Brent Underwood Explained

Brent Underwood
Birth Date: April 6, 1987
Occupation:Marketer, Entrepreneur
Alma Mater:Florida State University
Columbia University
Notableworks:"Putting My Foot Down", "Ghost Town Living"

Brent Underwood is an American entrepreneur and owner of Cerro Gordo Mines.[1] [2]

Career

After graduating from Columbia University, Underwood worked briefly for an investment bank in New York City.[3] [4] [5] After one month, he quit and backpacked across Central and South America.[6] Upon returning to New York, he founded a hostel in Brooklyn.[7] [8] In December 2014 Underwood founded HK Austin, a hostel in Austin, Texas, with investors including Matthew Kepnes, after staying in 150 hostels across 30 countries.[3] [9] [10] [11] For 2015, HK Austin was the highest rated hostel in the United States.[3] [6] [12] Underwood later became a partner in the marketing firm Brass Check.[4] [13] [14]

In February 2016, Underwood published a photo of his foot on Amazon as a book titled Putting My Foot Down.[15] [16] [17] [18] [19] The resulting article in the New York Observer received attention from a variety of media outlets and from authors including Neil Gaiman and Nick Bilton.[20] [21] Underwood was then offered a publishing contract from Thought Catalog to turn Putting My Foot Down into an expanded paperback version. The paperback version received attention from a variety of news outlets.[16] [17] [18] [22] [23] [24] [25]

Cerro Gordo

In July 2018, Underwood purchased the former mining town of Cerro Gordo alongside the Cerro Gordo Mines for $1.4 million.[26] [27] The purchase included over 360 acres and 22 structures.[28] Underwood stated plans to develop the town into an artist destination for tourists and group events, while maintaining the historic nature of the property.[29] [30]

Since March 2020, Underwood has been living at Cerro Gordo full-time[31] and has regular visitors.[32] Visitors have included Jeff Goldblum, Cole Sprouse, G-Eazy, and others.[33] The town's hotel burned down on June 20, 2020, in a fire of undetermined origin but possibly electrical wiring failure, during a heat wave. Underwood has plans to rebuild it.[34] He was isolated there for ten weeks in 2020, unable to leave due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a heavy snowstorm.[35] As of February 2024, Underwood still resided in Cerro Gordo.[36] His book "Ghost Town Living" was published in March 2024 [37]

Ghost Town Living (Book)

In 2024, Penguin Random House published Underwood’s book, Ghost Town Living: Mining for Purpose and Chasing Dreams at the Edge of Death Valley, about his time living at Cerro Gordo.[38] The audiobook version of the book was recorded 900 feet underground in Cerro Gordo’s Union Mine.[39]

