Tanner Martin announces his own death in a final farewell video.

26 June 2025

tannerandshay/Instagram

For Tanner Martin, life was never just a tally of days lived, it was measured in moments understood, feelings shared, and a legacy built on honesty. Known to some as a grief educator and to others as an upbeat Utah-based social media influencer, Tanner announced his own death at the age of 30 through a delicately pre-recorded video shared on June 25. The message was simple, heartfelt, and profound: “Hey, it’s me, Tanner. If you’re watching this, I am dead.” The clip was intended to ease his wife Shay into a time and space where social media pressure was absent, allowing her to mourn in peace. Tanner’s farewell was not a cry for attention, it was a gift wrapped in foresight and love, a final act of care meant to guide those he would leave behind.

Tanner's journey began in 2020, at age 25, when a persistent stomach ache easily dismissed led to a colon cancer diagnosis. Despite essentially normal early tests, a specialist’s insistence on a colonoscopy revealed stage 4 disease with liver metastasis. Undeterred, Tanner documented his life unfiltered: 50 rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, six surgeries, measurable loses in physical strength, and yet an unbroken spirit. His candid social videos resonated widely, earning a community of more than half a million followers on TikTok and Instagram who came to admire both his resilience and vulnerability.

In 2023, doctors delivered a sobering prognosis: his cancer was incurable, with a life expectancy of two to five years. That stark timeline prompted Tanner and Shay to embrace parenthood. Through IVF, they welcomed their daughter AmyLou nicknamed “Jiaozi” on May 15, just 41 days before Tanner joined the ancestors. Even in this moment of hope, he warned viewers of his health’s fragility, though he never lost his humor or optimism.

“Life was awesome,” he said in the farewell video, urging his audience to find the good in people and hold onto kindness. But he also spoke of death as a new adventure, expressing excitement about reunions in the afterlife. Above all, he wanted to protect Shay and AmyLou making it abundantly clear that his final wish was financial security for his family. With no life insurance, he encouraged followers to donate to a GoFundMe fund he set up shortly before his passing. The fund has now raised over $500,000 to support their future, tuition, housing, and life milestones transforming heartbreak into a safety net.

Critics might argue he staged the moment for effect, yet countless supporters saw it as selfless planning: a man who would never meet his child grow up, still ensured she'd have what she needed. In a world where influencer culture often feels shallow and transactional, Tanner's final act felt deeply genuine, a soul-level disruption of the digital script .

His journey also brought much-needed attention to the rise of colorectal cancer among young adults. Obesity, sedentary lifestyles, Western diet, and environmental pollutants are suspected risk factors and Tanner's case pushed awareness once again. Today’s screening guidelines have been updated to recommend checks starting at age 45 but for some parts of the population, signs may appear earlier. Tanner’s advocacy reminds us to check symptoms like persistent stomach pain or stool changes instead of shrugging them off.

Throughout this five-year odyssey, Tanner lived loudly and transparently. His husband-wife team later rebranded as parents in one video even hosted a "living funeral," complete with a red carpet and film screening celebrating his life. Their openness gave grief a community context and marred the usual invisibility that surrounds terminal illness.

In the wake of his death, social media has brimmed with testimonials: strangers who found strength in his honesty, friends who admired his unwavering faith, and family members who now carry his torch. Shay, in captions and heartfelt posts, echoes Tanner's last message: be kind, remember love, look for good in one another. Their daughter may never meet him in this realm, but she has already become part of his legacy a legacy shaped through hope, vulnerability, and new beginnings.

Tanner’s farewell is not a tragic outlier but a reminder that even the fragile, truncated lives can be seared with meaning. He refused to disappear quietly. Instead, he chose to confront his mortality with openness, humor, love and a plan. His story challenges the idea that influencers are only self-promoters. Tanner was that rare breed: an influencer who used his platform to heal, inspire, prepare.

In the end, he offered us a guidebook: how to face terminal illness with dignity, how to prepare a loved one for the unimaginable, how to blend heartbreak with hope. His last gift wasn’t a perfect speech or viral moment, it was a blueprint for living and dying with open hearts.