http://www.davidlackeymedia.com/

Atomic Number Six, 6535 E 5th Street, Tulsa, OK (2024)

08/04/2024

Amanda Gunnels - Musician - Texas

Music has always been a part of me, and I knew it was the path I needed to take, but didn't always know how. The town I grew up in didn't have any kind of direction for someone wanting to be a professional musician... particularly because I was never looking to be a "star." I just wanted to write and create good songs that both gave me an outlet to express and that gave others a message that we're not alone in this world. (mellow dramatic, but I was an emo kid haha). I finally convinced my family that I would be ok if I moved to LA and went to a real professional school, and it changed my world. There were so many options to be a musician that I had never even thought of, and I wanted to explore all of them. This brings me to the best advice that has gotten me through pretty much everything and given me a life and career I never thought possible. I asked my teacher how to decide when to focus on my own music, and when to focus on being a supporting member for other artists, and she said, "Go with what's working at the time. Even if it's not technically what you want right now, if it's working then it will lead you where you need to be."
That has not only been in my music career but in life as well. It's advice that led me down a road of so many more experiences I would have missed had I just had a one-track mind. There are moments I wonder if I had "just stuck to it" then maybe I would have gone further solely in a songwriting career, but I really can't think about it too much because I would have never gotten the chance to travel the US for gigs and become a songwriter with sync placements and the ability to afford and create in my home studio. I never even thought I'd be a live performer at all, but here I am every weekend singing for a crowd of people and getting exactly what I wanted as a kid-- a place where music brings everyone together. Sometimes my focus is live music, sometimes it's recording my own, and sometimes it's recording and producing for others. And it just flows and continues to take me down paths I'd never dreamed of, but I'm just "going with what's working in the moment." And it really works.

07/25/2024

Joseph Dufresne - Owner / Personal Trainer / Musician - Oklahoma

I own and am the sole employee at MYSIDE FITNESS. My daily consists mostly of training 10-15 clients a day on average along with bookkeeping, social media content, supply refills, cleaning the gym, ordering/repairing equipment, and the inevitable rescheduling of appointments. Most importantly though, I am a teacher. At least that’s my goal. I do my best to make the environment here at MF as welcoming and inspiring as possible. A place where you can achieve a PR or even fail at a lift but walk away learning something from the attempt. If we’re being honest. That’s life. Everyday. Over and over. People get stronger physically at my gym. I also believe they become mentally stronger too. Start to see hurdles in their life that at one time may have seemed unmanageable or daunting. Now they know they’re capable of so much. Harnessing the feeling of driving through an impossible rep. I got into fitness through competitive cycling. The confidence I gained as well as the humbling experiences changed my life. I wanted to learn about fitness so I could share the inspiring moments I got to experience on the bike. Along the way, I’ve pivoted to becoming a well-rounded athlete. Finding a love for many different routes of health and fitness. I’ve tried crit racing, fondos, ultra-endurance, running, hiking, powerlifting, HIIT, bodybuilding, and even climbing. I didn’t enjoy all of them haha but I took a little away from each. Through all of this, I’ve picked up tidbits here and there that keep me engaged and well-rounded so I can be the best teacher, coach, and motivational point in my career field. I ask questions and work hard for the answers. This is the lifestyle I hope to share with you.
4 years in and it’s been a good run so far. There’s so much more to say and share about my job and life but I’ll keep it brief.

07/20/2024

Gabrielle Marie - Artist - Oklahoma

Growing up I had always wanted to be an artist. I didn't have much direction but I knew that I wanted to create more than anything. My aunt was an artist and I remember going to her house with all the other cousins and having little art/henna nights and I just knew that’s what I wanted to do. Throughout school, I had never taken an art class though. I was in a band that always counted for the credit so I didn't need to. It wasn't until college that I got to take my first serious art class. I was majoring in Apparel Design and decided that I would pick up a minor in Studio Arts. I later realized that my heart wasn't in clothing but in a wide variety of different mediums, including wood and metal. 2.5 years into my bachelor’s I traded in the mannequin and sewing lab for jewelry lab and wood/metal shops. I later graduated and found my love for wood burning and sculpture. While I still very much fit into the “starving artist” stereotype, I get to create jewelry and travel all over the States with my art and share it with people through vending art fairs and music festivals. Every time I begin to feel defeated, I push through to the next event and am reminded how truly wonderful it is to share my art with so many and meet beautiful people along the way.

