Fun Friday 30: Interview with Timothy Reid
From Learn Japanese Pod by Alex Brooke
June 28, 2025 · 1h 22m
About this episode
Timothy Reid shares his inspiring journey from teaching English to becoming a successful musician and game industry professional in Japan.
Podcast Guest: Timothy Reid – From English Teacher to Award-Winning Musician and Game Industry Pro in Japan This week on the podcast, I’m thrilled to welcome Timothy Reid , a multi-talented artist and creator whose journey to success in Japan is nothing short of inspiring. Originally from North Yorkshire in the UK, Timothy moved to Japan in 2011 after graduating from the University of Leeds. Like many foreigners, he started out teaching English just to get by — but everything changed in 2014 when he won a national guitar contest. That moment launched him straight into the Japanese music industry. Since then, he’s done it all: from touring and recording as a professional guitarist, to demoing gear in-store, teaching at music schools, and more recently, breaking into Japan’s video game industry , contributing to both big-name AAA titles and indie games . In this episode, we talk about learning Japanese , breaking into the music and gaming industries , and what it really takes to build a life and career in Japan . If you’re interested in living in Japan, pursuing a creative career here, or just want to hear an honest, fascinating story about surviving and thriving abroad, you won’t…
People in this episode
Host: Alex Brooke
Guest: Timothy Reid
Topics covered
- learning Japanese
- music industry
- gaming industry
- creative career
- living in Japan
- inspiration
Keywords
- Timothy Reid
- Japan
- music career
- gaming industry
- English teacher
- creative career
- learning Japanese
- inspiration
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Leeds, AAA titles, indie games
Places: Japan, North Yorkshire
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