Faces of the Front: Brandon Fugal — Building Empires, Chasing Mysteries at Skinwalker Ranch
The Wasatch Front’s most influential commercial real estate leader spends a fortune chasing answers at Skinwalker Ranch—and it isn’t for profit.
As chairman of Colliers International's Intermountain operation, Brandon Fugal leads the largest commercial real estate enterprise in the state of Utah. His portfolio includes hundreds of landmark projects along the Wasatch Front, and his firm ranks among the fastest growing of the industry's big three globally. He has helped secure headquarters for countless companies in what locals call Silicon Slopes, Utah's booming tech corridor. His reputation in the business community is built on decades of deals, relationships, and results.
None of that prepared him for what he would encounter 150 miles east of Salt Lake City.
In 2016, Fugal quietly purchased Skinwalker Ranch—512 acres in the Uinta Basin that had been under armed surveillance since 1996 and was previously owned by aerospace billionaire Robert Bigelow as part of a Pentagon-funded research program. Fugal bought it as a skeptic, fully expecting to debunk decades of paranormal claims and eventually donate the land to the Boy Scouts of America.
"I did not believe there was anything real to the phenomena," Fugal has said. "I had grown very critical of any paranormal claims at that point in my life."
Six months passed without incident. Then came October 14, 2016.
While hosting visitors on the property that afternoon, Fugal and multiple witnesses experienced rapid battery depletion in their devices, equipment malfunctions, and one security team member rendered catatonic for ten minutes. Moments later, Fugal found himself staring at a forty-to-fifty-foot silver disc hovering above the mesa in broad daylight.
"It changed me from being a skeptic to an experiencer," Fugal said. "And from that moment forward, I have been hell bent on getting the answers."
"I Own the Rabbit Hole"
When people ask Fugal if he feels like he's fallen down the rabbit hole, his answer is direct: "I own the rabbit hole."
It's a statement that captures both his sense of humor and his commitment. As sole owner of Skinwalker Ranch with no partners, Fugal has invested more than any private individual on the planet over the last decade into what he calls "frontier science topics."
The History Channel's The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch—currently a very popular reality docuseries on cable—documents the ongoing investigation. But Fugal hasn't kept a dollar of it.
(Story continues below this How to Watch box.)
The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on History Channel. The series premiered in March 2020 and has aired six seasons, with Season 7 confirmed to premiere in 2026. Previous seasons are available for streaming on Hulu, History.com (with cable login), and for purchase on Prime Video, Apple TV, and Vudu.
The series follows ranch owner Brandon Fugal and a team of scientists and researchers—including principal investigator Erik Bard and astrophysicist Dr. Travis Taylor—as they investigate unexplained phenomena on the 512-acre Utah property, located in the Uintah Basin about 150 miles east of Salt Lake City.
(This AI-generated image depicts Skinwalker Ranch. Have actual photos or footage to share? We'd love to hear from you: mountainandmain.ut@gmail.com)
"I've donated the proceeds that would've been due to me through the television docuseries to philanthropic priorities and also pour right back into the instrumentation and the scientific platforms," he said. "So I have yet to even buy myself a hamburger with the proceeds. Because I don't want anyone questioning my integrity or my motive. I have a zero profit motive."
He's blunt about the cost: "This investigation is a liability. It cost me more reputationally and financially and is a deviation from those efforts that actually pay the bills."
Portals, Time Dilation, and the Nature of Reality
The phenomena documented at Skinwalker Ranch extend far beyond unexplained aerial objects. Fugal's team—which includes the former executive director of the International Space Station National Laboratory and a retired four-star general who headed Air Force Space Command—has recorded repeatable electromagnetic anomalies, GPS manipulation, and what the Team describes as time dilation.
The Team discovered through a series of experiments with drones, with instrumented drones and GPS, that time does not operate reliably on the property.
Speculation about portals and interdimensional activity is not dismissed. Lidar scans and ground-penetrating radar have revealed anomalies both above and below the property. Ancient artifacts dating back 10,000 years have been excavated on site. And a symbol etched into the sandstone—believed by some to represent "as above, so below"—was one of the first landmarks Fugal encountered after purchasing the ranch.
When asked whether the phenomena point to extraterrestrial visitors, interdimensional beings, or something spiritual in origin, Fugal's answer is expansive.
"Based on the evidence, the data that has been assembled to date, I would say it's all of the above. What we're witnessing and documenting is a diversity of origins and agendas associated with the activity at Skinwalker Ranch."
A Dual Identity, Grounded in Purpose
Fugal acknowledges that Skinwalker Ranch now defines his public identity more than any business deal ever could. The investigation occupies perhaps five percent of his time, yet it generates global attention. He balances that reality deliberately.
"I keep myself grounded with my commercial real estate practice," he said. "Those keep me grounded in the physical reality and the more conventional reality, because I think it would be very easy to lose one's grip on reality."
His motivation isn't fame or profit. It's something closer to obligation.
"I really feel it's part of my stewardship to share the insights that are rendered there. We're all in this together. I think it's the greatest science project of our time."
For Fugal, investing in questions that may never pay financial dividends isn't reckless—it's the cost of pursuing truth. He respects anyone willing to do the same.
"There are very few people on the planet that are willing to put their money and resources and reputations on the line when it comes to certain topics," he said. "I respect anyone who is willing to put their money and their reputation on the line, especially in service to frontier topics."
Brandon Fugal owns one of the strangest pieces of real estate on Earth. He's spent a fortune studying it, shared everything he's learned, and kept nothing for himself.
That's a Face of the Front.
Editor’s Note: This profile was developed through research and recent interviews available online. While we did not conduct a direct interview with Brandon Fugal, his openness in public forums has provided substantial insight into both his business achievements and his extraordinary pursuit at Skinwalker Ranch. He is, without question, a true Face of the Wasatch Front.