Leia & Archer's Dad (aka “Siberian Derpskies” Content Creator Jonathan Brinksman)

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1:01Jonathan Brinksman: ACAST powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend.

1:10I'm Eden Scherer.

1:11Jonathan Brinksman: And I'm Brock Charlelli. We played Best Friends on The Middle. And became Best Friends in Real Life. We're here to re-watch The Middle with all of you. Each week, we'll recap an episode with behind-the-scenes stories, guest interviews, and what we think now, many years later. There's a lot to dive into, so let's get to middling.

1:34Jonathan Brinksman: ACAST helps creators launch, grow, and monetize their podcasts everywhere. ACAST.com Hey everyone, Jen here. And before we get started today, I wanted to tell you about a book I thought you might be interested in. We talk a lot on this podcast about how our pets are there for us in ways we couldn't imagine. How My Dog Saved My Life by Kate Cochran is an anthology of stories about canine companions who have quite literally saved their humans' lives. I've just started and I'm already hooked. These stories are incredible and as are the pups behind them. what our dogs do for us truly is amazing. On that note, on with the show.

2:21I find it very funny that people suggest the most obvious things. Like, I don't know if you've tried this or not, but training, you can train your dog. Thank you. Do you know Huskies? Yeah, exactly. He knows what I want him to do. He just does not care. I'm Jen Morose and this is Furball Confidential. If you're like me, your feeds are filled with dog stuff. I follow more dog influencers than I care to publicly state at this time. But I will tell you that one of the longest I've been following and one of my all-time favorites still are these guys. Leia, please stop humping your brother. Leia, we don't do that in public.

3:08Remember, we've talked about this, Leia. He's perfect. They both are. But also don't get a Husky and definitely don't get two. Those are the Siberian Derbskys. Two Siberian Huskys who are a bit derpy. You know, a bit goofy. You've got Lea Derbski, the Humper, and her little brother Archer. And that voice you heard in that clip just there, that's Husky dad Jonathan Brinksman, who much to my delight agreed to sit down for a chat today. And because my own pup clutch is half Husky, we went full husky right out of the gate.

3:46I am a firm believer, firm, firm, firm believer that husky isn't a breed. It is a state of mind. It doesn't matter if it's a half husky, a quarter husky, an eighth husky or 0 % husky. That's a husky.

4:03It's a mindset. And in terms of like Huskies are known for, you know, they're known for a certain behavior, right? Like they're known to be belligerent. They're known to be like very sort of standoffish, very loud. Yes. Talkbacky. Am I missing anything? What else are they known for? Smarter than you. Oh, right. They have schemes. They have agendas. Yes. They have plans within plans. Yeah. They're manipulative more than most other breeds. We're just the marionettes on the end of a string. We are. And yeah, they're a lot. They're a lot. They're a lot. So like, and this is a question that a lot of Husky owners get asked.

4:46Like, what were you thinking? You got not just one, but two. Okay. Well, a lot. I wasn't thinking is the short answer, but the longer answer is I grew up with Huskies. Okay. And I really like dogs with complicated, interesting personalities. And I sort of think every dog has the potential to have a complicated, interesting neurotic, for lack of a better word, personality. But every single husky does have that. They come out of the box with it. And so if you want a dog who will challenge you and does in a positive way, I don't mean in like a fight to the death way. But a stop on the corner for 10 minutes and have a duel of minds.

5:45Yeah, that happens. That happens a lot. Me too. Me too. Yeah. So, you know, if you want that, like I do, then Husky's the breed for you. assuming you have the time. Time because those huskies need a heck of a lot of stimulation and exercise. Jonathan sets aside hours every single day just to walk Leia and Archer. It's not unheard of for me to have a three and a half hour walk. We do that probably once or twice a week. Yeah. Yeah. Lucky huskies. Lucky huskies. I mean, I don't get a vote. It's forced on you. Yeah. They're lucky to have a dad like you. Tell me, how do you like we were talking about who Huskies are in general, like what some of their traits are.

6:35How do how would you say Archer and Leia stack up as Huskies? I think they both embody and defy them. So Archer, for example, he's very stubborn. He's very stubborn. He's very opinionated. But he doesn't express those opinions in the way that a typical husky does. I mean, a quote, typical husky will just scream at you. And Archer's actually very quiet for a husky. He's very, very quiet. I've only seen him howl once. Thank God we got it on film.

