Born Fabulous
Born Fabulous
Season 2, Episode 1, Part 1: Interview with Tim Harris & Ashten Mizell - "Friendship & Tutus"
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In this episode Tim Harris and his best friend Ashten Mizell talk about their very close, life-long friendship and how they met. They also share some funny stories, like their "tutu" story. Tim is famous for owning Tim's Place, a restaurant that served hugs on its menu. He is now a successful keynote speaker. Tim Has Down syndrome. His friend Ashten does not have a disability.
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Hello, My name is Greta Harrison. Welcome to Born Fabulous Podcast. We're now starting season to the thing for this season is changing the world one friendship at a time. You will hear interviews with best friends. These friendships air deep in life long. They just happen to include one person with a disability and one without. This episode features Tim Harris and his best friend, Ash In My Cell. Tim is famous for owning tens Place, a restaurant that listed free hugs on the menu. Tim currently has a very successful careers. A keynote speaker, he is 34 loves to travel and values his many friendships in a unique way. Tim has down Syndrome. Ashton. My cell is 33 is a proud wife and mother of three young Children. You will also hear that she is a very good and proud friend. Please enjoy. The short clip of love is a potion. The lyrics are by Melissa Regio who was the focus of episodes one through four and Season One. The music and voice are by Rachel Fuller. Here we go. Hello. My name is Greta Harrison. Welcome to born fabulous podcast. This season we're celebrating friendship. Our motto is making the world a better place. One friendship at a time. Today I am so excited to speak with the world famous entrepreneur Tim Harris and his very close friend Ashton Mizell. Tim just happens to have down syndrome. Hi, Tim and Ashton. Welcome.
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Hello. Thank you for having us
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to be part of this review. Thank you for being here. I will briefly start out by asking you guys to talk about yourselves. Ashen. Would you tell us a little bit about
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yourself? Sure. I am Ashton my bell in a 33 and I am in Mama Tiu. Three little kids in a wife. My husband thing is Matt in. Our kids are makayla who's picked Noah, who is four, and Bennett, who is 10 months old. And we currently live in Farmington, New Mexico, on a little back story. I grew up in a European Mexico. I went to high school here in Albuquerque and then to college. And then I got my degree in biology and chemistry, thinking I wanted to go to that school, and I had worked in different vet offices into different things. And then I started volunteering at the zoo. His eyes are volunteering at the zoo when I was in college, and then I started interning there a little bit making and Burt's quick for animals doing different babies on Dhe. Then I started teaching some sign language to the grill for lunch. And, um, it started working. And I was building this amazing relationship with the guerrillas and just knew this is what I wanted. D'oh! Um, is so right around that time and that Nat, when we got married and then I started a job at the Albuquerque Bio part, I went primarily with the great Apes and started doing chimps and gorillas in ratings and all the different primate. I did that for four years. An unfortunate man. I didn't think we were gonna be able to have kids, But then God performed a miracle, and we got pregnant, isn't so. We got to move to San Diego, California, and we spent five years there. My husband is a pastor, and so we worked at a church out there, and then he just got the opportunity to move back to New Mexico, closer to family on. And he is a head pastor of a church up there. So that's kind of our life. In a nutshell. I resigned from the zoo and became a full time mama. So that is what I do know. Oh, yeah. Is that me? Full
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time, mama. And you are a very good friend. I know, Tim. Let's hear about you. What have you been up to since we last spoke to your mama? You've had some life changes. So tell us what you've been up to. I recently moved to Colorado. Well, from here, though. But I'm having fun up there. Yeah. What are you doing? Adjusted Lamaze. Lemme Anderson intervene here. The audience doesn't know I'm in Virginia and they are in Albuquerque, New Mexico, right now that there, that's why they're together. Even though they live apart. Ashton lives in New Mexico, and Tim is now in Colorado. But they're together and they'll go into why they're together shortly. But so right now they're together in Albuquerque. It was tough because I always get sad every time.
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Oh, now we're together our
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way tonight. Today at the extreme air.
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Yeah, We just ran a big race today. Yeah, run the five pain. I ran 1/2 marathon today. I'm also we had a great morning together.
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Oh, yeah? So what else are you up to? I am Dame. Many above ours. Hey, we're having fun together. Yeah. And where you working our golden years? Who were we in Russia? A za host. And what about your business? Big hard enterprises. You want to tell us about that? Yeah. My business to know our enterprises motivates and inspires people with awesome love. Gonna treat us like me. You mean I help that. And you have spoken for many years around the world. Haven't you? Turned? I have. There's one video on a well that the him borrow head about that gave me about 50 to 60 speeches. After that. After that Morrow video Kate out. And that had millions and millions of hits, didn't it? Oh, yeah, I did. A lot of people doesn't notice the grey I inspire the world. Are you talking about the video where you're dancing to your restaurant, dancing into the west where you talk about? Please don't think that was five years ago.
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Wow. How long did you have to place?
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Uh, since 2010. I had so much fun and the hubs of the best part.
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I think they were the best.
