My name is Rick Brewer, Chief Engineer of… well nothing really; but I am a Star Trek Fan. My story is like so many who dared to look at the stars and dream as a boy; but mine perhaps is a little bit different. I consider myself a Techie-Trekkie, that is more into the science than the science fiction.
As a child I was fascinated by anything that was of technology like buttons, switches and wiring. When I was 6 years old my Dad threw away a Betamax VCR that stopped working, when I came home from school I saw it on the curb and brought it to my room and did what any 6 year old does…. took it apart. The thing was, it all made sense to me. I looked it over and found what didn’t seem to look right, fixed it AND IT WORKED! When Dad came home from work I was sitting in front of the TV watching a movie on his “broken” VCR. My Dad then began to give me little projects here and there that I could fix and was always there to help if I had questions.
This love of tinkering came into focus when Montgomery Scott was always challenged to keep things working. He was always working on something, looking to make it work better.
Trying To Fix the Unfixable
This led to a path of life for me working in career fields that allowed me to tinker and make things better. I found myself even needing to tinker on my own heart as changes in life can make things not work so well. In the Air Force I was allowed to work in all sorts of areas using my tinkering skills to shine, but because of exposure to harmful agents; I began to loose my ability to move around like before.
Tinkering seems to be in the Brewer blood to try and fix things. I began to build things that would allow me to move around and lead a fairly normal life. Later on, I built my PowerWheelz Wheelchair that allowed me to do the things I love to do the most… tinker. Tinkering helps me to keep the most important muscle I have working… my brain.
Tinkering allows me to take on challenges and look for solutions, when properly incorporated; it can help everything in life because you are always looking to make everything around you better.
To Boldly Go
While on Instagram I noticed some Star Trek feeds showing a place where you could go and actually touch a reproduction Star Ship… I couldn’t believe it. When I noted that it was only 5 hours away by car, I was determined to go. Reaching out I discovered a community of those that had a passion centered around a vision of a place where you could go… and not be yourself for a little while.
Walking through the set guided by Ray Tesi I found that this studio was more than a place where you can go to make fan films… It was a place you could go into the room that gave substance to all your dreams as a child. It created the substance for events I’ve yet to imagine. Whether your dream was of the the sick bay, the transporter room, engineering or the bridge, here you could sit in the chair that fit your fashion: A Doctor, Engineer, Navigator, Ops, Communication or even Captain.
Perhaps even rewarding the talents that we have in our own lives, as someone who might be the one: who is a healer, who fixes things, helps others navigate through life, is super organized in the ops position, is a great communicator and yes; the one naturally gifted to be a leader. At the Neutral Zone in Kingsland, GA., you get choose the seat you sit in; perhaps inspiring you to Boldly Go, a little farther… where you haven’t gone before.
