Courtesy Chase Brown
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Twins Chase and Sydney Brown grew up in poverty with their young mother in Canada, sometimes living between their grandmother's home, and briefly in shelters
Now NFL players, the brothers share with PEOPLE how those challenges taught them to appreciate their success even more
"Their ability to endure everything that is uncomfortable makes me proud," their mother tells PEOPLE
Before twins Chase and Sydney Brown were in the NFL — Chase for the Cincinnati Bengals and Sydney for the Philadelphia Eagles — the competitive brothers dreamed of playing in the league.
The 25-year-old athletes experienced a tumultuous childhood, living with their grandmother in London, Ontario, and briefly, in a homeless shelter. Born to a single teenage mom — who, along with her gifted sons, realized that football was the brothers' best path out of poverty — the twins left home at 16 to play at a private school in Florida, later becoming standout college players before being drafted into the NFL in 2023.
"They've pushed each other every day of their lives," their mother Raechel Brown, 43, tells PEOPLE in this week's issue. "Their ability to endure everything that is uncomfortable makes me proud."
Courtesy Chase Brown
From the start, life was a struggle for the identical twins. Their father, Darren Isaac — who had a short career in the Canadian Football League — wasn't a presence in their lives.
And a chronic illness made steady work difficult for their mom, forcing the struggling family, which included younger sister Mya, now 13, to constantly move from one dwelling to the next, or stay with Raechel's mother.
But the one thing the boys had going for them — aside from formidable athletic skills — was their tight relationship. "We were always together and had each other to count on when we were having hard times at home," says Sydney, who started playing flag football, along with Chase, at 7.
J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty
Now, the brothers — who purchased a home for their mom and grandmother in London, Ontario — say their difficult upbringing helped them appreciate their success that much more. "I think it was a hidden blessing. It just makes us appreciate things in a deeper way," says Sydney.
They also have some hard-won advice for anyone trying to pursue their passion. "Just keep pushing," says Chase, who became a father in January (with girlfriend Jazmyn Brock) to a son named Oceanz. "And don't buy into other people telling you it's not possible."
Sydney adds, "When times got tough and people said we couldn't, we always believed we could. We always kept faith in the process and faith in each other."
Read the original article onPeople
