Episode 107. Are You A Traveling Man? (ft. Lewis Bradley)

There are no strangers in Freemasonry, only friends you’ve yet to meet. This week we have an impromptu chat with Bro. Lewis Bradley about Masonic travel and the lasting impact of a warm welcome. Lewis became a Master Mason in 2024 and shares his journey: relocating from England to Spain, his dad’s professional soccer career, and the joy of making friends for life. 

“You just feel like you belong. At least I certainly do. I instantly felt like I belonged. And from that moment, somebody calls you ‘brother,’ it's real.”

Lewis Bradley hails from Almeria Lodge No. 74 in Turre, Spain. 

Transcript

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have you ever heard the phrase, there are no strangers in Freemasonry, just friends you have yet to meet? I have now. Would you agree with that statement? Uh, 1000%. Yeah. I, um, I, well, I can get into it now if you like. Yeah. Um, it has been my first international mason meeting and, uh, didn't know what to expect at, at all. Reached out to Lodge 19 in Minneapolis. and then I was invited to the installation meeting and instantly felt amongst friends, amongst brothers, and, uh, yeah, incredibly welcoming. We talk a lot about the value of Masonic Travel and this being your first ever big air quotes. Masonic trip. Yes. We met at the officer installation on Sunday. And that led you to have the opportunity to visit the, uh, entered apprentice degree at Acacia Lodge in Cottage Grove last night. Correct. How was that? It was fascinating. Again, welcomed with open arms. Everybody was super friendly. I felt at home instantly and, uh, really enjoyed the ceremony. Have to say a lot of, um, a lot of practice. A lot of effort was put in And thoroughly enjoyed it. We're joined today by Brother Lewis Bradley. from Al Maria Lodge, number 74 in, where is it? In Spain, so where the Provincial Lodge is, provincial and Duluth. The lodge. We fall under the Grand Lodge of Spain, but the town where our lodge is located is called Turre And you serve as the Inner Guard? I am the inner guard, yeah. In your jurisdiction that would be comparable? Well, you have a Tyler outside of the lodge, but that's a similar, would you say comparable role on the inside? Correct. Yeah. So the Inner Guard, um, is equivalent to the Tyler only. We're on the inside of the lodge and making sure that if there's any, anybody needs to enter the lodge, they go through the inner guard, inner guard reports to the, uh, senior warden. So when we met, my first question was. You're clearly from England and you live in Spain. What, what brought you to Spain? when I was a small child, I was seven years old. Uh, my family decided to leave the UK looking for sunnier climates. Um, my father was a ex-professional footballer and he had a dream to live in the sun and open a restaurant, so he brought us all to Spain and um, it was a truly wonderful place to grow up. And we've been there since 1987. So when I introduced myself as Louis Bradley from Spain, clearly I don't look Spanish and I don't sound Spanish. Right. But that's, that's how we got there. And your dad was a professional footballer for Aston Villa. That's correct. Yeah. My dad, uh, he played for Frost Villa from 1964 until 1972, and the pinnacle of his career was actually playing in the League Cup final at Wembley, um, in 1971. How did that turn out? I don't recall. Well, it didn't turn out well. Unfortunately, they lost, uh, two nil to Tottenham Hot Spurs. Um, but they gave a good account of themselves. Yeah. You guys still got out to see games together, so we try and see Barcelona and around Madrid over in Spain if they come and play locally. Spain's quite a large country. Mm-hmm. my father does get invited occasionally back to Aston Villa. They look after the odd players and occasionally we get back and see a Premier League game. What was the catalyst for you to become a Freemason? You joined in 2024, correct? That's correct, yeah. So. Going back a little bit. I belong to a group called, uh, round Table. Round Table is a mail only charitable group. We met every fortnight. We would do fun things like bowling or go-karting and so on. And then we would raise funds for local charities. And I made friends for life, um, during my time within Roundtable. So you, you age out at round table, you have to leave. Oh, at 45? Mm-hmm. Um, and one of my neighbors in Spain, he's a, a Freemason. We got chatting one day. I was nosy and inquisitive. What did you, what did you ask or what did you, what did you see that was appealing to you? I, well, I had zero knowledge or any background on Freemasonry. I have no family members that