Brent Underwood

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

In February 2016, Underwood published a photo of his foot on Amazon as a book titled Putting My Foot Down.^{[12][13][14][15][16]} 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.^[17][18][19] Underwood was then offered a publishing contract from Thought Catalog to turn Putting My Foot Down into an expanded paperback version.^[15][13][20]

In July 2018, Underwood purchased the former mining town of Cerro Gordo alongside the Cerro Gordo Mines for $1.4 million.^[21][22] The purchase included over 360 acres and 22 structures.^[23] Underwood stated plans to develop the town into an artist destination for tourists and group events, while maintaining the historic nature of the property.^[24][25]

Since March 2020, Underwood has been living at Cerro Gordo full-time^[26] and has regular visitors.^[27] Visitors have included Jeff Goldblum, Cole Sprouse, and G-Eazy.^[28] He was isolated there for ten weeks in 2020, unable to leave due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a heavy snowstorm.^[29]

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 completed rebuilding the hotel in late 2025.^[30].

As of February 2024, Underwood still resided in Cerro Gordo.^[31] His book "Ghost Town Living" was published in March 2024.^[32]

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.^[33] The audiobook version of the book was recorded 900 feet underground in Cerro Gordo's Union Mine.^[34]

The book debuted on the New York Times bestseller list.^[35]

• Official site Archived 2016-03-31 at the Wayback Machine