Transcript provided for this page: speaker-labeled transcript from a machine transcription of a Spotify playback recording, lightly corrected during review. A few uncertain words are best-effort guesses, marked [?] in the source document. Timestamps are as provided in the source document.
[0:00] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Welcome to Home with Alexis Michaud, interesting stories and conversations with the individuals that make up the fabric of our community. In every episode, we will give a shout out to a local business, provide some home tips, and have an interesting conversation with someone who makes our community a better place to call home. Today's local business shout out goes to Gravity. Gravity is an indoor trampoline park for kids of all ages. The littles are best suited to go early in the morning, and afternoons are great for older kids. We've been taking our kids here since the first week it opened. Always spotless, well staffed with awesome jams, this place is a workout that keeps you coming back for more. Today's guest is Tanner Jackson. Tanner is a photographer, videographer, student, and return missionary. Recently voted one of the top 20 photographers, videographers in Las Vegas, Tanner is only 20 years old. His work caught my attention about a year ago after After hunting for someone with the vision I had conjured up in my mind. I searched Las Vegas, LA, San Francisco, and then stumbled upon him and had been blown away with his creativity, professionalism, and ability to communicate effectively. He's calm, mild mannered, and immensely talented. You know those younger people out there that you just want to watch rise and cheer on from the background? Tanner is one of those people. working bright, wise beyond his years, and just getting started. He tells a great story about doing work for the UFC and many more. This morning we have on the show Tanner Jackson. Tanner Jackson is an amazing photographer, filmmaker, overall person, and I'm so excited to have him on the show. Welcome, Tanner.
[1:48] TANNER JACKSON: Hi, thanks. I'm glad to be here.
[1:50] ALEXIS MICHAUD: So Tanner, like I was just mentioning to you before, at the podcast that we've done, everybody is almost twice your age or even older. So I was a little nervous to do a podcast today because I was like, I don't really know what questions to ask. But then as we got talking yesterday, you have lived a lot of life in a short period of time. time. I think it's really different from probably almost all of your peers.
[2:12] TANNER JACKSON: Yeah.
[2:18] ALEXIS MICHAUD: That's what I'm guessing.
[2:18] TANNER JACKSON: Yeah.
[2:18] ALEXIS MICHAUD: And I have known Tanner for less than a year and the work that he has done for me has gotten me noticed faster and in such a positive way by people in the community. I just feel like it I just it was serendipity. I was so lucky to come across you. So I want to kind of tell that story and and then go through what you're doing for me and what you're doing for people all over the country, really, I mean, your services are everywhere.
[2:50] TANNER JACKSON: Thank you.
[2:51] ALEXIS MICHAUD: So I was looking for a photographer, videographer, probably less than a year ago, and I was asking some other professional photographers for recommendations to videographers, they were sending me referrals and I was looking, and none of it, I mean, all of it was good, but none of it was what I had in my head, right? Like I had a vision for what I wanted. And so I was mentioning this to my good friend, Alexis MacArthur [spelling unverified], and she said, hold on a second, my sister knows somebody. And I was sitting there with her and she gave me her Instagram, which is at Tanner Jackson [handle unverified], right, your handle. I started to look at your work and I was like, yes, yes, absolutely, this is the guy. And then she says, you know, he's like 19. I'm like, what? So, so impressed is what I'm saying. You know, it doesn't matter how old you are, it's the quality of the work that you do, but then you were 19 or 18, I don't remember. So when I get on the phone with you, I have no idea if what I'm asking you to put together is even realistic. And I walked you through this vision I had of what it is kind of like a year in the life of my life, my family's life in our house that we've made a home and in a community that we feel a part of. And I just talk really fast and nonstop and you listened patiently and then said, it's like a movie and I haven't done something exactly like that. But yeah, we can do it. Let's do it. And then you just made it better. So thank you is what I want to say like, you know, and your ideas, which maybe this is your ideas about it. So I wanted different seasons put together explaining what it was to make a house a home and how I transitioned from lawyer to realtor and then to have family in it, events in it, things to do in the community. And you layered it all in. We shot it. We shot the outside part in one day, a couple hours. Yeah. And then we folded that into everything inside my house. And we probably did that in three hours maybe?
