage cheese together. She's like, that's all fat. Like, you're eating all fat in that meal. It's not even balanced. Like, you know what I mean? So now I like, think about those things anyway. See, it's like, that's a thing when you're trying to, like, eat healthy. Kind of becomes your whole life because you have to think about what you eat all the time. And that's what I don't like about it. Anyway, we have such a cool episode today. Like, honestly, I had such a good time recording with this guest obsessed. Like, I don't think there's one of my girls, followers, friends, family that I say his name to. And we don't geek out. Like, we don't blush up, geek out and are like, oh, my God. Remember this movie and that movie not moving. Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God, oh my God, oh my God. So can you take a guess? He's the king of rom coms and his name is Josh Duhamel. Oh, my God, I'm so bad at giving hands. See, this is why I stopped with the teasers. Josh Duhamel is here. He's everything I could have hoped for and more. He is on a new show on Netflix called Ransom Canyon, and it's with Minka Kelly, and it's hot and it's great. And it's cowboy vibes, which we've grown to love in the last few years, and we hope it's gonna get a season two. I feel like it's gonna get a season two. It's so bingeable because it's like bas a romance kind of cowboy vibe, you know, with a little bit of the land and the oil and, like, the things that make the cowboy things, you know? Anyway, it's a really good show, and it's on Netflix, and Joshua is in studio with me, and he. He's really just like an open book down to Chad. Like, literally could yip yap it with him for a very long time. And you're gonna be more obsessed with him after this episode, because that's what I do to you, you guys. So that's what I'm gonna do. So let's, like, just lean into it. Let' started. And let's hear this episode with Josh Jumel. My man. Not my man. Okay, bye. Don't tell us. Okay, bye. Sorry. It's a little hot. Is that just me?

[Josh Duhamel]

It's just you, girl.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Really?

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Are you calling me postpartum?

[Josh Duhamel]

No, no, I'm saying you're hot.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Oh, okay. Did you get that on tape? Josh Duhamel is here, you guys.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah, baby.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Like, I'm so excited. And you don't remember meeting me?

[Josh Duhamel]

I do.

[Amanda Hirsch]

So just.

[Josh Duhamel]

It was on the red carpet.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Okay.

[Josh Duhamel]

For Shotgun Wedding. It was Hollywood Boulevard.

[Amanda Hirsch]

What was I wearing?

[Josh Duhamel]

2021. You were wearing this little. It was. It was like a little green suit.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah, well, JLo complimenting me, so that's what I'll remember. Yeah. She said the green matches my eyes. Yeah, well, but you were great, too.

[Josh Duhamel]

Your eyes aren't green.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I know, but she said it. What was it going to say? No, JLo, they're blue. Like, she said it. She said my eyes are green.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yes, J.

[Amanda Hirsch]

We went for it. Yeah, that was a while ago. Shotgun Wedding. I just told you, like, I scroll down and find it because I had so much fun at that premiere. And it was 2021. Or two.

[Josh Duhamel]

I think it's 2021.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Wild.

[Josh Duhamel]

They shut down Hollywood Boulevard for that. And they had that zip line, which.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I'm sure you were plopped into it because you were the. The talent. I was, like, walking with my heels down.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Fudgeing. Hollywood Boulevard. Couldn't find the way in.

[Josh Duhamel]

Like, drop you off right there.

[Amanda Hirsch]

No, I was like, the. You know, the. Not the hell. But it was like, oh, yeah, just get here. And then they dropped me off, and then I had to, like, walk down. It was. I. So I got there, like, with blisters. So I think I took my shoes off for the red carpet.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah, that one was. That was. I'm fascinated by that because the amount of infrastructure they got to build to do something like that on Hollywood Boulevard, build a zip line and all the stuff that they did. You know, like, I was talking to you about this. Like, I'm fascinated by the.

[Amanda Hirsch]

You're fascinated. He's fascinated by podcasts right now.

[Josh Duhamel]

The. How you make the sausage, you know?

[Amanda Hirsch]

Really? And you know that I thought it's how the sauce is made.

[Josh Duhamel]

No, no, sausage.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I know. I recently discovered.

[Josh Duhamel]

Nobody wants to see how the sausage.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Right. Sauce is like, nice. Marinara sauce is easy.

[Josh Duhamel]

Sausage, it gets.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Sausage gets. Gross.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah.

[Amanda Hirsch]

But podcasts, I feel like they're the most straightforward medium because it's not like tv, where. Or so I've heard, like, everything can look great, but if you were there, like, maybe it's, you know, the green room is fudgeing ugly or just other shit, you know?

[Josh Duhamel]

Well, I think these are. These are much.

[Amanda Hirsch]

You're here to see that it's ugly.

[Josh Duhamel]

Well, I mean, this is. It's. It's. It's more diy.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

Which I think is great because it lends to your ability to speak your mind about things that you're not going to be. You know, there's not as many standards and practices as there would be on something, you know, more.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Right.

[Josh Duhamel]

Commercial.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Right. Right. You could. I could be in my bed right now. It doesn't matter.

[Josh Duhamel]

Right.

[Amanda Hirsch]

But I wouldn't want to. Yeah. Because it's guests.

[Josh Duhamel]

You can drop F bombs as much as you want here.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

Right.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah. You have to be careful with that on live tv. Right. Do they warn you?

[Josh Duhamel]

Well, I mean, it's frowned upon. Yeah.

[Amanda Hirsch]

You already know. Ransom Canyon is so fudgeing. Good.

[Josh Duhamel]

Did you watch it?

[Amanda Hirsch]

I watched.

[Josh Duhamel]

Thank you.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I watched. And I'm loving the cowboy vibes. Loving the cowboy. But are you trying to check if you're with, like, boots? No, I've got.

[Josh Duhamel]

I got regular boots on.

[Amanda Hirsch]

But do you, in your daily life, have you kind of, like, started wearing the hat? Wearing the boots, you know?

[Josh Duhamel]

No.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Okay.

[Josh Duhamel]

But I. I do. I'm like, cowboy adjacent.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

I dress. You know, I'm from North Dakota. Got a place out in the woods in Minnesota. So I'm often in ranchy type stuff.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Right.

[Josh Duhamel]

Just because I'm out there around with my tractor or whatever.

[Amanda Hirsch]

But you haven't leaned in fully.

[Josh Duhamel]

No, I'm not full cowboy. Not yet.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Okay.

[Josh Duhamel]

Give me a. If we get picked up for another.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Season, I was gonna say. Well, because a lot of. I feel like actors who. Who do this type of show, like, ranch vibes, all of a sudden, they're. They're moving out to the. I mean, you already have a place like a ranchy place. Is it ranch vibes, the place in Minnesota?

[Josh Duhamel]

No, it's. It's lake vibes. It's a. It's a. It's a. The short version of it is that I bought 12 acres, like, 16, 17 years ago, half a parcel. Then the other half went up for sale with a little. Little, like, shitty old, like, hunting shack with no electricity or water. Then I had 24 acres, and then the one next to that one up for sale, which also had a little cabin right on the water. So then I had these two cabins. Only one of them had electricity. Neither of them had water. So that was, like my project, just fixing these things up for years, you know, cleaning our dishes in the lake. And it was. It was rough.

[Amanda Hirsch]

What. Why Minnesota, though? You're in North Dakota.

[Josh Duhamel]

So. So I grew up in North Dakota. I'm now a resident of North Dakota. My wife. My wife's also from there, so we got a residency back there. Because we're there so much. I'm there more than I'm in.

