India Interviews Re-N-Tri
India Bennett interviews Re-N-Tri, a Las Vegas-based creative collaborative diversion program educating the youth in the fields of Audio Production, Film & Photography & Web Design!
Transcript below.
India: Hello everyone, thank you for joining me. My name is India. I am a student journalist and intern for Millennials in Motion magazine, and I am sitting here with Tyler Gaston. We are going to be talking about the youth program Re-N-Tri. Hi, how are you doing?
Tyler Gaston: Good, thank you.
India: So can you tell me about the program?
Tyler Gaston: Uh, Re-N-Tri is an acronym. Uh, it stands for Recidivism, Engagement, Networking, Retention, Training, or Training Retention Initiative.
India: OK.
Tyler Gaston: And we call it Re-N-Tri for short. It is what we like to call a creative trade school with an emphasis on youth ages 14 to 19, especially those with formerly incarcerated backgrounds or systemically challenged backgrounds.
India: Got you.
Tyler Gaston: So, elaborating on creative trade school—typically, in trade school, you would go and learn plumbing or electrical work, something like that. Instead, these kids are learning three different disciplines that we offer: audio production, film production, or digital art and design.
India: Got you. OK, so what were the challenges that you saw in the community that made you want to say, This is the program that our youth need in Las Vegas?
Tyler Gaston: Well, um. For me, when I was growing up, there weren’t a lot of spaces where I could go and cultivate my creative abilities. So naturally, when you don’t have representation—whether that be in terms of facilities or people around you who do what you want to do—it kind of discourages you, right? Seeing is believing. So what happens when you don’t see it?
We didn’t have access to studios, we didn’t have the best equipment growing up because of, you know, what it actually costs to chase that dream. So long story short, it was heavy on me and my team.
My mom is the president of the nonprofit, my brother—who came in and shares an interest in wanting the best for teens—my wife, of course, and the whole team in general. We all share the belief that it’s important to create a way for these youth and give them opportunities that we didn’t necessarily have ourselves.
India: Got you. And then, can you elaborate on a success story you have with a child? Like, a recent one that went through the program?
Tyler Gaston: So, you know, I like to keep their names and details, um—what’s it called?—anonymous.
But we had a young man who was homeless, battling all types of abuse—verbal and physical abuse at home. He’s going to college now. We successfully created a home place for him. We’re talking about somebody who grew up without a family, right? Bouncing from household to household. He really considers us family.
And not just him, but a lot of our kids look forward to seeing each other on a weekly basis. Not only that, some of our kids are going on to get jobs from our recommendation.
Another success story—well, even little wins matter too, right? We’re still mentoring; we’re still big brothers. We had some bullying incidents where kids actually pulled me to the side and asked, What would you do in this scenario? And just seeing how my advice led to a successful deterrent or a good outcome—that means a lot.
Since the program’s origin, we’ve seen little battles won, even if it meant changing ideologies—shifting from a tough-hearted or defensive mindset to a more creative and open one.
India: That’s good. Um, how can people get in touch with you guys to add to the program, to help fund anything, to be able to reach out?
Tyler Gaston: So we do have a website. Diphrent Inc. is our nonprofit, and Re-N-Tri is our keystone program under that nonprofit. The website is DiphrentInc.org.
India: OK.
Tyler Gaston: And we’re actually putting that through some upgrades right now, but you can always catch us on Instagram at @rentrilv.
India: Well, I appreciate your time. Thank you for speaking with me, and you guys, reach out to them!
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