Meet Tyler McKinney of South LA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler McKinney.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born in Long Beach, CA on May 24th, 1995 and lived there until I was 13 years old. I then moved to Moreno Valley, CA with my mom, dad, and brother. In high school, I was really involved in extracurricular activities. I auditioned to be a dancer my freshman year but didn’t make it so I decided to try out for the schools’ volleyball team. I ended up making the team and loved it! I focused solely on volleyball until junior year. I auditioned for the dance team again and made the team. I was able to juggle both volleyball and dance my junior and senior year before graduating and going to college. It was in high school that I also found a love for recording and editing videos. I loved the idea of capturing moments on camera and editing footage together to tell a story. I would record my friends/family and I hanging out, talking, and laughing only to let the videos sit on my laptop until we wanted to re-watch them. It was in 2012, my junior year of high school that I started uploading videos of my volleyball games and dance recitals to YouTube. I looked at YouTube like a video diary.

When it was time to apply to colleges, I applied to a number of different schools, but San Francisco State University was my number one choice because it was close, but not too close. It allowed me the opportunity to be on my own, but coming back home for the holidays and special occasions was always possible. I got my acceptance letter to SFSU and was so happy to accept my offer. I applied as a Business Marketing major because I had a huge interest in becoming a Sports/Celebrity Agent at the time and that was the major I felt fit best. I knew that I wanted to be involved in the entertainment industry, but I wasn’t quite sure how one got involved in it. I had no idea that you could go to school to be a writer, a director, a host, etc. Those were not careers that were spoken about during my time growing up. I absolutely hated the classes I had to take to meet my requirements as a business major. I was required to take classes like Calculus and Statistics. I was terrible at math and dreaded going to class. No matter how much I studied, I couldn’t grasp the concepts. I was not happy.

I was recruited to run track for the SFSU women’s track and field team my third year in college. I was spotted by the head coach doing workouts on the bleachers and was asked to practice with the team. I had never ran track before so I was pretty nervous. I spent a few weeks getting to know the girls and the workouts before I was signing paperwork to become an official member of the team. I began training to become a long and triple jumper. This was very unexpected, but it was one of the best learning experiences of my life. I really had to commit to working hard, staying in shape, and taking care of my body because not only were our workouts intense, but I was up against girls who had been running track their entire lives. I ran track for two seasons before deciding it wasn’t something I wanted to continue. But before my time on the team came to an end, one of my teammates spoke to me about the program she was in at SFSU called BECA (Broadcasting and Electronic Communication Arts). I was so intrigued. She spoke about the creative classes she was taking such as radio, news writing, and media performance. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Within weeks, I had researched what it took to change my major, and the rest is history. I changed my major to BECA my junior year and began taking the requirements I needed to graduate with a BA in broadcasting. I took classes such as Media Aesthetics, Editing, News Writing, Radio, Media Performance, Life on TV. and Script Writing. I also interned at Entercom and KRON4 News.

Because I was no longer running track and was now taking classes I truly enjoyed, I found my passion; producing, performing and being creative. I found my love for being in front of an audience and being on camera. I used some of my financial aid money to buy my first DSLR; the Canon t6i. I started recording EVERYTHING and was more consistent on YouTube. I recorded my personal life for memories, for the enjoyment of others, and for future SFSU students.

In total, I was at San Francisco State for five years (2013-2018) before graduating with a BA in broadcasting. After going on a trip to LA during Spring Break senior year, I knew that LA was where I needed to be. I knew that moving here right after college was the right thing to do because of the endless opportunities. The move didn’t happen right away. After graduation, I moved back to Moreno Valley and lived with my mom and brother. At that time, I was interning at Dr. Phil. I was commuting back and forth from Moreno Valley to LA about 3-4 days a week. I would spend the night at friends’ houses from time to time to save gas. My internship was not full time, but it was paid. Now that my foot was in the door, I wanted to explore on-camera opportunities. I did some research on hosting in LA and came across AfterBuzz TV. I applied to become a host, and have since been hosting aftershows, interviewing guests and covering red carpet events. I love it!

Last year, I moved on from my internship at Dr. Phil and now work as a Media Assistant at Entertainment Tonight. I live in South Central, LA with four other amazing black women. I finally feel like I am on the path I need to be on to take my career to the next level. I am surrounded by people who have tons of experience and knowledge to pass on to me and have the opportunity to shadow some of the best hosts in the industry. I am making connections, building my own personal audience, learning from the best, and having fun doing it. My overall dream is to be myself for a living, whatever that may entail. Hosting, acting, commercials, modeling, or everything at once. I just want to enjoy my job and remain true to who I am.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I didn’t always know what I wanted to do. After finally figuring it out, I also had to figure out what path to take. This was hard (and still is) because industry jobs are not jobs that are advertised that often. No one teaches you what steps you need to take to get into this field. I am still trying to find my way.

Moving out on my own has been a struggle. I moved out of my mom’s house with little to nothing. I slept on a blow up mattress for about five months before being able to afford any furniture of my own. I am still learning how to adult (budgeting, paying bills, etc.)

I have hit a few roadblocks. There are times where I meet people or get an opportunity hoping that it will help push me forward or give me an idea of where to go next, and it ends up being a dead end. Picking yourself up and staying focused after that can be a little difficult sometimes.

Getting more no’s than yes’s can be hard at first, but you get used to it. I had to learn to let it go. I am now ok with the fact that not every job is for me and everything happens for a reason.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am a Content Creator, Host, Journalist, and Producer. What sets me apart is my optimistic, vibrant, honest personality. I have the ability to connect with anyone I come in contact with whether I am on camera or not.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I am looking forward to building an audience of people who can see themselves in me no matter who they are or what they look like. I plan on becoming a well-known personality, a successful TV host, an honest journalist, an entertainer and a teacher for anyone looking to do the same. I would love to own a business one day!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misstylersimone/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrettySpiffy247
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/ThePrettySnazzy/videos?view_as=subscriber

Image Credit:
Zay Monae Photography (@zaymonaephotography), Stephen Lemieux Photo (@stephenlemieuxphoto)

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