Brad Bledsoe, an Aurora firefighter, began growing giant pumpkins as a spontaneous idea for an unfinished portion of yard at his home.  His first pumpkin weighed 195 pounds.  His young daughter didn't seem to be very impressed so he researched how to truly grow massive pumpkins.

A few short years later, he's grown three pumpkins that have weighed over 2000 pounds, becoming the only person in the history of Colorado to grow a one-ton pumpkin.  His most recent one, appropriately named Sasquash, traveled to Sacramento, CA for the 2025 national pumpkin weigh-off, which features the largest prize money in the country.  Bledsoe won second place.

His rise to fame in the pumpkin community has come with honors such as winning a growers jacket, and being elected to the Rocky Mountain Giant Vegetable Growers (RMGVG) Hall of Fame in 2024.

Bledsoe hopes to incorporate more technology into his process as he moves into 2026, with the goal of continuing to break records.