One short filmmaker and intensive runner – who has raced through 60 to 80 miles a week for the past decade – took to Youtube to somberly reveal he may never be able to run daily again, his worst nightmare come true.
Adrenaline junkie Casey Neistat, 36, shared that a recent knee injury may change his habit, and that the sprain might just echo the cursed words he was told 10 years ago: ‘You will never be able to run again.’
The vlogger has taken to his suscribers to share his tension and fear and what the impending health verdict will be.
Die-hard runner: Casey Neistat, 36, (above in his latest YouTube video) anxiously awaits the doctor’s results of a persistent knee injury that could end his intensive running lifestyle
Sibling support: The filmmaker called his sister for advice, who suffered similar injuries that inhibited her dedicated running career, and saw her lose all the cartilage in her knee
Running lifestyle: Casey revealed that running is ‘what keeps me sane’ and that he even sneaks in two runs a day, not stopping when he tires, rather ending his sprint when he runs out of time
The video begins with with Casey bending down towards the ground, pointing out the sickening bone crunching noise that fills the room as he folds to the floor of his New York City office.
‘Do you hear that?’ he asked the camera.
The video then cut between a tense Casey pacing his office, interlaced with shots of him running about Manhattan, through tunnels, along running paths, and down the busy streets.
‘This isn’t a fun movie, this isn’t a happy movie, this isn’t a positive movie. This is a story. This is a story I never, ever wanted to tell,’ he declared to the camera.
He then took his followers to the radiology center, where his bothersome knee would be examined.
Casey said that he doesn’t have fears – in fact, the daredevil fearlessly skydives and jumps from stomach-churning heights – but he is worried about his injury.
‘I’m injured. Something is wrong with my leg. And there’s definitely a chance that I’ll never be able to run again,’ he said.
He then took to the phone with his sister, who is also a dedicated runner, as she admitted she was diagnosed with a form of arthritis. The doctor told her ‘it boiled down to [she] had no more cartilage in [her] knee.’
Daredevil: The artist is famous for his videos and art that see him perform crazy stunts such as the above, skateboarding in the heart of New York traffic
No limits: The adrenaline junkie has never shy in the face of fear from diving in mysterious caverns to ridiculous stunts – but his knee injury has instilled a whole new kind of worry
Dive in! Casey dives in the Cote d’Azur in the South of France on his Instagram, showing off his form as he recklessly jumps of a rock into the unknown waters below
The diagnosis altered her lifestyle significantly. It meant no more daily runs, and even when exercised excessively, her body would experience pain. The news only made the filmmaker more jittery about his knee.
‘I first noticed the pain in early July, that was about three months ago. Here’s the thing. I run like 60 to 80 miles a week, every week. I run about that for the past 10 years plus. You get pains all the time. This one was a little different. It was persistent, it never went away,’ Casey shared.
He then went to a physical therapist for exercises that were meant to help with the injury. But the warm up routines weren’t enough to heal his leg.
But Casey has never been one to shy away from injury or the impossible.
When he was 26, he broke is leg in 27 places. A metal rod was placed in his thigh as a result of the accident operation, which the doctors said wouldn’t allow him to run again like before.
‘In the hospital, the doctor told me “Casey, you’re never going to be able to run again.” But I was 26 years old then there was no f*****g way I was going to let that doctor tell me I was never going to f*****g run again,’ he curtly said.
And Casey has since proved himself beyond capable.
He’s since completed 24 marathons, four full distance Iron Man races – that boast an impressive 140 mile distance, 5K races, 10K distance runs, sprint triathlons, and Olympic-distance triathlons.
Throwback! Even back in 2009, when this photo was taken, he was just as much a daredevil, doing stunts on a skateboard
Family first: The artist reveals his ‘addictive personality’ is satisfied by work, family and running
Celeb sighting! The photographer poses above with supermodel Karlie Kloss, a friend that he’s made videos in the past with on his YouTube channel
‘I’ve done them all. I’ve done nothing but races and running for the last decade and for some reason this has got me freaked the f**k out,’ he admitted.
After his, check-up he has to wait 24 to 48 hours before the MRI scan is reviewed and a diagnosis can be made.
Casey revealed that running is the third part of the trifecta – of family, work, and sport – that satisfies his ‘addictive personality’.
‘I don’t end my runs when I’m tired, I end my runs when I run out of time…I keep on going until some kind of external force gets in my way,’ he shared.
‘This city, my life, life in general, family, friends, distractions, my work…everything in life is chaos. But through all of that chaos there’s one consistent…one thing that makes me sane. And that one thing is running,’ he added.
In an ode to his passion for running, the athlete displays a montage of stunning running clips in the city from day to night along the stunning Manhattan skyline – even capturing the romantic sunset – to convey the deep and spiritual experience the sport creates for him.
Until the doctor’s results come out, Casey will be left in the dark on the future of his intense and ardent running lifestyle.