[Amanda Hirsch]

You have to, like, officially do it when you say that.

[Josh Duhamel]

Well, yeah, kind of.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Really? Oh, okay. I guess. You do.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I've never not. Yeah. Okay. You have to. So you're. So you're officially North Dakota.

[Josh Duhamel]

North Dakota. And then the cabin is like an hour across the Minnesota border. So we sort of spend a lot of time out there too. So that kind of is my life.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Do you have a place in North Dakota too?

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Okay, so North Dakota, Minnesota, but also still L. A. A little bit.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yes.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Damn.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah. I mean, the place in North Dakota isn't. I mean, eventually we'd like to build something, like, real. Like a real home there. Right now we have a condo. And then we, you know, we go back and forth between there in the lake house.

[Amanda Hirsch]

That's the dream.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah.

[Amanda Hirsch]

To sort of leave L. A. Totally.

[Josh Duhamel]

No, I don't think I'll ever leave it. Totally.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

Because, listen, I love. I love it back there. I really do. And North Dakota's, I believe, one of the greatest states in the country. Nobody knows about it.

[Amanda Hirsch]

You're like. You did tourism thing.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Are you still.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Amanda Hirsch]

You're still a. What does the job entail?

[Josh Duhamel]

I do lots of different things, whether it's shooting commercials for them. So our production company shoots some commercials for them. They have a team of people that do stuff. I'll do voiceover stuff. I'll show up for events. You know, it's, it's, it's not an easy state to sell.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah. What are, what are the selling points?

[Josh Duhamel]

Well, I mean, it's, it, it's. It's a vibe more than anything. It's not like New York City has Times Square and like all the shows and all the restaurants and all these things. North Dakota is like a throwback to when life was not as complicated, not as digital, not as fast paced. There's something about driving down the roads there. There's a beautiful part of the. In the Southwest called the Maduro at the Theodore Roosevelt national park that's absolutely beautiful. And then it's just, it's farms and it's small communities and it's little roadside saloons and it's like a great place to just take a road trip through, you know, what's the place? A great place to raise kids. By the way.

[Amanda Hirsch]

What's the flight from, like New York or LA to, To North Dakota?

[Josh Duhamel]

Well, you'd have to fly. Well, I don't think there's anything direct. You'd have to fly through Minneapolis, then into Fargo or Minot, where I'm from. Or.

[Amanda Hirsch]

And then drive. Or then connecting flight.

[Josh Duhamel]

Well, no, you, you, you drive in, you fly in to. To Minneapolis and then you take another flight to Fargo. So it's a two. It's a two flight trip.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Two flight trip. And from la, too.

[Josh Duhamel]

Most little towns across the states are.

[Amanda Hirsch]

You know, I hate the. I hate the two.

[Josh Duhamel]

Where are you from originally?

[Amanda Hirsch]

Here?

[Josh Duhamel]

You're from New York. You were raised in New York?

[Amanda Hirsch]

Manhattan, in the Bronx, like Jlo.

[Josh Duhamel]

Oh, really?

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah. I'll never not say that. I know, but it's.

[Josh Duhamel]

Amanda from the block. Doesn't have the same ring.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I know. How about, like, I wonder why? Yeah, yeah. But why were you asking? Oh, because I. Because. Right. You're from a smaller town. No. Yeah, I didn't have that. I feel like I would like it, though. That's why I went to college. When I chose to go to college, I chose to go upstate New York, which does give more kind of rural Vibes, because I was like, I don't want another city. Like, I want to feel a different kind of vibe. So being four years in upstate New York and, like, the Finger Lakes, where I was is kind of. I'm sure it's way more secluded than the town in North America.

[Josh Duhamel]

It's got a lot of beautiful countryside, though. It's known just for New York City, but there's a lot of beautiful New Jersey, too. Everybody thinks Hoboken or Jersey City, but that's.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Oh, you go, what are you doing?

[Josh Duhamel]

I used to live. I did all my children here for. I lived here for three years.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Oh, right. They film, like, in the city, right? Oh, yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

You can imagine small town, North Dakota, kids suddenly in the big city. It was a jarring experience.

[Amanda Hirsch]

So you stayed, though, in New York, though, then? Or were you in. No, I lived.

[Josh Duhamel]

I lived up on 63rd and West End for three years.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Well, that's nice. That's like a night. That's a chill part of New York.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yep.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Okay. What did you think when you lived there?

[Josh Duhamel]

I barely made it out alive.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Really? Up 63rd and West End?

[Josh Duhamel]

Well, I mean, still. It's still New York City. Believe me, I wasn't far from trouble.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Really?

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah, it was. I mean, the first time I ever made any kind of money, I grew up with not a lot of money. And so I was finally making some money on this show, and I was living in the big city, and I went nuts for a couple of years.

[Amanda Hirsch]

But fun good.

[Josh Duhamel]

But good fun. It was good. But, yeah, I saw a lot of sunrises, and not because I was up.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Early, like, at the club.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah. All the stuff I did, all the.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Things, all the clubs. I mean, what's happening?

[Josh Duhamel]

I just. I took it all in, man.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I was like, as you should have.

[Josh Duhamel]

You know, I was a.

[Amanda Hirsch]

How old were you?

[Josh Duhamel]

Mid, 27 or 8.

[Amanda Hirsch]

How did you get into this life? Because you were. Grove, North Dakota. I read that you were super into sports. Quarterback, wanted to be a dentist. How did we. How did we deserve you? How did we get you?

[Josh Duhamel]

I don't know. I mean, it was. It was. I mean, it's a. I moved to California to. And told my mother. That's why I was gonna go was to be a dentist and go to dental school. And I took the DATs, and I've got my degree in biology. All the things I needed to do.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Were you lying to your mom?

[Josh Duhamel]

No, I did all these things.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Okay.

[Josh Duhamel]

But I think secretly I wanted to do this. I just did not have a clue how to do it, you know, because there's no entertainment industry in modern North Dakota.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

So I figured I just wanted to go see and dip my toes in the water to see if there's. If I had the balls to do it mostly. And I didn't at first. I was terrified of it because it's a. It's a big, scary thing. And eventually, after a couple of years, I got more. You know, I started auditioning for TV commercials. I did some modeling, which I was terrible at.

[Amanda Hirsch]

How did you know where to start? Like, how did you know where to go to do these things?

[Josh Duhamel]

There was. When I was living in Sacramento, there was a guy named Hank Ritter who approached me and asked me if I was interested. I was like, sure.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Those are the days. People, like, approached you and it wasn't weird.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah. And that was. That was kind of the beginning. And I. So I did that for about a year, didn't make any money, started auditioning for TV commercials, had a. And then moved to LA and started taking classes and really taking it seriously. So after a couple of years, I ended up getting some traction, getting some callbacks on some things. I had some terrible audience. I mean, I could go on and on about how.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Wait, what year did you go to LA?

[Josh Duhamel]

90. Let's see. 98.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Okay, so, like, reference. Todd Hamilton came out 2004.

[Josh Duhamel]

I think it was 2002.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Two. Even. Even crazier.

[Josh Duhamel]

It was 2002. Ted Hamill, I don't know for sure. I can't remember. Yeah, so that was. So I was in Northern Cali for, like, four years, working construction and doing all kinds of, like, warehouse jobs and things like that, and then moved to southern California in 98.

