We recently connected with Steve Strank and have shared our conversation below.

Steve, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

Well, it stemmed from a slight (or not so slight) food obession of mine. Nachos. I eat way more nachos than the average human. This turned into people saying “Hey Nacho!” and it kind of stuck. My business name is Tactical Nacho Media. The tactical part being my history of being in the military, security, and police jobs. It started as me doing a goofy youtube channel about tactical gear. As the channel grew, companies started contacting me about photographing and doing videos of their products.
Then one day I thought, hey, I really enjoy making content, why not get paid for it? I wondered if I should come up with a completely new name, but having it be a spin off of my Tactical Nacho channel, I just went with Tactical Nacho Media.

Steve, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I really just started my Youtube channel as a hobby and creative outlet. but as I began to upgrade my camera gear, I began to get more serious about it and found that it was a great stress relief from my serious jobs. I began only doing video for the youtube channel, but I started doing photography and a love for both began to grow. In the beginning I only did Tactical/Military/Police type photos because that was my background and what I enjoyed. But eventually I began to branch out into what some would call adventure photography.

I love taking pictures where the excitement is. This has lead me to photograph concerts, rodeos, parties, and even roller derby. One of the most things I’m proud of, is that I started with the hard stuff first. From the beginning I wanted to learn how to shoot in maual mode so I could control every part of the photos. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever used the automatic setting in my life. I also jumped right into Low-light photos and I think they are probably my favorite to do.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I’m still in the process of building a following. But one of my biggest contributors of growth, is just getting out there and shooting the free gigs. Shoot the gigs and the photos that you know once you post it, people are going to want to share. Shoot those shots that capture the moment and the feeling. Keep your head down and keep grinding and it will come. (At least that’s what I keep telling myself.)

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

It’s that moment you send off the final product to the client and wait for their reaction. It is by far the most stressful part. Will they love it? Will they hate it? That silence while you wait for the response lasts for an eternity I swear. But when you see their face light up, or you get the message back “These are fantastic!” is a feeling you can’t put into words. But you just glow for a moment.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.TacticalNachoMedia.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tactical_nacho_media
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TacticalNachoMedia/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tacticalnacho/