Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Tate.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born in Memphis, Tennessee, but a major part of my childhood was spent in Los Angeles, California. Growing up, life was not easy. I experienced homelessness, instability, and a lot of difficult environments at a young age. There were times when we lived in homes with rats and roaches, and there were times when the food in our refrigerator came from what my father found in the trash. My parents also had serious marital issues, so home did not always feel safe, peaceful, or full of love.
Those experiences shaped me in a lot of ways. As a child, I did not have all the words to describe what I was feeling, but I knew I wanted more out of life. I knew I did not want my future family to experience the same things I experienced. Even at a young age, I had this deep desire to build something better.
When I was 12 years old, I met Crystal, who is now my wife. Even at that age, I knew she was special. I remember feeling like she was the one, and I told myself that one day I was going to marry her and build a family with her. Not long after that, I moved back to Memphis, and that was a major change for me. It was a culture shock, but Memphis became home.
Growing up, my dream was to play in the NFL. Football was my focus throughout middle school and high school. I attended Kirby High School and graduated in 2016. I worked hard in school and on the field because football felt like my way out. I had opportunities to play college football, but life circumstances made things more complicated. My father was battling cancer while I was in high school, and although he was able to make it to my graduation, he passed away during my first semester of college when I was 18 years old.
That changed everything for me.
After my father passed, life became very hard financially. My family was evicted from our home, and I had to figure out how to take care of myself. A few months later, I married Crystal, and my dream of marrying the girl I met at 12 years old came true. But marriage also came with responsibility. We were young, trying to survive, trying to go to school, trying to work, and trying to build a life with very little support.
I went to the University of Memphis, where I was studying communications with a focus on film, video production, and journalism. I also walked on to the University of Memphis football team in 2017. I had kept my grades up and had around a 3.5 GPA because I knew I needed strong academics to give myself the best chance. I made the team, but during that season, I had to sit out. At the same time, I was dealing with financial pressure and the responsibility of providing for my wife.
Then we found out we were expecting our first child.
At the five-month mark of the pregnancy, our son was diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bone disease. That moment completely changed my life. I had to make a decision. I still had dreams of playing football, but I also knew that my wife and my son needed me. So I made the decision to step away from football and focus on being the best husband and father I could be.
When my son was born, more than 75% of his bones were broken. Doctors did not know if he was going to make it. We spent two months at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital while his body healed. That season was painful, scary, and life-changing. My wife and I decided that she would stay home to care for him because he needed so much support, and I went to work.
At one point, I was working around 110 hours a week. I worked overnight at FedEx and during the day at a local rental center. I did whatever I had to do to provide for my family. We had medical bills, debt, and the pressure of trying to survive as young parents with a child who had serious medical needs.
But in the middle of that season, something started to shift in me. I realized I could not work 100-plus hours a week forever. I needed to build a skill set that could help me create more income, more freedom, and a better future for my family.
That is when I started leaning back into video production.
I first learned videography and journalism in high school at Kirby, and then I continued studying it in college. At first, video was secondary to football. Football was the dream, and video was just something I was good at. But once football ended, I started to see that my gift with video could become a way to create opportunities.
That is how Halo Vision Media started.
Originally, I started Halo Vision Media with my brother. He focused on photography, and I focused on videography. In the beginning, it was very small. We were not making a lot of money, and I was still working long hours. Eventually, my brother moved on from the business, but I kept going. I would do small projects here and there, especially through my church and people I knew, but I still had to work a lot to take care of my family.
Around that time, I also started exploring entrepreneurship in other ways. I had a 2018 Mustang, and I decided to rent it out on Turo. I will never forget my first month. I made about $2,300 in revenue and around $1,900 in profit after expenses. That opened my eyes. I realized entrepreneurship could give me a level of opportunity that working a job alone could not.
But then COVID-19 happened, and everything slowed down. I paused the rental car business, slowed down with Halo Vision Media, and went back to working long hours at FedEx.
Eventually, after COVID, my wife and I looked at the equity in our home. We had bought our first home in Bartlett when I was 21 years old, and the value had gone up. We saw an opportunity to take a step toward freedom. In 2022, we sold our home, and I stepped out to become a full-time entrepreneur.
That year, I officially filed Halo Vision Media with the Secretary of State, got my business license, and also launched J Rentals Memphis, a rental car company. I began growing both businesses at the same time. Halo Vision Media started bringing in clients, and there were months where I made around $4,000, $4,500, and sometimes $6,000 from media work. At the same time, I grew my rental car business to an 18-car fleet.