[Amanda Hirsch]

And then you were like, wait, but when you were growing up, were people from the outside seeing something in you that was going to be a star, that you were, like, made for tv?

[Josh Duhamel]

No, no. I mean, there was a. You know what really got me thinking about it was a good buddy of mine named Jeff Carew, who's still a dear friend of mine. We call him the Captain. He was from. He had been living in California, and then he moved to Canada and then came to play football at the school we were at. And we became really good friends. And he's like, dude, you should go to California. You should model. I was like, what, you think I could do that? And that was. That kind of got the. That's what made me think maybe I could go. And then I started thinking about it. We came out for spring break one year. I decided I Wanted to live in. It was up in Rohnert park where Sonoma State is. I wanted to go back. He ended up staying back to play baseball. And that was kind of the beginning of. But nobody before that ever said anything. I didn't.

[Amanda Hirsch]

But you were probably super popular. Like you were. You are such a good looking guy. Like back then you were footbally, right? Quarterback.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah. But I was like pretty awkward and gangly. We. I mean, we all. Yeah, I was. I don't even.

[Amanda Hirsch]

So the modeling competition though, that you won that. The runner up was Ashton Kutcher. When was that?

[Josh Duhamel]

97.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Really?

[Josh Duhamel]

Here in New York.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Oh, okay.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah.

[Amanda Hirsch]

So just like a modeling competition, you were like, I'll apply.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yep. So this guy, Hank Ritter, who then started working for another company, sponsored me to come out here for this thing. And I'd never been in New York, so it was like, yeah, I'll go do that. And after about two or three days at this thing, you know, it was. This is such a ridiculous story. They. They put me in these crazy, like, plunging. I would say you can see it online, but I wouldn't recommend it.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah, you're like, don't.

[Josh Duhamel]

It's really bad. Don't go.

[Amanda Hirsch]

There was on a stage was like pageant vibes for hot guys.

[Josh Duhamel]

We walked.

[Amanda Hirsch]

That's crazy.

[Josh Duhamel]

It was. It was model and talent associate. So it was, it was that. It was my. It was that. And it was actors trying to get discovered, trying to find an agency who would represent you. All those. That's really what it's for. So I ended up after a couple of days, the word was that it was between this kid from Iowa, this kid from Oregon, or the kid from Iowa was Ashton, the kid from Oregon. And then it was me. And I was like, what? I'm in the running for this thing. It was like this whole. It was a whole thing. And then we're sitting on stage at the end of this thing and it's like, sixth runner up, so and so. Fifth runner up, so and so. Fourth runner up, so and so. Third runner up, the kid from Oregon. Second. Or the second runner up, the kid from Oregon, first runner up. Between me and Ashton. They say his name and I swear to God, I just won Miss America. I was so excited. They, I. I felt like they lifted me up and put a sash and a tiara. They didn't do this, but that's what it felt like.

[Amanda Hirsch]

You felt it.

[Josh Duhamel]

And then for two years after that, nothing happened. I didn't even get an agency from it. Ashton Kutcher Went on. Got Calvin Klein campaign, got that 70s show. Got all these things. I was so pissed because I felt like. But I thought. But I won. I was the Male Model of the year. And we laugh about it now whenever I see him.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

But that was kind of the beginning. And it was, you know, it was actually a good thing. Probably because I had to go out and, you know, hit the streets and really sort of bust my ass to make anything happen.

[Amanda Hirsch]

But you had that on your resume.

[Josh Duhamel]

I did.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Isn't it so funny, you guys, that it's always the hot guys are from North Dakota, Iowa. It's like never like New York. You know what I mean? It's always. You guys are always from, like, other states. Like, you know, there's a lot of.

[Josh Duhamel]

Beautiful men walking the streets of New York.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I mean, I know, but they're probably from Iowa or North Dakota. You know what I mean?

[Josh Duhamel]

So where's your husband from?

[Amanda Hirsch]

Israel.

[Josh Duhamel]

Israel?

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

Oh, really? Cool.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah. I never got like American guys. I just. It wasn't.

[Josh Duhamel]

No. United, maybe.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah. I don't know. I was too much.

[Josh Duhamel]

Why is that? Was all because, you know, well, you're a strong woman. You know, it takes. It takes a certain man to handle a, you know. Strong.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

Personality.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah. How are you with strong women?

[Josh Duhamel]

I've only ever dated them.

[Amanda Hirsch]

You did, huh?

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah. My wife's very strong.

[Amanda Hirsch]

We'll be right back after the break. Okay, listeners, this is not a drill. Roback just launched a brand new product and brought back two of my absolute faves. And, yeah, you need them in your summer wardrobe. First up, we got the ERA High rise shorts. These just dropped and they're everything. They're high rise, they're super lightweight, and they're ridiculous. Flattering whether you're going on a hot girl walk, heading to Pilates, or just running errands. But you want to look like you just worked out. These are your go to and I've been living in them. Also, the birdie blue is here. Roback just released this stunning new color in the Sydney Skort and everyday active dress, which, you know, I love the scored and the active dress. Let me tell you, it's the ultimate summer shade. We love a Birdie blue. Noah loves when I wear blue. It looks so good if you have a tan on. I literally cannot handle it. Like I said, the Sydney Scored. I feel like it's just a fave. I feel like this would look good on everyone. It would chic up your little activewear. It's sporty, it's cute. And it's actually functional because they're built in shorts. Anything with shorts. Like, I love pockets. I'm obsessed. And the everyday active dress is just so cute. It's perfect. It's. I worked out, but I also have brunch plans kind of vibe. It's breathable, it's flattering, and it's just easy to throw on, which is what you want. Use the code amanda on a roback.com for a generous 20 off your first order through the end of this week. That's spelled R h o b a c-k.com and the code is Amanda. This episode is brought to you by Saks Fifth Avenue. Okay, let's talk about sex. Yep, the Saks Fifth Avenue that we all know and love. The place that makes my closet and my heart very happy. Very, very happy. I'm obsessed because, listen, when it comes to fashion, I want to look like I have my life together, even if I don't. And I'm eating pasta over the sink. And last night's makeup and sacks. You know what? They really get it. They have everything. I'm talking about the brands you know, you love, you've heard of, you've seen salivated over like Jack Moose, which I'm pronouncing wrong. Kate, which I'm pronouncing wrong. Low way, which I'm pronouncing wrong. The kind of stuff that like you see on Instagram and you just wanted and you're like, if I was wearing that right now, I'd have the best Instagram, your selfie, and like, I'd be out at a fancy event. But you know what? They don't just have going to fashion week clothes. They really have effortlessly cool off duty model vibes to shop for too. So. So whether you're running errands, running late, or just running your mouth like me, Sachs has got Yakovat. Also, shout out to their beauty section because it's like literally dangerous in the best way. I swear, I go in for like a specific lip gloss and suddenly I'm redoing my whole skincare routine because, you know, Sack said so. So if you're looking to romanticize your life, at least wardrobe wise, Sax is the move. Hit up sax.com now to scroll, shop and serve again. Shop sacks. Com. Your closet will thank you. There's nothing more than I love than buying my baby's pajamas like mom's dads. Correct me if I'm wrong, but seeing them post shower in their pajamas, there's something just so wholesome about it so fun and not just cuz they're going to sleep and you have the night now to yourself. But it's just like you see them and they're squeaky clean and they smell so good and they're nice fresh crisp pajamas. But you know what, sometimes those pajamas can have like buttons or hard zippers to maneuver and you're like, how am I going to change them in the middle of the night? So I found a Solulo Magnetic Me. So Magnetic Me literally is innovative because they make clothes for kids and they have magnetic closures. So it makes dressing time easy and quick. Okay. Because think about diaper changes like you want it to be like in and out. And first of all, I will not buy anything that has a snap on it. Like I'm sorry. Let's evolve. Zippers can get tricky, but magnets save the day. They make those late night diaper changes faster and easier. By the way, I also love their patterns. The outfits are so cute. I dress Lenny in it all the time. And Noah, his favorite pajamas are from Magnetic Me. Like it's a two piece like toddler set. They have amazing colors and patterns and outfits for the whole family really. So changing time has never been so quick and easy. And I want you to experience this for yourself with your little ones too. Order Magnetic Me today for yourself or as a gift for any other parent. Go to magnetic me.com and new customers will get 15% off their first order. Don't wait, that's magnetic me.com. hey guys. I am Bryony Deary, host of beyond the Mat and founder of Pilates by Bryony. Through my Pilates journey, I have had access to some of the most amazing individuals in their field, including select celebrities, experts, athletes. Here I am going to bring you these intimate conversations from the mat to deeper, meaningful and raw discussions. You can catch new episodes every Thursday. Please don't forget to follow rate and review. See you on and beyond the Met. And we're back. How did you end up marrying somebody from North Dakota? Right. She said she was from there too.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah, she's from, she's from Fargo. I'm from mine out. Which is like four, four hours away. We met at we, you know, we, we. I'd followed her because she was, she'd had some success in pageants and things like that. So I always root for anybody that's from North Dakota, whether it followed her.

