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“I wasn’t going to have a regular job and I was never going to want to do anything that didn’t allow me to continue training. When all that ended, it’s like ‘what am I going to do now?’”
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WON’T STOP RUNNING
No obstacle will stop this realtor from achieving his goals
In2009,BrandonDelCampofoundhimselfinBoulderat anothercrossroadsinhislife.
Hehadbeenvigorouslytrainingasasemi-pro andprofessionaltriathleteforthelastfouryears, competingintheHawaiiIronmantwiceand winningahalfIronmanworldchampionshipfor hisagegroup.Sowhatcanstopanathletelikethat?
“Nobodyhasreallybeenableto figureoutwhat itwas.”Brandonexplainsaboutachronicinjurythat developedinhisleftleg.“Ihavepinsinmy lefthipthatbrokewhilerunningthesteeplechase incollege.Isupposeit’spossiblethatitisrelated tothat.It’sjustsomekindofwackyinjuryinmy leftlegthatneverreallywentaway.”
Hethinksbackonthatpivotalyearin2009,“I knewthatthelifestyleoffocusingsolelyontriathlonwas notgoingtobesustainable,andIalsoknewI wasgoingtostayinBoulderandnotmovebackto LosAngeles,“hesays.
LosAngeleswasmoreorlesshishometown, eventhoughhespentthelastthreeyearsbetween
NewZealandandBoulderinanendlesssummertraining fortriathlons.Nowthathisathleticendeavorwasputon hold,oratleastrelegatedtoahobby,hehadto figure somethingout.
“Iwasn’tgoingtohavearegularjob,”Brandon remembers,“andIwasnevergoingtowantto doanythingthatdidn’tallowmetocontinuetraining. Whenallthatended,it’slike‘whatamIgoingtodonow?’
Iwasn’tgoingtogofrombeingthisoutdooranimalto someonesittingatadesknineto five.Lookingback,I alwaysknewtheplanwastobeinrealestate.Infact,I dabbledinitinLosAngelestheyearbeforeIendedup goingtoNewZealand.Iwastednotimeandgot myColoradorealestatelicenseinthreemonths.Ididthat whenthemarketwasbadforsellersandwhenshortsales weregainingtraction.Itwasachallengingtimeforalot ofpeople.“
Thatbeingsaid,gettingintothetoughestrealestate marketsincethegreatdepressionwasagreatwaytostart.
"Youcanonlygoupfromthereifyou’rewillingto commit",and,boy,didBrandoncommit,earningover $100,000his firstyear.Hecreditsarealestatecoachthat taughthimhowtoprospectandcallexpiredlistingsand for-sale-by-owners,peoplewhohistoricallywantnothing
todowithrealtorsandcanbeveryhostileaboutthe situationthattheyarein.
“Thatwasahugelearningcurve.Ihadclientsinthe beginningthatwerebeyondtough,“Brandonsays.“I’m anempatheticpeople-personthatdidn’tunderstandhow todealwithclientsthatgoofftherails.Therewereafew clientsinthebeginningthatreallymademequestion whetherIwantedtostayinthisbusiness.Ihadthechoice tobedefeatedorfigureouthowtogrowfromthe experience.Istudiedsomepsychologyonhowtomanage peoplethatarestressedout,howtobehelpfulinall situations,andhownottotakethingspersonally.Over time,itworked,andofcoursethereissomethingtobe saidforjusttimeintheindustryandstickingitout.”
“WhileIdidhaveacoachthattaughtmehowto prospectforclients,”Brandoncontinues,“hedidn’tteach mehowtonothaveanxietyaboutit.Whenyou’renewin realestate,youcandevelopimpostersyndromepretty easily—Ineverlikedfeelinglikeasalesperson.Ittookme alongtimetofigureoutwhatwoulddifferentiatemein thisbusiness,andallowmypersonalstrengthtoshine.”
Forgivetherunningpun,butBrandonfoundhisstride, despiteenteringtherealestatemarketrightafterthe housingbubblepopped.Thelastfifteenyearshavebeen, moreorless,asteadyclimbupwardforhiscareer.He startedwithafewbiggerbrokerages,thenmovedtothe extremelyestablishedBernardiGroupatColdwellBanker forafouryearstint,andwasfinallyrecruitedto milehimodern(mhm)afewyearsago.Basedonwhatother realtorshavetoldRealProducersaboutworkingatmhm,it tracksthatBrandonwouldfindhimselfthereastheculture fitshispreferredwayofdoingbusiness.
Hesaysaboutthoseinterimyearsbeforemilehimodern, “ThebiggestthingthatIlearnedwaswhatIdon’twantto do,howIdon’twanttorunmybusiness.I’mnotsaying thatanyoneelseisdoingitwrong.I’mjustsayingthatit’s notforme.Foralotofpeople,it’sallabouthighvolume, andobviously,ifyoudohighvolume,youmustbedoing somethingrightoryouwouldgooutofbusinesssoon enough.It’sjustthatittakesawayfromthepersonalclient experiencethatIprefertoprovide.“
But,justhowexactlydoesBrandonthinkabouthis business?Whatmattersthemosttohim?
“Igetupformyclients.Buyingandsellingahomeisa hugedealformostpeople.Havingexperiencedafair amountofpersonaldemonsovertheyears,Irecognizethat thisparticularhumanexperienceofbuyingorsellinga house,canbringoutpeoplesstressandlifetraumas.While it’scrucialtohelpaclientnavigatethebuyingandselling process,it’sultimatelymoreabouthelpingsomeone navigateacomplexandpotentiallyextremelystressfullife eventthatcontainsmanydecisions.That’swhereIshine today.Iwakeupthinking,‘Ok,Igettohelppeoplefeelless stressedtoday.’”
