The character arc of Teddy Swims
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born Jaten Collin Dimsdale on 25 September 1992 in Conyers, Georgia, into a family of American football enthusiasts. Between then and now sit a maternal grandfather who was a Pentecostal minister, a father who played him Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, ten years of football, a teacher in his second year of high school who suggested he and some teammates take a musical theatre class and join the chorus, two supportive teachers who watched videos of singers with him to work on his technique, a stage name chosen so he could sing as somebody else, a first cover posted in June 2019, a record deal that December, two EPs, and a single in June 2023 that went to number one. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Teddy Swims?
Ten years of football. Then one teacher said join the chorus.
His maternal grandfather was a Pentecostal minister, and his father put soul records in front of him early: Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Al Green. The family were American football enthusiasts, and he played for ten years. That is the shape of the life he was on course for.
In his second year at Salem High School a teacher suggested that he and a few of his teammates sign up for a musical theatre class, and told him he should join the chorus. He did both. He performed in musicals and in Shakespeare, picked up the piano and the ukulele, and sat with a couple of supportive teachers reviewing videos of his favourite singers to work out how they did it. That is an unusually deliberate way to learn to sing, and it is the whole of his training.
He took the stage name Swims from internet forum shorthand, an acronym for Someone Who Isnt Me Sometimes, as a way to perform in character. In June 2019 he posted his first cover online, a Michael Jackson song, and kept going across genres. His cover of a Shania Twain song, posted that October, became his most viewed video, at a hundred and sixty seven million views by January 2024. He released one single independently that July, and signed with Warner Records in December.
Then four years of building. A major label single in January 2020 and a first headline tour the same month. Covers through the year, including one whose royalties he gave to a legal defence fund. An EP in 2021 and a tour supporting a bigger act. Another EP in January 2022, then a three month headline tour of Europe and North America, then another across the United Kingdom and Europe, then a seven week tour of the United States in September. Television appearances, collaborations, festivals.
In June 2023 he appeared on the main American singles chart for the first time with Lose Control, from his debut album. The song reached the top ten in several countries and then went to number one the following year, four years after the first cover and eleven after the last football game. That December he sang at a concert for mental health awareness held in memory of a musician who had died.
The moments
Teddy Swims's timeline.
The 1990s
Born in Conyers
Everyday. A preacher for a grandfather and soul records in the house.
A football family
Everyday, and it changed his direction. The sport, the family, and the obvious future.
The 2000s
A teacher says join the chorus
Milestone, and it changed everything. One suggestion, to a boy who played football.
Football, or the chorus
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: take the theatre class, taken, or stay on the field. He learned to sing from videos with two teachers, and had a number one single fifteen years later.
He learns to sing on purpose
Milestone, and it changed everything. No conservatoire. Two teachers and a screen.
The 2010s
Someone Who Isnt Me Sometimes
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A name chosen so he could be braver than he was.
A first cover, online
Milestone, and it changed everything. Other people's songs, in a room, on camera.
A hundred and sixty seven million views
Milestone, and it changed his direction. One cover, and the internet decided.
A record deal
Milestone, and it changed everything. Six months from first cover to major label.
The 2020s
A first single and a first tour
Milestone, and it changed his direction. His own song, and his own name on the door.
He gives the royalties away
Milestone. A cover, and the money sent somewhere else.
A first EP
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Seven songs of his own, at last.
A second EP, and three tours
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Most of a year in a van, on three continents.
Lose Control
Milestone, and it changed everything. Four years of covers, and then one of his own went to number one.
A concert about mental health
Milestone, and it changed his direction. Singing in a room named after somebody it was too late for.
Push Artist of the month
Milestone. Named a new artist, five years into the work.
The teacher who suggested a theatre class to a footballer will probably never know what that did. What he set moving is the argument for saying the thing to the person in front of you, and for learning a craft out loud, on video, in public, where anybody can watch you not be good at it yet.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
His has ten years pointed at one thing and then a hard turn at sixteen on somebody else's suggestion. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Teddy Swims: frequently asked questions
What people ask about his line.
What is Teddy Swims's character arc?
What does the name Teddy Swims mean?
Did Teddy Swims play sport?
How did Teddy Swims learn to sing?
How did Teddy Swims get signed?
What is Teddy Swims's biggest song?
Where does this timeline of Teddy Swims's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with his.
Sources
- Teddy Swims, English Wikipedia biography.
- His own account of the teacher who suggested the theatre class, the videos he studied with two teachers, and what his stage name stands for.
- Release and chart records for the first cover in June 2019, the Warner Records deal that December, and Lose Control reaching the Billboard Hot 100 in June 2023 and number one the following year.
- The record carries no collapse or crisis, and none is invented here.