Brockelsby – who now lives in Rotorua – quit her job and decided to sell wearable towels.
She founded StokedNZ in November 2017 “and I haven’t looked back”.
“I’m so glad I did it.”
StokedNZ founder and director Debra Brockelsby.
Brockelsby told the Rotorua Daily Post she was having “a fun day out” with friends when she had her mountain biking accident in September 2015 at Ōkere Falls near Rotorua.
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.
“My brain kind of got like a real shake-up.”
Brockelsby suffered a brain injury as a result, the impacts of which became more apparent in the following days.
By day five, “I was seeing stars”.
An MRI scan showed bruising on her brain.
Brockelsby said she was “in a dark room” for about four months.
As an avid swimmer, bike rider and nature lover, Brockelsby said she would use a “towel poncho” after going for a bike ride in the rain or as a “portable changing room and a towel”.
“I’d already had one, but I have eczema. They were always micro-fibre and I really hate it on my skin.”
Brockelsby said she had not sewn since high school but her grandmother’s best friend, who she had known for most of her life, knew how to.
She asked her to help sew some “towelies” using Indian cotton.
Then she remembered she had a Turkish towel which was “still going strong” after 10 years.
StokedNZ founder and director Debra Brockelsby with her partner Gary Campbell wearing "towelies".
Brockelsby said she travelled a lot with her old job, “and there’s nothing worse than putting a wet towel back in your suitcase”.
She said the business had grown every year since its inception, now employing six people.
“We’ve hustled ... but it’s bloody cool and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
The name StokedNZ came from Brockelsby always saying “stoked”, having lived in Revelstoke in Canada, and being “stoked to still be here” after her accident.
‘Topless swim’ to raise money for Breast Cancer Foundation
Brockelsby is organising a “topless swim” at Lake Rotoiti near Rotorua on October 11, with all profits being donated to the Breast Cancer Foundation.
She said her friend was a breast cancer survivor who had a mastectomy but did not get reconstructive surgery.
“She was super self-conscious swimming [and] going to public changing rooms.”
Brockelsby gave her friend a “towelie”, who said it was life-changing.
“It’s given her the freedom to change and swim again.
“I was like shit, you can’t be the only one.”
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.
Brockelsby said StokedNZ did a campaign last year called “show us your tits” when customers drew their breasts and sent them in to be “weaved” on to towels, “towelies” and hair wraps.
She donated $39,000 to the Breast Cancer Foundation from their sales.
Brockelsby said this year’s fundraising event would be bigger.