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But they were from this weather. They did not disappear. Still with me, right? I always loved the girl, especially this one right here. Ah, Why didn't you tell the audience? Tim, You used to count hugs you. How many heads did you have? By the time you stopped counting? It was 30,000 and four house.
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Wow, four hugs. Exactly. Tell me that
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there's a video that they have had the mask out. Wow. Well, we will make sure we put these appropriate videos on the page that born fabulous dot com will have for Ashton and Tim. So why don't we also tell the audience you mentioned that your daddy, Megan, bomb guards? Some of the people may not know who she is. I think most of them would, but some may not. So why don't you tell everybody who make it? ISS 1,000,000 is a year. A reality TV show star of the eighties, born this way. And she's also an entrepreneur like you, isn't she? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, sure. Season Speaker Ed, She's winning the Quincy Jones Or next month too. From global. Yes, she is. I want that five years ago. Now it's uh oh, yeah. She asked me to be her day on the red carpet.
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Wow. Yeah, inside I your team attacks. Okay? I don't wait before we
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launched into Ah, the conversation that we're about to have. Let's hear about this race today because I understand there was something unusual with this
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race. You show the picture.
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It's funny. I have to show the picture.
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How you how you ended up with that? What happened?
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Oh, I lost a bet. No, I lost the bet. It had to, uh, to To Tim, with the 22 and a cape belonged to the Duke's track club here. Never
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Tim look like a rock star. Clocks crafting that that insight, that love. Oh, yeah, it
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was awesome.
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He was a star.
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So had a go pro on my head There. Got some video from the start. That is great. And so 10. Did you just have a 22 in your closet Or how did that happen? I bought one more.
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Oh, yeah. So let me tell the story of this last week in Texas. Me and so Action, I have some really bad news, something really that just happened. So I got so scared, dropped everything, cult him right away. Tim, what's going on? And he said, Oh, I lost a bet and want to wear it to To to my race So custom thio e o cold. With that, I have bad news. I have the worst news. Yeah, Hee hee, I think really think to clockwork. You, too. Oh yeah, Make it a tradition, Tim. Raising you too,
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baby. That's that's really, really, really good. So let's that you can already tell by your laughter together and how much you love each other. Let's hear how you met, how long you've known each other, how and where you met. Let's hear that story. Every wasn't in the year 2000.
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It Wasit was the year 2010 and I were in high school and freshman year, and I worked in a restaurant called Red Robin, and I worked there in every pretty much every Sunday around five o'clock team and his family used to come into the restaurant, and I recognized him from school because we went to the same high school together and I had kind of recognized him. And so after a couple weeks of Saint and seeing his family, I just started talking to them and getting to know Tim. And one day I asked him, What do you want to do when you grow up? What do you do with your life? And he said, I want in a restaurant and I want it to be just like Robin. Except I wanted to have breakfast, lunch and hugs. E remember thinking that is Oh, also So Tim left that day, and I just remember thinking like, Team needs to work here. He needs to work at Red Robin. And so, um, they had never had anybody when Tim's ability before working the restaurant. And so we had to work hard, but with a persistency attempts. Awesome parents case in Jeannie. And we kind of went up and up and up with management of Red Robin and they got to the job and, um, our manager at this time, it's really awesome that I told him all, do everything all scheduled. Tim, Whenever I am working at Red Robin and I will take care of him, I'll make sure that he's doing what he's supposed to be doing, creating people. I was a host of the rest of those days the time. So Tim was gonna host with me and greet people and opened the door. And Tim was gonna be so great at that. So So we did. We worked at the Russian front pretty much every Saturday and Sunday. He came in to Red Robin. You would see him and I shouldn't. And Tim held the door open and stated People greeted people hate little kids balloons every weekend. It was such a special time, so on. Tim and I just started developing this amazing friendship while working together on Dhe. Then I started driving him to and from work, and that was really waiting. Just our special memories happened. Me loves to be learned. We'd love to sing songs together, and a lot of times when Tim went pretty, lyrics offer different diseases in his system that the huge Disney buff So we m he would put me lyrics of Jasmine and even have a latte, and so he would give me these lyrics and tell me you have to learn this song. Asked if I was hoping to learn this song. And then we would roll down the windows and seeing the disease on whole, um, ever almost every weekend. So it was so special. We would go get ice cream across the street after her shift was over A lot of times, but he at work, Robin, After we got done working, we have our burgers together. So we just developed this amazing friendship, and I quickly realized how special Tim was gonna be in my life. And so then after that, I would see 10 at school. You know, we have this relationship on the weekends, acts work, but then I would see him at school and he had kind of a hard time at school on. Tim would get bullied by some kids. Andi just was having a little bit of a harder time. So same thing kind of happened. I went to our student government on this is probably your so later our sophomore year and and said I really wanted to be on Senate. Can you be on Senate and that kind of. But that's different, you know, we just have never had anybody with Tim's ability on Senate, and I said all do everything will take care of it. Let's do it. And so he talked to Keith and Jeannie and Tim go on our student council, and, uh, he did amazing. And it really that I feel like change Tim's kind of high school career, Um, and did and then became the most popular kid in our school. One. I'm thinking one student a year.