07/19/2024

We need your stories.
None of this happens with out you.

EVERYONE has a story to tell.

07/19/2024

Eric Lee - Animation Director - Oklahoma

David and I found ourselves once to be the most sought after talent in high school art class. This meant we would often be caught up in the back of the classroom drawing commissioned ink pen tattoos on the arms of larger, much "cooler" upperclassmen.
David was an inspiration in my own personal creative growth during this time. The teacher had set up a typical art class fruit basket still life for us to draw not as it was, but rather "as we see it". For David, this meant covering his art in menacing tiny gremlins wreaking havoc upon his truly well-rendered pencil fruit basket; Like a scene straight out of Dantes Inferno. This memory has always challenged me to see the fun in the mundane and inject that into what I create.

07/18/2024

David Lackey - Photographer - Oklahoma

I grew up in Tulsa. I remember wanting to be in a band and join one so I did. I played for a few years. When that band folded I joined a different band. We played for a few years, Then I met a band in California and I moved and joined them. I was in California for like 8 months when that band decided to call it quits. So I came home. Went to school, and then another band from Florida picked me up. So I moved to Florida in 2005 and was there for 4 years. We spent 80% of our year on the road touring and playing music, played warped tour a few times, made some good friends, and met some of the best people I will ever know. They moved home started working, and decided it was not for me. So back out with another band for 3 years. About that time I was home from a tour so I went out to a club with a friend who was a photographer. The people who owned the biggest club in Tulsa at the time saw me running around with a camera and assumed I worked there as a photographer. So they hired me as their photographer. Which was crazy because I didn't even own a camera. A few months later I went back out on tour and I remember being sick. So I hung up the trombone and retired. So years passed, I kept on learning, picking up clubs and bars to take pictures at. Then I found out I was going to be a dad and my life changed forever. Suddenly all the cool things I did places I had been or people I had met didn't matter. My life was officially over and my son's life was the only thing that mattered. I kept shooting and learning. Picking up clients and work like Reedpop and Lucasfilm along with The BOK Center and Celebrity Attractions, while still working with my friends who were still in bands making videos for them like Goldfinger, MxPx, and Less than Jake. Also picking up sports photography with Tulsa Oilers. I eventually found my way to OSU where I finished my photography degree. Now I am here working on this project while finishing up projects and trying to be the best dad I can be by passing on everything I have learned.
And that is the REALLY quick version, there is A LOT more in-depth version that involves Hockey and Relationships and Moving and enough sadness and Heartbreak to choke you to death.

07/17/2024

K. Bakes - Arkansas

Baking is a thing and I do it…the people I have met from baking things have blown my mind. Insomnia gave me extra hours in a day/night that most people don’t have. Since I’m not able to sit still well or not be productive, I decided to go to work. From flops to fabulous creations, it’s been a wild ride. I am forever learning and changing things up. Art was something I never thought I was good at, but I now consider baking my art. The most beautiful part of it is bringing light and sweetness to people's lives through sweet treats. Bake life a little sweeter 😉

07/16/2024

Lesleigh Alam - Stay-at-home mom - Oklahoma

2018. It was March. It was Thursday. It was sunny. My dad killed himself. I was blindsided. Honestly, there had been seasons of life when he had been bad and institutionalized, where it wouldn't have come as a shock, but Dad had finally found the right mix of medications, and he was doing better than ever! He was such fun. He was a teacher, a dreamer, a music enthusiast, a singer, the best dad, an entrepreneur, and a brilliant businessman who even has some patents. Most of all, he was kind and loving. He had a way of making you feel like the only person in the room. We found out, after the fact, after having counted pills, that he had quit one of his meds cold turkey. I think he was doing SO good that he got ahead of himself and thought he didn't need it anymore. He was great until he wasn't that hateful day. I have many thoughts and feelings and ideas about mental illness and meds and su***de; one of them being that we need more language for it all. We need to develop language or a scale of some kind. For example: if someone says they're depressed, that could mean a whole range of things. Maybe it means they lost their favorite book, or it may mean they are thinking of ending it all. With sickness, such as cancer, we know stage 1-stage 4 is quite a range. Why don't we have that for mental illness yet?

07/15/2024

Kyla Cox - Administrative Office Assistant - Nevada

“You can’t control grief by subtracting joy from your life.”
-The Perfectionist Guide to Losing Control

I listened to that quote for the first time through my headphones on repeat. “You can’t control grief by subtracting joy from your life.”

