Mike Mueller

Boys are beautiful.
They don't need
the manosphere.

They need the dadosphere. Twenty-seven years teaching boys. Three children. One clear conviction: older men have an obligation to talk to younger ones.

27
Years in the classroom
The majority of those in all-boys schools. Long enough to know what boys need and what they don't.
3
Children
Which means I'm figuring this out at home too, not just in theory.
0
Easy answers
But a great many hard-won observations. That's what this is for.
This is a passion project. The writing and videos are always free. Seminars and workshops for schools, parent groups and community organisations are available as paid bookings — details below.
Part of Corporate Capture →
The why

Twenty years in all-boys schools. I learned a lot.

I've watched boys become men. I've watched some of them struggle with what that means — buffeted between a culture that tells them masculinity is toxic and a manosphere that tells them the opposite. Both are wrong. And both are failing them.

The Dadosphere is for fathers, for men, and for boys. The writing is mostly aimed at fathers and men — people who are raising or working with young males and want to think seriously about what that means. The videos are aimed more directly at the boys themselves.

"You can't bullshit young blokes. They'll see it before you see it yourself. And they see it because they need to — they instinctively recognise someone seeking to connect with them, to value them."

Being a role model isn't easy. It's a full-time job. And we can't meet the standard we aim to impart with any regularity. It's at these times we need to own our failings and reaffirm ourselves — not just for the boys watching, but to give ourselves the licence to keep trying.

Recent writing

Published on Substack. Always free. No paywall, no subscription required.

Just Keep Going

A young man working in a bookstore who loves creating music. That warms my heart immeasurably. And it warms it more when I see what's behind it — the integrity of his father, and what that has done for him.

Read on Substack →

Yellow Planes and John Coltrane

Exposing your son to as much music as you can — the wilder and stranger the better — is a significant part of how he can come to unlock his emotional self.

Read on Substack →

Good Men Cannot Support Donald Trump

The problem isn't his policies. It's about whether a person possesses sufficient character to warrant our support in the eyes of our children.

Read on Substack →

All writing lives on Substack — free, always.

Read all articles on Substack

For the young men

The videos are aimed more directly at boys and young men. Honest conversations about what it means to grow up male — without the performance, without the posturing.

Video coming soon
For the young men
Coming soon — first video in production
Subscribe to the channel to be notified when the first video goes live.
Video coming soon
For the young men
More coming — mic and lighting in progress
The setup is being sorted. The conversations are already planned.

Videos will always be free on YouTube. This isn't a course platform or a paid membership — it's a channel. Subscribe at youtube.com/@dadosphere and they'll find you when they're ready.

Seminars & workshops

The writing and videos are free. But if you want me in the room — with your school, your parent group, your community organisation — that's a booking.

These sessions draw on 27 years of classroom experience with boys and young men, and an equally long career as a father thinking seriously about what male role modelling actually requires.

Available for: Schools (staff and/or parent evenings) · Parent groups · Community organisations · Men's groups · Youth organisations. All sessions tailored to the specific audience and context.

Seminar — Parents & Fathers
What Boys Actually Need — and What the Manosphere Is Selling Them Instead
+

A direct, honest conversation about the landscape young men are navigating — the manosphere, Andrew Tate, online identity, male vulnerability — and what fathers and male figures can actually do about it.

  • What makes boys susceptible to the manosphere — and what makes them resilient
  • The difference between validation and enabling
  • How to talk to young men who don't want to talk
  • Male role modelling — what it actually looks like in practice
Seminar — School Staff
Boys in the Classroom — What to Expect and How to Work with Them
+

Twenty years in all-boys schools distilled into a practical, honest seminar for teachers who work with boys — or who want to understand them better.

  • How boys learn differently — and what that actually means in the classroom
  • Engagement, motivation and the male ego
  • Discipline, relationship and the difference between authority and control
  • What boys need from male teachers specifically
Workshop — Parent Groups
Raising Boys — The Conversations Worth Having
+

A smaller-group workshop for parents — primarily fathers — who want to think seriously about what it means to raise a boy in the current cultural moment.

  • Identity, masculinity and what boys are being told about both
  • Emotional intelligence — how to raise a boy who can access his feelings without losing his sense of self
  • Music, culture, creativity — the underrated tools of male development
  • When to push and when to stand back
Seminar — Students (Senior Secondary)
To the Young Men — A Straight Talk
+

Delivered directly to senior secondary students — honest, unscripted, no performance. The kind of conversation older men rarely have with younger ones, and should.

  • Character, setback and what it means to keep going
  • The difference between strength and toughness
  • What the internet is selling you about being male — and why it's wrong
  • How to be the person you actually want to be

All sessions tailored to your group. Enquiries welcome.

Book a session or enquire