[4:58] TANNER JACKSON: Yeah, three hours, two hours.
[4:58] ALEXIS MICHAUD: It was quick. It was quick and I love it because one of my friends said, oh my gosh, it must have taken you a year to put that together from summer to winter to Christmas to Thanksgiving and I was like, no, my house was annihilated. We were like dragging the Christmas tree around decorating for fall and then we had the kids jumping into a pool when it was like 40 degrees outside but we heated the pool and it was just so fun but more importantly the work product is phenomenal. So thank you.
[5:26] TANNER JACKSON: Thank you. That was a blast.
[5:31] ALEXIS MICHAUD: So tell me how you got into this business and what else you have going on right now, like school-wise?
[5:42] TANNER JACKSON: Yeah, so I'd say I think when it was around my senior year in high school I was so into just taking photos with friends and I always just wanted to take that cool photo with the friends and post it on social media and do what I could to make it just look really cool. I remember it was the Christmas of my senior year. I got my first just really nice full frame camera and I was super motivated to go out and just create. That's something that I'm really passionate about and I didn't know at the time that I was. And yeah, I would say that shooting a lot and practicing daily of the art and the creation that I could do using a camera inspired me to be where I'm at today. And I would say that the biggest thing that helped me be where I'm at today is other people inspiring me through social media and then through big cinemas and that art of viewing through the eyes of a lens is super cool to me. I think that it's a different perspective that the world needs to see.
[7:00] ALEXIS MICHAUD: It's so powerful.
[7:00] TANNER JACKSON: Yeah, it's so powerful.
[7:00] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Your passion and I I just I admire it. I admire when we were in Valley of Fire and you were getting that perfect shot. Yeah. Right? what was that canyon? What was that called? You remember the name of that road?
[7:19] TANNER JACKSON: You know what? I can't remember the name exactly.
[7:23] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Okay, it was beautiful, right? So you've got this road kind of through a canyon and a huge mountain range out in the distance and you knew what you wanted to see. and the shots were incredible. They were incredible. So, but you said some people inspired you. Do you want to talk about like how did you, was it just looking at an image and knowing that's so powerful and I wanna be like that or be a version of that or be better than that. When you started to look at photos, like what was it? What was it that pulled you into that? I see pretty pictures, I love them. Doesn't make me wanna go do photography. Right. So was it that you could capture that moment in time and have it tell a story? Like are you a storyteller?
[8:09] TANNER JACKSON: Correct.
[8:10] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Okay.
[8:11] TANNER JACKSON: That's exactly what it is.
[8:12] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Okay, okay.
[8:12] TANNER JACKSON: I Love to just story tell I think that doing that through photo and video is so different Being able to tell a story through visuals is something that not a lot of people Know how to do right? and I would say that There were a few people that really inspired me that I saw through Social media and YouTube and different platforms that that made me inspired and want to do this. So I'd say the biggest person for photography that I just love seeing his photos and they're so natural, beautiful, they told a story. Like every photo that he posted I think told a story. This photographer's name was Samuel Elkins [spelling unverified] and at the time he was doing a lot of like landscapes and then portraits and was from Utah and shot with a lot of people that I I knew also on social media and it was just so cool seeing how he grew and grew and grew and got better. That was something that I was inspired to be like. So he was definitely my biggest inspiration for photography growing up throughout these last few years. And then for videography, I would say the number one inspiration that inspired me to do more artistic video would be Connor Brashear [spelling unverified] and he's based out of Laguna Beach, California. Right now he's touring with Shawn Mendes, one of the biggest artists in the world. And I met him about a year ago in Laguna Beach and asked him a few questions and it was crazy to meet him in person because I was following him for so long. Seeing all of his work and talking to him was such a cool experience and it really motivated me to keep doing what I'm doing and stay inspired. His work is insanely artistic and can story tell in a way that's insane. And I really look up to him as far as video wise and want to be somewhere where he's at. That's the goal I think in life. But yeah.
