Spotlight on Dakari Burkhart

Thanks very much. Big dreams, big talent, and a bright future ahead this morning. We're shining a spotlight on eight-year-old Dakari Burkhardt, who's already making a mark as an athlete, a model, an actor, a triple threat for sure. And joining us now is Dakari and his mom, Linda, to talk more about the journey and the passions of what's next. Good to see you this morning. I love that smile, first of all, right? That's the million-dollar smile. It is. Which is great. How are you doing this morning? Good. Yeah? So we talked about, okay, acting and playing football and doing a little bit of everything. Is there one that you like doing more than another? What's your favorite? Football. Football? What position do you play? Quarterback. What do you like about football? That it's not always about winning or losing. It's just having fun. You get to have fun with your friends, right? Yeah. Yeah, which is great. How's the acting going so far? It's going really good. What do you like about that? It's fun, and when I do it, it makes me happy. Yeah? That's great. Now, Mom's an actor, too. Yeah. So what do you tell him about the process and acting, and what's it like for you to see him get a script and go through the process? Thank you. Like you said, mainly about having fun, leaving your heart and soul out there. Every audition is an opportunity. I just want him to love it. Naturally for him. And it's more so about the mental state because sometimes you'll get it. Sometimes you don't get booked. So it's about the perseverance, really. I just want to make sure he's good. So we always do like a lot of pep talks and stuff. And like, hey, just because you didn't get it doesn't mean you're not great. Doesn't mean you're not succeeding. You keep at it. Yeah, that's a great advice for mom. Who gets more nervous during an audition? You or your mom? Me. You get nervous? Yeah. Why do you get nervous? Just worried if you're going to get it or not? Do you have a do you have a trick to to try to not get nervous to just get through it? Um eating candy yeah or eating a sweet. You're eating something like that take your mind off a little bit yeah take some breaks when you can which is great. So tell me a little bit more about what you what you hope to do in like maybe the next year or so let's not get too far ahead unless you already know what your career is going to be because you're how old now eight? You're eight, right? Yeah, yeah. We won't focus on career yet. What do you think you want to do in the next year? I think I'm going to play football and focus more on my stuff, what I'm going to do, try to go to the championships, NFL, and that's really it. Okay, we're focused then, right? We're focused. Mom, what do you want to see happen in the next year or so? Um, growth and development, so acting, modeling, fashion shows, um, sky's the limit. Whatever he's wanting to put his mind to, he's done it. Like, he's now been able to swim, he's learned swimming. He's just really someone that's a perfectionist, so I'm just proud of him for committing to it. So I'll say the acting, the modeling, it gets hard doing all these things that... the same time and then going in and out of school and studying. He's a hard worker so some days are hard and he's like I give up I don't want to do that take don't submit it. I'm like we got to submit it. So I'm just proud of him for being able to handle. Like, being a kid and having, like, a serious professional career. Are you having fun being a kid? Yeah. Yeah, you have to, right? We always do. So, a couple of things. One, the smile is contagious, which I think is great. So, you have to just keep smiling through everything, and then everybody else is going to be in a good mood. And I love the laugh. Second of all, I'm loving the hair today. And, Mom, you said he helped with the design, right? Yes, he drew the design. And shout out to A Little Touch. Our barber, Nate, definitely always hooks up his hair. So, he drew the design himself this time and showed him, like, on his tablet. Nate in Hagerstown went ahead and put that on his head. Go ahead and show them. That's great. Seems like I didn't do my own hair. Shout out to Nate, and you look good. We appreciate you coming in today. So what do you tell other kids to try to keep them motivated? Because it seems like you've got a pretty good handle on keeping yourself motivated. I tell them to work hard, and I tell them to never give up. Because when you start giving up, I know it doesn't work in life. I know you're preaching the truth right there. I absolutely love that. Great job.