‘A HECK OF A LIFE’

Influencer, 30, Announces His Own Death Weeks After Becoming a Dad

An influencer couple had built a following by sharing Tanner Martin’s cancer updates and their pregnancy journey.

“Hey, it’s me, Tanner, if you’re watching this, I am dead,” Tanner Martin, a Utah-based influencer, said to his Instagram followers in a pre-recorded video posted on Wednesday. Martin and his wife, Shay Martin, started documenting Martin’s journey with stage 4 colon cancer in 2020, when he was 25. In Nov. 2024, the couple announced that Shay was expecting their first child, who was born on May 15. “I had a heck of a life,” Martin said, sharing his hope that he will be reunited with his loved ones who have passed away. “But you guys, life was awesome. I really enjoyed it while I was here,” he added. The couple had built a following by sharing Tanner’s health updates and candid life reflections. The couple acknowledged on social media that they were taking a risk by having a baby and stated that it was a decision they had made after years of careful consideration. The couple made sure to share both their joyful moments and the difficult ones with their followers, documenting their vacations, pregnancy journey, and the process of designing their headstone. They brought their newborn to their headstone two weeks before Tanner’s death.