Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve “Nacho” Strank.
Steve, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
In my young adulthood, I was always an artistic adventurous person. I did special effects makeup and built elaborate sets for local haunted houses. When I was 17 I joined the military and after getting out I started a job working in government security. My wife and I produced various charity events with fun themes. Our most popular was “Strankenstein’s Zombie Prom” benefiting Juvenile Diabetes Research.
We went all out for Halloween and things like Comicon and themed family parties. This gave me an outlet to be goofy and fun outside of my serious day job. Eventually, I found myself working as a Police officer, and over the years I noticed that my fun goofy self had started to fade. I became more reserved and stopped doing as much of the fun stuff. The jobs were definitely taking their toll on me.
I started trying to bring myself back by doing family vlogs and videos on things I was into like tactical gear and off-roading. I called my channel Tactical Nacho. Tactical because of my background and Nacho being my nickname because of a slight obsession. Eventually, it got to the point that companies wanted to send me free things to review or photograph.
One day I thought to myself, hey, maybe this is what I should be working towards in my life. This was the creative outlet I needed. That’s when Tactical Nacho Media was born. I started out just photographing police and military gear for companies because I was really into that stuff. But the more I branched out, the more I found that I have a love for Videography and photography in general.
I found myself creating content with motocross, Rodeos, events at retirement homes, and all kinds of things I never saw myself being into. The art of it drew me in. Photography and videography have been therapy for me and I’ve seen the old me return. Though I still have to keep a serious day job to pay the bills, I’m working on making content creation a full-time job and fitting in as many gigs as my schedule allows.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t been easy. Trying to keep the bills paid while purchasing the gear I need to grow the business is a constant struggle. There have been many times between gigs where I think to myself, you can’t do this, you need to just settle for a boring day job.
Getting passed up over and over for content creation jobs that I know I would have been perfect for and really had high hopes for. But I believe in myself and I know that I’m capable of great things.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I originally started with videography and the occasional photoshoot. But I have come to love both equally. I’m not the traditional family/ headshot type photographer. I specialize in…… the gritty, real stuff. I love candid shots.
You’ll see me next to a bull rider pen getting shots of the bull rider strapping himself to the bull. Or maybe you’ll see me in the middle of a Motocross track catching riders as they fly through the air. You might catch me at midnight out in the city hanging with the street racers and taking photos of their cars.
Basically, I don’t do boring. In a world full of photographers, I’m on a mission to stand out with something different. They always say “Pick a niche and photograph that”…….. Well, I’m a bad listener. Because I want to capture it all.
What matters most to you?
What matters most to me is my children. I want to create memories they will remember when they are older and I’m gone. I want them to say “Remember the time dad put on the K9 suit and let that dog chase him?” or ” Do you remember when dad turned the Humvee into a Marshmello mobile DJ booth with all the lights for Halloween?” We’re only here for a short time. I intend to create adventures and memories.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.Tacticalnacho.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tactical_nacho_media/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TacticalNachoMedia
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSvLxDhVbhJGi5OBuk1k78Q