I was 25 when I left home to chase a dream born from a craving for connection. I did not know what I was searching for, or what I would accomplish by moving to the Sierra Nevadas, I just knew I needed to do it. I needed to move to the mountains and re-imagine myself.

I expected to miss my family and friends, but what I didn’t expect- was the grief that would creep up in my happy moments… I’d be surrounded by beauty, but get an overwhelming sense of loss when I’d think about all the memories I was creating, with no one to share them with.

But I realized that because life is different when your dreams take you away from the ones you love, living in a place that inspires you makes life a little easier. I’ll always be the daughter who couldn’t bear to live in her hometown any longer, but now I know deep down that my people would rather settle for a FaceTime call than me missing out on my dreams.

Being human is such a wild experience… just a series of fleeting moments. Gotta catch and release as many good ones as we can!!

07/14/2024

Katy Gallagher - SoloParent / Amputee / Weird - Oklahoma

Each day is a struggle to find the courage to keep going… not because I’m an amputee. But because I’m human. Life is full of obstacles. It’s important to see obstacles as opportunities and to realize we are exactly where we are meant to be in life. There are no limits!!!
On May 14th, 2017 (Mother’s Day), I was hiking next to a waterfall in Colorado and fell off of a 50-foot cliff while trying to bring my chihuahua down who had wandered off… as I fell, my eyes locked with my son who was only 7 years old at the time. I thought, omg, I’m going to die, right in front of my child. My child has only one living parent. Me…. About 5 feet from the ground, my dog jumped from my arms (unharmed) and I hit the ground HARD on both feet, rolling forward several hundred feet into a stream at the bottom of the waterfall.

Long story short, I had to be airlifted to the nearest hospital, which was over 3 hours away from my home. I had shattered both of my feet and right leg. After countless surgeries and over 4 years later, I was in so much pain I could hardly walk. In October of 2021, I made the difficult decision to have my right leg amputated below the knee. Ever since I have been navigating my new life as an amputee. While many people have expressed how they couldn’t imagine going through such an experience, I have found new meaning in what it means to live. What it means to slow down, not sweat the small stuff, and bring value to not only my life but others.
I am a solo parent, I work full time and am finishing up my bachelor's degree in business at the University of Tulsa. I work hard to give back to the community and am involved in many projects to improve the lives of amputees. If anything, I hope to make a difference in the lives of at least a few people before I depart this earth. Never limit yourself. You are so much stronger than you know!! 💕

07/13/2024

Heather Elizabeth Beaver - Event Coordinator - Oklahoma

I’m tough. We all have identifiers. Mine is hard, unwavering, strong. I used to say “I’m the devil” because I thought it protected me. Then the man I loved hit me and told me to stop “faking upset” because I was “the strongest woman he knew”. I’ve since realized that people don’t see how much pain and vulnerability is under the surface of toughness. They see how much of their own pain they can add to it. So: Hi, I’m Heather. I cry when my friends are in pain. Leaning my shoulder against someone else’s is enough to push the demons away. I get goosebumps when I hear a poem, connect with a song, or see my siblings smile. I’m also tough, but that means something different now.

I appreciate your consideration. 🖤

07/12/2024

Crystal Diane Davis - Salon Owner/Stylist - Oklahoma

Being a hairstylist never crossed my mind, I was headed into the world of academia but then divorce and life happened. I needed to make a switch, so I made a list of what I needed out of a career and a friend pointed out that hairstylists fit the criteria. I took the leap and two layers began cosmology school. But there was one thing I knew for sure, I’d NEVER own a salon. Now, here I am approaching the 10 year anniversary of opening MySalon. Both were decisions made out of necessity and I’m amazed at how it all worked out. I can’t believe the life I have lived!

07/11/2024

Bonnie Lyn - Artist - Oklahoma

Every year the Edmond Public Library would put on a dog show. Each year we participated, my precious Mother got more and more creative. The year we won first place was for best lookalike and best trick: Mom painted spots on Inky with watercolors and I had matching ones, then I played violin and my pup “sang.”

I grew up with three Dalmatians named Inky, Dinky, and Dewey. My Poppy named them after Jimmie Durante‘s “Inka Dinka Doo” song. We used to listen to it on his record player.

