Tim Budd a.k.a. Barefoot Skinny

    Tim was born on March 5th, 1963 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA to Walter and Linda Budd. The "baby" of the family, Tim enjoyed music from a very early age, growing up alongside his older brother, Lawrence and sister, Lacy.

    In 1969, Tim's father, an Ink Salesman, moved his family to Denver, Colorado. The following year, Tim was uprooted once more and moved to Chicago, Illinois. At the age of 11, his parents divorced and Tim's father moved to Dallas. For the next three years, Tim moved back and forth between parents, living in either Chicago or Dallas. Living on his own at the age of 14, he enrolled at the Arts Magnet Academy were he studied Jazz Music Improvisation. Tim recalled his life back then stating, "During third period, I was part of a Jazz Combo and during seventh period I was in a Lab Band."

    After graduating from the Academy in 1981, Tim enrolled at the Recording Institute of America where he studied Audio/Visual Arts. After graduating, he went to work for Hoover Brothers Audio/Visual as a field technician. For the next three years, besides working at Hoover Brothers, Tim played drums for several bands including "The Lazy Ace," "The Raft" (a Reggae band) and "Patty Sterling and the Satisfiers."

    In time, Tim ventured into the field of videotape editing. Eventually, he decided to "try things" on his own, doing "freelance" work. In 1986, Tim moved to Los Angeles, California, where he made slide and video productions for companies such as Frito Lay and Coca Cola. He also maintained his musical interests by playing with 25 different professional bands.

    Tim's next professional move took him into the world of voice and narrative work for industrial commercials and films for sales teams. Although this kept him very busy, he still managed to find time to attend the Colombia School of Broadcasting, where Tim earned an Associate's Degree in News Broadcasting. After acquiring his Broadcasting License, he went to work creating video greeting cards for the Internet in Redondo Beach, California.

    Eventually, Tim moved back to Dallas where he started producing music videos. This career gained him much recognition when he won the Crystal Award given by Warner Amex Group for Best In-House Video Short for a music video he produced with his brother-in-law, Dave Burnette, called "Spiral Chicken." He also won the Bronze Award for Editing at the New York City Film Festival for his work on the feature "The Trial of Dealer Jack."

    All of this activity was beginning to take its toll on Tim, so he decided to take flying lessons to get his mind off of work. In 1990, he received a Private Pilot's License from Addison Flight Training School in Texas. Having found just the release he needed, Tim exclaimed, "Flying gives you so much freedom, it's amazing!"

    Tim first discovered Belize in late 1990 when he was given a unique opportunity to film a documentary on Central America. For three months, he and a three-man crew toured Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. The show titled The Real Life Adventure featured "The Nature of Belize" as its first episode.

    Not long after, Tim found himself at a crossroads, and decided to return to Belize. "I felt very 'burned out' and needed a place to get away for a while. I had made some friends while filming the documentary so I called and volunteered my services to them," he recalled. While at the Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, Tim worked with student groups and assisted in installing solar panels. In addition to his volunteer work, he also played the keyboard and sang vocals with the Mango Jam Band at Caesar's Place in Cayo.

    It was in March of 1993 that one of his band members, "Bearfoot Gibby," insisted Tim accompany him to San Pedro Town. He explained, "I fell in love with San Pedro at first sight so every time Gibby came to the island to play I came along to play drums for him. I worked on the mainland during the week and out here on the weekends."

    In 1994, Tim was introduced to the principal of San Pedro High School and the two agreed on a plan to incorporate music into the school's curriculum. Soon after, Tim moved to the island and for the next six years he volunteered his time teaching at the High School. Adopting a new stage name, "Thunder Bud," he played alongside Bearfoot Gibby at the Purple Parrots I (at Ramon's) and II (now Fido's Bar). By mid-year, Gibby left the island and Tim became a one-man band known as "Barefoot Skinny," a name he uses to this day.

    It was during this time that Tim also met the love of his life, Elizabeth Ouvrard. Together, the couple is raising three wonderful children: Nahuel (15), a first form student at King's College, Amber (13) a first form student at San Pedro High School, and Elliott (7) an Infant II student at The Island Academy.

    For the past ten years, Tim has been enjoying the island life, relaxing, spending time with his family and also making a living doing what he loves the most - composing music. He has released three compact discs to date, the first, Dipping in Belize, was released in 1998; the second Hurricane Mitch, in 2000 and the most recent S'more, was released in 2002. He currently performs with the band Category X and plays "gigs" at his own establishment, "The Hammock House," which he opened on December 11th, 2003 and dedicated to his mother, Linda Bernice Kimbriel-Budd.

    During his free time, Tim enjoys sailing and boating. He also offers his time and talent at benefit concerts, to aid those in need. Because of his commitment to preventing tourism from destroying the charm of Ambergris Caye, Tim is an alternate director for the Ambergris Caye Chamber of Commerce.

    Tim has found many ways to help the community with which he fell in love. Helping the island remain the beautiful gem it is and entertaining the crowd with his music are but two reasons why Tim Budd is such a "shining star" in "Our Community.