are Freemasons, so I was just, my interest was spiked, um, because of my previous experience in Roundtable. And, um, this gentleman, Charlie, he invited me along, met the guys, and instantly felt a connection. And, um, it's one of the best things I've ever done in my life, if I'm honest. I, I absolutely adore it. What's your favorite part so far? Well, it's probably this trip, if I'm honest. Really? Yeah. The international trip has been eyeopening, the welcome I've got of everybody. I feel like I've made friends, actually. I've only been here five days, and I feel like I've made friends that will be friends for life. I truly mean that. I recall you mentioning that, that welcome has been. Unexpected. How would you, how would you characterize that? Um, not unexpected. The Secretary of our Lodge, um, in Spain, he said, they'll look after you. They'll, they'll welcome you in. And I hoped that was the case, but I was made to feel instantly like it was my lodge. I didn't feel like I was visiting a, a lodge in a faraway land. It was amongst brothers, amongst friends instantly. And conversation flowed. People made me feel welcome. got invited to, um, other Masonic uh, events off the back of it. It's too bad you can't stay longer. I'm sure we could have filled the calendar even more full with activity. For you, you are a brand owner of a company called Safe Trade Europe. That's correct, yeah. I have a business in Europe. Um, we distribute tattoo supplies, predominantly American products around Europe. Um, we also, in fact, one of those products is from St. Paul here in, in Minnesota. Really? What is it? It's a paper product. Um, before you get a tattoo, you have more than one. I've, I've been a little bit familiar with the needle, yes. Yeah. So before you get a tattoo. Ordinarily you would have a, a, a stencil placed on your skin for the artist to follow. Mm-hmm. That particular product, um, is there's, there's one market leader, and the brand owner is from St. Paul, and that's worldwide. Worldwide. Almost every tattoo that is made in the world is used on a sheet of paper that comes from a company where the gentleman is from simple. I had no idea. Nobody does. Would anybody though? I suppose not n it's, no, nobody knows. How much ink do you have? I have four tattoos. Very I, my plan was to get covered 10 years ago when I first got into the industry, but I just kept putting it off and putting it off and getting older and getting older, and never really got round to filling up my blank spots. Someone asked me about that recently, and I can only say. The downtime of COVID. Mm-hmm. The artist is local. He had openings. It was a challenging time through 2020 and 2021. And suddenly, yeah. Suddenly the, uh, empty skin is full. Absolutely. When someone asks us what is Freemasonry all about? Yes, there are the tenets of our profession, but I like to put that into more of a outside definition. It's about authentic friendship, personal growth, building community, that opportunity to really connect as friends and brothers. We've had numerous conversations on this podcast about the fact that. Brotherhood is the foundation of all that we do. A thriving lodge, a healthy culture is all predicated upon that bond we have as friends and brothers. How do you see that in your lodge or in and just the world in general? Sure. So I'm the youngest member of my lodge. Um. And wasn't sure like any of us are before we joined Freemasonry. What's what it's all about, what's gonna happen, what I'm gonna get out of it. I have made connections within Freemasonry in our lodge with gentlemen that are many years older than me, and I consider them dear friends and brothers. Um. You just feel like you belong. At least I certainly do. I just felt instantly like I belonged. And from that moment, somebody calls you brother, it's real. You know, it, it means something. It's, it's not just a word, a throwaway word. You really feel like you belong to a brotherhood. And, um, I guessing that's unique. Um. For me, it's powerful and I value the, the friendships, the relationships, and the brotherhood I have with, with every member of my lodge. How vast is Freemasonry where you live? Are there several lodges? Just a few? Or what's the landscape like? We have three local lodges. Um, two operate out of the same building. There's Al Maria, 74, there's uh, unity Lodge, and then a couple of miles down the road there's Alman Thora Lodge. They're all British speaking lodges in Spain. And then as you travel further afield, then you've got a mixture of Spanish and British speaking lodges. I would say there's quite a high number of British speaking lodges in Spain because of so many