Brad Berman ’79: Here Be Dragons

 

Eccentric, eclectic septuagenarian recounts his adventurous life: Berman has been to all 50 states, over 100 countries, and all seven continents, with Greenland as his favorite destination.

Brad Berman ’79’s life has been a tapestry of daring adventures, unconventional choices and a relentless pursuit of the extraordinary. Even 40 years ago, when UCF’s Emphasis magazine (the forerunner of Pegasus) profiled him, Berman had already set foot on six of the seven continents — a testament to a wanderlust that ignited when he was just 15.

 

Early Inspirations and Life-Altering Journeys

Berman’s journey began in his teens when a family trip to Thailand opened his eyes to a world beyond his hometown. What began as a fun excursion with his brothers and father, who was then working for an airline, soon expanded into an impromptu global tour.

With a bit of persuasive charm, the brothers encouraged the pilot to make unexpected stops in New York, France, Italy, Greece, Israel, Ceylon and India.

“It was just so exciting,” Berman recalls.

For a somewhat disaffected teenager, these detours were nothing short of life-changing — a series of firsts that cemented his desire to explore every corner of the globe.

Embracing Adventure in Every Form

Over the decades, Berman’s exploits have grown bolder and more varied. He hitchhiked into the heart of the Australian outback, spending a week with Indigenous communities, and survived a harrowing hippo attack during a safari in Botswana.

Yet what sets Berman apart is not just his knack for finding adventure but his ability to balance it with a distinguished career at NASA. He was hired at the age of 17 when he was still in high school, earning $1.60 per hour. He worked there for 42 years, for a while in Configuration Management and Logistics before his promotion to Safety Space Shuttle Specialist. He retired in January 2014.

“UCF gave me a foot into the space program,” Berman says.

As a student in the College of Business, he participated in the university’s co-op program, which allowed him to alternate between academic semesters and paid, full-time work positions, one of which was at NASA. He credits UCF with helping him start his first business—renting three-wheel bikes in Cocoa Beach—graduate debt-free, and pursue a career he had never imagined.

As a safety specialist, he navigated environments filled with poisonous gases, hazardous liquids, extreme heights and explosives. His résumé includes participation in 135 space shuttle missions, among them the high-stakes recoveries of the Challenger and the Columbia.

A Home as Unconventional as His Travels

Berman’s adventurous spirit extends to his home on Merritt Island, where he shares his space with a menagerie that reflects his passions. His unusual household includes a loyal dog named Napoleon, a 75-pound Sulcata tortoise called Rascal and a Capuchin monkey known as Mookie. Beyond his pets, his property is an ever-evolving display of life-size dinosaur statues, antique automobiles and artifacts from his global wanderings.

“I do like to show off my collection sometimes,” he says, aware that his home might not suit everyone’s taste. For Berman, however, these items are more than curiosities — they are tangible chapters of a life lived on his own terms.

The Road Less Traveled

Berman’s unconventional life began long before his global escapades. Determined not to follow the crowd, he left home while still in high school — a decision that forced him to rely on his own resourcefulness. Starting out as a janitor at a shoe store, earning $1.70 an hour, he soon realized that education was his passport to a broader world. A voracious reader, Berman devoured about 100 books a year, fueling his ambition and shaping his independent mindset.

His drive was encapsulated in an essay by James Lipton titled “Here Be Dragons,” which warned that venturing into the unknown was dangerous. Berman interpreted that warning as a challenge.

“My takeaway was that if I really want to live to pursue my dreams, I must be prepared to go where the dragons are,” he explains.

Overcoming Adversity Through Determination

Life on his own was not without hurdles. Berman assumed that his academic prowess in high school would guarantee him college funding. When his name did not appear among the scholarship recipients, he discovered that his guidance counselor never thought to tell the straight-A student that he was eligible for scholarships or grants. Armed with his report card, he visited the financial aid office at then-Daytona Beach Community College and soon secured the funding he needed. Berman’s resolve not only made him the first in his family to attend college but also set the stage for his future endeavors. His hard work carried him to UCF—then known as FTU—where he balanced his studies with internships at the Kennedy Space Center before launching a career as a safety engineer at NASA.

A Life Fueled by Curiosity and Financial Savvy

Berman credits part of his success to the financial lessons he learned early on. At UCF, he mastered budgeting and even ran a beachside business renting out three wheelers — a venture that also kept him fit for his later adventures.

His financial acumen enabled him to explore even the most remote corners of the earth. “When I went to Mount Everest, the whole trip only cost about $1,100,” he says, crediting a travel agent who arranged every detail — from hiring sherpas and guides to planning an expedition to the Arctic.

In the Arctic, Berman encountered polar bears, 90 mph winds and embarked on a grueling 100-mile hike — a chaotic yet exhilarating experience that epitomizes his lifelong embrace of the unknown.

The Legacy of an Adventurer

Family ties remain an integral part of Berman’s story, even if his siblings never shared his wanderlust. Over the years, he has regaled them with tales from his adventures. At one point, he even took a 10-year-old nephew on a cross-country journey that spanned 25 states in a single month — a once-in-a-lifetime experience that left a lasting impression, even if the young traveler eventually lost interest in further explorations.

Berman continues to chronicle his adventures in meticulous journals, a practice he began decades ago.

“I’ve kept journals of all my adventures, even the mundane things that were happening in my life,” he reflects. These journals serve as a personal record to ensure that his story is remembered.

“I am not one of those people who are just born, live and die, only to be forgotten by the next generation,” he says. Although he never had children, he hopes his nieces and nephews will remember him as the man who truly lived — a man who sought out the dragons, both literal and metaphorical, and thrived in their presence.

In a world that often values conformity, Brad Berman’s life serves as a bold reminder of the rewards of charting your own course. His journey — marked by daring expeditions, groundbreaking professional achievements and a home that doubles as a living museum — embodies the spirit of adventure and the enduring power of reaching for the stars.