Rugged Adventurer Dad on the Street: Ian Starr

Ian Starr Rugged Adventurer Dad fish

From mountain hikes to ocean dives, Rugged Adventurer Dad on the Street Ian Starr never stops exploring! Read on to learn more about Ian and his family adventures.

Meet Ian

Ian has almost 14 years of military service and is frequently on the move. Currently, he lives with his wife Chelsea, two sons, and two dogs in Kodiak, AK. Ian and Chelsea bonded over a love of diving, hiking, and adventuring, and their life gets more adventurous by the day! When he’s not sailing the high seas, Ian can be found hiking in the woods, fishing on the rivers, or trying to entertain his kids.

Rugged Adventurer Style

Which three words best describe your style? Functional, rugged, rain-resistant.

What are your favorite places to shop? I move around pretty frequently due to my military work and am currently living in Alaska. So a lot of my shopping happens online, or wherever is most convenient. I tend to exhaustively research my options, decide what I want, and then just buy from wherever is cheapest.

Who’s your favorite style icon? I wear a uniform every day, so I don’t have much room for flexibility or flair in my daily appearance. I usually default to the Bear Grylls look for my weekend adventuring and trust my wife to dress me right when I have to look good.

What’s your best style advice? Function over fashion. Ditch the flavor of the month, and invest in clothing/gear that will hold up for the long haul.

What fashion/style did you love at the time, but now cringe when you see old photos? Pretty sure I wore a bolo tie for the first half of high school…in the Chicago suburbs.

What’s your dad superpower? Any time I get back from a mountain hike with my two and a half-year-old son strapped to my back, I feel like a superhero. That, and I read a mean bedtime book.

Facial hair or clean-shaven? Clean-shaven due to my job. But watch out post-retirement…that beard is coming in strong!

Rugged Adventurer Family

What’s your favorite way to spend time with your family? Anything outdoors. We have two energetic dogs, so walks around the pond or collecting sea glass on the beach are great ways to tire out both pets and kids. Playing on the shore while I fish the river is another winner!

What’s been your best family vacation? My father-in-law owns a mountain house in North Carolina and a river house in South Carolina. Both are incredibly relaxing places to visit, and great spots to explore with kids.

What’s your favorite family activity? Hiking. Nothing beats strapping up the kids, grabbing our hiking poles (and some bear spray) and heading above the treeline for some epic Alaskan views.

Best parenting advice: Presence over presents. Pray with them daily, and never pass up an opportunity to say “I love you.”

Parenting true confession: When we’re reading bedtime books and I’m exhausted, I’ll sometimes skip words, paragraphs, or whole pages. I don’t think he’s caught on…yet.

What’s your go-to family dinner? Anything from the sous vide cooker or smoker. I will stack my sous vide sirloin filet (seared on cast iron) against just about any restaurant steak out there. Panko-crusted halibut tacos and Dungeness crab dip are another favorite…all freshly caught, of course! What’s your favorite family restaurant? Chick-fil-A has never failed us.

Rugged Adventurer Life

What’s your favorite show to binge-watch? Breaking Bad for drama, Parks & Rec or The Office for comedy, and my wife just got me hooked on Downton Abbey. I binged Band of Brothers on a trans-oceanic flight once too.

If you could pick anyone to star as you in a movie based on your life, who would it be? I was in a movie that won my high school film festival one year, so obviously I’d have to be the one to play me.

What’s your favorite sport and why? I love SCUBA diving, skiing, and anything that gets me exploring in the great outdoors! As far as team sports, I love pickup games of Ultimate Frisbee or football.

What’s the best song to dance to when nobody’s watching? Avett Brothers will always get my head nodding, and Lecrae never fails to break out the bounce in me.

If you could hang out with anyone from history, living or deceased, who would it be? President Teddy Roosevelt and/or C.S. Lewis are the first two names that come to mind.

What’s at the top of your travel bucket list? My wife and I knocked out Australia for our honeymoon, so I think New Zealand is now top of the list. I’m very blessed with my job to have traveled to a lot of my bucket list locations.

What’s your favorite way to unwind at the end of a long day? On workdays, I usually try and make it home just in time for dinner with the family, and immediately into bath/bedtime routine for the kids. Best way to decompress after a stressful day! You can also find me on the river, prospecting for salmon.

Your Rugged Adventurer Style

We love Ian’s love of exploring, and the way he’s well-equipped for every occasion with that rain-resistant gear. Even better, he makes sure his family gets in on the action. And whatever new adventures come their way, we’re confident that the Starr family will embrace them with smiles and style For more fun and interesting dads, be sure to check out FamilyApp’s Dad on the Street page!

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