In this episode, I sit down with Vince Benevento — licensed counselor, founder of Causeway Collaborative, author of Boys Will Be Men: Eight Lessons for the Lost American Male, and a man who has worked with over 2,000 young men between the ages of 14 and 30 over the past 15 years.
But before we get into any of that, Vince opens up about the most formative experience of his life. Last July 4th weekend, his son Leo went from a rash on his wrist to 15 days in the ER, a diagnosis of aplastic anemia, a bone marrow transplant, a fungal infection that ate through his lung and ribs and attacked his spine, three emergency surgeries, a broken back, a seven-vertebrae spinal fusion, and 150 total days in the hospital. A doctor pulled Vince aside and told him to prepare for the fact that his son was not going to make it. Leo just got cleared to go back to school.
Vince also opens up about his own story — a closeted gay father whose secret life exploded when Vince was a senior in high school, a substance use disorder from 17 to 22, two hospitalizations, a mood disorder diagnosis, getting sober, leaving college, and building the blueprint for Causeway — his own recovery blueprint — before he even knew it would become a business.
This one covers why traditional therapy fails young men, what actually works instead, what it means to find your wild, and what the lost American male most needs right now.
Timeline Summary
[0:00] Introduction to the Dad Edge mission and the movement to raise leaders of families and communities
[1:15] Leo's story begins — a rash on his wrist, a pediatrician appointment, and an ambulance to Yale
[3:14] Aplastic anemia, a bone marrow transplant, and a one-in-a-million perfect donor match
[5:19] The fungal infection that changed everything — lung, ribs, spine, three emergency surgeries, broken back
[6:39] The doctor pulls Vince aside — prepare yourself. Your son may not come out of this.
[8:09] How Vince and Gina navigated 150 days in the hospital — and why he's honest that they didn't do it perfectly
[11:03] Their different vantage points — Vince shrinking Leo's world to protect him, Gina knowing his spirit needed connection
[16:32] Vince's own mental health history — hospitalized at 19, mood disorder diagnosis, sober at 22
[17:08] The 6 to 7am ritual — one hour alone every morning at the Ronald McDonald House to lift and pray before facing the day
[20:10] Introducing Vince — Causeway Collaborative, Boys Will Be Men, and 15 years working with over 2,000 young men
[21:22] Vince's origin story — a father's secret life exploding senior year, substance use disorder, leaving college, and building the blueprint that became his business
[30:17] Why traditional therapy fails men — especially young men — and what Causeway does differently
[31:31] The deficit-driven medical model vs. a strength-based, goal-driven, action-focused framework
[32:57] Less talk, more do — teaching a man to fish instead of processing open-ended about his feelings
[37:25] Name it to tame it — chapter two and the struggle of accepting a diagnosis that restricts what you want to do
[39:00] Find your wild — chapter four and what it means to resurrect the part of yourself that died between 22 and 38
[40:55] Rolling his addictive tendencies into workaholism — and his wife's ultimatum that changed everything
[41:30] Having coffee with guys, building friendships, and slowly filling back up what the years had hollowed out
[45:28] Jimmy — sober in high school, construction job, Covid isolation, breeding exotic reptiles, and coming back to life
[48:28] Men need a battle to fight, a beauty to love, and an adventure to be had — and when those are gone, something dies
[49:08] What Vince hopes every young man takes from his book — you're messy, I'm messy, and it's going to be all right
Five Key Takeaways
Traditional therapy fails most young men because it asks them to do something they're developmentally not wired for yet — express and process emotions openly. What works is action, structure, goal-setting, and doing things alongside someone until they can do it alone.
You can't outrun what you haven't dealt with. Vince rolled his substance use into workaholism, his workaholism into his marriage, and it took his wife's ultimatum to make him stop and look at what was missing.
Finding your wild is not optional — it is maintenance. The soul that gets buried under work, kids, and obligation doesn't disappear. It just stops showing up everywhere else. You have to nourish it on purpose.
Men need a battle to fight, a beauty to love, and an adventure to be had. When Jimmy found his thing — breeding exotic reptiles — he found his reason to stay sober, his entrepreneurial spirit, and his sense of self. The specifics don't matter. The having of something does.
Your mess becomes your message. Vince spent decades helping young men without them knowing anything about his own story. The book exists because he finally believed the mess was worth sharing — and it gives other men permission to share theirs.
Links & Resources
Dad Edge Business Boardroom: http://thedadedge.com/boardroom
Boys Will Be Men by Vince Benevento: https://www.amazon.com/Boys-Will-Be-Men-American/dp/1959170317
Causeway Collaborative: https://causewaycollaborative.com
Follow Vince on Instagram: @vince_benevento_lpc
Wild at Heart by John Eldredge: https://www.amazon.com/dp/078522663X?ref=clp_hp_h_pc
Episode Link & Resources (Episode 1479): https://thedadedge.com/1479
Closing
If there's one message from this episode that stands out, it's this: God is still doing miracles — and Leo Benevento is one of them.
But the other message is just as important. You are messy. Vince is messy. Every man on this show who has ever done hard things and built something real out of the rubble is messy. And your mess is not disqualifying — it is exactly the thing that qualifies you to help the next person who's sitting in the same pile.
Find your wild. Do the work. And give some young man in your life the same gift someone gave you.
Go out and live legendary.
Brasil