The book debuted on the New York Times bestseller list.[40]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: They Live Alone in Ghost Towns . New York Times. 15 June 2020 . d'Avignon . Angella .
  2. Web site: Sherman. Erik. Here's How People Fake Being Best-Selling Authors. 7 March 2016. INC. dead. 2 April 2016. 18 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160418152248/http://www.inc.com/erik-sherman/heres-how-people-fake-being-best-selling-authors.html.
  3. Web site: Schroeder. Jules. Back To Basics: The Keep-It-Simple-Strategy For Starting A Winning Business. Forbes.
  4. Web site: Fletcher. Blake. Creative Marketing Prodigy (with Brent Underwood). 22 February 2016 . Half Hour Intern.
  5. Web site: Lock. Cheryl. Co-op vs. Condo: Which One Is Right for You?. NewYork.com.
  6. Web site: Moore. Jason. The Hostel Experience : An Interview With HK Austin Owner Brent Underwood. Zero To Travel. 2016-04-02. 2018-08-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20180805233745/http://zerototravel.com/podcast/hostel-experience-interview-hk-austin-owner-brent-underwood/. dead.
  7. Web site: I job-hopped to travel. 9 April 2013. CNN.
  8. Web site: STEWART. KAYLA. 'Nomadic Matt' Opens His First Hostel in East Austin. 16 October 2015. Patch.
  9. Web site: Pell. Roxie. Long-Term Travelers Reinvent Hostels By Opening Their Own. Frommers.
  10. Web site: Seale. Shelley. Travel fanatic opens doors to hip new hostel in the heart of East Austin. CultureMap.
  11. Web site: Kepnes. Matt. HK AUSTIN: THE BEST HOSTEL IN AUSTIN. Nomadic Matt. 2016-04-16. 2016-04-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20160422090331/http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/hk-austin-best-hostel. dead.
  12. Web site: BUSINESS LESSONS FROM STARTING THE HOTTEST HOSTEL IN AMERICA AN INTERVIEW WITH BRENT UNDERWOOD. 21 April 2016. Mitch Matthews.
  13. Web site: Holiday. Ryan. How This Marketer Created a Fake Best Seller—And Got a Real Book Deal. 7 March 2016. New York Observer.
  14. Web site: Palmer. Alex. The Indie Authors Guide to Organizing Author Events. Publishers Weekly.
  15. Web site: Mahdawi. Arwa. It's all about, Inc – how to get ahead in the age of egonomics. The Guardian. 4 September 2017.
  16. Web site: How to write a bestseller. Sunrise on 7.
  17. Web site: HAUSEN. JOHANNES. Hobby-author exposes how easy it storms the Amazon bestseller lists. VICE.
  18. Web site: Dilworth. Dianna. Author of Fake Book Lands Book Deal. 7 March 2016 .
  19. Web site: Meadows. Chris. Becoming an 'Amazon Bestseller' can be surprisingly simple. 26 February 2016. Teleread.
  20. Web site: Underwood. Brent. Behind the Scam: What Does It Take to Be a 'Best-Selling Author'? $3 and 5 Minutes.. 23 February 2016. Observer.
  21. Web site: Man Reveals How Scam Artists Hack Amazon to Become 'Best Selling' Authors. 15 March 2016. NextShark.
  22. Web site: Weller. Chris. This guy became a 'best-selling author' in just 5 minutes — here's how he did it. Business Insider.
  23. Web site: Katzowitz. Josh. Foot book is an Amazon bestseller—even though it doesn't exist. 26 February 2016. The Daily Dot.
  24. Web site: Warren. May. How to become a bestselling author without writing a book. 2 April 2016. Toronto Star.
  25. Web site: Warren. May. My life as a bestselling author. 2 April 2016. The Toronto Star.
  26. News: Gomez . Melissa . They Bought a Ghost Town for $1.4 Million. Now They Want to Revive It. . New York Times. 18 July 2018 .
  27. Web site: FLEMMING . JACK . California ghost town sells for $1.4 million; buyers plan to develop it as a tourist attraction . Los Angeles Times. 17 July 2018 .
  28. Web site: Vera . Amir . Search California ghost town sells for $1.4 million . 17 July 2018 . CNN.
  29. Web site: Hoffower . Hillary . A real-life Westworld in California sold for over $1 million to a group of Los Angeles investors who plan to use it for festivals and photoshoots . Business Insider.
  30. Web site: Waters . Michael . So You Bought A Ghost Town . The Outline.
  31. Web site: I bought a ghost town - then got trapped there . 16 September 2020 . BBC.
  32. Web site: Cerro Gordo Is TikTok's Favorite Ghost Town — With a Dark Past - YouTube. 2021-01-12. www.youtube.com. 30 December 2020 .
  33. Web site: Butler . Gavin . This Guy Bought A Ghost Town . 25 January 2021 . VICE.
  34. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ghost-town-cerro-gordo-and-its-caretaker/ A ghost town's caretaker
  35. https://www.sfgate.com/travel/editorspicks/article/california-ghost-town-tiktok-underwood-cerro-gordo-15970036.php An influencer who bought a California ghost town is ready to die there
  36. Web site: Thompson . Polly . I bought a California ghost town for $1.4 million. Living here gets lonely — but I've found my purpose. . Business Insider.
  37. Book: Underwood, Brent . Ghost Town Living . Penguin Random House . 9780593578445.
  38. Web site: Calise . Gabrielle . The Florida man who bought a ghost town wrote a book inside the mines . Tampa Bay Times.
  39. Web site: How I Recorded My Audiobook—in a Mine Shaft 900 Feet Underground . Publisher's Weekly.
  40. Web site: Bestselling Books . New York Times.

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