Brockelsby suffered a brain injury and \u201cthe worst pain I\u2019ve ever been through\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy headaches were the worst of my life \u2013 it felt like my head was in a vice, like literally being squished.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brockelsby took 18 months off work, being cared for by her partner and parents.<\/p>\n
That was when she realised \u201clife is short\u201d.<\/p>\n
Brockelsby \u2013 who now lives in Rotorua \u2013 quit her job and decided to sell wearable towels.<\/p>\n
She founded StokedNZ in November 2017 \u201cand I haven\u2019t looked back\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so glad I did it.\u201d<\/p>\n
StokedNZ founder and director Debra Brockelsby.<\/p>\n
Brockelsby told the Rotorua Daily Post she was having \u201ca fun day out\u201d with friends when she had her mountain biking accident in September 2015 at \u014ckere Falls near Rotorua.<\/p>\n
She rode over a 0.5m to 1m-high drop and went over the handlebars. She landed hard on her left ear and her bike hit her on the back of her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy brain kind of got like a real shake-up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brockelsby suffered a brain injury as a result, the impacts of which became more apparent in the following days.<\/p>\n
By day five, \u201cI was seeing stars\u201d.<\/p>\n
An MRI scan showed bruising on her brain.<\/p>\n
Brockelsby said she was \u201cin a dark room\u201d for about four months.<\/p>\n
The injury affected her depth perception, meaning she could not cross the road by herself for \u201cmonths\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t able to drive for a really long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
She took medication to manage the pain but lost \u201call independence\u201d and was forgetful.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a pretty rough time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brockelsby regularly saw a neurologist and occupational therapist for cognitive rehabilitation.<\/p>\n
After she recovered, she returned to work part-time.<\/p>\n
The inspiration behind StokedNZ <\/p>\n
As an avid swimmer, bike rider and nature lover, Brockelsby said she would use a \u201ctowel poncho\u201d after going for a bike ride in the rain or as a \u201cportable changing room and a towel\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d already had one, but I have eczema. They were always micro-fibre and I really hate it on my skin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brockelsby said she had not sewn since high school but her grandmother\u2019s best friend, who she had known for most of her life, knew how to.<\/p>\n
She asked her to help sew some \u201ctowelies\u201d using Indian cotton.<\/p>\n
Then she remembered she had a Turkish towel which was \u201cstill going strong\u201d after 10 years.<\/p>\n
StokedNZ founder and director Debra Brockelsby with her partner Gary Campbell wearing “towelies”.<\/p>\n
Brockelsby said she travelled a lot with her old job, \u201cand there\u2019s nothing worse than putting a wet towel back in your suitcase\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love that Turkish cotton was super quick drying, they take up no room … and I hadn\u2019t seen them on the market anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brockelsby started selling Turkish cotton \u201ctowelies\u201d at markets. She sold 14 at her first market in Mount Maunganui.<\/p>\n
At the start of 2018, she received a wholesale order for 1000 towelies.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I booked a ticket to Turkey.\u201d<\/p>\n
She met with two suppliers and now works with three Turkish families to make the products.<\/p>\n
The designs are hand-drawn by Brockelsby, her friends, or local artists.<\/p>\n
She said the business had grown every year since its inception, now employing six people.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve hustled … but it\u2019s bloody cool and I wouldn\u2019t trade it for anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
The name StokedNZ came from Brockelsby always saying \u201cstoked\u201d, having lived in Revelstoke in Canada, and being \u201cstoked to still be here\u201d after her accident.<\/p>\n
\u2018Topless swim\u2019 to raise money for Breast Cancer Foundation <\/p>\n
Brockelsby is organising a \u201ctopless swim\u201d at Lake Rotoiti near Rotorua on October 11, with all profits being donated to the Breast Cancer Foundation.<\/p>\n
She said her friend was a breast cancer survivor who had a mastectomy but did not get reconstructive surgery.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was super self-conscious swimming [and] going to public changing rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brockelsby gave her friend a \u201ctowelie\u201d, who said it was life-changing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s given her the freedom to change and swim again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like shit, you can\u2019t be the only one.\u201d<\/p>\n
StokedNZ founder and director Debra Brockelsby did a campaign last year when customers drew their breasts and sent them in to be “weaved” on to “towelies”, towels and hair wraps.<\/p>\n
Brockelsby said StokedNZ did a campaign last year called \u201cshow us your tits\u201d when customers drew their breasts and sent them in to be \u201cweaved\u201d on to towels, \u201ctowelies\u201d and hair wraps.<\/p>\n
She donated $39,000 to the Breast Cancer Foundation from their sales.<\/p>\n
Brockelsby said this year\u2019s fundraising event would be bigger.<\/p>\n
She said the topless swim event was about \u201cnormalising that there are other people that look like you\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI reckon it\u2019s going to be bloody incredible and so empowering.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasically, everyone\u2019s just going to go swim and hang out with cool people and have great food and mulled wine, and you\u2019re doing it for charity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tickets are available on the StokedNZ website.<\/p>\n