Character, resilience, and mentorship for young men.
The gist
Building Men is a mentorship-driven show about helping boys and young men develop steadier habits, stronger character, and a healthier sense of manhood. Dennis Miralda brings the lens of a father, teacher, coach, mentor, and principal to conversations with athletes, speakers, coaches, and people shaped by adversity.
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About Building Men
Building Men is a practical mentorship show about how boys and young men learn character before adulthood hardens their habits. It treats masculinity less as an identity claim than as a daily practice. Dennis Miralda brings the perspective of a father, teacher, coach, mentor, and principal with over two decades of experience working with young men. That gives the podcast a grounded, adult-in-the-room quality without making it feel distant. Recent episodes mark a Chapter 2 for the show, shaped by time away after Anthony's death and by a renewed focus on high school, early college, and the years just after. Grief is present. So is humor, memory, and the question of how loss can sharpen purpose without turning pain into a performance. The conversations often begin with athletics because sports give the show a clear language for effort, pressure, failure, and recovery. Wrestling, basketball, Muay Thai, and coaching stories become entry points into larger questions about discipline and identity. The show is especially strong when it challenges outcome-based praise. Instead of treating a home run, a win, or a pin as proof of worth, it returns to effort, preparation, and how a young person handles the ride home after a loss. Guests such as Nico Diaz, Chris Romulo, Brock Schenck, John Ulsh, and Brendan Shaw help widen the frame. Their stories bring in adversity, leadership under pressure, long recoveries, grief, brotherhood, and the need to speak plainly about topics boys often hide. Building Men can be blunt, but its bluntness has a mentoring function. It makes space for conversations about pornography, shame, screen time, journaling, sleep, water, self-respect, and intentionally doing hard things. The recurring message is that young men need practice, not lectures alone. They need examples. They need places where a win and a struggle can both be said out loud. Parents, coaches, educators, and mentors will recognize the show's emphasis on accountability without humiliation. Young men will hear advice that is direct but not abstract. Building Men stands apart because its guidance is rooted in real relationships, not detached performance language. It is intimate, sometimes raw, and consistently oriented toward becoming steadier under pressure.
Made for: Building Men suits parents, coaches, educators, mentors, and young men navigating high school, early college, and the first pressures of adulthood. It is especially relevant for people drawn to sports-based mentorship, character work, and direct conversations about resilience.
What sets it apart: The show combines school leadership, coaching experience, fatherhood, grief, and athletics into advice that feels lived rather than theoretical. Its Chapter 2 focus gives the conversations a sharper purpose: helping young men practice being better before crisis becomes the teacher.
In their own words
The Building Men Podcast explores practical, real-world strategies to help boys and men build character, resilience, and purpose through honest conversations, storytelling, and mentorship. Grounded in education, leadership, and lived experience, the podcast supports parents, coaches, educators, and young men committed to becoming the strongest version of themselves.
Why you'd press play
The postgame car ride becomes your test of restraint, not a coaching clinic.
Press play if you want
- practical ways to praise effort without turning the ride home into a performance review
- a candid model for discussing porn, shame, and journaling with young men
Talks about
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Episodes
- 1
Episode 230- Nico Diaz: Wrestling Through Adversity
Hidden gemBuilding Man host Dennis Miralda opens Episode 230 with Nico Diaz, a Stevens Institute of Technology senior studying business and technology with concentrations in finance and information systems, and frames the conversation around shaping young men.
Apr 10, 2026·1h 9m·5 clips - 2
Episode 229- Chris Romulo: Building Resilience Under Pressure
Dennis Muralda interviews Chris Romulo, a former Muay Thai champion turned resilience expert, about building mental toughness and leading under pressure.
Mar 27, 2026·1h 10m - 3
Episode 228 — Brock Schenck: When Your Body Says “No,” Your Mind Can Still Say “Go”
Dennis Miralda introduces the Building Men podcast's new chapter focused on advising young men and their parents, and previews an interview with former basketball standout Brock Schenck about overcoming adversity.