[Amanda Hirsch]

You mean on like Instagram?

[Josh Duhamel]

Well, no, I, I'd heard about it. So I, I, and I think I'd seen it And I, and I think she reached out and. Because she knew we were both from North Dakota and it was truly platonic for like years before that because like, no, she's too young for. I'm not even gonna go there. And then we started dming back and forth. Then a friend of ours named Ryan Gutsmer was work. Was staying at a place where she was working this. The penthouse in, in Santa Monica. He goes, I know this girl. You know, I was like. And he sends me a picture. I was like, I don't know her. He's like, you follow her? I was like, oh, is that the girl from, from Fargo?

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

And then we just started talking and then I invited her to a barbecue, still thinking it was totally platonic. Just as a friend from Nodak. There's aren't. There aren't many people from there.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I mean, listen, if Josh Du Mella is inviting you to a barbecue though, do you think she was like, oh, we're gonna be. We're gonna be best friends?

[Josh Duhamel]

I don't know. I don't. I mean, I. I don't know for sure. But she did, but she, but she did come and I was like, sorry. And I was like, holy shit, this girl's beautiful. No, I can't. She's too young. I can't do it. But then she's like, she's. She's. She's more mature than I am.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

You know, and that's really how we started dating. And it's just, it's been a beautiful thing. You know, she's. We've been married now for over two years. She's an amazing mother. We have a 16 month old little boy.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah, he just celebrated a year in January.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yep.

[Amanda Hirsch]

How's that? What's he doing now? Is he walking?

[Josh Duhamel]

Oh, yeah, he started walking like nine months.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Okay, don't show off.

[Josh Duhamel]

No, I'm. I don't. You guys, you really did. And because my, I didn't start walking until like 15 months.

[Amanda Hirsch]

No, my son. My first sons are walking like 16 months. I wasn't worried, but because it's fine. And then my, My second son too. He's not, he's. He's 11 months, but that's normal.

[Josh Duhamel]

They all, they all walk.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I mean. Yeah, they all get there.

[Josh Duhamel]

That's why I never take. But the reason I say that is because we, everywhere. We were just expecting him like stationary play for. We got a couple. A few more months of stationary.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

Little son of a bitch thing.

[Amanda Hirsch]

You're like, oh, when he's going to Walk to it. And then it's like, no, you guys, it's. There are really a lot of positive things about putting the baby and knowing that it can't move for a little bit.

[Josh Duhamel]

It really is.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah. And now he's everywhere.

[Josh Duhamel]

And now he's literally everywhere and into everything.

[Amanda Hirsch]

How is it starting all over? Because your older son is 11, so getting back into the baby stage of, like, diapers and bottles and all that.

[Josh Duhamel]

I actually, I, I, I enjoy it.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

I really do. I, I think it's fascinating how these kids, especially in that first year, how much they really change over how. Your son is how old?

[Amanda Hirsch]

11 months.

[Josh Duhamel]

11 months.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

So. So just to see, like, from. In fact, I did this with Axel when he was a bait when his first year. I took a picture, like, the same composition every day for the first 365 days. And then you put it together in a, in like a compilation. And it's unbelievable how much did this. Yeah.

[Amanda Hirsch]

That's so sweet.

[Josh Duhamel]

I didn't do it for the. For.

[Amanda Hirsch]

And it's, it's not easy, but that's what they say about the second kid. The first kid you fucking. You have a thousand pictures a day. Oh, you did this compilation. So where is it now? How is it?

[Josh Duhamel]

It's on a DVD in storage somewhere.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I have it where every day you took a pic of the same.

[Josh Duhamel]

And to watch them sort of morph from this helpless little infant all the way through the first year. They say the first year they grow more. They never grow as fast as they do in that first year.

[Amanda Hirsch]

It is crazy. Do you ever get guilt if you have to be away for a job all the time? Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah. I think that's the worst part about this job, is that you're gone a lot. I miss a lot of things when they're little like that. It's not as much of a deal, but with Axel, I was in London. I just directed a movie called Preschool, Weirdly because we're looking at preschools. And I was gone for three months. He came for nine days of it, but I missed all of his soccer, and I didn't see a single basketball game of this last season. And that kind of stuff just kills me because, you know, you don't get that time back.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Did he. Does he get it? Like, what you totally get.

[Josh Duhamel]

And I, And I get video. And I talk to him about that. You know, I'm still present.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

But not being there for that stuff, it kills me. So I, you know, right now I'm home and I go to every. I go watch the practices, you know.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah, people don't think about that when they think about actors. Because, you know, when White Lotus came out, everyone's like, are you, would you want to go in White Lotus? Like, would you go back to it? And I, And Carrie Coon, who was so good in the last one, she said like. And I loved her relatability because you don't hear this a lot, but she was like, I don't know, like being away from my family for six months, because I think it's six months they had in Thailand, which is also like a 12 hour.

[Josh Duhamel]

That is a john.

[Amanda Hirsch]

But she was like, you know, I need to leave my family. And it's, it's something to think about, I assume, you know, and hard.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah, it's, it's, it's my least favorite part of the job. I'm hoping we start shooting more stuff here. You know, it's, it's. Because it is, it's just too much. It makes you.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah. I mean, really make tough decisions. Shepard's age. He can come.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yes.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Like technically.

[Josh Duhamel]

But Axel's got his own little life now.

[Amanda Hirsch]

You know, I can't just him. How is he with the little one?

[Josh Duhamel]

He's great.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

At first he wanted nothing to do.

[Amanda Hirsch]

With him, that's how. Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

He was just like this. I mean, he didn't want to hold him. And now this because he. Because Shep follows him everywhere and wants to play with and wants to like, do the things he's doing because he's all about soccer and basketball. So he's, he's really taken to him and it's, it's a beautiful thing.