In 2022, between my businesses and other investments, I grossed over $750,000. It was the best financial year of my life. For someone who had grown up in poverty and had worked so many hours just to survive, that year showed me what was possible.
But success came with lessons.
Toward the end of 2022 and into 2023, life became extremely difficult again. My wife and I were expecting our third child, and we found out that he also had osteogenesis imperfecta, the same condition as our first son. At the same time, I made some bad financial decisions, trusted the wrong people, made some poor investments, and experienced people stealing from me and failing to repay money they owed. I also had to face personal and family challenges that I had not fully dealt with.
Eventually, I hit rock bottom.
I shut down the rental car business, slowed down heavily with Halo Vision Media, and found myself in one of the darkest seasons of my life. My credit score dropped into the 300s. I was late on bills. Vehicles were repossessed or voluntarily returned to the bank. I was overwhelmed with more than $250,000 in debt. I felt like I had failed as a husband, failed as a father, and failed as a man.
That season was not just financial. It was emotional, mental, and spiritual. I battled depression, suicidal thoughts, anger, bitterness, shame, and deep feelings of loneliness. I remember feeling hopeless and wondering how I was ever going to recover.
But I am grateful that my story did not end there.
During that season, I got a job at 901 Church, and that helped me begin to stabilize. My family was also supported by an organization called Spreading Sunshine. They came alongside us in one of our hardest seasons. Because we have two children with special needs, their support meant more than words can explain. They gave us practical help, spiritual encouragement, sunshine boxes, food, and love during a time when we desperately needed it.
That experience changed how I view community, service, and impact. It reminded me that sometimes people do not need a perfect speech; they need someone to show up with love, support, and consistency.
After working at 901 Church for about six months, I was offered a role as Creative Director and Chief Media Officer at Star Academy and Golden Gate Cathedral. That job helped me get back on my feet financially and gave me the opportunity to continue growing creatively. I served there for about a year and a half before deciding to go back full-time into Halo Vision Media.
Today, Halo Vision Media is much bigger than just a video production company to me.
Halo Vision Media is a visual media agency that helps businesses, nonprofits, speakers, and organizations tell their stories through high-quality video and photography. We help brands be seen, be trusted, and be chosen. We create brand videos, event recaps, photography, headshots, social media content, speaker content, and documentary-style stories.
But the heart of Halo Vision Media is storytelling.
I know what it feels like to have a story that is full of pain, but also full of purpose. I know what it feels like to be overlooked, to struggle, to rebuild, and to need people to see the real value inside of you. That is why I care so deeply about helping organizations communicate their value. A powerful story can build trust. It can create connection. It can move people to action. It can help people see the heart behind a business or organization.
Along with growing Halo Vision Media, I am also stepping more into motivational speaking. My message is centered around helping people be more, do more, and have more. I want to encourage people who are in dark places and remind them that where they are right now is not the end. I want people to know that their pain does not disqualify them. Their mistakes do not have to define them. Their lowest moment can become the place where purpose is born.
My faith is a major part of my story. I am a Christian, and I believe God has carried me through every difficult season of my life. One of my favorite scriptures is Romans 8:28, which says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” That verse has carried me through some of my hardest days. It reminds me that even the things I did not understand, even the things that hurt me, even the things that felt like failure, God can use them for good.
I am also a husband and a father of three sons. My oldest son is seven, my middle son is five, and my youngest son is three. My oldest and youngest sons both have osteogenesis imperfecta. Being their father has changed my life. It has taught me patience, strength, compassion, and resilience. My wife Crystal and I have been through a lot together, but we are still standing, still growing, and still believing that our story can impact other people.
Today, I am focused on building Halo Vision Media, serving in the community, supporting organizations like Spreading Sunshine, mentoring young men and boys, staying connected to my local church, New Hope Christian Church, and using my life as a source of encouragement.
I do not just want to inspire people through what I say. I want to inspire people through how I live.
When I look back over my life, I see pain, poverty, loss, failure, depression, and mistakes. But I also see grace, growth, resilience, faith, family, and purpose. I have learned that sometimes the very thing that almost breaks you becomes the thing God uses to build you.
That is how I got to where I am today.
I am still building. I am still healing. I am still growing. But I am no longer ashamed of my story. I use it as fuel. I use it to serve others. I use it to remind people that no matter how dark life gets, this is not the end. There is still purpose. There is still hope. And there is still more available on the other side of the pain.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it definitely has not been a smooth road. Honestly, a lot of my journey has been filled with obstacles, setbacks, painful lessons, and seasons where I did not know how I was going to make it through.
