For as long as it was on air, “Fast N’ Loud” gave many unforgettable TV moments for anyone who loves cars, or was simply looking to be entertained by a great show. The Texas-based Gas Monkey Garage had some of the most talented car builders, mechanics, and automotive experts who did a lot to make the show so memorable.
In the latter category is, the former Gas Monkey Garage manager Christie Brimberry, who became one of the most popular in the show. The massive popularity she gained on social media made it possible for us to keep up to date with her eventual battle with cancer, and other important events in her life after the end of “Fast N’ Loud”.
So what’s Christie doing now, and how is her cancer treatment going? What about her current job and projects? Keep with us to find out all!
Contents
Health Update
A lot has changed since we last saw Christie Brimberry in “Fast N’ Loud”. Around the time she departed the show in late 2016, Christie was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, which had spread to her lymph nodes and required her to undergo urgent treatment.
The news of Christie’s unfortunate diagnosis shocked and worried her fans, following her social media updates about it. Later on she had surgery, part of her trachea removed in the process, starting a long path to recover her health.
While Christie described the illness as an ‘aggressive’ type of cancer, she was able to overcome it, and by December 2017, Christie posted joyful news about her health, revealing that she’d recently been through a bone scan which revealed that she was cancer-free, but also opened up about how hard her treatment had been, to the point Christie had avoided revealing much about her progress to not ‘set (herself) up for disappointment’, as she wrote in a heartfelt Facebook post.
Since revealing that positive news on her social media, Christie has shown herself very healthy, which is exciting to see after knowing about her amazing story of recovery.
Her Cancer Battle
Christie Brimberry’s cancer diagnosis was first revealed by her in a Facebook post in late October 2016. Back then, Christie confessed that she’d been feeling a ‘knot’ in her throat since August of that year, but hadn’t thought much about it since she assumed it was a normal symptom for people with Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune thyroid-affecting disorder she also suffers from.
However, when Christie went to the doctor, the nodule in her throat was at a high level of calcification. She was sent in for a biopsy and other tests, which resulted in her thyroid cancer diagnosis.
While Christie’s first surgery was supposed to go smoothly, the cancer had spread so much that the doctor had to remove part of her trachea, and accidentally one of her larynx nerves, leaving her with no voice for several months. Christie started her radioactive iodine therapy in the next couple of months, used to determine whether there are remaining cancer cells in the body, and the root of the disease. She also underwent extra surgery to have her vocal cords injected so she could speak again as her larynx healed.
Given the lack of health updates from Christie for most of 2017, it’s unclear what other treatments she underwent throughout the year. However, by December of that year, she revealed the most positive update – she’d finally beaten cancer.
Life After Recovery
Even though Christie Brimberry is quite active on social media, she rarely updates about her health. Nevertheless, in 2021 she celebrated her cancer-free anniversary through a lengthy Facebook post, in which she revealed further details about her battle with the disease and its consequences.
According to Christie, her road to recovery had taken unexpected, with scary turns right from the beginning. Her first surgery was far from as simple as she was initially told, leaving her with a trachea tube temporarily installed in her neck, a severed larynx nerve, and the fear that she wasn’t going to make it, as she confessed in her post.
Fortunately, Christie was cancer-free by December 2017 but still suffers from having a paralyzed vocal cord, on top of having a compromised airway which makes her breathing difficult. On top of that, Christie undergoes annual bone scans and ultrasounds to check if everything is alright with her body, which also causes a lot of anxiety for her.
While the dates Christie points out in her post are somewhat confusing when compared to the initial Facebook posts during her cancer battle, that doesn’t stop us from celebrating her recovery and strength during those tough times in her life.
Her Business Now
Christie Brimberry stuck around “Fast N’ Loud” for a long time before the show ended in mid-2020. However, her social media hasn’t shown any signs that she continued working for Richard Rawlings after that, even though her Instagram bio still says that she appears in the show and Discovery.
With that being said, Christie is now focused on her beauty salon business, which she manages alongside her husband Daren Brimberry in Dallas, Texas. In 2022, Christie was in charge of opening a new location for her salon chain, and also set up an account on the exclusive subscription website OnlyFans, though she clarified that she did it for fun, not for financial gain.
While Christie seems to be doing great these days, it’s also worth noting that her massive social media accounts have helped her in unexpected ways. Back in 2017 when she was fighting thyroid cancer, Christie posted several Facebook and Instagram stories with advertising links on them, seemingly bothering some of her followers, but Christie took to her social media to clarify that those types of sponsorship deals had helped her pay for her cancer treatment, saving her from the ‘financial ruin’ that other people have unfortunately experienced, she wrote.
Will Christie Go Back To “Fast N’ Loud”?
Ever since the “Fast N Loud” cancellation in mid-2020, Gas Monkey Garage has changed quite a lot, only letting us see glimpses of what’s going on with it through their highly popular YouTube channel. It’s also worth noting that Richard Rawlings opened a new bar called Gas Monkey Sturgis in 2024, several years after some of his previous business ventures closed down.
Given the new horizons that Gas Monkey Garage is exploring, and the fact that Christie now seems focused on her business, it’s fair to assume that she’s not going back to working with Rawlings anytime soon. Nevertheless, her time with the crew was a special one, that we’ll always warmly remember.
