Daily Inspiration: Meet Chris Hackett

I purchased my first camcorder when I was 17 and immediately started recording every moment I could possibly obtain. Knowing the passion that I have for creating content and how well I construct each project stems from having a great support system. My parents need to be recognized for their backing and push to keep me going down the right path. My mother taught me to be kind and humbling towards people, as well as a good listener, to uphold a positive standard so that they feel comfortable and know that they are greatly valued. My father has always told me if you want something in this life you need to work hard for it and to never give up no matter the circumstances. He paved the way for me to be able to be as creative as I could ever be and I am immensely thankful for him and my mother for always being a solid foundation to who I am.

With the values that I hold and stand by, I strive to bring positivity to the world through my work. It makes me feel wonderful to know that I get positive emotional responses just from anyone watching my videos or viewing my photos. I feel that leaving a legacy of good work opens up doors for our youth to follow in the footsteps to pay it forward. I always love making people laugh, it is one of my strong suits and I feel it is one of the most powerful characteristics to bring everyone together. I am a big fan of racing, skateboarding, nature, great food, music and making the most of the life that I am blessed with. I believe I am mostly drawn towards music, because it is the element that fuels most of my creativity.

So let me take you back to when my professional career started out on the avenue of music. Through various jobs, I met acquaintances that led me into the local music scene by doing work with bands and other artists, as well as getting opportunities to film celebrity interviews. With the stepping stones being presented to me I gained more traction and decided to start my own company called “You Can’t Hackett Productions”. This pushed me to another level and led me on more adventurous avenues to work with my good friends Ian Burns and Duane Woods behind the scenes at Throttle Fest “Full Throttle Saloon” for several years, filming bts footage at the S’loonshine distillery and eventually working at Sturgis and getting the opportunity to film on stage with Jackyl.

While I was at the Chicago Throttle fest in 2014, I met Jamie “CANHEAD” Keeton which would spark a great friendship with many job opportunities. One of those opportunities was following him around recording content at Nascar. We are currently working on pending projects that I look forward to showcasing soon.

After the crazy experiences with Full Throttle, I received opportunities to work at several music festivals such as Dancefestopia and Tumbleweed. I worked bts filming and assisting on an Independent film called “Found Wandering Lost” which was directed by Nicholaus James that ended up winning 2 awards at the Kansas City Film Fest. While things were buzzing I managed to be able to work on bts of 2 Tech N9ne music videos which were “Like I Aint” and “Levitation” which was a short film from cinematographer Morgan Cooper.

I wanted to switch things up a bit after that so I went to experience Planet Comicon in 2018 where I met David Babcock (who is the “Will Ferrell ” impersonator). We became good friends and I have worked with him on several different projects over the last couple of years including a pending project that we are currently filming. In February of 2021, I went to The Aztec theater to record David when he was a part of the “Elton Dan”(Dan Gasser) show and while I was there I met Bob Pennington, the Vice President of the Dream Factory of greater Kansas City. This began a great relationship and placed me in a new mindset in helping out with charitable situations.

My involvement with “Rockin for Dreams V” in May 2021 would prove to be an amazing opportunity and a project that I hold dear to my heart due to the impact of seeing people come together to help out chronically ill children in need in a major way. After covering this project I was asked to continue my journey with The Dream Factory traveling to film their first week down in Florida at “Give Kids The World” village. The impact of this project was monumental and opened my eyes to a world that I had not been aware of and made me proud to have gotten the opportunity to be a part of these magical moments.

Right after, I was asked to film a music video in July 2021 for Drew Six which is called “Dreams Do” a song that was written for The Dream Factory. It is a wonderful song and it was a great moment for me to be able to push my talents further with a very positive message. This video could not have been done without the help of my good friends Joe Ruhlman“KC Steel” and Allen Hickmon “The Block Mamba”. Within the last few years, I had established another media company with Joe which is called “FTR.Media”. We have filmed multiple projects including a charity 5k for “Braden’s Hope” as well as the week in Florida at ‘Give Kids The World’ with Allen’s great help as well and most recently a custom lego train build for a Dream Factory child. Allen and I have collaborated together on many photo shoots, videos and interesting moments. Some of the photos I took for him ended up being featured in the September 2020 issue of Brick Journal.

We all came together to work on a custom lego train project that Allen and his team of builders had constructed together; Joe provided the steel to set the track and I documented the project. Allen, Joe and I have done so much together and have a lot in store for the future. I have worked on so many great projects as there are too many to list here and I look forward to continuing on with pushing a positive message with my work in hopes to inspire and wow the masses with my talents.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There are always bumps in the road when going down a path such as I have. Job opportunities that fell through that would have been a huge career push, miscalculations on investing into the wrong things in hopes that it was the right decision, financial hardships, and just sometimes life has its moments. In some occasions your head space can get cloudy and you feel like giving up from feeling overwhelmed but knowing what you can bring to the table always reminds me to keep focused and to never give up on my dreams.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in creating amazing videos no matter the length and/or content. My love for cinematography is by far the end all passion for me but I also love photography as well. I have utilized my artistic eye for the craft to capitalize on creating stunning Images. I love nature photography and being able to capture shots that most would say were impossible.

I would have to say that I am known for my colors in my projects with a rich vibrant and full feel to what I believe to be the most comforting to the eye. I am most proud of being able to be a voice for the voiceless by being able to take an idea and turn it into a physical property.

The joy that comes from creating content that people really enjoy, provides something to help inspire and it truly means the world to me. What sets me apart is that I have a unique way of looking at the world and with my work it shows with the detail and time that I put into creating my work.

What’s next?
I would love to take my career to the next level with directing, producing, and writing films and being able to create the ideas that I have had stored away for most of my life. I have an interest in working for Nat Geo at some point and being able to travel the world to document my experiences. Building my own working film studio would be a big focus if provided the opportunity. Over everything else I just want to be able to leave an epic legacy behind for people to be inspired and to create things that bring us all together.

Contact Info:

• Email: youcanthackett@gmail.com
• Website: www.youcanthackett.com
• Instagram: @youcanthackett
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/youcanthackettproductions/

1 Comment

1. 

   Karen Elizabeth

   January 22, 2022 at 6:52 pm

   Well deserved highlight of Chris and his work. He was such a delight to have on the set of Found Wandering Lost. Truly appreciate the positivity he brings.

   Reply