It’snosurprisethatBrandontookwhatlookedlikean impossiblesituation—aglobalfinancialcrisisanddomestic housingmarketcrash—andturneditintosomething successful.Asmentionedbefore,hislifebeforerealestate hadsome
“I never liked feeling like a sales person. It took me a long time to figure out what would differentiate me in this business, and allow my personal strength to shine.”
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massive challenges. Combine that with the strength and tenacity ittakestodowellatIronman,andasolidhumanwillform.
Afterrunningasastandoutathleteinhighschool,Brandon wasawardedascholarshiptorunforUCLA.Thatsoundslike success,butthatwouldbethestartofsomeofhisdarkestdays.
Brandonexplains,“Iwouldbecome,tomyknowledge,the firstopenlygaymaleathleteatUCLA.Youhavetorememberit was1996.Thatwasthe“don’taskdon’ttell”eraofthemilitary, thetailendoftheAIDSepidemic,anditwaspreWillandGrace, whichsoundssilly,butit’sasmallpop-culturereferencethat remindsusthatpeopleweren’tquitethereyetwithallofthis.
“Iwasclosetedupuntilthatpoint,exceptforoneperson whohappenedtobeafriendthatIraninhighschoolwithand wasalsoontheteamatUCLA,twoyearsaheadofme.When Icameoutontheteam,itwassortofatrickleevent,andthen itspread.Ididn’tactuallycomeouttoeverybody.Itcame out.Acoupleofpeopleknew,butsomepeopledidn’tkeep theirmouthsshut,andthenIfeltlikeIwasinthemiddleofa hurricane.Ultimately,IknewIhadtohavethecouragetocome outtomyparents,whichfeltinsurmountable,especiallyasan onlychild.“
Brandon‘sparentswerebothelectedofficialsinhishome townofThousandOaks,asuburbinLosAngeles,andwhile theyweresupportive,Brandoncouldtellthingshadchanged.A fewmonthslater,hetriedtocommitsuicide.“It’simportantto talkaboutthispartofmylife,becausetherateofsuicideingay menhasalwaysbeenhigherthanmostgroups.Eventhough it’s2024andmanythingshavechangedwehaven’treallyseen thatratedrop.”
“IthoughtthatwhenIdecidedtorunforUCLAthatI’dbe abletostartfresh,”Brandonsays,“butthat’stheexactopposite ofwhathappened.Anytimeyousuppresssomethingthatlarge insideofyou,itcatchesup.Therunningwasnotgoingtomask itanymore,anditallfellapart.”
Thoseyearsafterbeingouted,watchinghisrunningfall apart,andhissuicideattempt,lifefeltlistless.“Competingat thehighestlevelsofrunningalongsidemultipleOlympians reallyisn’tpossiblewhenyourmentalgamehasbeen destroyed,”hesays.Aftergraduation,hefiguredhehadalso finishedsportsforgood.
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“Butbeingcomplacentandinactivewasn’treallyme.I decidedtotryandgetfitandgivetriathlonago“Brandon remembers.
Overtheyears,therunningdidn’tfixtheproblems,but italwaysgavehimanoutlettoworkthroughhisanxiety andfeelingsoffailureaftercollege.Lookingbacknow,asa successfulmaninhis40s,he’scometotermswithallofit.
“Iwouldlovetoliveinaworldwherebeinggayisnotthe centerpieceofmylifebecauseitreallyisn’t,”henotes.“It’snot whatmakesmeme.Istillrelate,though,totheanxietythat peoplehavearoundcomingoutbecause,eventhoughIlive inBoulder,Istillfindthereisacomingoutprocesswithnew clients.Theyoftenaskearlyon‘So,doyouhaveagirlfriend?’I knowthattheyarejustbeingconversationalbecausetheysee I’mnotmarried.It’shardtoexplain,butnomatterhow‘okay’ youarewithyourself,therewillalwaysbeleftoveranxiety aboutthat.”
Buthealsonotesthat,eventhoughrealestatefeltlikehisonly optionforacareerafterathletics,itturnedouttobethebest pathtonotonlygivehimarewardingcareer,butalsoovercome someofhispastissues.
“I think that my business has been a fantastic way for me to grow as a person, because this is a very human business, “he says. “The biggest thing that differentiates me from most agents is that I come in with questions and interest about my clients keeping their needs and goals center stage. I don’t think anyone wants an agent that comes in with some presentation about how wonderful they are or how many sales they did. We can certainly talk about that if a client specifically asks, but our meeting is always going to be 100% about them and their goals.
“The personal piece that helped me tremendously regarding being out is that with each new client I get to practice being genuinely authentic with them. I would say in the beginning that I tried, and—dare I say—was taught to change who I was for each person I came into contact with. I don’t do that anymore. Everyone gets the same version of me. I witnessed a lot of agents and real estate coaches preaching that you have to change who you are for each client based on their personality and, quite frankly, that grosses me out,” he chuckles.
Real estate aside, Brandon is still running and biking. He has finished the Leadville 100 MTB twice and is currently going back to his roots of 5K running in the masters division even with his injured leg. “I’d like to see if I could get a fast 5K at the age of 50, but who knows,” he says. “What I do know is that this time, it’s about enjoying the process and having some fun with it.” In fact, I coach BAM (Boulder Aquatic Masters) swimming one day a week at 6am just for something different!
Brandon isn’t running from anything anymore; he’s just running towards life, continuing to build a business on his own terms and going after athletic endeavors purely for the joy of it.
