Nedd Brockmann’s dramatic transformation
He made headlines for his extreme run across Australia, now he’s starring in his first ever fashion shoot.
Stellar
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From apprentice sparky to social-media darling, Nedd Brockmann has unlocked a new level of celebrity status, all because of an astounding feat of mental and physical daring – an epic 47-day run across the country. Averaging 80km per day on foot and racked with injuries, he persevered, ultimately logging 3953km and raising more than S|2.2 million to help the homeless. So what’s next for the boundary-pushing Brockmann? A podcast, perhaps. Maybe a documentary. But definitely more derring-do. As he tells Stellar, “It was instilled in me that you just keep going... There’s no giving in”
Flashy costumes, billowing capes and tricked-out accessories may all be part of a superhero’s signature style, but some saviours require far less to make a big impact.
Case in point: Nedd Brockmann.
Last spring, the then 23-year-old needed only a limited assortment of shorts, T-shirts and running shoes to complete a colossal 3953km run from Cottesloe Beach in WA to Bondi Beach in NSW – in 47 days.
By the time he reached the finish, the relentlessly positive electrician had also drawn media attention to the country’s growing homelessness problem and raised more than $2.2 million for homelessness non-profit We Are Mobilise.
Four months on, Brockmann remains something of an Australian folk hero, his trademark blonde mullet now a beacon for keen-eyed fans seeking selfies with the inspirational young tradie.
He’s also wearing decidedly more fashionable threads, like the outfits he models in his Stellar photo shoot, and running in the same circles as celebrity fans such as Carrie Bickmore, Dylan Alcott, Sam Wood, Hamish Blake and Scott Cam.
Brockmann hit the pavement on September 1 with about 5000 followers on Instagram and now has 250,000, and as he neared the end of his journey on October 17, the play rate for the short videos he shared as Instagram Reels increased by more than 500 per cent.
Brockmann adds that during his run, he also learnt that he didn’t have to post every day to use his platform effectively. “I think I’ve almost broken the algorithm,” he confesses.
“There was [enough] excitement behind the fact that, ‘Oh, Nedd’s going to post, and when he does, it’s gonna be something cool.’
“I also am, kind of, only famous through Instagram, in a way. [Notoriety has] come about through all the channels and interviews and people spreading [the word], but using Instagram for good, it’s just f*cking cool.”
Fame – let alone running – was the furthest thing from Brockmann’s mind when he was growing up with older brother Logan and younger sister Mabel in Forbes, a town nearly a five-hour drive west of Sydney.
“I was never the best athlete, but I always gave 110 per cent effort,” he says. “I never cracked the top [rowing] boat, the top team. But that probably allowed me to have that hunger, that drive, to get it again, and again.”
He also learnt resilience from his parents, Kylie and Ian. On a gap year spent working at the family farm, Brockmann watched his dad get up every morning at 3am to feed the cattle, then put in a full day of labour.
“[I thought] oh f*ck, this guy’s still doing this, for 40-plus years, no complaining,” he recalls.
“It was instilled in me that you just keep going... There’s no giving in. You don’t quit just because it’s hard. Show up because it’s hard, and continue to keep showing up.”
But after moving to Sydney in 2019, he spent his first year out of home drinking away most of his weekends.
“I kind of just hit a bit of a wall and was like, I’m actually not living up to my potential,” he says of that time. “I just had this desire to better myself.”
So he took up running, first as a means to lose weight, then as a gateway to better nutrition and more daring exercises.
“I found that the more uncomfortable things I did, the more I started to grow,” he recalls.
“Fast forward to the run across the country; I’d done 50 marathons in 50 days and a few other runs like that. It was just a slow development to become this.”
While he is certain that more extreme challenges await, Brockmann sees a podcast in his future, one where his mum might be a guest and talk about the mix of emotions she felt while supporting her daredevil son.
He also plans to continue his advocacy work for the homeless, travel the country in his role as a motivational speaker, and produce a documentary or write a book.
“I’m on the keynote circuit, doing things where I can actually get my message out,” he explains. “But I want to make a tangible thing where people can go, ‘I was inspired.’”
In the meantime, if you spot Brockmann out on a run, he’ll likely wave back, and if he walks into a grocery store and 10 people surround him for a photo and a chat, he’ll likely oblige.
He’s deeply comfortable with his celebrity status, simply because he’s earnt it by achieving something that would physically and mentally crush most of us.
“I’ve got no motive to be anyone other than myself,” he says. “When you’re trying to be someone else, people see through the bullsh*t.
“I’m not trying to be someone I’m not. This is a life I’m creating for myself.”
Originally published as Nedd Brockmann’s dramatic transformation
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