Tell us about your kids, what’s it like being a father?
I think fatherhood has been the absolute greatest experience. I am so lucky to have three amazing sons; 18yo twins, Cooper and Payton, and 14yo Walker. I’m in an interesting phase right now because the bigs are headed to college next year. Cooper to Pace in NYC and Payton to Chapman in the OC. Both are very talented, Cooper as an actor and Payton as a filmmaker, and I’m so proud of the young men they’ve become. At the same time, Walker is about to enter into High School. I’ve coached Walker in every sport since he was 5 and while I look forward to watching him play HS football or basketball or baseball, I’m a little sad that I’ve seen my final days as his coach.
Talk to us about your parenting style.
For the most part, I was the “good guy”. As long as the kids listened and showed respect, they could pretty much do whatever they wanted to. My wife is more of the disciplinarian in the family – she can kick all of our butts! HA! I have a pretty laid back personality and the boys pretty much took (and take) advantage of that fact.
Favorite piece of clothing you wear with them or favorite piece of clothing you dress them in?
I have three sweatshirts – light grey, dark grey, and royal blue – from Aviator Nation that I wear almost every day. The boys are starting to get annoyed by it. Truth be told, my bigs steal all my t-shirts and now are stealing my button downs too! I did steal a pair of their volleyball shorts to work out in and a pair of Nike Free Runs from them though. Sharing is caring.
How do you manage being a Daddy and running Little Red Feather?
It’s not easy. When you are an entrepreneur and run your own company, there are no vacations and, because we are a customer service/value based company, we work 24/7. However, I do set my own schedule so I made sure I attended all the games and plays and anything else the boys have going on. The feeling of pride when your child performs – Cooper and Payton starred in West Side Story last year or Walker scoring touchdowns – is just wild. I also make sure I take Walker to school and pick him up in the afternoons so we can spend at least a little bit of time together before practice or homework or he jumps on his computer to play League of Legends – which my wife does not approve!
The kids and horses. Tell us about that experience.
I think the horse racing bug skips generations. My Grandfather loved it but my dad is not involved at all. I’ve made it my life’s passion and my kids are not all that interested. They’ll go with me to the track on big days and they like the gamble but I have a feeling I’ll be taking my grandkids out there (like my grandparents used to do) with me and my sister every weekend.
Any Hip Daddy Kentucky Derby Favorites?
I think we are going to see a replay of the Santa Anita Derby in the Kentucky Derby. Now, admittedly I am a So Cal homer but, I envision a tight finish between favorite California Chrome and Hoppertunity.
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For more on Billy, follow @lrfracing and Facebook.