[10:27] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Okay, I love that. So when you're talking about these, like the storytelling in pictures for sure, but I was more just kind of reflecting on the videos that you have put up on Instagram and how you combine the music and the feelings, right? So it's just this multi sensory experience that takes you up, it takes you down. Like you have some people coming home from being gone for a long time and these families welcoming them. you have like these athletes that are just, I don't know if they're standing there, like five of them doing back tucks and bouncing off the walls and into pools and like the energy that comes with that and like a little bit of the fear, like are they gonna be okay when they land? And then like some of the weddings that you've done or some, your summer actually, your summer is what like locked it up for me last year. When you did that video of everywhere you had been, It was so powerful. And it was so hard in my mind to find someone like you because we do have some film connections in the Bay Area and I was like, I want to call them and go, do you have any kids or nephews or nieces that do this work that just happen to be good like you? But I don't want to, I can't, that makes no sense for me to go hire anybody like that. I was describing the person that I wanted and you were it, but like 10 times, just 10 times better. So I guess I'm kind of all over the place with that. But now, I mean, you do this, but you can't do it full time because you have your hands full. Right. So talk to me about what you're doing nine months a year and where you think that's going to go.
[12:14] TANNER JACKSON: Yeah. So right now I'm at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. I live there and then I live in Vegas as well. So right now I am going to BYU and doing shooting part time on the side. And I've had a really good experience up there. I think that I've still been able to still maintain my business up there in Utah as well as going to school and then in Las Vegas as well. I think that being a videographer up there is definitely a different environment. There's a lot more saturation of photographers, videographers, and creators. Really, even though it's so small.
[12:55] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Right.
[12:56] TANNER JACKSON: Like a ton of creative people. Utah is one of the most creative artistic industries besides LA, I think.
[13:04] ALEXIS MICHAUD: I did not know that.
[13:05] TANNER JACKSON: Yeah.
[13:06] ALEXIS MICHAUD: And are they all about your age, or is there a spectrum?
[13:09] TANNER JACKSON: I think there's a spectrum. Most of them are between the ages of 18 and 30, I'd say. Okay. So.
[13:16] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Interesting, I had no idea. But then the surrounding, like the environment, you have seasons up there. I love Nevada, but it looks almost the same. You're around, to a certain extent. Yeah, we have a spring and that sort of thing, but up there you've got the snow and then you have the green valleys. And I'm sure that lends itself to landscape photography and everything that you talked about. So right now, and are you just a year into school?
[13:39] TANNER JACKSON: I have a semester under my belt.
[13:41] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Okay. are all completed a year. Okay. And you went in thinking you wanted to study what?
[13:42] TANNER JACKSON: I went in this last semester and took a communications class thinking that I was going to go into the advertising program at BYU. Okay. I was really interested when I started and now I'm completely back to scratch. Okay. I'm thinking of doing a film class next semester and seeing where that goes. Right. And I'm really motivated to go into the business program there. Yes.
[14:15] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Their Marriott School of Business is awesome.
[14:16] TANNER JACKSON: It is. And it's such a good degree to have, I think, in the world that we live in today.
[14:21] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Absolutely. And didn't you tell me, am I making this up, that the film school is actually pretty well ranked?
[14:27] TANNER JACKSON: Yeah.
[14:28] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Because I've heard, like, don't go to film school unless you go to a well-ranked one.
[14:30] TANNER JACKSON: Right. Yeah. BYU's film program is amazing. They have a lot of talented people that come out of that. And a lot of big time movies that are produced in the world today are from BYU filmmakers and directors.
[14:45] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Like what? Do you know?
[14:47] TANNER JACKSON: One of the biggest movies that I know that has come out of BYU is Kung Fu Panda.
[14:52] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Awesome!
[14:53] TANNER JACKSON: Napoleon Dynamite is another one.
[14:54] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Oh, that movie is so funny! Okay, okay!
[14:56] TANNER JACKSON: But the people that produced that movie were from graduated BYU film.
[15:02] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Oh man, I love that. I love that. So I guess to me you're, maybe not among your friends, I don't know, to me you seem really rare in all the good ways that you already have a passion and your skill just keeps getting better in a relatively short period of time. I mean, you know, what are you, like four years into this?
[15:25] TANNER JACKSON: Yeah, this is my fourth year of getting it professionally.
