BEING YOUR INNER DADDY
Guru's dating philosophy
He’s your daddy. Niko Emanuilidis, 30, a dating guru, has made a name for himself by teaching guys how to be “daddies” — confident, caring alpha men who aren’t brewing in their own angst and make women feel at ease.
Think Travis Kelce and Pedro Pascal, not Joe Alwyn or anyone who has ever been in a boy band.
“Daddy energy is all about being your most authentic self,” said the Midtown resident who works as a content brand manager for a marketing agency. “[It’s about] building positive habits towards a healthy lifestyle, making women feel comfortable and safe around you.”
TikTok outreach
In October 2022, Emanuilidis (pictured), who has no official background in psychology or sociology, launched his own online dating-advice platform called the Daddy Academy. It now has over 125,000 TikTok subscribers.
Fans have hailed Emanuilidis as a modern-day “Hitch,” likening him to Will Smith’s character who turns schlubs into studs in the eponymous 2005 rom-com.
He initially focused on giving tips to men, stressing the importance of hitting both the gym and the psychologist’s couch to attract the opposite sex.
“Therapy is where you learn to open up and discover how to be vulnerable and learn new things about yourself,” he said.
“It’s about working to be the best version of yourself because that’s when women will gravitate towards you.”
Another daddy quality, he said, is being well-rounded.
“Every man should be striving towards financial success in their jobs, but daddy energy is all about balance. Make sure you’re pursuing non-work-related passions,” he said. “Regardless of your income, women love when a daddy is putting his heart and soul into his passion. That’s extremely attractive.” This past September, he also started giving advice for the opposite sex after casually enlightening his younger sister on how to avoid noncommittal men. Recent posts have included “how not to get played” and “you are not here to fix a man’s problems!!” He also offers oneon-one chats, either over the phone or via direct messages, for both men and women in need of romantic advice.
“The dating pool in New York City is wild because everybody is looking for their person,” said Emanuilidis, “but most men aren’t functioning in their daddy energy and most women don’t know how to identify the signs of a true daddy — that’s where I come in.”
He doesn’t charge for his services, although he said he sometimes gets Uber Eats or Starbucks gift cards from grateful disciples.
“I do this out of the goodness of my heart because it’s so important that people [of my generation] feel good about themselves, their dating lives and their long-term partners,” he said. “I get about 25 to 50 DMs a day from men and women saying, ‘Thanks man, I got the girl of my dreams’ or ‘This helped me so much, now I can see the red flags,’ he said. “It means the world to me.”
She’ll vouch for it
Emily Reed, 26, of Midtown, told The Post that Emanuilidis’ advice helped her recover after a devastating breakup in October.
“My ex of six years just broke up with me out of the blue and I was distraught,” said Reed, a pharmaceutical marketer.
Then she came across one of Emanuilidis’ videos, “If he wanted to, he would.”
In the post, one of Emanuilidis’s most popular with over 2 million views, he shares the unfiltered truth about guys.
“Men are going to prioritize the woman that he wants to go out with,” he says.
“How could a man be so busy that he can’t respond to a text? Ladies, he’s giving you just the right amount of bread crumbs to keep you on the hook. It’s up to you to see the signs.”