One: 15 minutes with Brooke Howard-Smith
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
Perhaps better known for his enormous and engaging personality than his skills on wheels, Brooke Howard-Smith was not only one of the first skaters to make the long journey to California in the early ’90s, but he proved himself to be one of the most influential.
As a founding owner of Senate he experienced the rollerblading boom—if not from the driver’s seat, then at least with a foot on the gas—like few others, learning along the way the benefits of shock marketing, the pitfalls of corporate ownership, and how to skip town when the mood is right.
A consummate showman, Brooke’s appearances in early videos such as “The Hoax,” and “Hoax II” now serve as telling foreshadowing of the career he’s carved out for himself in his homeland of New Zealand where he hosts several television shows, and accessories his arm with the likeness of a former twice-crowned Miss New Zealand, now his fiance. ONE regular Mike Opalek went o NZ for a month to visit his old friend, and was kind enough to come back with this interview. […]
