Tell us more about who you all are and what you do.
I’m Dr. Corey W. Holmes — most people know me as Doc Holmes. I’m a father, a husband, a scholar-practitioner, and the founder of Holmes Holdings, a literary curation company. I spent nearly two decades in public service working on regional policy portfolios — counter-disinformation, human trafficking, countering extremism. I hold a Ph.D. in African Studies from Howard University, and have taught as an adjunct at Howard University and NYU.
These days I write and build across three lanes: lifestyle and memoir, children’s literature, and academic nonfiction. The throughline is storytelling that takes Black life, fatherhood, and the African diaspora seriously. Right now my family and I are based in Santo Domingo, so I’m doing all of this as an American raising a son abroad.
What inspired your book Golf, Cigars, and Scotch?
The title is really the answer. Some of the most honest conversations I’ve had as a man and a father didn’t happen on the Hill or in a high level meeting in Khartoum or Abidjan or a church pew — they happened on the 19th hole, over a cigar, with a glass of scotch in hand. Those rituals create space. They slow men down enough to actually talk about marriage, money, doubt, raising kids, and losing loved ones.
I wanted to capture that. The book is about balancing fatherhood, friendship, and fine living — not “fine living” in the literal sense, but as the discipline of savoring your life on purpose. I was tired of the narrow ways Black men get written about. I wanted to put a different picture on the page: a man who’s present for his son, loyal to his friends and family, ambitious in his work, and unapologetic about enjoying the good things he’s earned. That’s the man I’m trying to be, and the book is my account of it.
What three takeaways do you want readers to get from the book?
First, presence beats perfection. Your kids don’t need a flawless father; they need one who shows up, consistently, and lets them see him try. Second, brotherhood is not optional. Men are dying for lack of real friendship — we need spaces and rituals that are honest, and lift and protect each other. Third, you are allowed to enjoy your life. Self-care, a good meal, a good pour, a round of golf, or a yoga session — these aren’t distractions from the work of being a man. They’re part of what keeps you whole enough to do it.
Who is Corey as a father?
I’m an intentional father. I think hard about what I’m modeling, because my son Evan is watching me far more than he’s listening to me. I want him to see a man who works with purpose, loves his family openly, keeps his word, and isn’t afraid to be tender. Raising him overseas, I’m also very deliberate about anchoring him in who he is — a Black boy with a rich heritage — even as he grows up moving between cultures and continents. I’m not a hands-off father. I’m in it: the homework, the swim and bike lessons, the hard questions, and the displaying the meticulous small habits. I’d rather get it imperfectly right by being there than get it “right” from a distance.
What was your relationship with your dad, and how did that impact the man you are today?
My relationship with my father was [three prong— father to son, man to man, and finally friend to friend. What he gave me was perseverance in the face of adversity. As long as I’m breathing, I simply will not quit. Another thing I carry from him is the compassion for my fellow man. He gave to everyone even if he didn’t have it. Honestly speaking, I didn’t inherit that trait, but I do give back to relatable causes and organizations like the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation, due to my baby sister dying of this deadly disease in 2007.
I embrace fatherhood today because of what he displayed combined with my sense of purpose. That’s the thing about fatherhood — you inherit a starting point, but you get to author what comes next.
How do you balance entrepreneurship while being the best father you can be?
I stopped chasing “balance” as a perfect 50/50 and started thinking about progression and presence instead. Some seasons my work gets more of my time; some seasons my family does. What I protect is the quality of the time, not just the quantity. When I’m with Evan, I try to actually be with him — not half-present behind a screen or a phone.
Practically, that means having structure. I’m ruthless about my calendar, and I build my business around my family for the most part rather than the other way around. Running Holmes Holdings while living abroad forces that discipline. And I lean on my “why” — I’m not building this for accolades; I’m building something my son can inherit and be proud of. When the work serves the family instead of competing with it, the balance takes care of itself.
What are your top three ways to be intentional as a Black father?
One: tell your son the truth about the world and about his worth — both, at the same time. He needs to understand what he may face without ever doubting who he is. Two: be physically and emotionally present. So much of fathering is just refusing to disappear — showing up, staying soft, letting him see your true feelings. Three: build him a community of men. I want Evan surrounded by upstanding uncles, mentors, and people with character, so that manhood is something he learns from a village, not just me. Intentionality is just love with a plan behind it.
What does legacy mean to you?
Legacy, to me, isn’t a monument — it’s a transfer. It’s what continues to live and move after you because you poured it into people. I think about it on three levels: what I leave in my son, what I leave for my community through the work and the writing, and what I leave behind in the form of stories that outlast me. I come from a tradition where our history was carried by memory and voice, so putting our experiences on the page — as a father, as a scholar, as a Black man living a full life — is my way of making sure the record reflects us. If Evan one day fathers the way I tried to, and tells his truth the way I tried to, that’s the legacy. Everything else is a surplus.
How can people purchase your book and connect with you?
Golf, Cigars, and Scotch: Balancing Fatherhood, Friendship, and Fine Living is available at Golf, Cigars, and Scotch: Balancing Fatherhood, Friendship, and Fine-Living: Holmes, Dr. Corey: 9781535601412: Amazon.com: Books and the audiobook is coming soon to wherever audiobooks are sold. I am working on distribution in South Africa and Taiwan, and producing an audiobook in Spanish. The easiest way to keep up with everything I’m building is on my website at golfcigarsandscotch.com
Tell people what’s next for you — how can they follow you?
There’s a lot in motion. The audiobook edition of Golf, Cigars, and Scotch is in production. I have the first edition of my children’s series, Evan’s Chronicles: One Boy, Four Big Adventures: From Moving Day to Birthday in the Dominican Republic, and I have an academic book, Dreams Deferred: Young, Jobless, and South African, coming out with Cambridge Scholars Publishing later in the year.
The best place to follow the whole journey is my YouTube channel, The Doc Holmes Experience, where I talk fatherhood, brotherhood, golf, cigars, scotch, and life living and traveling around the world. You can also find me on Facebook, Threads, Instagram, and X Handle: @GCSHolmes. Come pull up a chair — there’s always room at the table.
