Florida based, TSC Productions founder and owner, Brendon “Grimey” Grimes passed away on March 15, 2024 at the age of 56 surrounded by his family after a brave fight with cancer.
Born August 24, 1967, Brendon grew up in Chicago and after finishing his schooling, joined the United States Air Force at the age of 19. During the following 20 years of military service, he fine-tuned both his commitment to teamwork and the sharing of knowledge which would serve him well throughout the whole of his career. He was stationed in Europe and received a posting to RAF Lakenheath, situated Northeast of Cambridge in the UK.
When not on duty he worked as a DJ on the base and was also given the enviable task of running the lights that were installed in the social hall. In the beginning of 1997, he put in a call for a service visit from a Martin UK technician and Chris Hale (now with Chauvet UK) was the one to respond. Chris remembers how Brendon was watching every step he made and would not stop asking questions as he was so desperate to learn more about the fixtures and master their operation. This pleased Chris no end, and a friendship was born that would last for decades. Chris and Brendon visited each other from that point on and Brendon would always be armed with American treats – including Chris’ favorite Bud Light – from the NAAFI that you couldn’t buy in the UK.
It was later that year that Chris enlisted Brendon’s help with building the Martin PLASA stand. As a leading manufacturer, Martin were building impressive trade show stands with a team led on the ground by Max Johnson who also became lifelong friends with Brendon. Using his military vacation time, Brendon would travel to London for the PLASA show or Las Vegas for the LDI show helping to create the displays and learning more about lighting and the technology being used, falling more and more in love with the entertainment industry on each occasion.
As his military career continued, he was transferred to Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida panhandle where he worked on many campaigns and projects – with one of the more unusual being given a speaking part alongside Pierce Brosnan in the James Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies” in a scene where he jumps out of a transporter plane (Brosnan, not Brendon).
However Max also remembers Brendon displaying his true depth of character during the PLASA show of 2001, where the tragic events of September 11th unfolded. Brendon knew right away that things would be changing for him and his ‘lighting gig’ would need to be paused. Whilst loading the containers to send everything to the LDI show, he mentioned to Max that he may not make it to that particular show – and then he couldn’t be reached for several months as duty to his country was calling.
Whilst many of his achievements in uniform were kept secret, Brendon was proud and shared tales when he could. In his role as a Loadmaster with the C-130 Hercules planes, he was called upon to design the rigging system required for the operation and deployment of the MOAB weapon that had been developed at that time. A system that is still in active use today.
Fellow veteran and former Martin colleague, Jamey Brock, had known Brendon for more than 25 years and spent many an hour discussing entertainment technology and sharing stories with a definite emphasis on motorbikes. After riding to Hurlburt Field to attend his Air Force retirement ceremony, Jamey remarked on the camaraderie and respect that Brendon had earned with everyone right up to the Generals of the unit who were present at the ceremony.
After finishing his military career, Brendon established TSC Productions in Fort Walton Beach, something that he had long had his mind set on. TSC is a full service live event production company that serves the panhandle region and beyond with an ethos centered around knowledge, commitment, passion and perhaps a little extra love for any fellow Harley Davidson riders.
In his spare time, Brendon enjoyed going out boating, travelling and riding his Harley with his wife and Frodo, his dog. He was also a sponsor of both the Sinfonia Gulf Coast and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
The one thing that everyone remembers with fondness after meeting Brendon was his love of sharing his experiences and telling stories. He was avid, animated and passionate. He was always engaged with you, and he will be dearly missed by all those who came to know him.
Brendon is survived by his wife, Nettie Grimes, his parents Jacquie and Ron Grimes, brother Devin Grimes, Sisters Jennie Grimes and Heather Hill, his nieces Raven and Dakota and 3 bonus children, Sean, Sydney and Aubrey.