Growing up in Dewey, Oklahoma, Tanner Ray never felt like he fit in. In his small rural town, Tanner says he was “kind of the weird artsy kid” who aspired to become a documentary filmmaker. After graduating high school, he briefly achieved his dreams of traveling the country. But at 18, when financial problems led him back to Oklahoma, he realized that many of his friends from high school had moved away. “They all were starting their lives,” he says. “And there was just me… I felt very isolated and lonely.”

He decided to approach this problem in his own unique way: by creating a documentary about making new friends. Tanner’s short doc, “An Oklahoma Summer”, chronicles his struggle to connect and how the new friends he makes teach him to make the most of every moment, by going on adventures like ghost hunting, horseback riding, and shopping cart racing. “I was having so much fun in this place that I resented my whole life,” Tanner tells Tim. “The whole time I was focused on leaving, I was missing this… adventure unfolding like right before me.” 

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Tanner Ray is a documentary filmmaker currently based in Oklahoma. You can find his short films like “An Oklahoma Summer” on his YouTube channel, @WickedStew. You can also see his work on TikTok and Instagram.

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Our theme music was written by Andy Ogden and produced by Tim Lauer, Andy Ogden and Julian Raymond. All other music that you hear in this episode is courtesy of Epidemic Sound. 

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