Jim Brown

A Utemaster customer who knows what matters.

“If we go away with a bunch of guys, my truck's normally the hub of the group for the cooking side of it.”  

For Jim Brown, the good life starts where the sand meets the sea. He’s been fishing since he was four. “My old man would wake me up early and I’d be out the door in seconds.”  

These days, most of his free time is spent parked up on the beach, surf rod standing tall against the horizon, the tide rolling in and out like a metronome for the day. Where others see downtime, Jim sees opportunity. He casts, he waits, and he cooks. 

The trip is never really about the catch. Over the years his love of food has become just as central to the outdoor experience as fishing itself. While most of us are happy to throw a few sausages on the gas barbie, Jim’s the guy smoking fish he just caught, cranking the coals for a pork belly, or cooking sourdough fry bread. 

He reckons good food just makes a good trip better. 

In his words: “Fishing comes first, but cooking while the rod’s out has become just as important.” 

Off Grid Doesn’t Mean Off The Menu 

Ask Jim why he goes to the effort and you get a straight answer: because it makes the trip memorable. The surf might not always deliver a big fish, but the food never lets anyone down. He’s the first to point out how his truck often becomes the lunch stop for mates during beach missions. “if we go away with a bunch of guys, my truck's normally the hub of the group for the cooking side of it.” 

Jim sees it as more than a hobby, for him, these trips have become a way of life. Blending tradition, self-sufficiency, and comfort. He is just as happy with his tyres in the sand and a roast ticking away as he is landing a trophy snapper. There’s not much he can’t cook out here, and he’s always up for pushing the limits of what’s possible with his ute set-up.

A System That Works 

Cooking full meals in the elements takes planning, organisation, and gear that can keep up. For Jim, that is where his Centurion canopy and ute set-up really come into play. 

He has turned the back of his ute into a rolling kitchen, every millimetre put to use. “I’ve used every millimetre of that canopy. You won’t fit this much gear in anything else,” he says. Fridges hum quietly in one section, cooking gear is laid out where he can grab it, fishing tackle fills the rest. The whole system has been customised, rewired, bolted together and rebuilt more than once in pursuit of a rig that works just the way he needs it to.  

Jim’s vehicle spends a good portion of its life parked well within the danger zone for salty air and sand ingress. But it’s not a problem.  “The struts, the locks, everything still works like the day it was fitted. I can pull up at a spot, open the doors, cook, put it back in, lock it down, and I’m off to the next spot in minutes.” 

Everything that makes this a functional vehicle for overlanding, camping, fishing, and cooking is supported by the canopy on the back. It keeps everything protected, organised, and ready to go, so he has more time to get stuff done, and enjoy life’s adventures. 

Doing More of What Matters 

Jim’s philosophy is pretty simple: take the time to do it right, enjoy the process, and make the memories count. “If I can keep doing this for the rest of my life, I’ll be more than happy,” he says.  

There is something hard case about watching a guy serve up a slow roast metres from the tide while most of us would be burning snags on a camp stove. But that is Jim. He’s found a way to blend a passion for fishing, cooking, and camping into a lifestyle that works for him. And he’s found a way to do it more. 

Jim Brown is out there proving that doing more of what matters can be as simple as a rod in the sand, a meal in the making, and a system that keeps it all running smooth. 

This is Jim Brown. Doing more of what matters.