[15:28] ALEXIS MICHAUD: And now you're going to explore like, is this going to be a career or not? Right?
[15:33] TANNER JACKSON: It's cool. Trying to like weigh that out.
[15:35] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Is it scary to pursue something that isn't so mainstream maybe?
[15:42] TANNER JACKSON: I think that pursuing something like photography and videography in the world that we live in is something that is definitely a risk because there's so much variety and saturation. There's so many talented people that do it. I think that being where I'm at today, I want to be more educated. want to go to school, get more education, get more knowledge, and be able to make an educated decision. I think that doing what I'm doing now has brought me so much success and I'm only getting better from here. Improving in the industry as I'm doing is something that I want to continue to do.
[16:17] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Okay, so tell me some of your favorite jobs that you've done. Like who, like that you got to go and be a part of. Can you describe some of those for us?
[16:32] TANNER JACKSON: Yeah. The first job that I got doing video was a company here based in Las Vegas, Gravity. Yeah. And they helped me build so many connections with people in Las Vegas. I have to give credit to one of the guys that was general managing Gravity at the time named Tim Miller.
[16:54] ALEXIS MICHAUD: I love Tim. I know him. Sad they moved.
[16:56] TANNER JACKSON: Yeah, yeah. Tim Miller was one of the coolest people that I've ever met in my life and he helped me gain such a bigger motivation to do what I'm doing. Gave me the opportunities that I thought I deserved and working with gravity has been so awesome and I still work for them today.
[17:15] ALEXIS MICHAUD: So describe it because a lot of people aren't going to know what gravity is. Describe some of the videos.
[17:20] TANNER JACKSON: Yeah, so Gravity is a trampoline park here in Las Vegas. They're part of a big organization called CircusTrix that's now rebranding to Defy. They own pretty much all the trampoline parks you see in the country, in the world, and Gravity was one of their first parks that they ever made. And one of the videos that I thought was really cool that I made with them that described how gravity is a way better workout and is healthier and more fun. Just way more enthusiastic than just doing your normal everyday running. Yeah. So we had Tim run up Red Rock Canyon and I shot some shots in gravity of some flippers doing some stuff around the park. Just on the the tramp wall, going into the foam pits, doing flips, and then we have Tim running up Red Rock Canyon just...
[18:19] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Sweating it up.
[18:20] TANNER JACKSON: Killing it. Yeah. I went up this hill, I had a drone just fly all the way up this hill following him, getting to the top, and it was such a cool turnout of how the video was produced, and I was super happy that this video was good. I was really proud of the work that I produced.
[18:39] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Right!
[18:40] TANNER JACKSON: Didn't know that I had that in me. And him giving me the opportunity was such a blessing to me.
[18:49] ALEXIS MICHAUD: It sparked something.
[18:50] TANNER JACKSON: Yeah.
[18:51] ALEXIS MICHAUD: And what an interesting perspective. I love when you can look at something a different way. So to be standing inside the four walls of a trampoline park and go, let's go to Red Rock. I mean, that's interesting. That's a really interesting comparison. So that is cool.
[19:05] TANNER JACKSON: Yeah.
[19:05] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Okay, like what else? What else do you think was really memorable for you?
[19:11] TANNER JACKSON: Yeah, I would say one of the other videos that they helped me have an opportunity to film was Flipcon, which is this huge event that they've put on with super talented athletes around the world. Yep. Social media influencers and American Ninja warrior contestants, people that are just insane.
[19:35] ALEXIS MICHAUD: They are insane. They're in such incredible shape. It is so fun to just stare at them. Like, I'm so impressed.
[19:41] TANNER JACKSON: The things that they do is so different. And they put on this event every summer that's called Flip Con and bring them all together to here in Las Vegas at Gravity. And I just remember three days of the funnest, coolest experiences in my life. Having all them together, all these people that were just huge on social media and huge in the industry that they're trying to create. Right. All conjoined together doing what they love and me being there and capturing the moment.
[20:18] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Yes!
[20:18] TANNER JACKSON: Those three days were one of the coolest experiences in my life.
