Meet Tim|ur| Vagapov

We were lucky to catch up with Tim|ur| Vagapov recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tim|ur|, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

My whole world collapsed: depression, instincts, scary choices, and suddenly, I found myself on the right path with a purpose.

That’s the abbreviated version of my story. The whole story would take a couple of articles to describe. In short, I was extremely fortunate to have a purpose since I was a little kid, playing basketball. But then, basketball stopped at the age of 21, and I didn’t know what to do. My whole life had been about shooting hoops. Somehow, I decided to switch to a completely unknown and undiscovered side of myself—ART, specifically acting.

I’m still at the beginning of this new journey. I just graduated from The Sanford Meisner Center in Burbank, where I completed two years of intensive work. During my time there, I rediscovered myself and my purpose.

That’s the thing about purpose: I believe it can change, even multiple times. The secret is to stay open to the abundant nature of the universe and listen to your heart. It will always guide you to your purpose.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

My full name is Timur Vagapov. On social media, I go by timvagapov, but my artistic name is Tim|ur|. You might be asking, “What the hell is that name?” I know, but there’s an explanation.

I was born and grew up in Saint Petersburg, Russia. At the age of 19, I moved to the U.S., and no one could pronounce my name correctly, so I started going by Tim.

When I got into the arts, I began thinking about my stage name. Nothing really stuck because my last name is even harder to pronounce than my first name for English speakers. So, I decided to combine my two identities: the one I was born with and the one I adopted later in life. And that was the birth of Tim|ur|.
I can be anything for you. You pick.

Now, I am more focused on transitioning into acting. I know it’s a hard and somewhat delusional path, but it’s what makes me happy and what I want to do in life. While I know that it is extremely difficult to make it “the traditional way,” my plan is to keep building my brand and finding my own way to make my dreams come true.

We live in an incredibly fortunate time where we can put out any content on many different platforms. So, my strategy is to keep developing my social media presence (@timvagapov, thank you:) and doing everything I can to reach that dream goal I have in mind.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

#1 CONFIDENCE

Whatever you do in life, do it with confidence. If you’re not confident, fake it until you make it.

#1 INSTINCTS

Your brain will always try to get in the way, but there is an art to living your life by listening to your instincts. At the end of the day, you have to do what feels right for you. It might upset your friends or family, but they will understand eventually.
Do your thing baby.

#1 ABUNDANCE
Trust. Trust that your life is abundant and stay open. I’ve noticed that the journey of self-growth looks different for everyone: some people learn and then become more categorical and judgmental, while others stay open with a mindset of constant learning. Usually, the second group makes it further in their careers and life in general.

What book has played an important role in your development and what were a few of the most valuable or impactful nuggets of wisdom?

Only answering this question because I saw the word “nuggets”…

But seriously, I love to talk about books. Unfortunately, I feel like people have stopped reading. One thing I’m trying to make people understand is that books are the best source to learn anything in life. Whether it’s fiction or self-development, with a book, you can find an internal companion who can carry a better conversation than most of the people you meet in your life.

If we’re talking about self-development books, I have to mention what was the beginning of my journey and what I consider an artistic Bible now: The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. This book helped me understand myself better, show myself self-love, and realize that I am enough and have all the powers within me.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @timvagapov
• Other: Threads: timvagapov
  TikTok: timvagapov