Tim Johnson

If Tim Johnson has one piece of advice for Washingtonians, it’s this: loosen up.
 
“Take your tie off, take your blazer off, relax a little bit,” said Johnson, a state lobbyist for the Entertainment Software Association.
 
{mosads} “It’s cliche, but I try very hard not to take myself too seriously in this town.”
 
That attitude is likely not surprising for someone who represents the video game industry, which Johnson admits, “is probably more fun” than most businesses.
 
He described his line of work as “where Hollywood and computers meet.”
 
And while the world of video games may all seem like fun and games — literally — Johnson said there’s more than meets the eye. “You have this image of kids in the basement playing video games and then you meet someone who graduated from Carnegie Mellon with a master’s in game design,” he said.
 
Johnson spends a good chunk of his time flying between D.C., state capitals and the headquarters of the video game companies he represents.
 
All of those flights make him work extra hard to stay active.
 
“Because we travel so much, it’s pretty easy to sit on a plane for four hours and eat,” he said.
 
To stay fit, Johnson plays soccer and bikes around the District. He also takes the occasional trip out west to snowboard, a passion he explored during a semester he spent in Montana in college.
 
“I try to go once or twice a year just to make sure I can still do it,” he exclaimed.
 
And of course, there are the fitness-related video games. For its annual holiday party, Johnson’s group pulls out all of the stops, including Wii Fitness and Dance Dance Revolution.
 
It all fits in with his notion that everyone needs to “have a little fun.”

— Kate Tummarello