[20:23] ALEXIS MICHAUD: And I love that video. I just kept watching. I was showing my husband and everybody who was around me like look at these athletes and they're standing in front of the Welcome to Las Vegas sign like a ton of them and they're just like standing still and then they all just like back tuck at the same time and then like running full speed was it through a house and then slow motion like front flips into a pool boom boom boom boom boom.
[20:47] TANNER JACKSON: So we, yeah, we had them stay at a house here in Las Vegas and that this house was like a mansion. Yeah. They had 20 bedrooms and this huge backyard with a pool and then this just grass area to where we put an air track so that they could just jump on this little bounce pad and they were just going at it. They were doing flips anywhere that they could and that's what they're known for. Right. They'll just flip over anything that they possibly could see and make some video or produce some photo from that. So it was cool. It was really cool.
[21:24] ALEXIS MICHAUD: What about one video that caught my attention because I knew nothing about the brand and then you explained it to me and then I saw it, I think it was Stitched. Yeah. So talk to me about that because I thought that's so interesting. Didn't know about the company. The video is awesome. Thanks. And then you explained to me like who that person was and why they were at that store. And I thought, okay, I actually know people that have these issues and here's a solution for them. So talk to us about that.
[21:51] TANNER JACKSON: So another cool guy that I've worked with, his name is Steve Cook. He's huge in the fitness industry and is one of the biggest sponsors for Gymshark, the athletic brand. And funny story how this all worked out, me being able to shoot him with Stitched Las Vegas and then also UFC headquarters training with Conor McGregor's coach, Coach Owen Roddy. [22:17] Break: home tip
[22:17] ALEXIS MICHAUD: After the break, Tanner describes the rewards that come with hustle and not being afraid to make the ask. Today's home tip, my goal is for my clients to become lifelong friends. There's an odd feeling that comes from closing on a house. I literally miss the clients that I've worked so closely with. A recent review from some wonderful clients made me smile. They placed a review on realtor.com. Oh my gosh, Alexis sold our home in two days. She was on top of everything. We didn't have to think about a thing. She took care of all of it. Before we put on the market, she said to start packing because she was gonna move fast and she sure did. She explained every step, advised the best way to present our home to buyers, done deal. And the supporting cast she has on her team is fantastic. She just found us the new home we will be moving into. Thanks Alexis. And what I also love about that review is that that one deal by doing a phenomenal job for them, selling their house in two days for asking price, has led to two more deals from those same clients. So instead of missing them, I get to work with them repeatedly. And I'm so grateful. [23:35] Back to the interview
[23:35] TANNER JACKSON: He DM'd me, or he put out a story on Instagram saying, Are there any local videographers in Las Vegas willing to help film a video for me tomorrow? And I DM'd him saying that I'm a local here in Las Vegas. I'd love to work with you and I'm available whenever. Yes, sir. We'll be there. I kid you not, he replied in the next two minutes saying, okay, like we're meeting at UFC headquarters at 9 a.m. Be ready to go. This is where this is the address. Be here at this time. I was there. So fast. I was so excited. And I've been following him on social media for about a year or so, watching him and what he does. And meeting him in person was such an awesome experience.
[24:22] ALEXIS MICHAUD: I'm just smiling huge. It's hard to see a smile over [audio].
[24:25] TANNER JACKSON: Such a cool experience. All the work that I've put into this, all the videos, photos that I've done, and being able to finally be there and just know that it's paid off, working with somebody like him. And that day we went into UFC headquarters and I was able to film this vlog styled video and create some cool Instagram cinematic videos that I posted. And he worked out with Coach Owen Roddy doing some boxing MMA stuff and we went on a tour just around this UFC headquarters and I was just blown away way all the stuff they had in there. And just filming him, like walking around with him, just taking videos and doing what he told me to do. And it's just so natural and elegant and nice to just film and be natural and real authentic with him.
[25:21] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Right.