[Amanda Hirsch]

That's so nice. And they're growing up like as brothers.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah. And you know, I thought, okay, is it going to be weird that he's 10 months or 10 years older than. Yeah, brother. But when they're, you know, 30 and 20 or.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Right.

[Josh Duhamel]

40 and 30, it's not even going to be a thing.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Right. I mean, people always ask like, what's the best age difference? You know, it's like, I feel like that doesn't. There's no such thing. Like you have more. No, I have a four year old and. And.

[Josh Duhamel]

Oh, you already have two.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I do. Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

And that's it.

[Amanda Hirsch]

What about you?

[Josh Duhamel]

I think we're gonna have another one.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Are you gonna try for a girl?

[Josh Duhamel]

I would love to.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I hate when people ask that. I'm sorry, but you have two boys. I have two boys.

[Josh Duhamel]

A certain way you're supposed to do it. To try to get up.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I'm sure your wife looked this up already.

[Josh Duhamel]

What is it? Like, don't quote me.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Okay, but if you want to like, obviously not do IVF and hopefully everything, you can do it naturally. There is a, like. Let me see how.

[Josh Duhamel]

Like a position you're supposed to.

[Amanda Hirsch]

No, not a position. So you're supposed to, for a girl, do it before ovulation. Not during, not after. But look online. Like there are specific directions that I know people that worked for, like pre ovulation. So like there's the day. No, that's when the male sperm are like, yeah, going faster or something.

[Josh Duhamel]

Right.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Do you want the. I'm probably explaining this so wrong, but to get a girl you have to do it before ovulation. Okay, but there are specific takes her time, so.

[Josh Duhamel]

So she kind of gets like the. The tortoise in the hair.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Exactly.

[Josh Duhamel]

She's like in no hurry.

[Amanda Hirsch]

The woman is faster. As in life.

[Josh Duhamel]

What do you mean the woman's faster? Because the.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Wait. And you're going to confuse me now. If.

[Josh Duhamel]

You really said if. If you do it while she's ovulating, right. The boy gets there immediately. But the girl, you do before because she takes her time getting there.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Oh, so maybe she's more like thoughtful.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah, I knew you were gonna spin that some way. She just.

[Amanda Hirsch]

She takes her time. She thinks about it. Okay, See, she's more intentional. You guys wanna know she's picking the proper girl. How about this? If you and Audra have a girl, I'll have another one.

[Josh Duhamel]

Oh, really?

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

Can I shake your hand on that?

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah, you can. We'll shake at the end.

[Josh Duhamel]

Will you name it?

[Amanda Hirsch]

Your names are pretty hardcore. I don't know if I can. I can do it.

[Josh Duhamel]

What are your kids names?

[Amanda Hirsch]

Noah and Lenny.

[Josh Duhamel]

Noah and Lenny.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah. Lenny's cute.

[Josh Duhamel]

Lenny's great. Noah's cute too.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah, no, it's cute too. But now I'm baby, you know. How'd you think of Shepherd?

[Josh Duhamel]

We just loved it. We just. We just. For whatever reason, we knew that name well before we even were pregnant.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Really? You were gonna do it for a girl?

[Josh Duhamel]

I was like, you know what? I like the name boy Shepherd. I just think it's a strong.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Do you call him Chap Chef? Yeah, that's cute.

[Josh Duhamel]

Like Lenny?

[Amanda Hirsch]

Like Lenny.

[Josh Duhamel]

I mean, who doesn't like a Lenny?

[Amanda Hirsch]

Who doesn't like a Lenny?

[Josh Duhamel]

Who doesn't like a Shep, you know?

[Amanda Hirsch]

I'm just kidding. So cute. Okay, so no, I was gonna say I. I. Rihanna just announced her Third pregnancy.

[Josh Duhamel]

Okay.

[Amanda Hirsch]

And she has two boys.

[Josh Duhamel]

Okay.

[Amanda Hirsch]

So I'm like, is she gonna have a third boy if she has a third? If she. Because my thing is this. Usually when you have two of the same, you have another one of the same. That's the vibe around town.

[Josh Duhamel]

Really.

[Amanda Hirsch]

All I'm saying.

[Josh Duhamel]

See, I don't know. So I wouldn't mind having a third boy, honest. But I would like to have a little.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I know you would want to feel it. You would want to feel it. Okay, back to Ransom Canyon because the girlies are going crazy over it. Do you look at TikTok ever and see like people are thirsting?

[Josh Duhamel]

I have not seen that.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Really? My God, people are very happy to see you. I mean, we haven't seen you, I feel like in a couple of years, maybe do something like this. And it's like, Josh Duhamel is back in our screenshots. And a cowboy hat. And people are happy about it.

[Josh Duhamel]

That's good to know.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah. Really happy about it. I heard you got a cowboy hat from Barbara Streisand.

[Josh Duhamel]

Oh, yeah. Yeah. So James Brolin.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

Who plays Cap Fuller on the show, who is married to Barbra Streisand. James Brolin's a very sweet man. He is very thoughtful. He, you know, he knew that we had the baby a few weeks before we got there. He went to the local gift shop and got some baby stuff, like so some little baby or gift shop baby thing. And Barbara didn't like that because she's like, you don't get them something because.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Barbara is married to him.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah, they've been married forever.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Wow.

[Josh Duhamel]

And so she went out and got like a proper hat and boots and a full on cowboy outfit.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Wait, for the baby?

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah. Yeah. It's pretty cute.

[Amanda Hirsch]

So for the baby, not for you?

[Josh Duhamel]

No, no, it was for the baby.

[Amanda Hirsch]

For the baby.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah. Babs didn't give me anything.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Oh, wow.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I saw a lot of headlines about Minka fighting for equal pay. As she should.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah.

[Amanda Hirsch]

How did you support her, if you. At all?

[Josh Duhamel]

I didn't know about that until I read it afterwards. But yeah. Hey, get it, girl.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah, you know, get it, girl. There is a episode where you guys are in a tornado. Have you ever been tornado adjacent?

[Josh Duhamel]

I've seen them from a distance. You know, North Dakota, you get quite a few, I guess, tornadoes. But. But I've never been in that situation. I've certainly never got down during a volcano during. And I read that, I was like, really? So we're going to be doing it while the house is being torn apart.

[Amanda Hirsch]

You're like, something is in a lot. You're, like, practical now. You're like, this isn't aligning.

[Josh Duhamel]

This doesn't feel like we're being. Or this is. Doesn't feel the best life decision.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Wait, and now, because you're directing, you said, and you're also producing, do you like that more where you're kind of more in charge than the acting piece or.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yes, I do. I really do like it. Directing is all encompassing. Yeah, it is. It's a lot of. Because you're there months, if not years, before developing the script, you know, putting the movie together. Then you go a month or two before to prep, figure out all your locations, all your wardrobe, all your cast, all the things. Then you're shooting it, and I'm also in it. So you're there first every day you're shooting it, you're doing all the things, and then you sit and you edit it for the next several months afterwards. So it's a giant time commitment. But I do really love it because you get to sort of shape the story the way you see it, because so many times if you're acting in something, you kind of show up as a hired gun to go do your thing, and then they can do with it what they want to. So this way you really get to kind of tell the story the way you see it.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Are you going to be in it?

[Josh Duhamel]

I am in it. Yeah. So it's about these two dads.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I was going to ask if you.

[Josh Duhamel]

Can tell about these two dads who are fighting to get their kid into the last spot in the super pretentious preschool.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Wait, so it's comedy vibes?

