Inspired by the travel channel and A Wealth of Entertainment (AWE), which showed the most exotic destinations on earth, since high school, created a passionate desire within Brandon McGill to explore the world.
It’s not just a dream for him. After starting his professional career in London in 2013/14, he spoke with his childhood teammate Jerai Grant, who was playing professionally in Australia, to ask him about the experience down under. It was this conversation where McGill realized he could figure out a way to live and play in Australia. On October 15th, 2015, this became a reality when he landed in Perth, Australia.
“Not many people know about Perth, and it is the only major city on the west coast, and whenever you think of Australia only Melbourne & Sydney come to mind, which are both on the east coast.”
For him, the quality of life is always a priority and eating healthy & staying active is very easy to do in Perth. He enjoyed every little thing in Perth including the local restaurant owners who knew him by name and knew exactly what he wanted to order.
“You don’t get that in big cities.” he further explained.
Australia is a top destination for many travelers and Western Australia somehow remains a hidden gem. “It is home to the best beaches in the world, and usually have two or three featured on the best beaches in the world lists,” McGill explained.
“Before I moved to Perth I never realized that Australia is the same size as the United States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii, which was a surprise,” he added.
Playing for Kalamunda Suns was an unexpected and fortunate experience, because originally he moved to Perth set to be playing for Cockburn Cougars, but it turned out that the American from the prior season decided to return at the last minute.
Which left McGill in a new country on the other side of the world without knowing what the immediate future held for him. Luckily, he tapped into the basketball network and went up to Kalamunda to attend their trials, and that was how he ended up playing for Kalamunda Suns.
Kalamunda is located in the hills of Perth, but he couldn’t imagine living in Australia and not living next to the beach. So, he chose that quality of life over convenience and drove 45 minutes there and back almost every day of the week for both practice and coaching sessions.
“I ended up breaking my big toe, but I played through it and made the all-star game, although I was unable to play and was named club season MVP, so overall it was a great experience playing for the Suns.”
He shared his story in which hoping people will realize that new experiences have a direct effect on the future possibilities that we will experience in life.
“If your dreams and aspirations take you away from the place you grew up and your family and friends that’s okay, because not everyone has the same dream as you and the generation after will have you as a reference, that the world has endless opportunities to explore.”
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