![Tim-Me Is An Inspirational Story Of Perseverance Working With Different Abilities To Kill It In Multiple Lanes - [Exclusive Interview]](https://respectmyregion.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/timmemain.jpg)
Timothy Edwards a.k.a. Tim-Me is an entertainer, rapper, and cannabis advocate born with arthrogryposis. Those with this condition are not expected to live comfortably, but he hasn’t let this define him. Overcoming the odds he has made his name yearly on the stages of Hempfest. As the festival’s most featured artist on a national level, Tim-Me amassed a following to his Cannabis Saves Lives Tour that he’s recently converted into a clothing brand.
Cannabis Saves Lives is inspired by his track #CSL; an anthem about how cannabis got him off of prescription drugs and why it should be legalized. From this a movement started and he launched his Cannabis Saves Lives Tour in 2016, performing across country in 10 different states through 2018. Now focusing CSL as a clothing brand he continues to do activism work and motivational speaking.
“I try to avoid using the word disabled… Because I am not disabled, my abilities are just different than others.”
Tim-Me
Tim-Me is all over the place killing it, not only putting on for himself, but he also does sales/marketing for Dabstars. He’s also the Northwest/cannabis event booking manager for actor/comedian Justin Rupple, who was in How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Spiderman: Homecoming, and The Fate Of The Furious.
Perseverance Through Risk And Loss
It’s hard enough to make it in music and fashion to begin with. Tim-Me’s shown he’s not afraid of the risk though, and has become an inspiration to other alter-abled people throughout America. Sadly life isn’t something you can always control however, and Tim-Me had to persevere again after losing his father to COVID Pneumonia in June of 2021.
Having always been by his side and even investing in CSL, the loss of his father has been difficult and is something he still is working through today. But he doesn’t let that stop him continue to make his dad proud and show his fans that perseverance and pushing through pays off.
Support Cannabis Saves Lives and Tim-Me by going to their online store and buying some merch! Click here.
10% of all profits go to Freedom Grow Forever. The organization puts the funds toward commissary books of non-violent cannabis offenders still sitting in jail for Cannabis today. For more information you can visit: freedomgrowforever.org
Exclusive Tim-Me Interview
What made you decide to use music as the avenue for your cannabis advocacy?
“There was a happy medium between different pressures in the industry when it comes to marketing yourself as an artist. I could have been signed to a Christian label if I would only talk about Jesus and not talk about Cannabis. I could have been signed to secular labels, but they want me to promote drugs sex and violence, with little message of hope. There is a control within the industry over artists and how they mold their image and what they are allowed to say. I am nobody’s puppet and wanted to be who I am authentically. When it came to my music, my life story, and the work I am trying to do to bring a positive change to the world, promoting myself as a cannabis friendly artist just made sense.”
How has the transition of CSL into a clothing line been? Would you say it’s been fairly difficult or a smooth process?
“Having the website up has made things easier for me. It is also easier for my fans to be able to go purchase a wide variety of merchandise from home. When it comes to selling merchandise on the road, one of the biggest issues that you run into is not having somebody’s specific size in something. With this website you can go and purchase almost any size and color you want. I’ve also uploaded new designs that people can choose. Level 5 Interactive and UrGrafix helped me put this all together. My father, Ed, was one of the angel investors helping me expand my business.”
Besides it being a play on your birth name, is there any deeper meaning to your stage name Tim-Me?
“There are a few different reasons I went with the name Tim-Me. Most of my life everybody has always called me “Timmy”, which I didn’t really like. Then South Park came out with the Timmy character which only made that name that much more obnoxious. I am still a fan of the show. At some point I learned to embrace it and stop letting it bother me.
“The more significant meaning behind the way I spell my name is that, in a world where people tell us what to be and how to act, I just want to be ME. I am Tim. There is only one me. There are some principles of individuality behind it. Breaking out of the box society tries to put you in. I was told I would never make it in life and I could have let all of that prevent me from becoming who I wanted to be; but I didn’t. I persevered and suffered through all of the hardships that it takes to walk ones own path and blaze your own trail.”
Which Hempfest performance had proven the most memorable for you and why?
“Seattle Hempfest 2017. I performed all three days on every stage, including headlining the main stage. That would be my most memorable, mostly because it is the original Hempfest. A lot of artist only perform one time if ever and I have the honor of saying that I’ve performed in Seattle 2014 to 2019. As well as being able to say that I’m the most featured artist on a national level, having been featured at six of them; Seattle, Olympia, Oregon, Oklahoma, Boise and Las Vegas.”
You do a lot of work with Freedom Grow to help those imprisoned for cannabis charges. What other activism/services do you enjoy doing for the community?
“When we did the Cannabis Saves Lives Tour, we collected bottles of water and socks to give out to the homeless when we traveled. I have also done work with veterans. My dad worked with a local organization and he was a veteran, serving four years in the Air Force. I struggle with my own depression and I have compassion for those who struggle with suicidal thoughts and other negative thoughts and behavior.”
How did you get involved with Dabstars?
“Jonah and I met in the medical marijuana community here in Washington State in 2012 before he created DabStars. I’ve been promoting Dabstars since day one. I signed on as a sales and marketing manager in 2019.”
How did your life experiences growing up prepare you for the adversity of COVID and everything that came with 2020?
“I know a lot of people struggled with the lockdowns in 2020. Being isolated and not able to be around people and places that raise your quality of life is very difficult. I struggled with it as well. But being born with a disability and being visibly different than other people I have always felt isolated and somewhat segregated from any group that I’m in. I’m used to being alone and being in my own lane. While I was very frustrated as a performer to not be able to go on tour as we had scheduled, being forced to stay at home wasn’t as bad as I think it was for some other people. Something I wasn’t prepared for was my dad dying June 1, 2021 from Covid pneumonia with blood clots in his lung.”
What new music do you have coming and when should fans be expecting it?
“I think I am starting to develop a reputation like Tool and Guns N’ Roses when it comes to releasing new music. I make my fans wait forever. 2020 was a major setback for me and there are a bunch of projects I have been working on and was hoping to release. I really don’t have a timeline at this point of when I’m going to release anything new. When it’s ready it will be ready.”
Which state would you say has the best cannabis and what is your go-to strain?
“While I am from Washington state, I would probably have to say Oregon. But anything on the West Coast is fire. I was impressed with what I saw when I went to Oklahoma this last trip.
Gorilla Glue and Durbin Poison are two of my favorites off the top of my head. I like the Gorilla Glue for the indica qualities and the Durbin Poison for the sativa qualities. But mostly I look for a Indica dominant hybrid.”
If you could create your own cross, which strains would you choose and what would you call it?
“I am actually working with two genetic companies to create my own strain. I cannot give away the name of it yet and we do not have a timeline of when that strain would be ready. It’s all a process, as we have just started talking about it this year. I will be taking two of their strains and crossing them to the one I’m trying to create. That is something people can look forward to in the years to come.”
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