So I guess most of you reading this know my real name is NOT Brad Storm (oh, did that come as a shock to you?). However, Brad Storm is my alter ego, created in California and I obviously kept it when going to Boston. I got some questions about this Brad Storm thing and Here’s why:

Before I start, understand that the name Bård Strøm is in most cases written Bard Strom in English (such an incomplete Alphabet ;- ) . Not a very common name in the US, and when saying Bard it doesn’t become my name at all (it’s pronounced [Board] ye ye, go ahead and laugh. Not BARD). That’s why most Americans simply read it as Brad. But to bring some pride back into the name it means “Warrior (of love)” in old-Norwegian. Anywhooo, a little sidetrack. Here’s my top list of how Brad Storm came to be. I swear every story is true:

  1. Going to Starbucks in San Luis Obispo (the same Starbucks I acknowledged in my masters thesis since I did most of the writing there), I was always asked for my name to put on the cup. In the early days of the stay I answered “Bård”. That gave me a blank stare…”Oh, how do you spell that?” I got a bit puzzled “uhh… B A R D”. The girl looks weird at me “ok… you meant BARD”. I nodded. Three minutes passed and my coffee was ready. A young guy takes a quick glance at the coffee cup and says: “Coffee for Braaaaaaad!”
  2. After getting my phone set up at SLO, some advertisement people called me almost immediately to offer me some kind of deal. The first sentence went as this: “Is this Brad Storm? Would you be interested in…”
  3. After getting tired of explaining my name every time I ordered I coffee, I gave up and just gave the girl at the counter of Starbucks the name Brad (after all, that’s what it would end up with anyhow). Three minutes passes, another girls calls out. “Coffee for Braaaad”. I reach out for the cup. “Oh, are you related to Brad Pitt? (giggles)” “yeah, how did you guess? (Especially likely considering that I’m tall and dark and Brad Pitt is small, wimpy and sooo unattractive…. ouch, did I have female readers?)
  4. Going to (multiple parties) and introducing myself goes like this: “Hi I’m Bård”; “oh… you’re… what?”; “I’m Bård.” “ohh… ok”; “Ok, just call me Brad”
  5. Renting a car recently in California, I spell my name for the reservation and provide some ID. When I come back two days later I see the same document… corrected to Bard Storm, with Storm actually highlighted in yellow. Apparently, they didn’t believe my ID.
  6. Going to a dinner with Sloan Fellows the Waiter walks around all tables and check the food preferences. “So Brad, you want the Chicken?” He pauses… “Oh, I’m so sorry… b a r d” I just give him a shoulder shrug and say “I get that alot, it’s ok”. He starts laughing. “Yeah, like Brad Pitt right?” “uuh.. sure.” Time passes. He comes back “Brad, I just want to tell you that all the girls working the kitchen are really excited about having Brad Pitt here” (Starts laughing loudly from his own joke).
  7. When I was presenting a paper at a class at Cal Poly, I spent the first five minutes explaining my name and how it for some reason got turned into “Brad Storm”. The professor starts laughing, really amused about the story, and said I would receive a 10% extra score if I signed my work with “Brad Storm” from now on, which I did. Whenever I was called upon in class he would go “sooo… Braaaad Stoooorm, what do you think”?
  8. After talking with the real estate agent over the phone to set up an apartment in Boston, I sent my passport, bunch of signed documents, copy of visa and more. Still, the first time I got a written reply from her it was labeled to “Brad Strom”.
  9. At a party, knowing I wasn’t going to meet these people again, I just introduced myself as “Brad Storm” and saved all the hazzle with explaining my name. The reply comes instant from Cali dude: “Brad Storm, isn’t that a porn star?” I guess I should have checked my “references” before I chose a name.
  10. The name Brad Storm has also evolved somewhat. Keep in mind that my football team in Norway is the Bergen Storm. Many of them just call me by my rapper handle: B-rad ;)

All true stories. Someone even wrote a one-page superhero short story about “Brad Storm” to me (thanks, it was hilarious!). I could tell ten-folds stories more. The name Bard Strom keeps being pronounced “Brad”, “Storm” or the combination. The latest was today….

I hope that shed some light on the name. And yes, I’m perfectly comfortable with being called Brad. Or Mr. Storm. But most of my close American friends call me “Bård” and to that I’m thankful for their effort to really learn my name and the pronunciation.