My friend Michael, owner of Serac Adventure Films, is an award-winning filmmaker whose talents have been instrumental to my Rope Team since 2001. We first worked together when Michael captured our historic ascent of Everest in Farther Than the Eye Can See. After that, he returned twice to the Himalayas with me: Once in 2004 to lead six blind Tibetan teenagers to the Lhakpa-Ri peak of Everest, a trek that brought our documentary Blindsight to the world; and again in 2010 to shoot High Ground chronicling our No Barriers expedition to take injured US veterans to a 20,000-foot summit in Nepal. A few years later, Michael joined me on the Colorado River to film The Weight of Water, where he followed my journey to solo kayak the Grand Canyon. His film was very well-received and won the Grand Prize at the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival in 2018.

Our Everest team in 2001

On the banks of the Grand Canyon filming Weight of Water
Kayaking on the Grand Canyon while filming Weight of Water

Michael has continually invited viewers to consider what it means to break past their barriers, and in the process, he’s captured some of the greatest moments of my life and the lives of others. I owe a lot to him as a friend, teammate, and artist.
At the Denver premiere of Weight of Water
But documenting our adventures only sheds light on a sample of Michael’s rugged career as one heck of a storyteller, athlete, and mountaineer…
He’s actually summited Everest 5 times with the cameras rolling, and his work spans every continent. His lens has captured ice caves for NOVA, tornadoes for Discovery, avalanches for the BBC, mountain climbing for IMAX, and science at the South Pole for National Geographic, just to name a few.
Mt. Lobuche
Michael has made a habit of going to the world’s harshest, most dangerous environments and always comes back with incredible footage and compelling stories. Outside Magazine describes him as a cerebral “swashbuckling librarian,” and Men’s Journal calls him “a master of gut-dropping action.” He’s 100% the real deal.
Take 30 minutes to join Michael on my No Barriers Podcast. Episode 99 is free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and our website: https://nobarriersusa.org/…/interview-with-michael-brown/.