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Oh, great. Love that. Yeah, I love it. Because it's for real.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah, it is. I mean, living in New York and then, you know, obviously Los Angeles or any big city, really. I think this is. Anybody with kids will really relate.

[Amanda Hirsch]

No, I got. I fucked up. I didn't apply in time. I. It was November, and everyone's like, sorry, it's closed. I'm like, like, what? Yeah, it was. I was late to kindergarten. You have to do it way earlier than you would if you thought in your mind, like, oh, January should be good. Nope, it's literally November. And then you. And. And also I feel like when. When we grew up, it was like, my parents probably just, like, send me to the school that was there.

[Josh Duhamel]

Right.

[Amanda Hirsch]

And he was like, what school? And you're like, they'll be fine.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah. And I think that, you know, for Me. It was. It was when I. When I had Axel, I swore I was never going to fall into that, because I like you, I grew up in a place where there were no private preschools or schools in general. And so I was like, I'm not going to fall into this. This. This Los Angeles thing of fighting to get into, like, what school you. Sure enough, I did. And we did pay for the thing, and I was in a, you know, all we. I did fall for it like everybody else does. So I think that it's. It's like a vortex that just sort.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Of sucks you in, man.

[Josh Duhamel]

And. But it's. It's. But at the same time, I wouldn't stress about.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah, I found something which I'm happy with, but it's upsetting. It's always you. It's not them. Right. Especially at this age. So you're more hard on yourself. Like, my God, I didn't do it in time. I should have done this. But you also learn, and also, I believe that things work out, you know.

[Josh Duhamel]

He'S gonna be fine. Yeah, it doesn't really matter.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah, it doesn't. I mean, go to public school like I went to public school was great.

[Josh Duhamel]

Look at you.

[Amanda Hirsch]

And look at me.

[Josh Duhamel]

Look at you.

[Amanda Hirsch]

We'll be right back after the break. So if you have a pet and you know, we love them, we love them like our own because they take care of us, too, but, like, we're supposed to take care of them, too, you know, your pet is part of your family, and you want the best for them no matter what. And even if you're the best pet parent in the world, unpredictable things can happen. But fortunately, you can always give your pet care a boost with ASPCA Pet Health Insurance. So today's episode is sponsored by the ASPCA Pet Health Insurance Program. The ASPCA Pet Health Insurance Program offers customizable accident and illness plans, making it easier for pet parents like you to help your pet get the care that they need. The ASPCA pet health insurance program has been around for over 18 years, and they've helped more than 600,000 pets during that time. They allow you to customize your plan, helping ensure that your pet's plan is as unique as they are. Vet bills can really add up, especially when you're least expecting it. It's super simple, too. You use their app to submit a claim, and you'll receive reimbursement for eligible vet bills directly into your bank account. To Explore coverage, visit ASPCA pet insurance.com not skinny that's ASPCA pet insurance.com, not skinny. Again, ASPC a pet insurance.com, not skinny. This is a paid advertisement. Insurance is underwritten by either Independence American Insurance Company or United States States Fire Insurance Company and produced by PTZ Insurance Agency Limited. The ASPCA is not an insurer and is not engaged in the business of insurance. There are a lot of awesome things that have come out of Australia. The Hemsworth brothers, Uggs, the Crocodile hunter. But my new favorite Aussie export that's finally available in the US is the Koala sofa bed. Okay, it's functionality, it's design, the color options, the quality, the softness, like, it's just so good. And you guys should really consider their sofa bed. It's just ridiculously comfortable. They make incredibly comfortable mattresses and the sofa beds actually use their mattress technology. Inside, they have beautiful color options inspired by the Aussie outback. And literally, they're Instagram worthy. No sad beige or millennial gray here. No Allen wrenches, no stress and is to assemble everything comes in the box and easily slides, clicks or screws together. It's also perfect for my apartment girlies. The Koala sofa bed comes in three sizes to fit smaller spaces. There's fast shipping, there's free returns, there's no delivery or restocking fees. That's unheard of. Okay, it's 120 night risk free trial. That's nearly four months to make sure it's a perfect fit for your home. Upgrade your space today with the most stylish, customizable and elevated sofa bed available. To get $100 off your new sofa plus fast shipping, go to us.koala.com/amanda. Again, that's us.koala.com/Amanda. And you'll get a hundred dollars off your new sofa. Koala. Comfy, easy, sustainable. I feel like it's a consensus that Mac and cheese is everybody's comfort food. It's the food that we, you know, kind of remember from our childhood that made us feel good. That, you know, till this day, if a menu at a restaurant has Mac and cheese, like, we're getting it, we're getting it. We, we love it. It's the taste of our childhood, you guys. But of course we have in our head now that we're a little more mature and educated that, you know, probably doesn't have so many nutrients. However, that was before Goodalls. A serious game changer in the Mac and cheese industry. A disruptor, if I may say so myself, because these are nutrient packed Mac and Cheese flavors, which they have a bunch of like twist my parm hatch chili truffle, smokey doki. Just so freaking good. So basically, you guys, this is Mac and cheese in a box, like, you know and love. However, there is so much good stuff in it, like 14 grams of protein, 7 grams of fiber with prebiotics and 21 vitamins and minerals from real plant sources. So you can feel good about giving it to yourself, to your kids. Like, trust me, you need some good old Mac and cheese in your life. And don't forget, they also have nutrient packed pasta too. Pick up good olds on your next shopping trip. It's available nationwide at major grocery stores and retailers. I know you'll love Goodalls as much as I do. And we're back.

[Josh Duhamel]

So tell me this.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

Did you grow up in a affluent environment?

[Amanda Hirsch]

No.

[Josh Duhamel]

How do you. How do you impart the things that you learned?

[Amanda Hirsch]

I don't. He gets a Toyota day in the.

[Josh Duhamel]

Streets of the barn.

[Amanda Hirsch]

No, he does. I don't.

[Josh Duhamel]

Onto your kids now that you've made it. I mean, the goal is to always try to make it to provide a better lifestyle.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Don't you tell me. Wash dishes in the river. Because I'm. He's like, choi. I'm like, okay, yeah, but how do you. It's a question. How do you do it?

[Josh Duhamel]

It's like on the one hand, you want to provide for your. Give them the things you never had. Yeah, but that's not necessarily doing them any favors.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I don't think so, but so bad.

[Josh Duhamel]

So I don't know what to do. You know, that's part of the reason why we have the place out in Minnesota is because, you know, they go out there and get dirty and I'm teaching them how to do all the stuff that I have to do to keep this place.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Like, okay, the baby does. Doesn't like the baby is growing up in this. But Axel, like, when he comes to Minnesota, is he like, yuck, or does he like.

[Josh Duhamel]

Axel loves it.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Oh, yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

Because he's been gone since he is a baby. So he loves it out there. He's got a group of friends out there now. He wants, you know, if he wants to go tubing or something. I'll say, go, go hook it up. So he goes out and gets the rope and hooks up to the thing and it's like. So I'm trying to teach him.

[Amanda Hirsch]

It's like manly stuff.

[Josh Duhamel]

Well, I think it's important for these kids to. Because we're living in a digital world and we don't have enough tactile, tangible things to sort of touch and feel anything.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Right. Like, I took my kids to this park in Brooklyn this weekend, and there was a little bit of wind, so the dirt was, like, a little floating, and I was like, oh, no. And I started covering their eyes and running away. That's the opposite of your.

[Josh Duhamel]

Like, let them get dirty. Yeah, you got to let them get dirty.

