Many talented and creative people have come from the Swan Valley and have gone on to have remarkable careers in fields that many only dream of. Former resident Brad Caruk had an interest that he was passionate about from his days growing up in the Valley and took it to an international level.
“I was born in Swan River and moved around for a bit in Manitoba and Saskatchewan as my Dad worked in the mines,” said Caruk. “Then we came back to Swan River when I was in Grade 3. We lived on Third Street North, only a short walk to Swan Valley Regional Secondary School, which I graduated from in 1983.
“Immediately after graduating from the SVRSS, I moved to Winnipeg to attend Red River Polytechnical, Advertising Art, graduating from there in 1985. I wanted to go into film, but art was the most affordable option I had, and they had accepted my portfolio submission, providing me with an in-person interview.
“I received an acceptance letter to attend, so I was all in,” said Caruk. “It wasn’t easy. Classes were 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with no spares and the homework was a little different from what it is today.”
What drew Caruk into creating experiences and design features stemmed from George Lucas’ cult classic movie – Star Wars. He was also very fortunate to have some very influential instructors both in Swan River and in his post-secondary studies.
“I sketched a lot through my school years, but honestly, seeing Star Wars in the local theatre in 1977 changed my life,” said Caruk. “Yes, as geeky as that sounds, it was the imagination and creativity of such visuals that I really wanted to be a part of.
“Once I entered high school, I enrolled in a course called Commercial Art, under Doug Stout. He was my mentor and honestly inspired me. I luckily had his twin brother, Andy, at Red River for graphic design; he led me to continue that pursuit. I had other very influential teachers as well, like Tony Klein for band, and music is also a big part of my career. Cliff Gussie, Mr. Yaroway, and others who were not even my teachers had an influence on me.”
Caruk’s career started on Manitoba soil and led him to work on some design concepts for museums in Winnipeg. From there, he worked on several projects on a global scale, many of them being world-renowned tourist attractions.
“In 1989, I had started my own company in Winnipeg, which several years later led to embellishments and designs for exhibits at the Manitoba Museum and another project for The Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada,” said Caruk. “I remember the stress of those first multi-million-dollar budgets, but in parallel, the excitement and pride that followed. That was just the beginning; my ultimate goal was to get onto the world’s stage.
“I invented a technology to put on subway tunnel walls and installed the prototype in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which led to travel to over a dozen other countries around the globe. We were about to go public, but then the stock market crashed. That was a tough life event.
“I went on to work on concepts for Moana and Tron for Walt Disney, Orlando, Florida; attractions for Universal Studios, Singapore and Beijing, China; and designed several attractions for Ocean Flower, Hainan, China,” said Caruk. “I’ve also developed a whole theme park in Jurong, China, another in Tokyo, Japan and a Panda VIP animal park.
“I travelled with my wife, Crystal, up the mountains of Chengdu to the Panda Research Base. Not many get that kind of opportunity and it was a very special project dear to us.
“More recently, I developed an aquarium in Khobar, The Line, The Mukaab and Six Flags Qiddiya City Park, all in Saudi Arabia,” said Caruk.
The projects that Caruk has worked on take years to complete. Like anything else, the bigger the project, the longer it takes to finish.
“A lot of blood, sweat and tears literally go into designing and developing these kinds of projects,” said Caruk. “You’re always thinking how to make it better. These days, I’m responsible for multi-billion-dollar projects. You need to get it right. It’s all about the guest experience.
“Starting with the concept, then leading disciplines in schematic design like architecture, structures, engineering, area development, audio, lighting, etc., then on into construction supervision. It’s like a symphony. I get to be that conductor. If we are not all in tune, it falls apart. You need to create something unique, entertaining, and especially memorable.
“It starts with the executive strategy, pre-concept, concept, schematic design, design development, construction drawings, then onsite there’s preliminary works, infrastructure, etc., until opening day,” said Caruk. “Some projects can be two years or so, while other larger ones take upwards of five to seven years. It’s a major commitment of time and travel.”
Caruk focuses on delivering the most enjoyable experience for guests. He strives to design an attraction or theme park that people want to come back to and experience it again. He finds inspiration in challenging himself to outdo what he has done in the past and from his spouse.
“I work with the most brilliant people on the world’s stage,” said Caruk. “I get to imagine and build things people have never seen before. Create worlds from within my head and make them a reality. I’ll hang out by an exit of an attraction and listen to the guests’ reactions. The ultimate compliment, when I hear someone say, ‘let’s go on it again’, then I know I did something right.
“I think the energy comes from the passion to outdo myself on the next project. It’s not so much what I have done, I’ve had my share, but more about what I am doing now. It’s in my DNA. I live, eat, and breathe it. My ideas come from everywhere, everything. I credit a lot of it to Crystal. She is my muse and the most creative person I know. And, she puts up with my crap, to some degree, which lets me do what I do best.”
Caruk has worked on many notable projects over the span of his career and each one has something about it that ties him to it.
“When it comes to having a favourite project that I’ve designed, that’s a tricky question, as I have favourites for different reasons,” said Caruk. “It’s like asking me my favourite movie, not a short answer. Six Flags Qiddiya was an opportunity unlike anything else. I was the only creative director on that entire project. That park is completely my world, from the stories to the characters I created, such as Professor Screamore, to even the design and painting of ride vehicles. Even the music. I was in Prague with the symphony orchestra recording original compositions for this project.
“It came with a huge sacrifice, though. We lived on Vancouver Island during the pandemic and worked remotely from 10 p.m. through the night, finishing at 9 a.m., almost seven days a week, for two years. Then we relocated to the Eastern time zone and I was in the air more than on the ground for the next three years. That’s a lot of time away from family.”
Caruk still has projects on the go and plans to continue doing what he loves for as long as he can.
“Unfortunately, I can’t say much about current or future projects, as we are under non-disclosure agreements, typical of this genre of work, but I can tell you there’s more to come,” said Caruk. “My plan is to do this as long as I can, so retirement really isn’t in my vocabulary. I am very fortunate to do this type of work. My job is my hobby, and my hobby is my job. It doesn’t get much better than that.”