One of the biggest struggles started early in my life. I grew up experiencing poverty, instability, and environments that were not always safe or healthy. I knew what it felt like to go without. I knew what it felt like to live in survival mode. Those early experiences shaped me, but they also created a lot of pain that I had to learn how to process later in life.
Another major struggle was losing my father when I was 18 years old during my first semester of college. At that time, I was trying to chase my dream of playing football, go to school, and build a future for myself. When he passed, life changed quickly. My family was evicted, and I had to figure out how to take care of myself. A few months later, I married my wife, Crystal, and although that was one of the best decisions of my life, it also came with real responsibility at a very young age.
Then, while I was in college, my wife and I found out we were expecting our first child. At the five-month mark of the pregnancy, we learned that our son had osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bone disease. When he was born, more than 75% of his bones were broken. Doctors did not know if he was going to make it. We spent two months at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital while his body healed.
That season changed everything for me. I had to step away from my dream of playing football and focus on being a husband and father. That was not easy. It was painful because football had been my dream for so long, but I knew my family needed me. So I went to work.
At one point, I was working around 110 hours a week between FedEx overnight and a local rental center during the day. I was doing whatever I had to do to provide for my family, pay medical bills, handle debt, and keep us moving forward. That season taught me discipline, sacrifice, and responsibility, but it also took a toll on me physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Entrepreneurship has also been a road full of struggles. When I started Halo Vision Media, it was not an overnight success. In the beginning, I was doing small projects, trying to build the business while still working long hours. I did not always have the time, resources, or confidence to grow it the way I wanted to. There were seasons where I had the vision, but I did not yet have the structure, systems, or bandwidth to fully execute it.
In 2022, I experienced a major financial breakthrough. Between Halo Vision Media, my rental car business, and other investments, I grossed over $750,000. But that success came with lessons. I made mistakes. I trusted some of the wrong people. I made poor financial decisions. I experienced people stealing from me, failing to repay money they owed, and taking advantage of my trust. At the same time, my wife and I found out our third child also had osteogenesis imperfecta, the same condition as our first son.
All of that pressure eventually led me into one of the darkest seasons of my life. I shut down my rental car business, slowed down heavily with Halo Vision Media, and found myself in a very difficult financial, emotional, and mental place. My credit score dropped into the 300s. I was late on bills. Vehicles were repossessed or voluntarily returned to the bank. I was overwhelmed with more than $250,000 in debt. I felt like I had failed as a husband, failed as a father, and failed as a man.
That season was one of the hardest seasons I have ever walked through. I battled depression, suicidal thoughts, shame, anger, bitterness, and hopelessness. I felt alone. I felt like I had lost everything I had worked so hard to build. I had gone from having the best financial year of my life to feeling like I was back at the bottom again.
But looking back, I can say that the struggle did not destroy me. It developed me.
I had to go to therapy. I had to take responsibility. I had to face the pain I had been carrying from my childhood, my business mistakes, my personal failures, and the pressure I placed on myself to always be the provider and the strong one. I had to rebuild my faith, my mindset, my confidence, my marriage, my finances, and my business from the ground up.
One of the things that helped me during that season was getting connected to community. Working at 901 Church helped me stabilize, and Spreading Sunshine came alongside my family in a very meaningful way. They supported us practically and spiritually during one of our hardest seasons, especially as a family with two children with special needs. Their love and support reminded me that even when you feel alone, God can send people to help carry you through.
So no, it has not been a smooth road. But I believe the road I have walked has given me depth, compassion, wisdom, and purpose. It has made me a better husband, father, entrepreneur, creative, and speaker.
The struggles taught me that success is not just about how high you can climb. It is also about how you respond when life knocks you down. I have learned that failure is not final, pain can produce purpose, and the lowest moments of your life can become the foundation for your greatest impact.
Today, I use those struggles as fuel. They are part of why I built Halo Vision Media. They are part of why I care so much about storytelling. They are part of why I speak and encourage people. Because I know what it feels like to be in a dark place, and I want my life and my work to remind people that where they are right now is not the end.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Halo Vision Media is a visual media agency based in Memphis, Tennessee. We specialize in helping businesses, nonprofits, speakers, and organizations tell their stories through high-quality video production and photography.
At the core of what we do, we help brands be seen, be trusted, and be chosen.
A lot of great businesses and organizations are doing meaningful work, but their visuals do not always reflect the level of excellence, credibility, and impact they truly carry. That is where Halo Vision Media comes in. We create professional visuals that help organizations show who they are, what they do, why they matter, and why people should trust them.