retirees coming from the uk. There were Masons in their younger days, moved to Spain and you know, continued being Freemasons, but it. Obviously not learning the language. It's difficult when you're, when you reach a certain age to learn a foreign language. Doing ritual in Spanish would be very complicated. Yeah, that would be a big ask. Yes. Yeah. What was the timeline from when you joined and were voted in and went through all of your degrees to become a master Mason? Was that. An extended amount of time. Was that compressed? What's that like in, in Spain? So our lodge in Spain, it takes a break during the summer months. Um, I was, I did my first degree on the last meeting before the summer break, so that was great. Gave me some time to do some studying, preparing for my second degree. We had probably three months off. Did my second degree fairly soon after we, um, got back into free masonry after the summer break. And then, which I'm gonna say September 2nd first degree, March 2nd degree. September 3rd degree I believe was February. Um, and that's when I was made a master Mason. What was the proficiency like? Memorization. Wow. So going golf, um, it was, it wasn't, it wasn't a great deal of, of, uh, ritual to learn. It was a handful of questions, possibly 12 questions in each degree, apart from the first, second degree. Okay. Maybe 12 questions to a degree. Something similar, uh, manageable if you applied yourself, put some hours in it. It wasn't that difficult if I, if I'm honest with you. Having seen, um, and spoken to some brothers, uh, yesterday at Acacia Lodge, I think there's a little bit more involved over here than, than we have, uh, in, in Spain. And I think that varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. I've spoken to brothers from other countries where the timeline of going through was a year or more. others are maybe more of a condensed schedule. It's all dependent upon lodge schedule and seasons, and so many factors play into that. Correct. Also, I think it's fair to say that, um, it's not easy to recruit new members, particularly in our part of the world. So we have three or four months off in the summer, we need to fill. The meetings that we, that we have during the winter make your quorum. Yeah. When you haven't got lots of new guys coming through, then you probably move through prob quicker than, than you would in, in other countries where there's more new recruits. We talk about that a lot too. We're not out inviting people we don't know to join. It's not a, Hey, come and join us, but if you are. Interested an upstanding person and interested in personal growth. You're interested in having a friend that will become that 3:00 AM friend that you can call Correct. When you need something on a more serious level, but someone who also is there to celebrate the fun times and the good times. One of the biggest asks that we have in Minnesota from gentlemen seeking more information is, will there be an opportunity to give back to the greater good? Is there that charitable side in which I can do something to be a part of that. And when I visit lodges across our state, if they don't have that community engagement in place, that's a real area of opportunity to ensure that that box is checks, so to speak. There's a real wish to give back and, and those are the events too. When we are out in the public as a group doing something of a charitable nature, helping those in need. That's where those questions get asked. Hey, who are you guys? Oh, you're the Freemasons. Tell me more about what you do. Yeah. So, um, the charitable work for me was what really spark my interest. That's what we did originally in, in, uh, round table when I was a younger man. And it's a big part of, of, of our lodge. We're not a large lodge. Um, we do what we can to raise funds. I actually became the assistant charity steward, um, this year to assist our charity steward. Mm-hmm. To see if we could come up with new ideas, new ways of raising funds. Um, we do okay. And we distribute funds. All the time to the local community. We bought jackets for the local orphanage. We donated money to the nuns, uh, before Christmas time. There's a disabled center, um, nearby that specializes care in care for children with autism or Down syndrome. And we, we, um, give what we can to those. Um. Um, deserving causes and also we collect, uh, when we have our meetings, we all collect and bring some extra shopping or groceries along. Oh, cool. To give to the local food bank. there's really no greater feeling than doing all of those activities, giving back. To those in need. Giving back to the greater good is just so rewarding. It's so rewarding, and