A Newcastle man has grown an Instagram account from zero to 12,000-plus followers after being inspired by the birth of his second daughter. Chris Braniff started the account Proud Girl Dad Co earlier this year and began posting on Father’s Day.
“The idea came to me at the birth of my second daughter. It was only on Father’s Day this year, a year later, that I picked it up and ran with it,” he explained. “It was more for me to post stuff about fatherhood and raising girls. I didn’t know it would take off and that I would have 12,000 followers and that it would become a brand.”
The speed with which the page has grown has surprised Chris, as he now has followers all across the UK and even in Canada and the US. “The content that I have put out has resonated with a lot of dads out there. Daily, I get dads reaching out to me that they are glad they found the brand and they don’t feel like there is anything like this out there. They can share stories of difficult times that they are going through. They say the community that I have built is helping them through. It has all been very positive.”
Chris, who has a seven-year-old daughter and a one-year-old daughter, knew early on what he wanted to post and why. “My wife asked the question ‘What do you hope to get out of this?’ What I said at the time was that I could bring dads together to connect and share their experiences. That would be enough for me.”
He also feels that the account celebrates modern fatherhood. “The goal was to build a space that represents dads who are proud, emotionally present, and fully supportive of their daughters. It relates specifically to girl dads because that is where I am at. It is personal to me. I don’t think there is anything out there that speaks to that, to being a girl dad.”
He provided an example of what he posts. “One of the posts that I did recently said: ‘I never want my daughter to pause and think that I can’t tell my dad because he will get mad, I want her first thought to be I need to talk to my dad, he will know what to do.’ Posts like that really relate. It has got 700 likes and a couple of hundred shares. The content side of things comes from relatable moments as a dad to girls.”
Chris is keen to point out that his motivation for the account was just to create a community. “Proud Girl Dad Co isn’t a sales pitch. It’s a brand and community project that started here locally and has grown into something much bigger than I ever expected. It was never about the numbers, it was about building something for dads that they could relate to. I wanted it to be a space for dads who are proud, present and who support raising their daughters.”
Chris posts in his spare time. He works as a software designer and product designer. “One leads into the other, but this is a different journey for me. I am wearing different hats, building a brand and building a community. My design background helps. It’s completely driven by passion and the belief that fatherhood deserves to be celebrated in a more honest and positive way.”
“Long term, I’d love for the brand to grow into something that gives back, whether that’s supporting opportunities for young girls or creating more spaces for dads to connect and share their experiences. The heart of it will always be the same, celebrating what it means to show up as a dad and raising girls to be strong, confident and loved.”
You can find Proud Girl Dad Co on Instagram.