7:15But he was only like two and a half, three months old, something like that. And then he was just like, I'm done. So in that way, Archer's atypical. and that he's not super vocal, but he is a very effective communicator. For example, you know, I'm very cool. So I play a lot of video games. Yeah. And I will be sat on the couch playing video games and he will just come and sit down and stare at me. He'll sit there, put himself between me and the television and he just stares and he doesn't say anything. there's there's no no words are transpired but it it is very clear hey i'm done playing video games now it's archer time so he's a very effective communicator they're both very effective communicators in their own right leia is a little bit more of the classic husky in that she's very talkative and she is not shy about letting me know how i am failing her at any given moment um and and she is very opinionated in the same way that archer is but you can kind of reason with leia because leia leia knows that she's in charge archer knows it i know it leia knows it i think as long as the chain of command is respected and appropriate deference is paid you can you can reason with leia you can kind of say like i don't know what to tell you leia your brother's very heavy he's lying down on the ground he clearly wants to go in this direction you're welcome to negotiate with him yourself but i just don't think we're going anywhere and then she'll kind of go okay fine we'll go his way in it you know whereas archer is just um uh a capital of obstinate you know it's it's there there is no moving him and his way or the highway he'll do what you want until the treats run out right but once they run and you'll say i get a lot of comments people are like oh use the treats to bribe him in your direction it's kind of yes this is not my first rodeo but you know it must get so exhausting does it it's it's fine i mean i know they're fans do you mean the comments or just like yeah because you know when you've got a husky and they're they're they're sat down and they're not moving anywhere like you and i know They're not going anywhere unless there's like a real reward somewhere.

9:37I just I find it very funny that people suggest the most obvious things. Like, I don't know if you've tried this or not, but training, you can train your dog. Thank you. Yeah, exactly. So he knows he knows what I want him to do. He just does not care. Yeah. So that's that's the that's the difference. what i love about this is it's almost as if like when you're talking starting uh this conversation and you were saying like they're huskies are kind of like a state of mind and you get them knowing that you're you're gonna get personality and you've just described like these two very like distinct personalities they are like humans in so many ways i mean i think so look i am You're a typical millennial.

10:27I don't have children. My Huskies are my babies. I'm a crazy dog mom. Guilty as charged. But yeah, I mean, I think their personalities are rich and intricate and unique. For as many similarities as Archer and Leia or just Huskies in general have, there's no two that have the exact same combination. And, you know, there's a, I'll give you a concrete example. I don't know how she effectively communicated this to me, but she did, which is that after dinner, I will occasionally give the Huskies frozen raw bones. I just buy them in bulk, like beef knuckle, beef marrow bones, just like a bag of them.

11:15and uh leia has somehow effectively communicated to me when she wants to swap bones with archer and it's not it's it's i don't know how she did this i don't know how and i i can't put into words or uh or uh illustrate for you her difference in mannerisms or patterns or whatever that let me know oh it's time for a bone swap but she is just that effect of a communicator and then i'll kind of i have to distract archer a little bit and like indiana jones swap out the bones because archer can't he never wants to swap but once he has that other bone he goes okay fine this is great and and then leia will quiet down that's all she wanted she just wanted to take what archer had and i don't know how she communicated that to me but that's just like one example of her neuroses that's unique to her.

12:14Another example with Leia, again, she steals my socks constantly, constantly, constantly. I find my socks buried underneath her dog bed in couch cushions, sometimes in the yard. I'll be mowing the lawn and I'll find a sock that's clearly been in that foxhole for years. This happens daily. I have never once, well, that's not true. I saw her with a sock in her mouth exactly one time. exactly one time so she knows she's not supposed to do it yeah she knows that it's against the rules but she just and she does it every day she's so brazen wow so brazen but uh so smart yeah that's the thing there's a it implies a calculation yes and um that's what i love about huskies they'll they'll keep you on your toes and they'll they're not boring they're never boring They're never boring.

13:09And they're, I think, a unique challenge in that way. Yeah, that's a nice way of putting it, a unique challenge. We'll take that. So you mentioned that you grew up with Huskies, and I know you got Leia first. So when did you decide, like, I don't know, that this is the right time for me as an adult to take on another life? Well, basically, I moved across the country. I moved from Washington, D.C. to Seattle. Yeah. And at the same time, I started my own business. So I went from kind of having a robust social life to spending all day, every day in my apartment, staring at a screen. And I didn't really have any friends in the city.

