Influencer Dad Takes Daughter to Get Her Ears Pierced. Then the Outing Takes a Shocking Turn (Exclusive)

When Justin Flom took his 8-year-old daughter, Haven, to get her ears pierced for the first time, he expected a few healthy nerves – but didn’t think he’d leave with a piercing of his own. 

What started as a simple family outing turned into something more when Haven got cold feet, and the 39-year-old dad volunteered to show her it was no big deal. 

Cool, calm, and rocking a sparkly stud, he hoped the gesture would inspire courage. Instead, Haven decided to wait – proving that sometimes bravery is saying “not today,” even if your dad just became a walking earring display.

Haven had been asking to get her ears pierced for years, and in April 2025, her parents decided she seemed ready to go through with it. However, when the moment arrived, she became visibly nervous.

“I just thought, ‘What would actually help in this moment?’ So I said, ‘Alright, I’ll go first,’” Flom tells PEOPLE exclusively. “We weren’t even filming it for social media initially – just for our own family videos. But the moment was too good, and I figured it might give her the confidence she needed.”

In a completely spontaneous decision, Flom sat down and got one of his ears pierced with a sparkling stud, and Haven’s reaction was priceless. 

“She was stunned. And honestly, a little suspicious,” Flom says. “It did make her laugh and loosen up, which helped, but she still decided to wait.”

In the end, Haven decided that she would get her ears pierced in exactly two years, once she turns 10. Despite the unexpected outcome, Flom says he supports his daughter’s decision fully.  

“One of the phrases I always say to my daughters is: ‘Five seconds of bravery, and there’s no telling what you can do.’ That and ‘Flom’s do hard things.’ It’s become a mantra in our house,” he shares. 

“I reminded her she only had to get through that one initial pinch, and then she’d have the thing she really wanted,” he adds. “But I also gave her the freedom to back out if that’s what she really wanted.”

Aside from being an extremely popular content creator with over 31 million followers on YouTube alone, Flom is first and foremost a father of two girls: Haven and Holly, 5.  

As a spray paint artist — and sometimes magician — Flom’s content centers on imaginative DIY projects that add a touch of magic to spaces around his home. His family is often seen on camera with him. 

“There’s one where Haven put her younger sister into a magician’s guillotine head chopper,” Flom recalls of their favorite videos together. “Another favorite was tying Haven’s loose tooth to the back of my motorcycle and pulling out the tooth at full speed. Gory, hilarious, and somehow beautiful.”

“She was scared but pushed through it, and it’s still one of the most epic moments we’ve ever caught on camera,” he adds.

Contrary to popular belief, Flom says content creation actually helps him be more present as a parent. “A lot of my videos are built around things I’d be doing anyway – building a secret passage, making a silly game, teaching my daughters a crazy magic trick.” 

He gets to stay home and make memories with his kids, while also creating content. “If my daughters don’t want to be in a video, they never have to be – but if they commit, I encourage them to follow through, because that’s a life lesson too,” he tells PEOPLE.

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The most meaningful part has been experiencing childhood all over again through their eyes. For Flom, everyday moments like riding a bike or pulling a tooth reveal quiet lessons in courage and wonder. “It’s helped me appreciate how much beauty and bravery exist in the everyday stuff,” he explains.

As a father of two growing daughters, he’s also learned a few things along the way. “Listen more than you talk, film more than you post, and remember that bravery is contagious,” he says.

Sometimes, the best way to teach courage is by showing it – like getting your own ear pierced first.