Local StoriesSeptember 2, 2025

Ty Ballion on Life, Lessons & Legacy

Local Stories

Ty Ballion shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Hi Ty, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
Being an actor and having to be called on set and remembering lines to displaying the character as realistically as I possibly can, years ago my social anxiety would overcome me making it nearly impossible to talk to someone on the set let alone being in the center of it all and having all eyes on you for those couple of moments. As I get older I realize that I’m starting to feel more comfortable in my body and the people I have met along the way that helped me so much mentally from learning different methods to also taking in all their life advice I can confidently say I have been breaking out of that shell that’s been keeping me in the dark for so long since my childhood. The experience of all the work I have done over the years in all of the different cities helped me navigate and also control my emotions in various situations of my life. I can proudly say this career has boosted my fears and anxiety to where I am able to fully control them for the better and help others as well who go through what I do as well.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello and thank you for having me back! My name is Ty Ballion, I’m 28 years old and I’m from a town in midwestern Illinois called “Taylorville”. I’m an aspiring actor most known for the Italian-American documentary “Potentially Dangerous” funded by the Russo brothers and winning awards and being featured on PBS, I also have been in some T.V, shows in Chicago and Indy films in St. Louis as well along with podcasts. I have a beautiful girlfriend named Jasmine and a 1 year old son named Sylas and they are my pride and joy.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
To me, one thing answers both of those questions and that is trust. Trust can be broken leaving permanent damage and could destroy a relationship with someone forever, but trusting and keeping that trust especially after something happened could potentially restore what was broken or lost. Being trustworthy is a very important trait to carry with you in life and always be honest.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
I won’t lie, there was a couple of times I had the thought drift across my mind. I wondered what else I would do with my life if I didn’t do this but then I think about all of the things I gave up on in my life and I realize how this is the one thing that gives me joy that I haven’t gave up on yet and is the longest I ever tried at something in my entire life and it feels like I have meaning and I’m proving something, even if it is just to myself. It’s also hard to give up when I have such a great support system that I appreciate endlessly.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
For the most part I’d like to say yes, I display my thoughts and opinion and what I hold dear to me. I don’t really beat around the bush I’d prefer to just say what I think and that’s that.

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I’m doing what I was born to do 100%, nobody told me ever to consider acting, I took it upon myself after careful consideration for a very long time to see if that’s what I wanted to truly do, and sure enough it was. This is something I love in every fiber of my being. I love to make people scared, to make them laugh, to make them feel emotions as I do when I watch movies.

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