13:51Yeah. I need to force myself to get out. We made the decision to get Archer after we had Leia for like three weeks. Okay. Okay. Like, yeah, it was, I had always known I wanted to. and a boy and a girl because I grew up with huskies, but there were when I was a kid, we got two husky puppies who were littermates, a boy and a girl, and just watching them be the best friends throughout their entire life. I don't want to say I was trying to recreate that, But I – because – It was familiar. Yeah. Well, it was just a dynamic that I thought was really valuable. And seeing their relationship over the, you know, 16 years they were together was really magical.

14:47I'm sure. And I wanted that again. but I, you know, like the people who like clone their dogs, I don't know if you're interviewing anyone who clones their dogs or. I don't, not as far as I know, not as far as I know. But they, they, I don't like that. I don't, I don't like that. Just like it kind of cheapens for me the uniqueness of, of the animal than it's kind of, if you're trying to create a facsimile, It was more like I saw this kind of crazy, beautiful web that was their relationship. And I wanted to give two other dogs that same experience. And yeah, I'm really glad I did. But Archer, we brought Archer home.

15:40They are exactly one year and three days apart. Oh, wow. Okay, they're really close. Yeah. And so we brought Archer home when he was eight weeks old. So Leia was like 14 months. And I should say, I know you're known for the Huskies, but you also were dad to Roxy and Spartacus, two cats. Thank you for saying that. Well, I know they didn't show up as much in your stuff, but it was clear from some of your videos that they were very much part of the family. Yeah, hugely. Yeah. And I was a cat guy before I was a husky guy. Oh, okay. Yeah. Well, no, I mean, I was, I've always been an animal guy. I've always been a, I'm not a dog person, not a cat person.

16:28I'm not, you know, I don't make me choose. I love them both equally in different ways. I got Spartacus and Roxy, unclear on their exact age, but they were litter mates. I think they were about six weeks old when I brought them home. And the rest of their litter, they were born in a barn and the rest of their litter were eaten by owls. So they were kind of the two, yeah, very grim. So they were the two survivors. And, you know, not dissimilar, They were really, really close with one another their entire lives, not dissimilar from kind of an Archer and Leia situation. And, you know, they moved all over the country with me.

17:18And Spartacus passed when she was 18 and Roxy passed when she was 19. And yeah, no, I miss having cats. I will get cats again. I don't know when. It depends on a lot of factors. Um, uh, but yeah, thank you for bringing them up. Cause I, I, they weren't the, I honest to God, I didn't put them on a lot of content cause I kind of thought, well, I don't think people will care that much cause they just kind of sit there. I mean, they're senior cats. They just, they just sit there. I think that's the greatest thing ever, but they just sit there. I have no illusions about, you know, the fast and furious thrill ride that's happening.

18:02Yeah. So. So was that what it was about Archer and Leia that in terms of when you first decided to start filming them, what was the, what was the impetus? Do you even remember? Oh yeah. Yeah. Well, um, created an Instagram account called Wolf Princess Leia. And it really was just like a feed for me to curate memories and moments that, you know, I loved. And I still do this. It's a little embarrassing to admit. But the primary function of all of this to this day is just me in bed at night before I put the light out, scrolling through my own feed, being like, my dogs are really beautiful. I love them so much.

18:51So that's the primary function. That's the genesis. You know, I posted every single day, more or less, for about two and a half years before I got any semblance of a following. So really just in it for the love of the game, you know. And ultimately, I am my own audience for the content that I make. Jonathan may be his own audience but so are more than 1 million people on TikTok and those people are probably going to want to know about Archer's brand new talent This is an exclusive for you Furball Confidential exclusive Thank you He's only been doing it for the last 4 or 5 days but as I'm walking, we're walking he'll loop behind me and just torpedo in between my legs from behind and stick his head up and look up at me.

19:47And I'm not, I can't predict when it's going to happen. So it's, I know there's a viral video in there somewhere. I know there is. I just need to happen to be filming at that moment. Because there's no predicting it. But it is, it's my new favorite thing that he does. He just looks so proud of himself. And he just kind of rockets through and it's jarring. Yeah, I was going to say, It could probably tilt you off balance. We're in motion. It's a delicate ballet, but it looks really cute. I'm sure it looks just like ballet when it's happening. Yeah. That's actually one of the most common comments that I get is people comment on the videos, I really wish someone else was filming this.

20:35I want to see this from the third person perspective. And just, yeah, I'm sure it's not flattering. Maybe not super flattering. but super sweet. Jonathan's not scared to put himself out there for the sake of his dogs, especially when it comes to a certain cartoon theme song. I don't know, like you probably sung this song a million times before, but would you sing a little bit for us just to like let the audience know what happens when this when you sing this? Yes. If you'll let me caveat that my mother is literally tone deaf. Every time I post a video of me singing the DuckTales theme song to Leia, I'll get a mix of comments of people saying, oh my God, you have such a great voice.

21:19You can sing so well. And then trained singers underneath that will reply, he really doesn't. What are you talking about? It's not in any discernible key. Isn't that just missing the whole point? Well, yeah, I mean, I'm sorry. I make no apologies for having a song in my heart, damn it. You have a song in your heart. Let it out.

21:43Life is like a hurricane here in Duckburg. Race cars, lasers, airplanes. It's a duck blur. Might solve a mystery or rewrite history. Duck tales. Thank you. Thank you, Jen. Sorry. I like I dropped the ball there. It's all right. So if Leah were here right now. she is she would be doing what it depends it really depends uh you will 100 of the time get a reaction out of her there has been exactly one time ever where we've done that and she didn't care and it was when we were at the dog park and she's just too locked in she's just too there's a lot that's her that's her favorite place on the planet uh but usually she gets the zoomies and she starts screaming and my favorite is when she kind of punches her brother she'll use her front paw and just hit him like you hearing this um that's my favorite uh but yeah that's yeah archer's like archer's like yeah he's just happy to be there he's just living la vita loca i'm curious one of the things that you mentioned earlier like that you're just you're a dog dad you don't have kids like you're unabashedly like a dog you love your dogs one of the things i'm struck by in your videos is we're getting better as a society to allow men to like be openly like vulnerable with their their feelings but we're still not there and it strikes me that you you really put yourself and your relationship with your huskies out there I love you so much.

23:26Boop. One more. Boop. One more. Boop. You're such a good boy. I love you, handsome. Does it ever feel vulnerable or does it feel like just natural to you? Not really. It does feel quite natural to me. I mean, some of that is just, I don't know that I would have done that at like 19. Right. You know, some of that is just I got older and I don't care. and with age comes confidence and I know who I am and that's fine. And some of it is, I don't want to say I'm playing a character. I really don't because I'm not. But there is like 2 % where I am aware of the joke, of the, I'm just kind of, I'm just, like, look at me.

24:18I'm in a hat because I haven't showered today. My hair looks ridiculous. I'm in a hoodie because I have it. And it's just, I have a beard. It's an objectively funny thing to, you know, pick up your cat and sing to yourself in the mirror when, you know, this. But also some of it was just like, I was doing this when I had no followers. I was doing this to an audience of zero. So the pressure was like the stakes were lower. Exactly. Exactly. So there's that. I will say the first time I posted a DuckTales video, I was a little nervous is the wrong word, but I was a little like, ah. You're exposing yourself.

25:01Yeah, because, well, I can't sing. I cannot sing. I am not a good singer. I am a very good karaoke-er. Karaoke is not about talent. It is about vibes and confidence. Right. And I got both of those. But I can't, you know, carry a tune. um but uh i i just thought hey i don't do i want to put this out there but yeah um that was kind of the only example that comes to mind but as far as like loving my dogs on the internet i'm very happy to do that you know that's that's easy you're known for your videos with uh leia and Archer. But you also wrote this, like for me, it was a very touching and meaningful essay on your sub stack about grief and about losing your dad.

25:52For anyone who is, and I'm part of the, I think you called it the dead dad club. And I'm a member of that club. And so it really, it really touched me. And it seems also though that your dad, you talked about growing up with huskies, your love for animals, and it just seems like your dad might've been like sort of a thread in that. There is a straight line. There's actually, I didn't talk about it in the essay, but there is a straight line from my grandma. Oh, okay. And because my mom never grew up with dogs. I'll tell you a couple of stories. And again, if I ramble, please shut me up. Cut it.

26:31Go ahead. It's fine. But my mom tells this story. They got married. They moved to the States. My dad's British. My mom's American. My dad's British. And they moved to the States and they got a dog. And my mom had never had a dog before. And they had the dog for like a week. And my mom said, we got to get rid of this dog. I do not know. And my dad said, okay, Deborah, we can get rid of the dog. You just have to take it on one last walk. And my mom started this walk with, okay, dog, I'm sorry, this didn't work out. It's you're going to have a great life, I promise. And it was like a half mile. It's like around the block or something like that.