Mar 6, 2026·37m - 4
Episode 227 — John Ulsh: Turning Setbacks Into Strength
Dennis Miralda interviews resilience expert John Ulsh about turning adversity into strength after a near-fatal car crash.
Feb 13, 2026·1h 13m - 5
Episode 226 — Brendan Shaw: Grief, Brotherhood, and Finding a Way Forward
Dennis Muralda introduces a new chapter of the Building Men podcast after a break due to his brother Anthony's death, and previews an interview with Brendan Shaw about grief and finding a way forward.
Jan 23, 2026·1h 16m - 6
This is Chapter 2 of the Building Men Podcast! Episode 225
Hidden gemDennis Miralda uses Chapter 2 of Building Men to explain why he returned after stepping away, including the loss of his brother Anthony, his engagement to Julie, and a new focus on young men.
Jan 17, 2026·22m·1 clip - 7
Anthony Morolda's Eulogy | Building Men Podcast Ep.224
Hidden gemDennis Miralda opens Building Men Episode 224 with a memory of the last in-studio recording he did with his brother Anthony, then pivots into the day his mother called to say Anthony had died after being hit near MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Oct 30, 2024·46m·3 clips - 8
Special Episode-Interview from Return to Authenticity with Eric Sardina |Building Men Podcast Ep.223
Hidden gemBuilding Men brings Eric Sardina and Dennis Miralda together around one question that keeps returning in the episode: what does it mean to be a man?
Sep 7, 2024·1h 15m·5 clips - 9
Killer strategies for integrating play and learning With Aaron Jannetti | Building Men Podcast Ep.222
Hidden gemDennis Miralda and Aaron Giannetti spend much of Building Men Ep.
Aug 23, 2024·1h 16m·2 clips - 10
Fatherhood, Immigrant Dreams, and Entrepreneurial Success With Ricky Regalado | Building Men Podcast Ep.221
Dennis Miralda interviews Ricky Regalado about fatherhood, immigrant dreams, and entrepreneurial success in the cleaning services industry.
Aug 9, 2024·54m - 11
How to step into your most abundant life with Preston Smiles | Building Men Podcast Ep.220
Aug 2, 2024·55m - 12
Preston Smiles | Building Men Podcast Ep.220
Jul 26, 2024·55m - 13
Deepen Your Relationship with the Masculine Blueprint With GS Youngblood | Building Men Podcast Ep.219
Jul 19, 2024·48m - 14
Defeating Self-Sabotage: Strategies for a Better Life | Building Men Podcast Ep.218
Jul 5, 2024·1h 5m - 15
Financial Literacy and Authentic Manhood With Justin Buonomo | Building Men Podcast Ep.217
Jun 28, 2024·53m - 16
Building Trust: Creating Safe Spaces for Emotional Sharing in Stressful Times with Matthew Paetz | Building Men Podcast Ep.216
Jun 21, 2024·1h 7m - 17
Addressing Pornography, Sexuality, and Healthy Communication with Teens | Building Men Podcast Ep.215
Jun 14, 2024·1h - 18
Parenting Strategies for Raising Resilient Kids | Building Men Podcast Ep.214
May 24, 2024·29m - 19
Empowering Men Towards Authenticity and Leadership | Building Men Podcast Ep.213
May 17, 2024·28m - 20
How to Teach Like a Man with JD Fleming | Building Men Podcast Ep.212
Host Dennis Miralda and teacher JD Fleming discuss challenges facing young men today and how to positively impact them through teaching and mentorship.
