Today we’d like to introduce you to Andre Archer.
Hi Andre, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
In 2011, I moved from Lansing Michigan, where I met my now wife, Nikita, in 2012 at Clark Atlanta University. When I asked my wife for her hand in marriage, I always envisioned building a family with her. A year after our wedding in 2020, we took our honeymoon in Dubai and the Maldives, which is where our first child was conceived. I was instantly excited to experience being a dad, but especially a girl dad. Our daughter has always had a dynamic personality, since birth. Of all of the hats that I’ve worn and continue to wear, being a father has been the most unpredictable, yet rewarding experience. The best part of my girl dad journey, has been experiencing a daughter who is as attached to me as I am to her. Some of my most cherished moments are our daycare pick-up videos. Each day at daycare pickup, as soon as she laid her eyes on me, she would cry, crawl, walk, and eventually run to my arms. Family has always been my priority, to show up as a provider to my wife and daughter, and then we learned that we were expecting again, with our second child. My wife and I always said from the beginning that we only wanted two children. We did a gender reveal with our first child, but this time, we decided to not learn our second, and last child’s, gender until birth. With that, we had to decide a name that would be fitting for either gender, and decided on the name, Clarke, as an homage to the place that our story started at, Clark Atlanta University. As planned, we waited until birth to learn that Clarke was a girl. This is where my story got even more exciting. I became a girl dad x2!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I’d say being a husband, father, and uncle to our adopted niece (17y/0) has been a learning journey. Being a father can be eye opening. I’ve had to learn myself deeper in order to show up as my best self to all the ladies (my wife, niece, toddler, and infant) in the house. We realized that parenting is not linear, and living in Georgia with no immediate family present has truly highlighted the importance of a partnership in parenting. I would never want for my wife to feel that she is a single mother, even though I’m present. With that, I am the man of the house, but my daughter’s know that they are my soft spot. It’s been an adjustment to make sure to set boundaries, because if not, I’m sure they would take true advantage of us and our exhaustion while navigating so many realms of life. It has not been a breeze, by any means, but I strongly believe in being present and embracing all moments, good and stressful.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I wear a few hats in life to be the provider for my family, all of which bring me joy in different ways. Primarily, I work in Information Technology, specializing in Cybersecurity for telecommunications. In my spare time, I am a sneaker head and I enjoy connecting with those who share some of the same interests by ensuring they are able to get the hottest new drops. Once I became a father, I learned the appreciation of time and utilizing my time to my best ability. My daughter’s bring me so much joy and I started off by sharing our most precious moments one Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, and Facebook post at a time.
After time, I saw how my presence with my girls motivated many people, especially, parents, men, and generations before me. I saw the impact that I was having and it honestly motivated me to put that type of content out, since I’d not seen fathers like me before. I love that I get to love my family out loud and it’s the cool thing to do.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I don’t believe in failing, unless you never try. Making content is not all about the views or payout. Content, for me, is about the feeling you get sharing a piece of something that you’re passionate about and the impact that it has not only for myself, but for those who chose to visit my corner of the internet. My biggest risk in putting myself out there for the world to see is that I have so many parents, especially fathers to inspire to show up with building families and being as present as possible for their families.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrearcherjr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/16X7e5YUH3/?mibextid=wwXlfr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@dritaforever
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrearcherjr
