Meet Taylor Cobb | Author, Entrepreneur, & Advocate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Taylor Cobb and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Taylor, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I’m born and raised in Baltimore, but my mom’s folks hail from Chicago and my dad’s from Alabama, so I feel I got a good mix of cultures to surround me growing up. I’m the oldest of four kids and my mom and dad were young when I was born, so I spent a lot of my early years with my grandparents, aunts, and cousins. Being the baby of the family for a while meant I got to be everyone’s little shadow, so I spent a lot of time especially with my aunt Alyse and my cousins Daryl and Denzel. I learned the importance of integrity and honesty, and the oldest lesson I remember, which is that “snitches get stitches”. I feel like being positioned to learn from my surroundings at an early age made me a keen observer and led me to view the subtle but weighty struggles people face with their mental health, especially those things they repress or try to shield from the world.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am extremely proud of my work with my brainchild MindFull, which is a mental health-centric approach to meal planning and nutrition. The idea came to me at one of my lowest points in life. I was struggling with severe depression, anxiety, and syncope, and keeping a job was difficult when I could barely get out of bed. I remember feeling hungry and being torn between Oodles of Noodles (again) or sleep because I was just too overwhelmed to prepare something good for me. I was trying to focus on eating and living mindfully, and I started toying around with the idea of a meal service that was tailored to my mental health needs. Food has always been a central part of my identity, between cooking with my grandmother and my mom’s love language being to cook a favorite dish. I wanted to bring that love to the forefront of meal planning. I lost my job at the time after a syncopal episode and so MindFull was born. The goal of the brand is to provide simple, affordable, and delicious meal solutions that provide health benefits catered to mental health care. So far I’ve worked with kids to teach balanced eating and nutrition and with adults to help create healthy or healthier meal plans that motivate them to eat better. Working with MindFull has been a blessing and I hope to expand in the future from meal planning services to offer meal delivery services as well for those who struggle with the preparation aspect of healthy eating.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love being in Baltimore, especially in the summertime. There are so many festivals, concerts, and community events that bring people together from all over the city. I especially enjoy going to Artscape in July and visiting open performance spaces like Open Floor Dance Open Mic at the Motor House on North Avenue or the themed open mics hosted by Nova Gray. For good food, I’d definitely check out the market under the Jones Falls Expressway on Sunday mornings or grab a seafood chicken cheesesteak from Melt Soul Food!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shoutout to my siblings Alyssa, Joey, and El, who have been so supportive of everything I do, and who inspire me daily to be a better human. I love y’all.

Instagram: @exotictayste AND @mindfullmenus