[25:22] TANNER JACKSON: And then after that, we went to Stitched Las Vegas, which is one of the coolest suit tailored shops here in Las Vegas and they wanted him to create a video describing how a men's suit is tailored correctly. Right. So I remember going into that store talking with the manager Steve and then the tailor about what we were gonna talk about, what we were gonna produce and we shot the whole thing in less than three hours I'd say and had him talk about just different suits and just different we they had him like sized up and all that and we had do some we did some like B roll in the shop showing showcasing their shoes their suits the different clothes they had the ties everything right and yeah everything was shot in under three hours and that was it we shot two videos and one day I I was able to edit and shoot those off to him in like the next two days. And from there we just had a really cool connection and I hope to work with him again in the future. He's such a cool guy.
[26:37] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Those videos are so eye-catching and I love that story that you've got to go in there and do all that and see everything. And make that connection to somebody you'd already been following and then just boom, boom, boom, how it happened so quickly. And like as a side note, I also love that they're stitched that can make clothes well for men, especially him. Cause I remember when he like, I think at one point maybe his back's to the camera and you can see how that jacket fits him, right? Cause athletes, just people that are in really good shape, men and women, but men have the hardest time finding clothes that fit their shoulders to their waist, to their quads. Right? My husband's a cyclist and we basically almost had to have everything made for him. So I was like, what is this? Why is that guy so big? What is the store? And then you explained it and the video is just such high quality, such high quality. So you really have a spectrum of people and companies that you work with. Is there anybody else that you wanna talk about? Like I noticed your Life is Beautiful [video]. You did some really beautiful work there. Have you done anything else in the music space that you wanna talk about?
[27:49] TANNER JACKSON: Yeah, I was, I went with a few friends to Life is Beautiful last year and something that I'm super passionate about is just having my camera with me at times like that. Different events, different travel experiences in my life. I just need to have my camera with me because I know that something good is going to come out of it and I'll be able to make something cool. Life is Beautiful was such a cool festival that Las Vegas puts on and I knew that I was going to have that opportunity to film. I just didn't think it wasn't going to be the way how I produced this video. I thought I was just going to video and have them on my computer and just let them sit and just do whatever. And I decided to make something out of it and it turned out really cool. I was able to video really up close with some really cool artists like Tyler the Creator was there and Sofi Tukker which is a cool band, cool group of people. ODESZA, one of my favorite bands that produces a lot of the music that I use to my videos. And being there filming super up close with them was so cool. And I was able to make something out of it, which was sweet. And it got a lot of recognition for the work that that I put into it and the video that I produced. And I think that hopefully in the future, I can work with them directly.
[29:18] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Yeah.
[29:18] TANNER JACKSON: And be able to be noticed and make something out of it.
[29:23] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Right.
[29:24] TANNER JACKSON: I think that it'd be such a cool experience. One of the biggest goals of my life is to tour with an artist. Go on tour and just do videos and.
[29:32] ALEXIS MICHAUD: How much fun would that be?
[29:34] TANNER JACKSON: Yeah, I think it'd be such a cool experience and something that motivates me keep doing what I'm doing and keep producing.
[29:38] ALEXIS MICHAUD: One of the things I love about you Tanner is that you just ask. You ask right? I had you come to an event at, can I can I mention this at the ballpark? Yeah. Okay so I hosted a client appreciation event on this party deck at the ballpark and special event staff. She was wonderful. This lady named Kyle. She was. She was super cool and professional more importantly. But so you know I'm busy moving around and she's up there and I hear you basically ask, you know, like who does your work? And I'm like way to be. I just kept walking. I had other things to do, but I was like way to be. Because how else are you gonna get work unless you just ask? You produce, you get out there, you're in the right place at the right time, but you also have to keep making the ask. So I just thought I don't think a lot of people have that skill, especially at however old you are.
[30:33] TANNER JACKSON: So many people have talent. So many people are able to create videos and photos and create just art. Yeah. And if they're trying to pursue it, the biggest thing that I would tell somebody is ask, ask, ask. It's not gonna happen unless you ask. Right. And you're gonna find out that if you just ask later on, it's either gonna be a yes or a no. Right. And if you don't, you're not gonna know. So you just need to ask and you need to be polite and be professional about it. Right. And I think that you'll get a lot farther than if you were to just stay quiet and not do anything that you would want to not happen or happen and just be willing to put yourself in that position to just ask.
