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I was never really into barbeque growing up, I’d maybe eat a hot dog or burger here or there. But a lot of the more refined BBQ entrees honestly made me squirm back in the day. I guess as a kid I wasn’t super into big bloody fatty steaks as much as I am now. In fact, when I was around 12 years old I swore off meat altogether. It was just one too many bloody and fatty experiences for me to handle.

From then on I was vegetarian. But ironically during my beginning working years I ended up being the lead griller at a grilled sub shop and the head chicken griller at a fair stand for a while. I guess I had a knack for cooking meats already even though I wasn’t really eating them at the time.

Later, in college I decided to go on a 1.5 year exchange to Sweden and Germany while studying for my engineering degree. I was going to leave just after my 19th birthday, about 3 months away at the time. I was worried about moving to Europe and what I would eat. That’s when I decided I would start eating meat again.

It was an interesting year or so while I started to eat meat again. I think I was more skeptical than others at the time about new meats and especially foreign meats. But It wasn’t really too hard after everything was said and done. I hadn’t realized all the wonderful foods I was missing out on.

I really started grilling more when I was on my exchange in Europe. In Sweden, I would either get disposable grills from the grocery store or I would set up this jenky little grill out of bricks on the patio of the dorms. Then in Germany I was introduced to a bunch of different meats and grilling styles. It was common to have a holiday cookout there and I participated often.

After I moved back to finish my degree in Oregon, I kept grilling. I was lucky to move in with a couple of my friends that enjoyed grilling probably just as much as I did. We had a large Weber Kettle and we would do everything on it, especially smoke ribs. This is when my true interest in grilling meats over a fire and perfecting it began.

Fast forward to last year… A good work friend of mine and I stumbled across the PNWBA website and decided we wanted to compete at least once in 2019. We entered our first competition at the end of the season and instantly got hooked on the experience, the community, and the resources we could tap into to better our BBQ.

My goal moving forward is to create an online resource and community for those who are either new to competition or have been considering competing. I hope to learn and experience a lot in the coming years so that I am able to share those experiences with others. Sometimes it’s hard to break into a new hobby or to keep it going after a big loss. But with the right community and resources, we can all grow from our failures!

Grill on!

– Bradley BBQ