Our main services include brand videos, testimonial videos, event videography, event photography, brand photography, professional headshots, speaker content, documentary-style storytelling, podcast production, interview videos, and social media content. We work with service-based businesses, nonprofits, churches, schools, speakers, and organizations that need strong visuals to communicate their message clearly and professionally.
One of the things we specialize in is what I call brand elevation. Brand elevation is about helping a business or organization look as credible as they actually are. It is not just about making something look good. It is about creating visuals that build trust. A strong brand video, professional photos, and clear storytelling can help people understand the heart behind a business before they ever speak to someone on the team.
That is why we do not look at video and photography as just “content.” We see it as a tool for connection, trust, and growth.
We are especially known for storytelling. Whether we are creating a brand video for a business, capturing a nonprofit’s mission, filming an event, or producing a testimonial, our goal is always to bring out the real story behind the work. I believe people connect with authenticity. They want to know who is behind the business. They want to know the mission. They want to know the impact. They want to know why they should care.
What sets Halo Vision Media apart is that we approach every project with both creativity and purpose. We are not just showing up with cameras. We are thinking about the message, the emotion, the strategy, the audience, and the way the final visuals will help the client move forward. We want every video and photo to have a purpose behind it.
Another thing that sets us apart is our heart for people. Because of my own story, I understand the power of being seen. I know what it feels like to be overlooked, to have value inside of you that people do not fully recognize yet, and to need the right opportunity to tell your story. That is how I approach the brands we serve. I want to help pull out the value, the heart, and the excellence that is already there and present it in a way that helps others see it clearly.
I am most proud of the fact that Halo Vision Media has grown from a small idea into a brand that is now helping real organizations in our community. I am proud that we have been able to work with nonprofits, businesses, churches, and community organizations that are doing meaningful work. I am proud that our work can help them increase trust, strengthen their presence, and communicate their mission with more clarity.
One of the biggest things I want readers to know is that Halo Vision Media is not just about cameras, lights, and editing. We are about helping people and organizations tell stories that matter.
If you are a business owner, nonprofit leader, speaker, or organization doing great work, your visuals should reflect that. Your brand should look as strong as the work you provide. Your story should be told in a way that helps people connect with you, trust you, and choose you.
That is what we help our clients do.
We help them show up with confidence. We help them communicate their value. We help them build trust before the first conversation. We help them create visuals that do more than just look good — visuals that serve a purpose.
At the heart of Halo Vision Media, our mission is simple: to help organizations be seen, be trusted, and be chosen through powerful visual storytelling.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Honestly, the number one resource for me is the Bible. My faith is the foundation for how I try to live my life. Whether it’s my marriage, my family, my business, my finances, or just how I treat people, a lot of my beliefs and values come from the Bible.
Outside of the Bible, I am really heavy on personal development, business, and financial education. YouTube is honestly one of my favorite apps because I use it to learn. I listen to a lot of entrepreneurs and business-minded people like Alex Hormozi, Myron Golden, Codie Sanchez, Dan Martell, Robert Kiyosaki, and Leila Hormozi. I also listen to speakers like David Goggins, Eric Thomas, Ray Lewis, and Tony Robbins because I’m constantly trying to grow my mindset, challenge myself, and become better.
I feel like I am on a journey of personal development. I’m always trying to learn how to become a better husband, a better father, a better business owner, a better leader, and just a better person overall. So I listen to podcasts, watch YouTube videos, read books, and try to apply what I’m learning in real life.
One book that really impacted me outside of the Bible is The Traveler’s Gift by Andy Andrews. That book helped me during one of the lowest moments of my life. I saw myself in the main character, David Ponder, because he was a man who felt like he had lost everything. In the story, he is taken through time and learns from historical figures about responsibility, choices, adversity, and success. That book spoke to me deeply because I was in a season where I felt like I had lost so much, and I needed to be reminded that my decisions still mattered.
Alongside that book, reading the stories of Joseph, David, and Job in the Bible really helped me. Those stories showed me that people can go through betrayal, loss, pressure, pain, and difficult seasons, but still come out with purpose on the other side.
Another major resource for me is community. I’ve learned that we were not meant to do life alone. Having the right community around me has helped me do my best in life. Organizations and communities like Spreading Sunshine, Memphis Boardroom, and my church have played a big role in encouraging me, supporting me, challenging me, and helping me keep going.
So for me, the resources that help me the most are my faith, the Bible, personal development, business and financial education, books, YouTube, and community. All of those things are helping me grow into the best version of myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.Halovisionmedia.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/halovisionmedia/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HaloVisonMedia/