[Amanda Hirsch]

No, I know.

[Josh Duhamel]

You know, and it's also hard, too, because. And believe me, I'm the same way.

[Amanda Hirsch]

It's.

[Josh Duhamel]

It's. We love these kids so much that we want to do everything to protect them, but I. You know, but they have to. They're gonna get hurt. They're gonna get their heart broken. They're gonna go. They're gonna have to go through these things.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

So how do you do that while still, you know, protecting them? You know, because you don't want to. You don't want to raise a couple snowflakes.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I know.

[Josh Duhamel]

You want to be tough kids who can go out and, like. Like, take down, you know, whatever they need to in the world.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Bricks and bricks and.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah, whatever.

[Amanda Hirsch]

But wait, the washing the dishes in the lake, like, that's literally an example. Is that clean water?

[Josh Duhamel]

We had outhouses. We didn't have running water for the first.

[Amanda Hirsch]

And how was Audra down with us?

[Josh Duhamel]

She wasn't at first. It was like. It was. It was rough. But she also grew up in a. She grew up. Her parents have a cabin, like, an hour from mine, which is totally weird, too. I met her.

[Amanda Hirsch]

What was your. Like when she, like, let's say she was like, I don't want to wash the dishes in the la. You were like, we have to. Like, why stay there if there's no.

[Josh Duhamel]

I think when we first started dating, we. We. I did have running water at that point in the red cabin, so the bottom cabin did have water at that point. So we were. It wasn't as bad. We just didn't have a bathroom yet. There was an outhouse right outside.

[Amanda Hirsch]

When you say outhouses, that mean porta or, like, fancier than Portland? No, no, no.

[Josh Duhamel]

It's like a homemade outhouse that's been there for 50 years, and there's a hole in the ground underneath the toilet. You go out there and you. You do your thing, and, you know, in the outhouse, even in the dead of winter, you got to walk out there in your boots and. Yeah, it was rough for a minute.

[Amanda Hirsch]

For how long?

[Josh Duhamel]

What do you mean?

[Amanda Hirsch]

What's a minute? Like, no, not how long do you go to the bathroom?

[Josh Duhamel]

I mean, it depends on how long you take a shit.

[Amanda Hirsch]

How long was there no bathroom?

[Josh Duhamel]

Oh, I can't remember.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Like months?

[Josh Duhamel]

No, no, it was a. Yeah. When we first started dating, it was. I went without for the first 10, 11, 12 years, but I wasn't out there for longer.

[Amanda Hirsch]

No, no. Yeah. I'm just trying to understand, like, I feel like it was like, not that I'm a therapist, but I do feel like it was like you came from la, like you needed it. You needed to feel like rustic and like.

[Josh Duhamel]

I did because I grew up in the country. I think it was my way of like going back and reliving my youth in a way.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

Now I get to see my. See that through my kids eyes.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

Which I think is good.

[Amanda Hirsch]

What's the most like LA thing you've done that you cringe at?

[Josh Duhamel]

I just did this thing, actually. I don't, I don't know if I cringe at it because I actually find. I find it ironic and fun and I, I do, I do like, I like the, the juxtaposition between the two. You know, I like going. So I just went to this place called Empower Spa in la, where I literally went into this place. I thought I was going in to get like a, A back rub, a massage, but they put me in this, this roller thing. Had like these roll.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Oh, I saw that. The like shower head. It looks like a torture chamber.

[Josh Duhamel]

No, no, no, no. This was like a, a massage thing, but I'm really ticklish, so I couldn't hardly stand it. And then they put me in this. And I've. And I have video. I'll show it to you. Where they put me in this red light. You've heard of red light therapy? This, all these red lights in this thing and then a trampoline and these goggles. And you literally jump up and down for 20 minutes on this thing while you're, you're getting this red light treatment. And then they put me. And then they put me into this, this ozone therapy capsule where you sit inside, it looks like a big egg. And you sit there with your head sticking out and they shoot ozone in your body that sounds claustrophobic while your head's out. So it's okay.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Okay. Yeah, I guess.

[Josh Duhamel]

But you're sweating like a motherfucker. Yeah. Also, let me show you this. Can I show you the video?

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah, yeah, show me. Do you. Will, Will you return Tim Howard?

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah. It was great. And they were, it was, it was so.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Oh, that felt to you like a little douchey.

[Josh Duhamel]

Well, it just felt. I just felt very L. A. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I'm into that.

[Amanda Hirsch]

You have to go now. You have to go take a. In the woods again.

[Josh Duhamel]

I love, I love all the, all the, the advancements in longevity and all these things because, you know, I want to stay young from these kids.

[Amanda Hirsch]

While you follow like the Brian Johnson and stuff.

[Josh Duhamel]

I follow all that stuff.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Really.

[Josh Duhamel]

We started a company called Gatlin for this reason for men and women, health, wellness and longevity. You know, it's, it's, it's testosterone replacement.

[Amanda Hirsch]

It's your company.

[Josh Duhamel]

Stacks. Yeah. Go to Gatlin.com, everybody.

[Amanda Hirsch]

What do you, what do you do? What do you like? What's your wellness like thing? Because you look great. 52, right?

[Josh Duhamel]

I'm in full hair and makeup, Amanda.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Okay, full. What's full hair and makeup for you?

[Josh Duhamel]

The. Here, let me show you this really quick. Okay. Can I come over there and show you?

[Amanda Hirsch]

Of course. I'm obsessed.

[Josh Duhamel]

And there's that.

[Amanda Hirsch]

No, I can't wait. Is somebody in the room with you?

[Josh Duhamel]

It's just you.

[Amanda Hirsch]

They're like, bye. They close the door. No, no, no, no, no. I cannot.

[Josh Duhamel]

That's.

[Amanda Hirsch]

That's hilarious. Oh my God. Are you gonna install it in the cabin?

[Josh Duhamel]

No, but I am gonna find some way to do it. So I like that.

[Amanda Hirsch]

It's good. You can get in your house. The red light.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah, yeah. And I like doing, you know, I do like the cold therapy, like the ice bath stuff. We'll cut a hole.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Oh, you have a cold plunge.

[Josh Duhamel]

We'll cut a hole in the lake in the middle of like every year for, for, for New Year's we have a party out at the cabin. So all the people that are around come drive the snowmobiles over a chainsaw hole in the ice. And I have this old wood burning sauna that we. We fire up and get it n toasty and it's cold. It's usually 15, 20 degrees below zero. And so people come, they're already half toasted because it's New Year's. They get in the sauna and then they run out and they jump into.

[Amanda Hirsch]

This ice and then they die. Everybody. Well, and then they die. Because going from hot to cold like that probably fucks your heart up. No, it's good for them while you're drunk.

[Josh Duhamel]

There's research. I don't know about that part.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Health tips, you guys.

[Josh Duhamel]

There's research that, that backs it all up.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I know.

[Josh Duhamel]

It's the. You Know, it's like you're releasing, you know, it's. What do they call it?

[Amanda Hirsch]

Oxy something Toast.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yes. But it'll come to me anyway. When you're in the super cold water, your. Your body feels as if it is dying.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Dying.

[Josh Duhamel]

All your blood rushes to your major organs. Is like a survival thing.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

And then when you get into the hot, it then sort of opens up all those. Yeah, those blood vessels and capillaries and everything and sort of flushes your lymphatic nodes and all these things that. That. Cause that. That help you sort of helps with immune. It helps with.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

You know, I would do the cold.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I would skip the like. And then hot. You know, that freaks me out. But tell me what you do for the longevity. Do you do like, what, what? Or longevity or like wellness or like on days that you don't do presses your hair that nice.

