A few months ago, this producer approached Bob with the idea of doing a reality show about his life in L.A. Basically, the pitch was like: You’re this incredibly controversial figure, everybody thinks they know who you are, everyone thinks they know what you stand for, but what if we could show people the other side of Bob Winstock? What if we could show people the Bob Winstock who’s a husband and a father and a stepfather, and what if you could tell people who you are in your own words?

And, at first, I think Bob sort of thought the idea was ridiculous—we all did—but after he talked it over with my mom and thought about it for a while, I think he started to get really excited about all of the different possibilities it presented just in terms of reaching out to people, you know? Making his ideas connect.

I remember when Bob and my mom first talked to me about it and I was just like: No. LOL. I really didn’t want them to do it. They both seemed so excited about it, and I was just like: Why would you guys want to do this? Why would this be something you’re interested in? And my mom started saying how it would be really good for raising the profile of her jewelry brand and how it’d be really good for Bob’s books, and I was like: Yeah, but you guys are doing fine. We’re all doing fine. None of us needs the money. And Bob was like: It’s not about the money. It’s about connection. Nobody reads my books. Nobody actually knows what I’ve written there. Even most of the people who buy the books don’t read them. And that’s fine. I’ve been at peace with that for a while. But what if I could talk to people in a medium they understand? What if I could meet them in a medium they’re comfortable with? I’m trying to write philosophy about today—I’m trying to talk to people today—and yet the only way most people experience me or my ideas is through what they hear about me on talk shows or what they read about me on the internet. Why wouldn’t I try to create the narrative myself? And I was like: But how are you gonna do philosophy on a reality show? And Bob was like: The same way I do it in life. The same way I do it with you. I’m just gonna exist. So is your mom. So is Lenny. We’re all just gonna show people what it’s like to be free.

And I looked at the two of them, and I saw how excited they both were, and I kind of felt like if it wasn’t their place to tell me not to make a video game or not to make a grunge album, then it definitely wasn’t my place to tell them not to make their reality show, and so I smiled and hugged them both, and I was like: When do we start?