Preppy Adventurer Dad on the Street: Chris Field
Whether he’s hiking in the mountains with his 2 1/2-year-old twins or helping clients find new solutions, Preppy Adventurer Dad on the Street Chris Field never stops exploring.
Meet Christian
Chris is a husband, father of twin two-year-old daughters, and an entrepreneur who has spent the last two decades growing software companies and startups. Currently, he runs Fieldtrip, a growth marketing consulting firm that implements sales, marketing, and data analytics to boost revenue and solve their clients’ biggest challenges. Chris also serves on various non-profit boards like YoungLife and LoveWater. In his spare time, Chris loves surfing, trail running, and mountain biking.
Preppy Adventurer Style
Which three words best describe your style? Preppy, adventurer, situational
What are your favorite places to shop? For a good portion of my life, I shopped at surf shops and outdoor stores. My wardrobe is made of boardshorts, surf tees, and button-ups. There is a surf shop in Ocean City, NJ called Surfer’s Supplies that I am a huge fan of. I also rack up the frequent flier miles on Patagonia.com – both for functional style and outdoor wear that lasts.
For work clothes, I’m a fan of Charles Tyrwhitt dress shirts, and Suit Supply is awesome for suits.
Who’s your favorite style icon? James Bond. That guy always looked the part and was dressed to kill. I like rocking the tux and he did it better than most.
What’s your best style advice? Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way. Know what fits your body type and your personality type so you are comfortable and confident with what you are wearing. It turns out when you are tall and lanky, boxy dress shirts and ill-fitting pants make you look unpolished and insecure. Also, you should be constantly updating your style. I’m not a trendsetter but I wish I did a better job of updating my style and wardrobe throughout life.
What fashion/style did you love at the time, but now cringe when you see old photos? I cringe when I think back to what I wore during my college days. I didn’t own a pair of jeans so I wore a lot of corduroys, chinos, cargo shorts, and random t-shirts.
Preppy Adventurer Lifestyle
What’s your favorite way to spend time with your family? I live for adventure, so any time we are out exploring as a family is great for me. I like to introduce my daughters to new things and teach them to explore the world around us. Whether it’s at a beach, trail running, or just hanging out on the lake.
Lately, I’ve tried to give my wife some free time in the evening and taken over bath time and getting the girls ready for bed each night. I find this blend of quantity and quality time amazing. Everyone tells me how fast they are going to grow up so I try to make it a point to enjoy the little moments. The songs they sing, the games they make up, observing their imaginations at work. Reading them books and then whistling downstairs for Mom to come up and pray before singing the girls to bed is a highlight of my day.
Facial hair or clean-shaven? Clean-shaven. First, my wife loves my smooth face. Second and probably more accurate, I can’t grow a full beard. I have brown hair with some auburn tints to it. When I was younger it was way lighter and blond during the summer months when I spent the majority of my days at the beach. For some reason, when I try to grow out any stubble it comes in a variety of colors of brown, light brown, reddish, blond and as of late, gray. It’s not a good look.
Preppy Adventurer Family
What’s been your best family vacation? The last two and a half years have been an absolute whirlwind for us, moving back and forth between Philly and Aspen, Colorado twice, so we haven’t been able to take many vacations. When we first brought the girls back to our house in Colorado, it felt like a vacation for us. Even though they were so young, it was awesome to take them on our favorite hiking trails or play in the snow. Just living the normal mountain family life felt like a vacation. 2nd best was the first vacation we took to Ocean City, NJ. Flying with twin toddlers was crazy, but we had a blast playing on the beach, swimming in the ocean, and playing tourist in a town where I spent a good chunk of my life.
What’s your favorite family activity? With twin 2.5-year-olds, life is pretty awesome in the simple moments: hanging out in the grass after dinner, drawing pictures. or singing songs. We got a canoe this past summer and live close to a lake, so my current fave family activity is throwing the girls on the canoe and spending time on the water. Watching the girls experience new things and explore the world around them is the best.
What’s your go-to family dinner? Tacos. I could eat tacos every other day and not get sick of them. They are easy to make and you can throw whatever you want in them. My wife is an amazing cook who loves to serve her family by cooking healthy meals. I’m spoiled. Me saying something simple like tacos is probably an insult to her chef skills.
What’s your favorite family restaurant? We love TrueFood. Everything they serve is fresh and healthy. They make everything taste amazing.
Preppy Adventurer Parenting
Best parenting advice: I’m only 2.5 years into being a dad, but from what I’ve seen in my short time the best advice is to be present. With the constant pull of work demands, alerts on your phone, the addictive draw of social media, it is way too easy to go through life as a dad with a device glued to your hand. I notice that the twins watch me and are looking for reassurance that they are important. If they look up at me and I’m always on my phone or watching TV, they are getting the message that they are second priority. Easier said than done, but put your phone down and enjoy the little moments.
Parenting true confession: I’m getting pretty good at skipping pages in longer books at bedtime or verses in songs. The twins catch me every once in a while, but it is a great way to get them in bed faster.
What’s your dad superpower? Allowing them to struggle and fail is my superpower. It is much easier to “love” them by doing everything for them, but then they don’t grow. Early on, I always wanted to solve their problem or make their struggle easier, but when I stepped back and watched them figure it out on their own, it made me so proud as a dad. Now, I watch with wonder and amazement as they solve problems in creative ways that are unique to them. It fills them with pride and we cheer them on regardless if they fail or succeed. Reward the effort, not the outcome.
Preppy Adventurer Life
What’s your favorite show to binge-watch? We don’t watch a ton of TV, but when we do it’s probably something like Modern Family. The writers are creative and witty. Impractical Jokers is a close second.
If you could pick anyone to star as you in a movie based on your life, who would it be? Apparently, I look like Brody from Homeland, so maybe him?
What’s your favorite sport and why? My favorite sport is surfing. There is nothing like it. Before getting married, I think I spent every dollar I made on surf trips with my friends.
What’s the best song to dance to when nobody’s watching? Pharrell Williams’ “Happy”. Anyone can dance to that song. Bonus points for rocking “The Carlton dance” from Fresh Prince.
If you could hang out with anyone from history, living or deceased, who would it be? I didn’t get to meet either of my grandfathers, so I’d love to spend some time with them and hear more about their lives.
What’s at the top of your travel bucket list? Surf trip to Central America. Maybe Panama or Nicaragua. Without kids: a surf trip to Indonesia. Two weeks on a boat surfing empty reef breaks with my friends.
What’s your favorite way to unwind? After dinner, I get the twins revved back up and we get crazy. Once that is done we read books, pray, and sing before bed. Then my wife and I try to clean up. For little two-year-olds, they leave quite a mess. If I haven’t worked out, I go for a run and then grab some ice cream or a beer to finish off a great day. We read before bed and then get ready to do it all over again in the morning.
Your Preppy Adventurer Style
We love Chris’s enthusiasm and sense of adventure, and the way that he’s sharing it with his young family. Whether he’s dressed up for an event or dressed down at the beach, he’s got a great sense of knowing the right clothes for every occasion. We’re also big fans of the way he gives back to the community and empowers his clients to find meaningful marketing solutions. Be sure to check out Fieldtrip to learn more.
And for more fun and stylish dads, be sure to check out FamilyApp’s Dad on the Street Channel!