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Uh, the mascot for the best moment
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was the mascot for the basketball game. So that's a little bit how we met and how our friendship kind of started. It was relieved through high school through working together on Bennett has continued on.
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So So that is such a cool story, Tim, What is your input on that? What would you like to say about how you met Ashton, huh? It was a long time. Yeah. What do you like working me another ashington? See, it's my life. Not more awesome. He makes me feel happy. It always of you asking my hugs is awesome. Does she like the perfect friend at the perfect time for you? I wanted to have a best friend. I always wanted to mess around with it. And I got that. Oh, you got that? Yeah. Sweet. They just held hands up together. That is so sweet. So how often do you guys talk to each other? See each other? You do live in different states now, but that doesn't make your friendship any less special, Does it? No, it's for it's hard, but we make
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it awesome. Medio It's not a lot. Don't me.
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Oh, yeah, I remember it was in Finn. Who were You just be with passion and I'm all for Tim to do kiddos. That's right. Awesome. A love. There are two.
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That's right. Our relationship never stopped after high school. I would say, you know, Tim went away to college, um, in Brazil for four years, and I stayed here. Um, but we stay close. I took trips down over us. Well, it went hang out with two in all of this crazy little college buddies. If we go out to dinner, you have
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those of good fun that they use to college. That's when I first Matt meant I got to meet memory match. Yes, and I e told until man, but you take care of at best, friend, that's my best friend. Means a lot to me. And that happened. It's
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very It's so Yeah. Tim and I have just stayed close through all of life's transitions of marriage and me having kids and us moving. We've taken trips to see each other. We just really had to be intentional, you know, because we do live far apart, but we text each other all the time. Tim sent me crazy video A ll The time You want me to make crazy videos all the time. But we didn't. We talk on the phone, we text each other almost every day. Um, every weekend we make special trips and special make it a priority to see each other, keep involved in our lives and like to mention our kids. Tim is a huge part of our family and a huge part of our kids lives. And so we make sure to face time to him so he could see the kids a lot because he's such a big part of our lives.
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It does. Awesome. It there. Let's, um let's talk about your friendship, if you don't mind. Let's talk about I think you have some nicknames for each other. Is that right?
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Yes. What do I call where we call each other
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after. Always cost me her special monkey.
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Yeah, that's right. E think it started because I was working with Theo. I'm not. Monkeys really are my favorite. So and Tim's? And I think so. I started crawling in my monkey. He started calling me Monkeys Way also have our little thing. We set each other, which is B f f l one and two, which is best friend for life. So if you know anything about 10 talks everybody until they're ready, They're his best friends. What? We really are best friends for life. We're not going anywhere. Friendship is gonna be with us forever. And so that was something he made up when we were in high school. So we'll text each other. Hey, be sfl baby s. That Elsa was also That's definitely been our little nicknames for one another. Oh, yeah, it's been. Really? See
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way, Tim. I'm going to get your number one and Ashton this number two, is that correct? Troubling is that known there with me? E o max number three. Is that what
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you Oh, okay. Give us some
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examples of what you guys like to do together what
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we like to do together.
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We went to seem a wanna at 10 o'clock at night. Awesome.
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Yes. We loved to watch movies, especially Disney movies. Do they touch us? A special place in our hearts? Like I said, he liked to sing to say song. So we'd love to see Disney movies together. Oh, yeah. There was one time when I came into town and we went to the late night Alana boots. She
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was fun. She was in town. Surprising. Where our friends don't
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You? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So you went to the movies, but we waited. We like to go to movies. Tim loves, of course, like making videos minutes when we're together, We owe squeezing videos. We sing songs. Uh, we like going out to eat together. That was something we did a lot in high school together. Used to double date alive, high school together. So that always really fun. Um, Tim loves playing with our kids now. So we have we got We went sledding this winter. We love sledding and snowmobiling together.
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You're still a bills. Had a cabinet? Yes, but now it's gone wrong. Yeah,
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but we used to go some ability we didn't used to go seeing together. We like to do all the things. Tend is up for whatever we want to do. So he's trying to stay in home, and now we're going out and doing crazy things way. We definitely do not lack fun. You're here together. Do me. No, no, no. E Think
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I've seen a video of you throwing snowballs with each other that well, don't
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have put on the website. I need you know who orchestrated that E. Thank you
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for listening to this first episode of Season two, a born fat list podcast. I hope you enjoyed it and want to hear more. If you would like to see this episode, it is available on YouTube and on Born fabulous podcast dot com. The friendship between Tim and Ashton is a joy to see as well as here You will love Episode two that's coming up. Tim and Ashton talk about school bullying, meeting a president and their unique definition of friendship. To see some photos and videos of Tim and Ashton or to sign up for our email list, please go to www dot born fabulous podcast dot com. Please like a song Facebook, Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our YouTube channel were also on Pinterest. I'd be honored if you would leave a review on iTunes. Now, please enjoy this clip of love. It's a potion. The lyrics are by Melissa Regio, who was the subject of episodes one through four in season one. The music and voice are by Rachel Fuller,
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okay?