From Pixels to Pickleball: How Brad Tuckman Built The Fort, South Florida’s Social Sports Destination
The first time Brad Tuckman saw a print develop in his grandfather’s darkroom, he knew there was something magical about making things from scratch. He didn’t know then that decades later, that same drive would lead him not to another creative studio, but to 43 pickleball courts, a lakeside restaurant, and a brand new heartbeat for Fort Lauderdale.
Brad’s path to launching The Fort wasn’t a straight line. It zigzagged through New York ad agencies, early digital photography studios, a multi-city content empire, and the kind of long, quiet burnout only entrepreneurs understand. At its height, his production business had over a thousand employees and major retail clients across the U.S. Then came a private equity exit. Then came COVID. And like many founders, then came a reckoning.
“Suddenly I had money in the bank but no idea what I wanted to build next. So I started driving my kids to school, hanging out in Starbucks, trying to figure out who I was without my business.”
That breathing room led him to pickleball. First as a player. Then as a builder.
What started as a search for land became a city partnership. What could have been 12 courts in a warehouse turned into the country’s first purpose-built pickleball stadium. Today, The Fort isn’t just a place to play, it’s a place to belong. It’s where CEOs play next to college kids, retirees, and first-timers alike, where people come for the courts but stay for the connection. It’s also the new headquarters of the APP Tour, one of the sport’s major pro circuits and a sign that Fort Lauderdale is becoming a national epicenter for pickleball (read more).
Brad says he built The Fort because he finally had time to build something that brought people together. And it shows. From the tournament-grade courts to the casual lakeside vibe, The Fort feels less like a sports complex and more like a modern community commons.
In October 2025, it will host the first-ever Pickleball World Cup.
“We always said we were building more than a place to play. We were building a place to gather. Now, I get to walk in and see people playing backgammon at the bar. That means we did something right.”
Brad doesn’t like to call himself a visionary. He says he just got lucky. But after hearing his story, you get the sense that luck favors the ones who show up, keep learning, and believe in what they’re building, even when no one else gets it yet.
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