Tarik Jenkins is a software developer and creative who appeared in the MTV reality series Siesta Key. The show premiered in July 2017 and has continued for four seasons, with the most recent season airing in 2021. The series was inspired by the reality television show Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, which aired in the early 2000s. Jenkins was introduced as an old acquaintance of cast member Madisson Hausberg on the show.

On air, Jenkins revealed that he hasn’t informed his family that he’s homosexual. Jenkins, who grew up in a Jehovah’s Witness family, claims he discovered his sexual inclinations in middle school, about the same time he stopped going to the Kingdom Hall, a place of worship where Jehovah’s Witnesses perform religious services, with his family. Jenkins stopped attempting to hide his sexuality on social media and with friends when he went to Miami for college, but he still didn’t talk about it with his family. He hopes that his choice to come out on television and live his truth will encourage others to do the same.

Jenkins graduated from Florida International University with a computer science degree before working for a software business in Tampa, Florida. He keeps up with his fans on Instagram @iamtariklamar, where he boasts more than 15,000 followers, as well as via Twitter, where he boasts over 8,000 followers.