I got an email this week that stopped me in my tracks for a minute.
It came from Anuj Agarwal, the Founder of Feedspot. His panel had gone through the field and selected the True Man Podcast as one of the Top 100 Masculinity Podcasts on the web—ranked #37.
I read it twice. Then I sat back in my chair and thought about the men who put us there.
Because here’s the truth about a ranking like this one: I didn’t earn it. Not alone. A podcast is just a microphone and a man talking until somebody on the other end decides to listen and then keeps listening. Then shares it with a friend who’s struggling. Then sends a message at 11:40 at night that says, “Hey, I heard that episode. I’ve never told anybody this, but…”
That’s what got us to #37. Not production value. Not an algorithm. Men who showed up.
So this award goes to you.
WHY I PICKED UP THE MIC IN THE FIRST PLACE
I didn’t start the True Man Podcast because I had everything figured out.
I started it because I kept meeting men who didn’t have anywhere to put what they were carrying. Good men. Faithful men. Men who led at work, showed up at church, coached the team, paid the bills, and were quietly falling apart on the inside because they’d been taught that a real man handles it himself.
I know that man. I’ve been that man.
Somewhere along the way, a generation of us learned that strength means silence. That asking for help is admitting defeat. So we performed. We white-knuckled it. We built an identity out of what we could produce instead of who God says we are and then wondered why we felt so alone in a house full of people who love us.
I started this podcast to say out loud what most men will only say in the truck on the way home. That isolation is not your calling. That your identity was settled by Christ, not by your last performance review. That the strongest thing a man will ever do is raise his hand and say, I need help.
Two hundred and fifty episodes later, that’s still the whole mission.
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW: THE AMERICAN FAMILY RENAISSANCE
If you’ve been with us lately, you know something bigger is underway.
American Family Renaissance is stepping forward as the lead mission, and True Man Life Coaching remains the engine beneath it. One mission, two expressions. True Man builds the man. American Family Renaissance restores the family and carries it into homes, communities, and culture.
Build the Man. Strengthen the Family. Restore the Nation.
Because a restored man doesn’t stay restored in private. It shows up at the dinner table. It shows up in how he speaks to his wife. In what his son sees modeled at 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. Strong families rebuild a nation, one household at a time, and it starts with the man in the mirror.
THE SUMMIT: SEPTEMBER 14
On September 14, 2026, we’re hosting the inaugural American Family Renaissance Men’s Summit—”The Power of Asking for Help.”
One day. Online, so you can join from anywhere. Eight speakers will be there, including Scott Schilling, Chris Widener, Tom Ziglar, Jim Britt, Vince Miller, Bob Tiede, and Bob Beaudine, all of whom have dedicated their lives to building other men. And I’ll be delivering the keynote that gave this summit its name.
It’s free. Seats are limited.
Reserve yours here: AmericanFamilyRenaissance.org/summit
Don’t just hear about what happened in that room. Be in it.
WHERE WE’RE HEADED
I’m more fired up about the next 250 episodes than I was about the first one.
There’s the summit. There’s The Standard of a Restored Man—The 9 Marks of a Restored Man, our 12-week guided course. There are books, brotherhood, and a whole lot of men who are done doing this alone.
Feedspot put a number next to our name. I’m grateful for it. But numbers aren’t the scoreboard I care about. The scoreboard is the marriage that got repaired. The dad who put the phone down and had a catch. The man who finally called somebody instead of white-knuckling another Tuesday night.
So here’s your challenge this week. Don’t just celebrate this with me; use it. Send one episode to one man who’s been quiet lately. Not a lecture. Just a link and four words: “Thought of you, brother.”
That’s how a renaissance starts. One man refusing to let another one go it alone.
You put us at #37. Let’s go build something worth ranking.
Watch the True Man Podcast on YouTube @truemanpodcast — or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Listen to the True Man Podcast: truemanpodcast.com
See the full list: Feedspot’s Top 100 Masculinity Podcasts
About the Author
Mike “MVP” Van Pelt is the Founder of American Family Renaissance and the CEO and Founder of True Man Life Coaching. A men’s mentor, speaker, author, and host of the True Man Podcast, he helps men reclaim their God-given identity so they can lead strong families, live with conviction, and help restore the moral and spiritual foundation of the American family. Know God. Know Yourself. Live Fully.