Today we’d like to introduce you to Miller Karns.
Miller, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born in Greenville, SC. on May 28, 2002. My family lived in Clemson for a year or so after they had me and then moved to Toledo. From there, I lived in the same house on the west side of Toledo until I graduated high school and went to college in 2020. In that time, I’ve always tried to do a lot with my time and energy. I’ve always known I’ve had a lot of potential, so I tried to do everything I could. I grew up playing basketball and soccer, but wasn’t ever a start player, but I started competitive diving in 5th grade and got pretty decent. In middle school, I started doing music, flight training, and storm chasing. I took all of these things and got progressively better at all of them all the way up through when I graduated high school. Right before I left for college, I got my private pilot’s license at 17 years old before I ever drove a car, released my first song to streaming platforms, and finished on a podium for a national diving competition. When I left for Oklahoma to go to college, I stopped diving but kept up with music, storm chasing, and flying. However, because I stopped diving, I lost the outlet for physical ambition, I guess. I fumbled my way through college for the first few years but met a lot of cool friends during that time who pushed me in a much better direction musically. I also kept building hours flying until the end of my sophomore year after dealing with burnout. In my junior year, I found firefighting as a volunteer, which reintroduced an outlet for physical ambition and competition (with myself). I also started taking trips solo, with friends, and with girlfriends which helped fuel music creation. My junior and senior years felt alive. Lots of great adventures both through traveling, firefighters (mainly during wildfire season), and even the music side of things. There were a few shows in Ohio that I was a part of while still in class, and I took trips by myself driving across the Midwest to make those shows and make it back for classes. There were just a lot of experiences that I could go into that really shaped me as a man during that time. After graduating OSU, I moved to Sioux Falls, SD to work my first management job out of college. This was a rebuilding time for me. I kept firefighting and even got my firefighter and EMT certifications, but working on music was a lot tougher. South Dakota isn’t the most buzzing music scene. In the last few months, I moved to North TX now working for a major airport in the region, continuing music, volunteer firefighting, and looking for my next adventure. Music, which is my main drive, has gotten me far. I think I have over 120 thousand streams across all of my songs right now, I’m taking in (small) money from streaming and shows, and I’m getting to work with some of the artists which I’ve been inspired by the most, real music industry stuff. I’ve gotten to see much of the inner industry workings and rub a lot of elbows, so that’s what I’m trying to work toward right now. I also want to get back flying again, but last year, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, which makes it much harder to work towards being an airline pilot, which is ultimately the biggest goal I have next to doing something meaningful with music.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
HELL no. I put myself in a hard place as a kid dealing with a lot of self-esteem issues, so I had to overcome a lot of that in late high school and through early college. This led to constantly reassessing where I was in life. Each time I leveled-up, I lost friends, girlfriends, and family members through one way or another. I think right now the hardest things for me is that I love all of these things that I do so much, but I’m at the level where in order to make a break-through, I have to choose one…that doesn’t compute for me. If there’s one thing I want to do that I can’t do, my entire life feels off. Additionally, me moving around a lot since leaving Ohio for college has left me to constantly be having to change my friend group and new people to work with. It’s been hard to keep a social life and a relationship life intact and without friction while being in pursuit of a place that feels right, both literally and metaphorically.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My name is Amar Miller, and I’m a rapper, singer, vocalist, writer, and performer. I’m known by my friends and family as someone who does everything, but in the last few years, I’ve made it pretty far with music. Multiple radio appearances across different cities, interviews, shows, hundred thousand streams and climbing, all of that. I think what sets me apart is my passion for life. My passion for doing so many things, the passion to serve others, and the ability to put it all in the music. I’m proud of a lot of things. I’m proud of being a two-time district champion and being an All-Ohio athlete during my last two years of diving in high school. I’m proud of myself for making podium at a national diving event. I’m proud of myself for getting my pilot’s license and instrument rating so young. I’m proud of myself for continuing to work on music. I’m proud of myself for doing all that I’ve done with music and accomplishing all of the previously stated with it. I’m proud of myself for getting my firefighter and EMT certifications and wanting to make a difference in the world.
How do you think about happiness?
Community, adventure, and when they overlap. I’ve found a lot of unlikely friendships and relationships over the years through all of the things that I do. I’ve learned to become extremely appreciative of having reliable friends, partners, and family. I’ve found happiness in being there for people in the same way people have been there for me. That’s why I do what I do. I want to make a positive impact in the world the same way that people have done it for me. I also love going out on adventures and seeing new things. That’s why I like traveling across the country for shows or press, or even storm chasing. Lots of traveling, lots of time to think, lots of people you can meet, lots of places you can find that you won’t see in front of a phone screen and being able to take all of that home with me. It makes me feel very fulfilled.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://amarmiller.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amar.miller/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amar.sk.miller
- Twitter: https://x.com/ImAmarMiller
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@amarmiller/videos
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/lil-mill-6