[31:22] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Right. Yeah, I just found it very impressive. I agree with you. So now I want to pivot a little bit. I usually ask, there's two questions that I always ask on the podcast, and the first one is like, when you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up? Well, we got the answer to that right now, right? This is now. And so this next couple of questions is kind of leading to the last one, but you spent some time in the Dominican Republic, and you told me it was kind of one of the most, I don't know, pivotal moments in your life. influenced you the most. So tell us what you were doing down there and maybe share a story of something that like you could never possibly forget and also include the timing of it because there was a lot going on down there at that time.
[32:10] TANNER JACKSON: Sure. Okay. So I served in the Dominican Republic, one of the poorest countries in the world, the borders of Haiti. And I was able to serve a mission there. And being there was such a cool experience, such a humbling experience for me. I'd never known what the word work means until I served my mission. I think that I learned everything that I needed as far as talking to people and being able to love and and serve and help others at that time in my life. One of the coolest stories that I had serving in my mission was being in my first area with my first companion, not knowing a single word of Spanish, coming out of the MTC super fresh and being in this first area. And I remember we were given this opportunity to basically what they call white out an area. meaning that no one in the area knew or had missionaries in a long time. Okay. And I was able to be with my companion and find new people to help and new people to serve. And it was something that not most missionaries do in their first area. And I was able to go out and help find people and start fresh with my companion. And it helped me know what it means to be in this humble state. What it means to be humble, what it means to have nothing, to start from nothing, to start from scratch, and to go out and build and help and serve these people. And it inspired me a lot just because I don't think I was super humble before I left on my mission. And coming onto this third world country where people have nothing and you see that.
[34:18] ALEXIS MICHAUD: And were they just hit with a hurricane or a typhoon?
[34:21] TANNER JACKSON: They were at the time. I was there at the time a hurricane had just hit and we were doing some service opportunities while we were there. And while I was in MTC training where we would go out and just pick up trash, put on the yellow vests and go out and help people that were affected by this. And in my mission it was still a thing that this hurricane had damaged part of the Dominican and I was there just listening to the stories and it was hard. It was hard hearing that such a disaster like that could affect so many people.
[34:56] ALEXIS MICHAUD: And did it just destroy homes, water supplies, like you say they have nothing. Is that like, are they intense? Are they, what is nothing coming from the United States? Right? Yeah.
[35:14] TANNER JACKSON: In the Dominican Republic, they all live in these little like huts or [unclear word for these homes] they call them. Okay. And they don't know what a house is compared to here. Right. They just live in these little shacks and live so close to one another. And it is really unsafe if there was a hurricane just because the roofs are like tin and it could be blown off. It could be hit super hard and just crashed down. And it's just a really humbling experience to see that. And I think that coming from Summerlin, Las Vegas into something like that gave me an awakening call to see such poverty and such homes that didn't have structures and didn't have these foundations that we have in America and in Summerlin, Las Vegas.
[36:14] ALEXIS MICHAUD: What does that feel like? You get off a plane and when you're in the MTC, I mean you're learning a language, you're learning maybe some social skills and some speaking skills. Do they give you an intro into culture?
[36:28] TANNER JACKSON: Do a little bit. We teach and we work with people that were at this university right next to the MTC that were students going in the Dominican. And we were able to develop kind of a cultural experience that way. And we didn't have too much knowledge of what we're getting ourselves into. Okay. But right in my first area, I learned what the culture was. I learned how Dominicans act with one another, how they live, and the different ways that they work. All in my first area. And it was such a humbling experience for me and I'll never forget it.
[37:10] ALEXIS MICHAUD: So what does that feel like? When you come from Summerlin, go to the MTC, which is in the Dominican Republic?
[37:20] TANNER JACKSON: Correct.
[37:20] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Yeah. Okay. What's the one in the Dominican Republic? Okay. It's still like super cleansed American-ish, right? The MTC is that. And then you get in there. Do you feel like it's a dream? Do you feel like what is this? It's because you've never seen anything like this before. So your eyes and your processing, the smells are different, such poverty. Is it surreal? Does it take a while to like absorb and digest the way of life? Or are you like, we're here and we're gonna serve and let's do this? Or is it a bit of both?