May 10, 2024·53m - 21
Breaking the Cycle of Generational Suffering with Rob Pengelly | Building Men Podcast Ep.211
May 3, 2024·1h 15m - 22
The Warrior Ascension with John Vasquez aka Coach JV | Building Men Podcast Ep.210
Apr 26, 2024·1h - 23
Disordered Eating with JUSTINE ARSENAULT| Building Men Podcast Ep.209
Apr 19, 2024·1h 4m - 24
From Addiction to Conscious Fatherhood with JIM DEFALCO | Building Men Podcast Ep208
Dennis Miralda interviews Jim DeFalco about his journey from addiction to conscious fatherhood and his program The Awakened Father.
Apr 12, 2024·53m - 25
Mind, Body, and the Great Outdoors: Raising Resilient Kids with Ryan Derstine | Building Men Podcast Ep.207
Apr 5, 2024·1h 2m - 26
Turning Adversity into Triumph with Mike 'C-Roc' Ciorrocco | Building Men Podcast Ep.206
Mar 29, 2024·48m - 27
Choose Your Pain with Liam Henkel | Building Men Podcast Ep.205
Mar 22, 2024·49m - 28
Resilience, Cybersecurity, and the Power of Family with Rick Jordan | Building Men Podcast Ep. 204
Mar 15, 2024·55m - 29
Confidence, Positivity and Weird Stuff With Cakes with PHIL JANUSZEWSKI | Building Men Podcast Ep.203
Mar 8, 2024·51m - 30
Fatherhood, Bulgarian Bags and Tibetan Throat Singing with Mike Salemi | Building Men Podcast Ep.202
Mar 1, 2024·1h 6m - 31
Overcoming Bullying to Become a Paralympic Medalist with Kevin Rempel | Building Men Podcast Ep.201
Feb 23, 2024·56m - 32
Raising Indistractable Kids: Empowering the Next Generation in the Digital Age with Nir Eyal-Building Men Podcast #200
Feb 16, 2024·1h 5m - 33
Becoming your Best with Nick Carrier-Building Men Podcast ep199
Feb 9, 2024·51m - 34
From Skateboarding to SUPERDAD with Kyle Carnohan-Building Men Podcast ep.198
Feb 2, 2024·56m - 35
Overcoming Addiction with Bill Matthews - Building Men Podcast ep#197
Dennis Miralda interviews Bill Matthews about his journey overcoming addiction and his work as a coach helping men transform their lives.
Jan 26, 2024·51m - 36
Being a Savage with Megan Henry- Building Men Podcast ep.196
Jan 19, 2024·55m - 37
How Men Show up in Relationships with Eric Patton - Building Men Podcast ep.#195
Jan 12, 2024·1h - 38
A Real Conversation About the State of Men with George @theTinmen- Building Men Podcast ep.#194
Jan 5, 2024·59m - 39
Transforming Young Minds: A Quest for Positive Change
Dec 15, 2023·28m - 40
What About The Girls? With Jill Peterson and Mary Frances - Episode 192
Oct 25, 2023·1h - 41
Get Enlifted with Mark England and Kimberly Kesting - Episode 191
This episode promotes the Building Men foundation, an online community for young men focusing on character development and healthy habits.
Sep 20, 2023·1h 4m - 42
190. Tanya McCreedy - Through The Storm
Aug 26, 2023·43m - 43
189. Michael Santos - The Prison Professor
Jul 7, 2023·58m - 44
188. MK Mueller - 8 to Great - The Powerful Process for Positive Change
Jun 24, 2023·54m - 45
187. Johnny Elsasser (Part 2) The Science of Masculinity
May 31, 2023·1h 12m - 46
186. Johnny Elsasser - The Art of Masculinity
May 16, 2023·1h 7m - 47
185. Gareth Shanthikumar - "The Courage to be Vulnerable"
May 4, 2023·59m - 48
184. Rob Kenney - "The Internet's Dad"
Apr 20, 2023·50m - 49
183. Aaron Guyett - A Greater Purpose & The Molest-asche
Apr 7, 2023·1h 7m - 50
Chase Tolleson and Dave Robinson - The Draft
Mar 22, 2023·1h 3m