27:14And it ended with my mom sobbing, clutching the dog, saying we're never your hours, we're family, et cetera. And my, you know, so I kind of grew up in a house where like animals were really important um and were members of the family and i i traced that back to my grandma my grandma you know worked in a factory in the north of england and she told this story where um and i don't know how much of this is apocryphal and and i don't know the the details of the context but she did tell me this story directly before she passed. But she was leaving and there's some like machinery with like baskets. And there was a cat, a kitten in one of the baskets.

28:04And some of the men working the factory were having a lot of fun, kind of moving the baskets back and forth and tormenting this kitten. And my grandma, who was a very slight woman, but very confrontational, very confrontational, all the way up until her death, cornered these men and said, what are you doing? What do you, how dare, et cetera. You know, I'm sure there were a lot more expletives. It was the north of England in the factories.

28:37And they said something to the effect of, you know, oh, well, if you care so much, why don't you take the cat? And she said, I will. And she took the cat and put it in her purse and went home. And, you know, that was my dad's cat growing up. So, yeah. And I do see a straight line from like my grandma to my dad to me in terms of like, again, not to repeat myself, but, you know, my animals have never been just animals to me. They are the part of me I wish I was all the time. yeah and and you know growing up i was a weird kid i got bullied a lot it worked out don't worry it really it worked out but my animals were a safe space for me i mean i i got a kitten for my eighth birthday uh he's been dead a long time he is he is still the background on my phone so what's his name his name is graze uh because he was gray and i was eight yeah so uh That was the full...

29:42Make imagination, clearly. So I do see a straight line there, and I think my mom would say the same. Now, my mom is as obsessed with animals as I. Now she is. Now she is, but she didn't grow up like that. She really didn't.

30:00What would you say has changed you having Leia and Archer? I don't know that it's changed so much as brought out more to the forefront. Okay. If that makes sense. It does make sense a lot. You know, and I get messages from people all the time like, oh, you're my favorite wholesome content creator. And I don't really think of myself as a wholesome person. That's a lovely compliment. And they're right. It is wholesome content. But I didn't set out going, gosh darn it, I'm going to make some rainbows today. You know, it just ended up that way. And I credit them, you know, because they bring out that side of me.

30:53Thanks to my favorite wholesome content creator, Jonathan Bringsman. You can follow Jonathan's crew on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, all at Siberian Derpskis. And we asked Jonathan to give us his favorite pet-related cause to share with you. He said, all joy for paws. It's a rescue based in LA that specializes in huskies and other northern dogs. Huskies, they look really pretty. Everyone wants a dire wolf, but their energy needs are insane. So they get a really cute puppy and they can't keep up with it. and it destroyed their house because they think, I took you on a 20-minute walk.

31:29Why are you like this? And All Joy for Paws is a really cool, very small rescue, very small operation, but they do the really hard work. That's it for this episode of Furball Confidential. If you're digging the show, tell a friend, two or four-legged. And make sure you follow us so you never miss an episode.

31:54Furball Confidential is created and hosted by me, Jen Moroz. Our show producer is Talia Schlanger. She also co-created our theme music with David Travers-Smith with Brian Kobayakawa on bass. Reza Daya does our sound and video design and editing. Danny Stover does our social media. Our show artwork is by Adrian Foro. And Marina Hanna does our audience development. And thanks, as always, to the furball who started it all, Clutch. I'm Jen Morose. See you next time on Furball Confidential.

32:48and a real-life couple of comedians. And we're the hosts of the podcast Couples Therapy. We're the only comedy relationship podcast ever. Yeah, I said it. And we're so good, we've been written up in both the New York Times and we made Grindr's list of top podcasts. Yes, we're giving you that high-low appeal. Trust. On the show, we talk to guests like Bob the Drag Queen, Angelica Ross, Bowen Yang, Janelle James, Danny Pudi, Darcy Cardin, Paul F. Tompkins, and more. All about love, mental health, and everything in between. And we answer your relationship questions. We are two unlicensed comedians just trying to help you out.

33:24So open your hearts, loosen your butts, because we got a lot of laughs and a lot of real talk just for you. Download Couples Therapy wherever you get your podcasts.

33:35Jonathan Brinksman: Acast helps creators launch, grow, and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com.