[37:56] TANNER JACKSON: It really feels like you're in a different just world. I think that God makes it so you aren't focused in the world that we live in this real world and serve in a world where you're just focused on helping others and loving others okay and it feels so surreal it feels that you're protected all the time that you're able to lose yourself and just help others and not have any worries everything just is gone just focus on such a cool such a cool experience and I I miss it so much.
[38:37] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Oh gosh I love that Tanner holy cow. So then talk to me about what it feels like to come home from that. I've heard people describe like layovers in airports where they see bananas and they're like look at how big those bananas are. People take it for granted look at how fresh that food of some people that have been into different places. So what's it like reentry to life in Summerlin? Describe that.
[39:13] TANNER JACKSON: One of the first things that I noticed was on my flight to JFK, New York, and going into that airport and just watching the people. The biggest thing for me that was a huge perspective, just change around was watching how the people interact with one another, how everyone's on their phones, everyone is listening to music, everyone is so into their devices. Yeah. It's so interesting to me compared to the Dominican Republic where everyone's in groups talking and everyone's talking to each other and being active, running around places. And it's such a cool, they don't know what it's like to be in America where the society is just using their phones, their devices, listening to music all the time and not making that humanly connection with one another. And it changed my perspective again when I got into JFK of how the world is so big and different. The world is a place where you can find happiness and nothing. Right. And not know what we have and what we have taken for granted. I think that the Dominican Republic helped me realize that.
[40:43] ALEXIS MICHAUD: That's powerful. Holy cow. Oh man, I really love that. I love that. We have another guest on the show and she's sailing around the world. She said the same thing. There's happiness everywhere. Like there's just, you don't have to have the things. You don't have to have the things, but when you're raised in it you don't, you don't know the difference. Okay, I'm just kind of sitting with that because I love it. So Tanner, you're kind of a quasi-resident now, Vegas, right? This is still home.
[41:20] TANNER JACKSON: Yeah.
[41:21] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Tell me what you love most about Nevada and Las Vegas.
[41:28] TANNER JACKSON: I've been raised here most of my life for about 20 years now. And the biggest thing that I love about Las Vegas is the community that we have. And I think that Summerlin is such a cool area for families to grow up in. And the strip is such a cool experience to have right in your home. To go down and have a night where you're out with friends, doing what you love, and having a good time. It's not as bad as everyone thinks it is. I think that a lot of people talk down on the strip, but I really love it and I embrace it. I love the schools here in Las Vegas. They're really just fun schools to go to and you build such cool relationships with people in Las Vegas. I think that my bestest of friends are from here. And I still talk to a lot of the friends that I went to school with and now I'm up in Utah and trying to start over, but I know they'll always have that group of friends from Las Vegas. So that's been a really pivotal and helpful point in my life to know that. So I think that the coolest thing that Las Vegas can offer people is home. This sense of home. And I really love the feeling that you get living in specifically Summerlin. How homey it really feels to be in an environment that feels so safe, that feels welcoming to to people from anywhere. And you have families that care about one another.
[43:11] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Very much. Yeah, that's powerful. So Tanner, for those that want to find you, and I think that there will be many, how do they find you on social media?
[43:23] TANNER JACKSON: Yeah, so my Instagram handle is at Tanner Jackson with two Rs. You can find me on YouTube, just Tanner Jackson. And that's pretty much all the social media platforms I use.
[43:37] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Okay.
[43:38] TANNER JACKSON: But yeah.
[43:39] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Tanner, thank you so much. The show is about people that make Las Vegas a better place to call home. And you do that by being you and through your work and your art. So thank you so much.
[43:50] TANNER JACKSON: Thank you.
[43:50] ALEXIS MICHAUD: Thank you. Thank you. Tanner is by far the youngest guest we've had on the show. Yet his life is just as interesting as so many twice his age. From going on a mission to the Dominican Republic, to building a business while in high school, and growing it while in college, Tanner Jackson is a rare and bright light, and I cannot wait to watch him to continue to shine. Although a part-time resident of Las Vegas while away at school, Tanner Jackson is another amazing human that makes Las Vegas a better place to call home.
