Brent Underwood is an American

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

and owner of

Cerro Gordo Mines The Cerro Gordo Mines are a collection of abandoned mines located in Cerro Gordo in the Inyo Mountains, Inyo County, near Lone Pine, California. Mining operations spanned 1866 to 1957, producing high grade silver, lead, and zinc ore; and, mo ...

Career

After graduating from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, Underwood worked briefly for an investment bank in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. After one month, he quit and backpacked across Central and South America. Upon returning to New York, he founded a

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

in Brooklyn. 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. For 2015, HK Austin was the highest rated hostel in the United States. Underwood later became a partner in the marketing firm Brass Check. In February 2016, Underwood published a photo of his foot on

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

as a book titled ''Putting My Foot Down''. The resulting article in the ''New York Observer'' received attention from a variety of media outlets and from authors including

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

and

Nick Bilton Nick Bilton is a British-American journalist, author, and filmmaker. He is currently a special correspondent at ''Vanity Fair'', author of several New York Times-bestselling books, and screenwriter. Life and career Bilton was born in Engla ...

. Underwood was then offered a publishing contract from

Thought Catalog ''Thought Catalog'' is a website founded in 2010 by American entrepreneur and media strategist Chris Lavergne.Newton, MattheThought Catalog And The New Age Of Confessional Media''Forbes.'' June 7, 2015 Owned by The Thought & Expression Compan ...

to turn ''Putting My Foot Down'' into an expanded paperback version. The paperback version received attention from a variety of news outlets.

Cerro Gordo

In July 2018, Underwood purchased the former mining town of Cerro Gordo alongside the

for $1.4 million. The purchase included over 360 acres and 22 structures. Underwood stated plans to develop the town into an artist destination for tourists and group events, while maintaining the historic nature of the property. Since March 2020, Underwood has been living at Cerro Gordo full-time and has regular visitors. Visitors have included

Jeff Goldblum Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum ( ; born October 22, 1952) is an American actor and musician. He has starred in some of the highest-grossing films, such as ''Jurassic Park'' (1993) and ''Independence Day'' (1996), as well as their sequels. Goldblum ...

Cole Sprouse Cole Mitchell Sprouse (born August 4, 1992) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Cody Martin on the Disney Channel series ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' (2005–2008), and its spin-off series ''The Suite Life on Deck'' (2008– ...

G-Eazy Gerald Earl Gillum (born May 24, 1989), better known by his stage name G-Eazy, is an American rapper. Based in Oakland, California, he began his career in 2006 and released two independent studio albums before signing with RCA Records to releas ...

Jacob Wysocki Jacob Wysocki (born June 20, 1990) is an American actor and comedian. Life and career Wysocki became interested in acting while still at Narbonne High School. During these years, he also performed with ComedySportz and started to act in scho ...

, and others. 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. He was isolated there for ten weeks in 2020, unable to leave due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic and a heavy snowstorm. As of February 2024, Underwood still resided in Cerro Gordo. His book "Ghost Town Living" was published in March 2024

''Ghost Town Living'' (Book)

In 2024,

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...

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. The audiobook version of the book was recorded 900 feet underground in Cerro Gordo's Union Mine. The book debuted on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Brent Living people 1987 births American marketing people Columbia University alumni Florida State University alumni Place of birth missing (living people)