We were lucky to catch up with Tyler McDaniel recently and have shared our conversation below.
Tyler , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?
Yes. I absolutely wish that I had jumped on the train years ago when YouTube and Podcast were starting. If I had started back then, I could have gone “viral” on the ground floor. Maybe by now, at 34, I could have retired already.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Well, the idea of podcasting originated from my friend and co-host Josh Davis. Before that, I had been doing theatre and acting since like pre-school. So I have always been in love and invested in performance and creating. I have, since starting, been in hundreds of live shows between community / non-profit / and professional theater, I have been in some smaller tv show episodes for ID Discovery, and some award winning independent films. However, today I mostly focus on podcasting and community theatre. I also work as a Multi-Media and Content Creator for Tennessee Legend Distillery.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Stop asking for freebies. You can’t say you support an independent artist or creative and still ask for things like free tickets or free shirts or a comp ticket to things. If you truly support them and believe in them, you will financially support them too.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I used to think it was to become famous. When I was a kid, I watched the VHS of Mrs. Doubtfire for the first time, and I said to myself that I wanted to do that! I want to do voices and make people laugh and cry and get paid to do it and become big and famous. However, as I got older, it became an escape. I don’t always know what I am escaping from; sadness, boredom, heartbreak, the mundane, stress; it doesn’t matter what it is, but when I am creating or performing…it’s the most ME that I ever feel.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.30andnerdypodcast.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/l1fe_of_ty/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tbmcdaniel/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Phenyx817
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@l1fe_of_ty
Image Credits
Images brought to you by Encore Theatrical Company, 30&Nerdy Podcast, Ashley Lodge Photography, and Nick Crockett of Nexus Films