THE MAN

Childhood

Growing up in Michigan, Brent played all the typical American sports: baseball, football, basketball and even a season or two of soccer. During the warm Michigan summers, Brent enjoyed fishing on the local rivers and lakes, camping in the state’s forest or spending time at Lake Michigan. He started skiing at a young age, quickly got hooked and winter became his favorite season.

By the time Brent entered high school, he had focused on two sports: downhill ski racing and mountain bike racing. While he didn’t have any big mountains nearby, there was a small ski area, and Brent basically grew up on those hills. Some years, he clocked up to 100 days a year on the slopes starting with early season fake snow up until the last runs in the spring on mud and grass.

Outside of school, every waking hour was fixated on those two passions and most of his friends were the same.

SCHOOL AND SPORTS

While very athletically gifted and focused, Brent didn’t spend his childhood dreaming about becoming a professional athlete. His interests were in the sciences, possibly biology or medicine. He considered being a doctor but saw all those years of school as daunting. As he advanced academically, his interest in bike racing equally grew. While out on rides, he dreamed of racing at the Tour de France and mountain bike world cups or representing the USA at the Olympics. Yet he had no idea how to turn those dreams into reality. Instead of having a clear drawn out plan, Brent simply kept racing and pushing himself on the bike. He thoroughly enjoyed being on the bike and was motivated to find his limits.

At Lees McRae College, Brent selected biology as his major because he enjoyed learning about the environment around us. Eventually, he was drawn more specifically to the human and physiological side of biology and focused on learning and understanding what occurs within our bodies. He still maintains this interest and is intrigued by the miracle of the human body and mind.  

Family

While Brent was attending Lees-McRae College (LMC) and pursuing his cycling career, Jamie was at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga on a running scholarship. However, injuries eventually sidelined her from running, leading her to discover a new passion for cycling. The two first crossed paths at collegiate races but were both in different relationships at the time, and life took them in separate directions.

In 2007, fate intervened. Fellow cyclist Ally Stacher (now Murphy) reconnected Brent and Jamie while they were both recovering from injuries—Jamie from a running setback and Brent from a near career-ending leg fracture in Michigan. A steady stream of Facebook messages sparked a renewed connection, and as soon as Brent was off crutches, he headed to North Carolina to cheer Jamie on at one of her races.

Fast-forward to November 5, 2011, and the two tied the knot in Cosby, Tennessee, just outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The picturesque location wasn’t far from where they currently call home in Western North Carolina. Today, they are the proud parents of two children, Waylon and Vera, who add even more adventure and joy to their lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains.