Timbaland, born Timothy Mosley, is a celebrated music producer, performer, and label owner. His journey to the top seemed effortless, but behind the fame and success lay a battle with addiction and obesity. This is the story of how Timbaland took his life back, breaking free from opioid addiction, losing 130 pounds, and rewiring his mindset for long-term success.
The Descent into Addiction
After receiving a prescription for painkillers following a root canal in 2011, Timbaland started abusing OxyContin and Percocet. In the midst of a divorce from his then-wife Monique, which began in 2013, and financial woes (The IRS filed a $4 million lien for unpaid taxes), he used the painkillers to ease the pain. “It put me in a great feeling of not caring, of just being free,” says Timbaland. During this period, Timbaland also started putting on weight and developed prediabetes.
His pill abuse worsened as pressures mounted. The painkillers put him in a place where everything felt all right, even when it wasn’t. “I’m like traveling, doing shows, popping ’em, having fun, just being ignorant.” He doesn’t remember how many pills a day he was taking, other than to say it was “way over the limit.” He began to feel foggy, dull.
The Awakening
“I had a dream that death was near,” Timbaland recalls. This nightmare served as an awakening, and he realized that he needed to save himself for his daughter, 12, and two sons, 17 and 27. “It’s like a bright light going on in your brain,” he says. He decided to quit all on his own. “Just me and God,” he says. “This was the path chosen for me.
Breaking Free: The Path to Recovery
Timbaland then set on a path to change his life. He downsized his home, settled with the IRS, and settled his divorce. All of which led him to face his addiction head-on as he decided to quit all by himself. “Just me and God,” he told the mag, adding that there was no other option. “This was the path chosen for me.
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Crawling out of the hole his life had fallen into required strategy and planning. He moved from a 14,000-square-foot mansion outside Miami to a 2,500-square-foot condo downtown. “I had to downsize, get all that superstar stuff out of the way,” he says. He settled with the IRS. Then he worked to settle with his ex-wife. “The divorce at the beginning was very messy, but now we are good friends.”
His method was to take fewer and fewer pills from his existing stock until there was nothing left. That took about two weeks. Afterward came withdrawal. “One of the toughest things I’ve been through,” he says, shaking his head at the memory. “The only things that got me through it were my kids, my girl, the help of God keeping my mind still.”
The Physical Transformation
Once the pills were an afterthought, Timbaland went on to tackle his fitness. Weighing about 350 pounds at five-foot-seven, the producer joined a boxing gym in Miami and after a year of working out, he lost 50 pounds. When Tim dropped 40 more pounds, he decided he wanted to “level up” and train where the athletes train and moved to DBC Fitness. There, Timbaland worked with DBC co-owner David Alexander, who designed a personal fitness program nutrition plan for him.
His girlfriend, Michelle Dennis, turned him on to Punch Elite Fitness in Miami where he learned to box. He was 350 pounds before he joined the gym and started working out twice a day, boxing in the mornings and doing cardio and weights at night.
When Timbo first walked in the gym he weighed 350 pounds. When he walked into the gym the first time, he was in rough shape, weighing about 350 pounds at five-foot-seven, recalls gym co-owner Ricardo Wilson. (Boxing coaches remember these kinds of details.)“He had a lot of aches and pains,” Wilson says. He had “glute and hamstring deficiencies” from lack of exercise, and he was hunched due to back pain. Before he ever stepped into a ring, Mosley had to work on posture and range-of-motion exercises, Wilson says, including hip openers, posture squats, and standing leg curls. Then came shadowboxing, jumping rope, and hitting the bag for ten three-minute rounds at a time. Eventually Mosley graduated to sparring. The workouts were hard, but nothing compared to withdrawal. “When you get beat up the way I got beat up mentally, this ain’t hard,” he says.
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After a year, he had lost 50 pounds, and the couple started working out twice a day, boxing in the mornings and doing cardio and weights at night. When Mosley had dropped 40 more pounds, he decided he wanted to “level up” and train where the athletes train. While continuing to box on Sundays, he moved his weekday workouts to DBC Fitness. The gym specializes in biomechanics and works with a roster of pros, including Dwyane Wade, formerly of the Miami Heat, and the Dolphins’ Reshad Jones.
For all the progress Mosley had made at Punch, DBC co-owner David Alexander still considered him “a work in progress.” His feet and ankles were not working right, Alexander says, and he came in “grossly overweight,” about 260 pounds. So Alexander designed a program around seven general movement patterns: squat, lunge, hinge, push, pull, twist, and gait.
Alexander put together a nutrition plan and hired a chef to create a menu of weekly meals to be delivered to Mosley’s home. Chicken, salmon, vegetables. Three and a half liters of water a day. No processed foods. “If it didn’t run, grow, crawl, or swim, we don’t eat it,” Alexander says.
A New Outlook on Life
After beating an addiction to painkillers and dropping 130 pounds, Timbaland has a new outlook on life. Timbaland, who recently worked with Kanye West and Coldplay, says he continues to be a work in progress. “God has me under construction, which I’m still under,” he says. “I don’t feel like I’m complete. I don’t want to ever feel like I’m complete, ’cause my mind would probably get idle.
“This past eight months I’ve lost over 130 pounds. With a positive mindset I knew I had to take the initiative to make myself happy and healthy. When you realize that the only thing that is getting in the way of your goal is self doubt you’ll want to push yourself harder. You got to do this for you. This is for you. This isn’t about anybody. Live for you. Honor you.
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He says he’s clearheaded and newly inspired, focused on growing what he started nearly 30 years ago. “I’m more about the team building,” he says. He recently finished work with big-timers Kanye West and Coldplay, but he’s also collaborating with young artists.
Lessons Learned
Timbaland's journey offers several valuable lessons:
- The Importance of Facing Addiction: Timbaland's story highlights the dangers of prescription drug abuse and the importance of seeking help.
- The Power of Self-Discipline: Timbaland's commitment to quitting painkillers cold turkey and sticking to a rigorous workout routine demonstrates the power of self-discipline.
- The Significance of Support: Timbaland credits his family, girlfriend, and faith for helping him stay strong during his recovery.
- The Value of a Positive Mindset: Timbaland's belief in himself and his ability to change was crucial to his success.
- The Journey is Ongoing: Timbaland recognizes that he is still a work in progress and that maintaining his health and sobriety requires continuous effort.