Who was Tanner Martin? Utah influencer who died from colon cancer aged 30

The Irish Sun

5 days ago

UTAH influencer Tanner Martin has died after a battle with colon cancer.
After five years fighting the illness,
Advertisement
4
Martin shared his life with his wife, Shay, to over 450,000 followers on Instagram
Credit: Instagram/tannerandshay
In the
'I had a heck of a life," he added. "I decided to make this video announcing my death because I saw someone did that, like, a year or so ago, and I think it's a good opportunity to get all your thoughts out and also you can be thoughtful about what your partner or spouse might need and she probably needs some time to grieve.'
In the video, the 30-year-old thanked his followers with whom he had been so candid and honest over the years, sharing so many aspects of his life.
Who was Tanner Martin?
Martin was born on December 22, 1994, and is a Utah-based content creator.
Advertisement
Since he started making content with his wife Shay, the influencers built a community of over 450,000 supportive followers on Instagram as of June 2025.
4
The couple had been married for six years
Credit: Instagram/tannerandshay
They also documented their life and struggles with fighting the illness to more than 580,000 followers on TikTok and in a regular blog written by Shay.
Tanner is a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and has noted that this faith is the source of his strength during his illness.
Advertisement
How did Tanner Martin die?
After noticing regular stomach aches in 2020, it took six months for a doctor to realize this could be a symptom and recommended a colonoscopy.
Most read in The US Sun
Warning
At the age of just 25 years old, days after Shay and Tanner's second wedding anniversary, Martin was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer in November 2020 and since then documented his journey online until his death.
Between November 2020 and October 2024, Tanner had to endure more than 50 rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, and six major surgeries, according to
.
4
Tanner pre-recorded a videos to his followers announcing he had died
Credit: Instagram
Advertisement
He shared with his followers the whole journey of his illness, including a video which was pre-recorded, sharing with his followers that he had died.
Who is Tanner Martin's wife Shay and how many kids do they have?
As part of their journey fighting colon cancer, the couple have shared details about their relationship and experiences starting a family.
Shay and Tanner tied the knot in 2018 and formed their joint social media pages together.
They have one daughter together called AmyLou, who was born just 41 days before Tanner died.
Advertisement
Despite only being married for six years, the couple made use of every moment, renewing their vows in Ireland and travelling to Mexico and Italy.
4
They shared everything with their followers, from illness, dealing with grief and IVF
Credit: Instagram/tannerandshay
In May the couple also hosted a living funeral for Tanner, it featured a red carpet and was held at a movie theatre so that those saying goodbye could watch a film about his life.
Shay revealed to their followers that Tanner wanted to be a father, and so she opened up about her experience of IVF.
Advertisement
She revealed that they experienced many hurdles, including sepsis and implications of Tanner's cancer treatment.
However, finally, the couple shared pictures from a photo shoot in November 2024, announcing that they were expecting a baby.
In the video, the couple were holding newspapers which read: "Breaking News. Baby on the Way!"
Tanner witnessed the birth of their first child AmyLou on May 15.
Advertisement
Read more on the Irish Sun
After his death, Shay shared one more video with Tanner's last wish.
He asked his followers to donate to his GoFundMe to raise money for his family and provide them security.