Green Holiday Guide: Interviews with Green Businesses

Interview with Tim Winkler of Mindful Metropolis

Tim Winkler is an integral member of Mindful Metropolis, Chicago's Magazine for connecting it's Conscious Community.

RM: Tim, it's an interesting story. Can you tell me how Mindful Metropolis came to be?

TW: On March 24th, 2009, Chicago’s Conscious Choice magazine and its four affiliate magazines in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco were shut down by their corporate owner. The team from Chicago, myself included, met the very next day at Andie’s Restaurant in Andersonville, and decided to forge ahead and launch a new independent employee-owned publication, and Mindful Metropolis was born. It all happened so fast, we immediately scrambled to create a logo and identity, a mission statement, a temporary website, and re-sign advertisers in time to produce our first issue in May, not skipping a beat.

I'm still not sure how we were able to accomplish it. We just did what needed to be done to make it happen. With any other team of individuals, I’m not sure that it would be possible. I believe it happened because all of us were so mission driven, and did not want to leave Chicago without an eco-health and wellness publication. Most importantly, we had great faith, and trust in one another, without which, this herculean task, even if we were flush with funds, would not have happened.

RM: What is Mindful Metropolis' Mission?

TW: I like to summarize it as follows: I want us to educate and engage. I want Mindful Metropolis to be an independent, non-corporate influenced community media vehicle that shines a light on good people, doing good things for themselves, their community, and the environment.

Since launching Mindful Metropolis the reports from our delivery driver have been that the magazine is getting picked up at rates much higher than Conscious Choice, the response from the community has been phenomenal. Ultimately, we need to transform this enthusiasm into greater advertising and other revenue, so that we can increase our circulation and educate and engage greater and greater segments of metro Chicago’s population.

I’d like to see us to continue to give visibility to good people doing good things. Other media do this as well, but it is more essential to our mission than most. My hope is that when folks pick up Mindful Metropolis, they learn a little, are inspired to act in some small way, and become just a little bit more connected to their community and their planet.

RM: Tim, how does Mindful Metropolis connect with your own goals?

TW: I cannot tell you how surprised I am to find myself as an owner operator of a local community magazine. It was never in my plans, nor my dreams, but once I tried it on for size, I realized how well it fit.

My passions had always been those of an international or intercultural nature. I pursued traveling, studying and languages with fervor (Portuguese & Spanish). As I approached my late 30s I realized what I needed most for myself was a sense of being rooted in community, a community that was also close to family, and I fell into a job with Conscious Choice. I never thought I could sell an ad, or that I was personally a hyper-green conscious individual.

I arrived to the sustainability movement different from many, in that, although I cared about the planet, my focus was more on sustainable, respectful, autonomous, human community development. I realized how much the challenges we face in Chicago are not so different than those facing communities across the world. People are social animals. They cannot live in isolation. I’m learning that most people, most non-profits, and most business, work when they function in collaboration with others, and most importantly with kindness, my favorite human trait. I pushed hard for this section our mission statement: “We never forget that kindness is an environmental mission”. And there I had it, my past life, my past work, joined the environmental movement and became one, and whole. I couldn’t be happier.

RM: Where can readers find Mindful Metropolis?

TW: Mindful Metropolis is distributed at more than 600 locations around metro Chicago. Over 20% of our circulation is in metro Chicago Whole Foods Stores. We circulate everywhere from a street box, acupuncture clinic, to your local green business.
You can find the complete list of locations and search by zip code here: http://www.mindfulmetropolis.com/DropSpots
Additionally, individuals may opt to get a home subscription if they choose, for only $24/year at: http://www.mindfulmetropolis.com/Subscribe. We also have an e-flip digital magazine viewer that may be seen online at http://digital.mindfulmetropolis.com

RM: Tim, anything else you would like to add?

TW: A shout out to our readers, to let us know what you think. Call us, write us, send your ideas and feedback. We listen and we want to hear from you.

Thank you Tim!

Tim Winkler grew up in Peoria, Illinois, where much of his family still lives. He is very active in the Chicago Community, and involved with Victories of the Heart, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping men build more authentic personal relationships and more satisfying lives. He is also a huge White Sox fan (go Sox!), and is spending some personal time reconnecting with his favorite childhood activities: bowling, camping, and fishing.

Mindful Metropolis can be found online at http://www.mindfulmetropolis.com/Home where you can find Mindful Gift Ideas for the holidays.