The late Tim Fasano passed away in 2019. He was a taxi driver, a Florida skunk ape investigator, and a prolific video blogger starting around 2009. He may have been the first Bigfooter to live stream. He talked about everything in his life; his 70 hour work weeks in Tampa Bay, Florida, his health issues, and of course his passion for pursuing evidence of the Skunk Ape.
Tim’s forays into the swamp never produced anything tangible as far as genuine traces of Skunk Ape but that was never expected. People watched his YouTube channel for the entertainment and just like today, people were drawn to videos, podcasts, and personalities for any number of reasons. Tim definitely struck a chord on multiple sides of Skunk Ape debates.
A nice documentary was put together by his twin brother Tom. In case you are wondering, Tim and Tom are very different as far as I can tell! There will always be, only one Tim.
Tim’s critics resented his determination when clearly, there was nothing to be found on his expeditions. This didn’t slow Tim’s determination. He would just double down and blog more. Most of his archival writings about the Skunk Ape were not preserved after his passing but his life as a cabbie is captured in his posthumously published book, The Cabbie’s Tale: A Memoir.
At first, a career as a cabbie seems well-suited for Tim, the former philosophy student. What started out as an adventure in 1995, became a ball and chain trap he could not escape until near the end of his life when he finally made the transition to rideshare driver. Things got a bit better for him towards the end but too late.
Tim’s life was tragic, living in poverty within an antiquated and feudal cab system that offered no benefits to aid him as his health declined. That’s what the book is about and it’s heartbreaking to read. There is barely a mention of the Skunk Ape in the book. Tim’s heavy prose shows the soul of this man’s worth and how much greater it is than the lifestyle he found himself in. Put simply, he slugged out 70 hour work weeks with no laundry quarters to show for it.
Tim’s Missed Opportunity
The flip side to cab life was Tim worked tirelessly to be at the cutting edge of a new frontier of web exposure. It was working for him as far as web hits. He was one of very few people cranking out Bigfoot search videos, which today are on overload. In the late 2000s, video blogging became popular as new platforms emerged to support better streaming quality and cameras also improved.
Tim had a strong interest in photography. With better tools, a little funding and patience, there is no doubt Tim would have been able to capitalize on an internet livelihood. Tim was at the forefront of what would become an influencer economy. To me, it’s tragic that he did not find a path to escape the dead end of cab life.
Tim Fasano vs David Paulides
Spoiler alert: Tim wins 1-0.
In 2012, Tim Fasano cast his opinion on the Sasquatch Genome Project through his YouTube channel. Tim enjoyed musing and he was unimpressed with the SGP intention of demonstrating genetic evidence of Bigfoot. He felt that Bigfoot DNA could not be extracted without killing one and he was against that.
It was easy to see that while Tim’s personality was punchy and entertaining, he was serious about his Bigfooting and made a habit of having strong opinions on a wide range of Bigfoot topics. Sometimes he jumped the gun. The SGP had not mentioned anything about killing a Bigfoot nor did they intend to try. In 2012, the SGP had not done anything of note yet except post a kickoff announcement to social media regarding their DNA study. This compelled Tim to dive into his theory on why he thought it was a hoax operation.
An epic battle was brewing. In gladiator days, it would have been Tim Fasano entering the arena from one side as the challenger, and SGP executive director Dave Paulides, the investigator favored to win the debate, on the other side.
In 2012, social media was buzzing about the SGP. Though he didn’t plan it that way, Tim finally found a Bigfoot battle where he had rallied some support behind him.
Dave addressed Tim’s salvo and offered a reasonable rebuttal as an olive branch. He estimated that“95%” of what Tim claimed, was not true. 1
Tim wasn’t motivated to continue the argument so he moved on, satisfied that he made his point. The internet applauded Tim as he exited the arena, embracing his shining moment, declaring he would wear “5% accuracy” as a badge of honor. The internet seemed to be developing a rabid appetite for Bigfoot excitement and humor that it had not experienced before.
Later, he mocked David Paulides for claiming Melba figured out how to “unlock a method to get to the DNA itself and how to test for it.” 2
At first, this type of internet disagreement seems like just another blip to scroll through on social media. The effect it had though was to set the stage for more intense criticism towards the SGP from people who were far more knowledgeable in science than Tim Fasano was. Tim just kicked it off in humorous fashion.
I would expect nothing less! RIP my spacetime brother.