DirtTV Beyond The Bike Ep7 Casey Brown

"So far in the Beyond The Bike series we have seen riders who have worked hard, trained, fought injury and pressure to rise to the top of their sport. Admirable achievements from each and everyone of them but Casey's story will make you realise that it's their mindset of wanting to develop into a racer that sets them apart. Casey has something unique and inspirational. If you want to become a racer or just faster than the guys you ride with each weekend there are varying degrees of effort that combine to form a life riding bikes. Casey's background will surprise you and next time you see her racing I expect you will look beyond the time sheet. 

Casey Brown’s life has spanned the spectrum of incredibly awesome to ‘Holy Shit ‘ and back again, and she’s only 23 years old. Born in New Zealand, Casey, the youngest of five children, lived in a world that was completely different to what most people could ever imagine. Her father fled the United States and the Drug Enforcement Agency prior to her birth, a result of things going sideways while running one of the largest narcotics plants in North America.

The family landed in the absolute most remote region of the south island of New Zealand in an area called Barn Bay, accessible only via a six-hour hike or a heli drop. The house was hand built by her father and sat on a plot of land with an airstrip in the front yard facing the Tasman Sea. They lived a primitive existence in a modern world. There was no running water. No electricity. Groceries were acquired only once every three months by a relay of travel that included fording rivers, bushwhacking through rainforests, riding quads and a bus to get to civilization. Shoes were rarely worn, but that’s typical of the culture in New Zealand, and they were also deemed unnecessary."