[Josh Duhamel]

Nice.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Or do you do it like. What's your hair Nice.

[Josh Duhamel]

Thank you.

[Amanda Hirsch]

It is nice.

[Josh Duhamel]

Thanks. She laughed away. I could tell her, thank you.

[Amanda Hirsch]

You're like everybody else say it too.

[Josh Duhamel]

So I do a lot of. I mean, I do. I do that. I do trt, which guys don't talk about testosterone replacement.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Right.

[Josh Duhamel]

I do peptides.

[Amanda Hirsch]

What are peptides?

[Josh Duhamel]

It's like. It's like a synthetic hgh.

[Amanda Hirsch]

You know what?

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Okay.

[Josh Duhamel]

It's amazing. We also sell this stuff at Gatlin. It's Ga. Gatlin. G A T L A N. It's, you know, and it's not just that we sell GLP1s. We do a lot of this stuff that. A lot of stuff that people, especially for men, don't want to talk about. The trt, but most of the dude, these dudes are doing it.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah. I mean, why. There's like shame in it, I think so.

[Josh Duhamel]

I think that guys don't like to talk.

[Amanda Hirsch]

You know why. Which is so needs to be dismantled right here. Because like, women have to do, let's say hormone replacement therapy when women kind of their hormones get up with time or menopause or perimenopause.

[Josh Duhamel]

Right.

[Amanda Hirsch]

And that's like fine because it's just like your blood work.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Which is the same for you guys. But because testosterone is associated as this word of like, manly.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yes, exactly. Well, that guys don't like to talk about it. So. So when they brought me. My buddy Fabian and Mike brought me this idea a few years ago, and I was like, no, I can't. I can't be the guy for that. I can't be the face of that, and I thought about it. Why not?

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

Why wouldn't I want to be? Because it's actually helped me tremendously. And anybody I know that it's helped tremendously. So, you know, why not shine a light on it?

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah, it's.

[Josh Duhamel]

It's really informative.

[Amanda Hirsch]

So you're part of the company now?

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah, I'm part owner of the company.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I'm actually meeting with an endocrinologist to go over my hormones today.

[Josh Duhamel]

You are? You.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I really am.

[Josh Duhamel]

I'd love to hear. How old are you? You don't talk about that.

[Amanda Hirsch]

No, I was gonna ask you. How old do you think?

[Josh Duhamel]

25.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Shut up. 36.

[Josh Duhamel]

36.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

You do look really good.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Thank you.

[Josh Duhamel]

You really do.

[Amanda Hirsch]

We can't have you leave here with just talking about testosterone. Because when. When I think of you, like, it really brings me, like, the nostalgic. Just fond, warm memories of the great movies that you were in around that time, which makes. Yeah, it was like, early 2000s. Like the. Tad Hamilton. The. When in Rome.

[Josh Duhamel]

I've been doing this a long time.

[Amanda Hirsch]

I'm gonna play a little game with you, okay? I'm gonna read a couple quotes, and you have to guess which of your rom coms it's from, okay? Okay. Look, this is also my audition for the next one, okay?

[Josh Duhamel]

Commit. Amanda, I need you to come in.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Look, having somebody help you doesn't mean that you failed. It just means that you're not in it alone.

[Josh Duhamel]

Love, Simon.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Life as we know it.

[Josh Duhamel]

Oh, damn it.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Okay.

[Josh Duhamel]

Both directed by Greg Berlanti.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Okay, so basically, half a point today with you is probably the first time that I've looked up.

[Josh Duhamel]

Looked up? I have no idea.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Safe Haven. Okay. This one you'll know if you don't know this one, if you don't know this one. Okay. Do you even know that she has six different smiles?

[Josh Duhamel]

Oh, yeah. Ted Hamilton. Yeah. Yeah.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Good. And now, last one. It's like, I meet a guy and I think it's great. And anyone else would just be thinking how much greater it's gonna get. And I'm constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.

[Josh Duhamel]

I didn't say that. Somebody else did.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah, it's from the movie you were in, though.

[Josh Duhamel]

Okay, say it. Read it again for me, please.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Really? You wanna go through that again?

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Okay. It's like, I meet a guy and I think it's great. And anyone else would just be thinking how much greater it's gonna get, and I'm constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'M going to be in preschool, so don't you guys even worry.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yes. I'm going to say one and only.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yes. Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

That was a guess.

[Amanda Hirsch]

That was a great guess. If you could reboot any one of those or do a sequel or something, which one would you say?

[Josh Duhamel]

I'd love to do Ted Hamilton 25 years later. See where he's at in life.

[Amanda Hirsch]

So good. So good.

[Josh Duhamel]

I think he would be Tad. He could be a real hot mess.

[Amanda Hirsch]

He could. Or not.

[Josh Duhamel]

Yeah.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Or not. I just have to ask you this because I was making fun. Do. Are you on tick tock at all?

[Josh Duhamel]

No.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Okay. There's this trend that's like, I've met my younger self for coffee, and this is what I told them.

[Josh Duhamel]

Okay.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Okay. What would you tell yourself?

[Josh Duhamel]

I met my younger self for coffee, and this is what I told them.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Like, this is what, like, the advice I would give them. Or like, you know, like, if you met your younger self for coffee, I.

[Josh Duhamel]

Would say I would tell my younger self that. That I belong. You belong. And don't be afraid to go for it. Because I think for the longest time for me, I had imposter syndrome. I felt like I was not. I was, like, faking it, and I was a fraud, and I wasn't. I wasn't supposed to be here. And it wasn't until I think I probably directed my first movie that I felt like, okay, I do belong here because I do know what I'm doing. And I. You know. But it took me 20 years to figure that out.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Yeah.

[Josh Duhamel]

And I was. And I never really jumped all the way in because I didn't feel like I really belonged. I think that if I could tell myself one thing, it would be that you do belong.

[Amanda Hirsch]

You do belong. Thank you so much for coming on.

[Josh Duhamel]

Thank you for having me.

[Amanda Hirsch]

So much fun talking to you. Ransom Canyon is out on Netflix. You guys go binge it. It's so good. It's so bingeable. And season two, do we have confirmation on that?

[Josh Duhamel]

I don't know. I feel like it's gonna happen.

[Amanda Hirsch]

But, you know, listen, it's like number one on Tudum or something. It's like, huge.

[Josh Duhamel]

It's been doing well, but, you know, it's about. It's about completion. People, they want to see how many people are actually watching it and completing it.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Right.

[Josh Duhamel]

Which I think complete it, you guys. So if you're gonna watch it, watch it all the way.

[Amanda Hirsch]

No. And it's. It's really an easy binge. Like, don't. You're you're getting into something fun. It's romantic, has that little western vibe, that little ranchy that we all love. So let's get it. Let's get it.

[Josh Duhamel]

Thank you, Amanda.

[Amanda Hirsch]

Thank you. Okay, you're like, wrap it up. Thank you guys so much for listening to this episode of Knott's Kenny but not fat. Follow me on Instagra Instagram at Not skinny but not fat. Subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss any episodes. Rate the podcast that you love so much on Apple Podcasts and write a little review. If you tell me you did, I'll give you a big virtual smoocharoo. Thank you guys so much for listening and I'll see you next Tuesday. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.