Now, thirty years later I’m fostering an eight-year-old Dalmatian pup we call Demi, who needs cataract surgery. We’re planning a FUN-draising day in the park to raise money for her procedure.

07/10/2024

Kinnady Nicole - Server / Grower / Feral Gremlin - Oklahoma

Growing up I didn’t know what it meant to live in a peaceful state of mind or home. There will always be some chaos going on growing up. Though, the one constant I always had was music. I’d sit, listen to music, and be transformed into a different world. Connecting to a different through music has always created a safe space for me.
In my first year of college, I worked at a dispensary and was introduced to many people who introduced me to a whole new world of music. Through this new world of tunes, I have found so many connections and music that truly make me feel like I am important. And I am so grateful for all of it.

07/09/2024

Chellie Knievel (Hill) - Caterer - Oklahoma

When I try to think of my story, a lot gets muddy in my brain. What makes me who I am is a mix of a culmination of my life here in Tulsa. I’m always a mom first, and although that’s not my entire personality, my daughters are my first priority. Aside from being a mom, I’m also a pretty badass caterer. I’ve been with my company for over 25 years now. (Chimi’s Mexican Food) I started as a hostess, then server, bartender, manager, and now catering manager. When I’m not working, I typically rescue some animals from the road or return lost and found pets to their owners. My friends have lovingly nicknamed me Paw Patrol because I always find some animal. I also deeply love the local music scene here in Tulsa. One of the things I love about my city is the amazing local music and all the venues that host live music here. There’s so much love and diversity in the music here, I’m proud to be from Tulsa, and always down to support the local artists and musicians who make our community a great place to live.

07/08/2024

Ash White - Hairstylist - Oklahoma

When I was a kid, I never really knew what, or who, I wanted to be when I got older. I do remember times when I fashioned dresses and “kimonos” out of bathrobes and silk bedsheets tied around my waist. It was a vibe, to say the least.
I spent many years being very introverted, shy, and oftentimes insecure. I’ve been through countless character-building experiences, shall we say, and changes. Even those that nobody has known about or noticed besides myself.
Which I think is what ultimately motivated me to get into hair. I wanted to offer people the chance to feel seen, to feel validated, and to feel beautiful. It’s taken me two decades to learn how to do that for myself and I love having the ability to aid others in their own journey.

These days, I’m in my growth era. And I’ve never felt more content with myself, and with life in general, than I do now.

“Be you, bravely.”

07/07/2024

Evelyn Faith - Owner Operator Flutter By Salon - Oklahoma

I wanted to write the story of my life and some of the things that I have been through that have impacted my life forever leaving invisible scars for me to deal with. I want to speak out and talk about it so that other people will feel comfortable sharing their stories and feel that they’re not alone. I overcame such as growing up in several different schools, being different kids, and having parents who didn’t have the best lives growing up so they struggled with domestic abuse, drug use, sexual abuse, and alcohol abuse and those things trickled down to me. As a child, I had to watch and also be a victim of the several forms of abuse dealt to my 9 siblings and me. We grew up with homelessness and food insecurities and would miss months of school.
In 2004, my mother took me to the Tulsa County courthouse to file a protective order against my father for inappropriate sexual behaviors in Oklahoma and throughout the country in his 18-wheeler. During the next 2 years, my mother struggled with homelessness and her mother called my father to come and get me to live with him because she didn’t want the responsibility of taking care of me and my mother couldn’t. Then my father got me enrolled at Haskell public schools in the summer/fall of 2006. It was then that my father instructed me that a DHS worker would be coming to interview me at the school and that I would need to tell them that I lied about the sexual allegations or else I wouldn’t have anywhere to live or I wouldn’t be able to go to school anymore, with school being my number one priority. So when the worker came to interview me, I reluctantly told them I lied about the sexual abuse (which was a lie) but I was 16 and instructed to say that. Other siblings gave similar stories. All have been reported to police, DHS, FBI… all say there is not enough evidence to prosecute.
One day I want to look back and be able to consider the past as past and not be haunted by different traumas nearly every hour of every day. I also want to be able to show people, anybody, that you can go through hell your whole life since birth… and get back up and try again!!

07/06/2024

Salty Raven - Cosplay - Oklahoma

My favorite interaction with the police happened the other day when I got pulled over and the officer asked if i knew why i was pulled over and i said “no seatbelt?” And he nearly face palmed before saying “you were going 51 in a 35” i think the insane amount of stuffed animals in my window told him not to give me a ticket