um, that's why it's not as completely selfless act because you get so much back in return from helping people in the community that are less fortunate than yourself or circumstances led them to a particular place where they're not as well off as you are. The ability to help in a small way, The good is twofold. It's great for them and it's rewarding to yourself. So you go home and you feel good about who you are and at that point in your life. It's the act of giving, it's the act of helping somebody. I would, I would say that most of our money's raised through dinner events, evening events, raffles, um, auctions, that kind of thing. We don't, unfortunately bring in. Lots of money, but we do our best and we certainly make a, a small difference in our community. What was your first job? We talked about what you're doing now. Mm-hmm. What was the first one? So, as I mentioned earlier, my father's dream was to, after finishing his football career, to move to Spain and open a restaurant. And fortunately,'cause he worked very hard, as did my mother. Um, they've got a very successful restaurant and I went from finishing school to working in the restaurant. Spent a number of years in the kitchen, a number of years out front. Um, I enjoyed it when I was a younger guy, but then children came along okay. And that kind of lifestyle's not in keeping with, uh, young children and. Decided to make a change at that point. I have, uh, my oldest son, Finley's 16, and my youngest son Sebastian, is 13. I have to ask, what's it like with two teenage boys in the world right now? It's fantastic. Yeah. I'm blessed. They're both, they're both wonderful children. They're very different. Um, Finlay's a musician, very gifted plays, guitar plays, drums, Sebastian. Um. One of the kindest souls I've ever met in my life. Um, just such a wonderful boy. loves his animals and, uh, he's into basketball and, uh, yeah, I'm proud of them. What type of music is a young man listening to today? What's his favorite? So he is into heavy metal German. He's a German metal music. He is a strong influence of his. Well, Ramstein Ramstein is all right. Yeah. He's into Ramstein. He is into an, uh, a Scandinavian band called Ghost. Okay. Um, that's, that's his, uh, that's his genre of music. If you gave up TV and internet for a week, what would you do instead? Great question. I think what I would like to do is to just pack the family up, drive into the mountains and take advantage of that being cut off from the world, the distractions of internet and phone and tv. Get back to basics, you know, chop some trees down. Um, build some fires, fish. That would be wonderful. Sounds heavenly. Mm. What are you proud of from the past six months? Wow, these are great questions. Um, well, I'm proud of both my boys because they, they haven't lived in Spain their whole lives and they've done extremely well at school. I'm proud of, um, I'm proud of myself actually. Um, Having the courage to reach out to the lodge. I, I've never visited another lodge other than my parent lodge before this trip and didn't know what to expect at all. So to have that, do you know what, I'm just gonna do it and see what it's all about. I'm quite proud of, of that. That took a bit of courage and, um, I'm so happy I did it. Um, will you, will you come back? Oh, I'm definitely, definitely, this is gonna be an annual pilgrimage for me for sure. Great. Yep. I think you mentioned you had a WhatsApp group with some brothers back home and you were sharing your adventures with them. Well, so obviously I'm the, the youngest and the newest Sure. Mason in our lodge. Mm-hmm. So, um, and there's some very expen, uh, experienced guys, uh, in our lodge. I don't think any of them have ever attended lodge in, in the United States of America. And then having the privilege of going to. 19 lodging and seeing the, the building and having the tour. I have been sharing the photos and the stories with my brethren back home, and they are just. Overjoyed for me and thrilled and loving seeing the pictures. A couple have already said next time we're coming with you, so excellent. I hope this, I hope this pilgrimage of once a year isn't just myself. Next time, hopefully there's four or five of us making the trip. And then last nice degree at Acacia was another, another spectacular experience. Yeah. brother Lewis Bradley, you're fantastic. The power on pressing send when you didn't know what to expect. And it's been such a pleasure meeting you and, and welcoming you to Minnesota. Likewise. Um, it's been a real pleasure. Everybody has made me feel so welcome. Um, I feel at home. I feel like I'm amongst brothers and I will be back.