The ultimate cool-girl, Brook Power oozes a relaxed attitude and a laid back Californian approach to, well, just about everything. Mother of two, successful model, surfer, artist and 2017’s Playboy Playmate of the Year - Brook has her fingers in a few pies. She originally grew up on the North Shore of Oahu and, go figure, she’s a total nature junky. Despite a pretty rough upbringing, Brook has maintained her positive outlook on life and continues to take on each day with gratitude and self-awareness.
Meet Brook Power.
You grew up in Hawaii, on the North Shore of Oahu...Jealous! Tell us a little bit about your childhood there?
My family situation was an interesting one, my mom was a bratty Sicilian/ L.A. girl and my dad was an L.A. surf bum. I was the oldest kid and I was always the ring leader. I took everyone on adventures, exploring caves and climbing mountains, riding horses, catching fish, hiking to secret tidepools, swimming with whales, all the blessed Hawaii-kid activities. Growing up in Hawaii was really such a dream, we had so much freedom. I retreated into the ocean and jungle to escape our heavy home environment. The ocean definitely raised me in many ways, taught me to be strong but soft. It was a blessed existence despite our situation, we were really happy, resilient kids, we made our lives magical.
It’s amazing, the connection and bond you can form with nature in Hawaii. How has that connection shaped who you are today? Well, I wouldn't really say that I formed a bond or made a connection, I just kept the same bond and connection that I was born with intact maybe? We instinctively have that connection within us, humans are a part of nature, just another one of its creatures. Living in a beautiful place like Hawaii, around so many people who value a connection to our nature community definitely cultivates and purifies your bond with nature.
You now live in the mountains north of Los Angeles with your husband, 5-year-old Ozzie and 8 month old Benicio, great names by the way! Tell us about the incredible home you have created there for your family? We hear there are a few animals haha.
I do have a few animals here, kind of have the usual southern Californian critters: a python named Beavis, a corn snake named Cornholio, a giant 80-pound desert tortoise named Barney, an Australian shepherd named Holy Smokes, a coop of assorted chickens, a backyard full of bunnies, trees full of hawks, hills full of deer, coyotes, bobcats, foxes and an occasional mountain lion and then my trusty Nez Perce pony Pompy. My house is a funny 1970’s Californian abode and I’m constantly doing home improvement projects haha. Gonna go work in the yard right after this interview :)
You are one of those people who sound like they have lived 1000 lives. Incredibly, you left Hawaii and moved to California at just 16, living in your car and working your a$$ off to support your family. What was that like for you at such a young age? How did you manage to avoid the Hollywood craziness while working as a model?
I have lived in quite a few places, Chicago to Milan, even in Australia for a minute too. I don't really know how I felt living out of a car as a kid (16), it wasn’t for too long but it wasn’t comfortable haha it’s not like it was “van life” or anything like the bohemian romance you might imagine lol. Kids are really adaptable and I had a ton of ingenuity, I wasn’t depressed about it, I knew it was only temporary. I somehow managed to pull everything together for myself, it's good to have God on your team I guess, he's someone to look after you when you have no one else. I wouldn't say that I avoided the craziness of Hollywood either haha. But yes I avoided all of the creepy and bad stuff for the most part, because although I was dead broke, I was never desperate for anything, I was quite content with what little I had. I knew I had worked hard for it with my own two hands and I was very motivated. But yeah, Hollywood, that can be fun too sometimes! It’s a land of opportunity in this crazy city.
Pretty soon after this, your mum was diagnosed with cancer. What was that journey like? Do you have any advice for young people receiving the same news or coping with an ill parent?
That was heavy. I think I was 19 then actually, and my siblings were 16, 6 & 7. I would think about scary things like, would the government take them away from me if my mom died? Things that kept me up at night, worrying about them mostly. She did get through the cancer though. So, if you’re dealing with a similar situation, have hope! F cancer and fight hard! I educated myself a ton about the toxins in our environment which are carcinogens also, I encourage everyone to do the same!
You have talked about breaking the cycle of trauma for your children, what are some of the ways you have worked to heal for your children?
Prayer, meditation, healthy outlets for stress like surfing and hiking and working with horses. It took me a while to understand that learning communication methods was something I needed to do. I had all of these coping mechanisms for the daily trauma, where my brain would just shut off and take me to another world, I called it the fuzz world. Everything was muffled in that world and anyone yelling at me I couldnt hear, I was pretty unattainable there, and sometimes it could take me days to get out of that world. So I had to learn to stop myself from going to that place. Self-awareness is so crucial, nature, exercise, fellowship, constant growth, they all have a part in healing.
After a recent health scare with your eldest, you dove into naturopathy and holistic health care. Is this a career you would like to pursue? What have been some of the most shocking things you have learned?
I have always been a participant of holistic healthcare, which just means you think of your health as multidimensional, like physical, mental, spiritual, social, and the physical aspect you acknowledge that the human body functions healthily when all of its parts are taken care of. It’s not like I don’t believe in modern medicine which so many people think is what holistic means. But you should take care of your body holistically so that it’s not dependent constantly on manufactured drugs to function, and save those drugs for desperate times so they’re the most effective. What happened with my son was a perfect example of modern medicine wreaking havoc on a healthy child and a healthy auto immune system. It’s really controversial for me to get into all the details unfortunately but yes it definitely increased my interests in naturopathy and holistic healing. It would be a dream to be a naturopath as an old woman one day haha, what’s better than a wise old woman with an amazing knowledge of healing and health the way nature intended.
We absolutely loved seeing you in Auguste. What was your favourite piece from the Iris collection?
