Dallin Mace (Host)

I am a father, husband, and life-lover with many years of professional experience in training and development leadership. Having grown up in a very dysfunctional and disjointed family that provided experiences and life lessons, I learned from an early age that inspiration to and from others is the best way to gain optimal perspective in life.  Optionally Mandatory is a forum where I plan to dive deep on certain topics in my comfort zone, and some completely out of it.

Optionally Mandatory was born from an idea between two friends who wanted to give inspiration, education, and motivation to the common man.  I was passionate about starting something to connect the everyday person to experiences, life, food, product reviews, music, science, technology, and more.  Many times with podcasts that I listen to, I hear from rich celebrities or well off people with endless amounts of cash and supplies to get them from point A to Z.  All in all, I just want to give others a platform of hope that they, too, can do something special with their lives, essentially inspiring them to uncover their true potential.

Joshua Akin (Co-Host/Producer)

I was born in Nashville, TN, raised in Virginia and currently reside in North Carolina. I love music, food, tech, science, politics, and life in general. I was the youngest of 5 children growing up, which provided for an interesting upbringing. I have been married 11 years to the love of my life, and we are raising 8 fur children.

Optionally Mandatory is a passion project by all sense of the term. In a world where every form of discourse is about us vs them. I am opinionated and passionate, but I know so are others and optionally mandatory is about exploring that with grace and civility. Seeing the dichotomy in life as an adventure and not an adversary, looking to tackle topics of strange and obscure to topical and impactful, all while keeping air of irreverence and humor.

If you are interested in finding out more about Optionally Mandatory reach out to us on the social media buttons below or reach out via email contactus@optionallymandatory.com