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Germany TM Garret is a German-American author, producer, filmmaker, and human rights activist who leverages his past experiences to advocate for community building and anti-racism.
TM Garret is the founder of C.H.A.N.G.E., a Memphis-based non-profit organization that conducts community outreach programs and anti-racism campaigns.
Garret started working with the Simon Wiesenthal Center in fall 2018, traveling to conferences and campuses to speak to students about the effects of hate and racism and opportunities for engagement and community building.
In 2015, Garret began collaborating with Exit Deutschland, a German anti-Nazi organization, becoming their US ambassador and running an American-based EXIT program under C.H.A.N.G.E.
Since November 2019, TM Garret has been a staff member at Parents for Peace, a non-governmental public health nonprofit organization dedicated to countering extremism.
In August 2017, Garret partnered with artists at Sick Side Tattoo & Body Piercing Studio in Horn Lake, Mississippi, for the "Erase the Hate" campaign, covering racist and gang-related tattoos for free.
Through the HateXchange initiative, involuntary donations generated from hate comments on social media are contributed to non-profit organizations such as Life After Hate.
Donations from the HateXchange program are directed towards non-profit organizations like Human Rights Watch.
The Southern Poverty Law Center is among the selected non-profits that receive donations from the HateXchange initiative.
Garret occasionally fills in as an anchor on weekend news for WGN-TV in Chicago.
TM Garret is an outspoken interfaith activist and serves as a director and board member of World Religion Day Memphis.
On February 18, 2019, TM Garret signed an agreement with Koska Ltd., a production company from Brighton, England, headed by former MD of Warner Bros TV Production U.K. Nick Emmerson, to develop a docuseries about his work.
In 2004, TM Garret joined Radio Union with his radio show 'Songwriter's Corner'.
TM Garret's show 'Songwriter's Corner' aired on CountryMusic24, Germany's largest country radio station, where he also became Co-Chief director.
Garret and Pastor Ray Johnson co-host 'Let's Erase The Hate', a weekly talk radio show on CBS affiliate Memphis radio station KWAM.
After moving to the Memphis metro area, TM Garret founded PicArts Media, a film production and promotion company.
Alongside PicArts Media, TM Garret also founded Mid South Music Entertainment, a record label and booking company, working with various artists.
TM Garret, born Achim Schmid in Mosbach, Germany, experienced an early life that led him to join nationalist groups at the age of 13. He became a white supremacist, even founding racist skinhead bands such as Celtic Moon and Höllenhunde. Later, he joined a German Ku Klux Klan faction and established his own KKK group, which he subsequently left, leading to its disbandment in 2002. His journey through these early extremist affiliations provided him with unique insights that would later shape his career in activism.
After leaving the white supremacist movement in 2002, Garret transitioned into the business world, applying the organizational skills he had developed. He founded companies in various sectors, including call-center and internet marketing, the music industry, and licensed job recruitment. He relocated to the Memphis metro area to collaborate with Colonel Robert Morris. Here, he established PicArts Media, a film production and promotion company, and Mid South Music Entertainment, a record label. Through these ventures, he worked with notable artists such as Jaydee Bixby, Jimmy Miles, Dani Fouts, and T. Graham Brown, as well as TV personalities like Mark Muller and Georgette Jones. He sold his entertainment group in 2015, marking a shift toward his future endeavors.
Since 2015, Garret has focused significantly on human rights activism. He started working with Exit Deutschland, a German anti-Nazi organization, and became their US ambassador, subsequently running an American EXIT program under his non-profit, C.H.A.N.G.E. Founded in 2016, C.H.A.N.G.E engages in community outreach, food drives, seminars, and anti-racism campaigns. A key initiative is the “Erase the Hate” tattoo removal campaign, launched in partnership with tattoo studios in 2017, which covers racist and gang-related tattoos for free. He also co-developed HateXchange, a program that turns hate-driven actions into involuntary donations for anti-extremist organizations. Garret is the founder and organizer of the annual Memphis Peace Conference and serves on the honorary board for “We Are Many”. He also works with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, speaking to students about racism and engagement.
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