By Frannie Edwards-Hughes
A master of craftsmanship and creativity alike, experienced in both psychedelics and Christianity, 26-year-old Brandon Sujka — Washington-born and raised — defies simple categorization. The Trail sat down with him as he told us all about his journey: from childhood adventures and high school experiences to personal struggles and the rewarding path of fatherhood. Sujka is our first feature in “People of Tacoma,” a new series inspired by Humans of New York — an Instagram page and website that shares photos and interviews with people in New York City. “People of Tacoma” aims to celebrate human connection and reclaim what it means to be human through conversations with strangers in our wider community.
Growing up, Sujka was outgoing, curious, eager to learn and always open to meeting new people. Alongside his social nature, he was also deeply creative. He shared the story of getting his first instrument. “When I was nine, my parents got me my first drum set for Christmas. I remember the reason I wanted to play drums was because I saw this guy at my sister’s band recital. He just looked super cool, very confident and sounded awesome. I remember thinking on that day, ‘I want to be that guy.’” And he made it happen. By ninth grade, Sujka had achieved his goal. With his Justin Bieber hairstyle, he continued percussion in junior high and then started playing in his high school jazz band. His creativity also led him to pursue theater, where he met his wife.
“We had a kissing scene, which is so much more dramatic when you’re sixteen,” Sujka recalls. “It was really cute, but we did not get along at all in high school.” They had very different outlooks on life then. “She was very uptight, and I was much more hedonistic.” Since high school, she has loosened up, and Sujka has become more practical. By the time this article is published, they will have been together for six years, having gotten together shortly after high school.
Following graduation, Sukja was recruited by the Marines and briefly left Washington for a base in California. He wouldn’t have considered himself a “military person,” but he wanted to better himself. “I knew I was irresponsible in high school. I didn’t really try that hard in school because I didn’t feel like I had to. I was smart enough to get B’s, and so that’s what I shot for,” he said. Although interested in the arts, he “never felt driven by his family to actually follow through with something.” He thought the military would push him to be the best version of himself. Although intrigued by promises of becoming a man and taking life by the reins, his brief time in the Marines helped Sujka realize that “no one can make you do anything” — it was really a way to make you disciplined in their particular way and not as an individual.
In 2017, he started his current job as a commercial electrician. In 2022, he journeyed out and is now a foreman at the new Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, where he is in charge of the wall rough-in. He enjoys his job, as it is a good “blend between the brains and the brawn, the mind and the muscle.” He continued, “I’m like most people — where we can’t actually be put in a box. As much as I love objective truth and numbers and logic and getting things perfectly parallel, I’m also naturally a lot more artistic.” He added, “I like letting creation flow.”
As Sujka has gotten older, he has come to understand the importance of not having a one-track mind. Growing up, he was raised as an atheist by his dad. “I used to think I was closer to my dad. I feel like as I’ve gotten older, I’ve understood more about the true depth of what a relationship looks like and realized that that wasn’t really what we had. I appreciated the time he would spend with me, like we’d go on hikes around parks, and we’d talk about ‘what if aliens abducted us right now?’ and tell stories about what we’d do. It kind of felt like hanging out with a big kid,” he reflected. “Our parents are our first image-bearers,” he remarked. “And a lot of the time, they struggle with that. It’s a lot of unlearning and relearning what love really looks like.”
In his senior year of high school, Brandon tried psilocybin mushrooms for the first time. “That’s when I realized there’s more to this world.” As he explored LSD and DMT later, he had profound spiritual experiences that deepened his understanding of a reality beyond the physical. This marked the beginning of his spiritual journey. It wasn’t until 2018, when his wife had him help set up for a swing dance event at her church, that Brandon adopted Christianity. He has since found understanding in its acknowledgment of objective truths — like fairness and justice — that he believes exist outside of us and outside of time.
Finding a sense of home in Christianity, Brandon has also found a home in Tacoma. “It’s called the City of Destiny for a reason. It means something to me; it really does feel destined. I used to live a block from the Puget Sound. I used to walk there every day, and every single time I would just be blown away by the waves, the sky, the islands, the coast, the forest, the mountain in the background —it’s just incredible.”
He sees himself staying in Tacoma, learning and growing through life and being able to witness the beauty of motherhood as well. He is nostalgic and reflective about his past, remembering his family: “The smell of my parents’ house, coming home, my sister making bracelets, my stepdad playing video games and my mom scrapbooking. Just seeing the past, even if I would’ve wanted it differently. Just seeing it for what it was.” Now he is adamant about bettering himself — to become the best father he can be and to be a more balanced person overall.