Macon County native Bryan West has seen and done more than the average person. In 2020 tragedy struck and changed not only his way of life, but life in general, forever.
“When I was a kid, I really didn’t like my first name,†said West. “Other kids had names like J.R. or P.J., A.J., but what do you do with a name like Bryan Alan West? Forty years later, while working for the State of Tennessee, my work friends coined the nickname B-Dub, and it just stuck. I have had many jobs after college. At Tri County Vocational, I studied Mechanical and Architectural drafting, and later received my bachelor’s in industrial technology science at MTSU.â€
West says that he has enjoyed several things in life, as well as working with several companies which led him to pursue different things along the way.
“While working at American Greetings in the late ;90s-mid 2000s, I developed a system using bar codes,†said West. “This made it easier for fork truck drivers to reduce their work time by 80%. I received shares in the company for my system. I guess I was just a nerd.â€
West says that early on, reading wasn’t his strongest point, but he grew to love reading. When commuting to work, he would often listen to radio shows and podcasts.
“Paul Harvey and his ‘Rest of the Story’ and Mike Rowe’s ‘The Story Behind the Story’ were favorites of mine,†said West. “I also enjoy Do it Yourself reading. When I was in college, my old shop teacher was retiring at the end of that year. He gave me a book titled ‘Proverbs, Maxims, and Phases of All Ages.’ It is an 1888 copy, and I still have it. There is a quote in that book ‘…jewels five words long, that on the stretched forefinger of time, sparkle forever’- Tennyson. I like that quote very much.â€
Men like West were once called renaissance men, and that title seems to fit in 2025.
Doctors diagnosed West with fungal meningitis, and he became disabled from it by 2020.
“My home was at my mom’s house for a year after being hospitalized for nearly a year and a half,†said West. “It has been a struggle rehabilitating, but after a long road I am back in my own home where I enjoy making things with my hands. I began making things out of plastic. I ordered resin molds and would make several variations of things and sell them at Gallery 102. I would sell my creations for just enough to pay for supplies to make more. I enjoyed the fact that others found joy in what I made. It got to where I made so many things that I now have several sitting around the house. I have always worked and been good at doing things with my hands. I also enjoy restoring old furniture, and I also enjoyed being a photographer. I used Canon cameras and even named one of my sons Canon after the camera.â€
Even though doctors gave West zero chance of ever walking or talking again, he persevered and overcame.
“God gave me incredible gifts and my faith is what restored my way of life enough that I can still enjoy things,†he said. “You just never know what God has planned for you, life is beautiful.â€
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