Brooke Allison Brodack (born April 7, 1986), known online as Brookers, is one of the earliest

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

s. Brodack, a receptionist from

Holden, Massachusetts Holden is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The town was founded in 1741, and the Town Square (Center, Common) was donated by John Hancock, former Governor of Massachusetts. The population was 19,905 at the 2020 census. It ...

, first began uploading short comedy skits to

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

in September 2005. She was offered a contract from

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

show host

Carson Daly Carson Jones Daly (born June 22, 1973) is an American television host, radio personality, producer, and television personality. From 1998 to 2003, Daly was a VJ (media personality), VJ on MTV's ''Total Request Live'' (TRL), and a DJ for the Sou ...

in 2006, before YouTubers were able to monetize their videos in December 2007, but nothing came of it. Brodack briefly had the most-subscribed YouTube channel for a period of 43 days from July 3, 2006, to August 15, 2006, during which it became the first channel to reach 10,000 subscribers. It was the first time the most subscribed YouTube channel was officially held by a channel of a female individual. ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' called her "the first real YouTube star," in a December 2006 article. Brodack moved in with fellow YouTuber

iJustine Justine Ezarik ( ; born March 20, 1984) is an American YouTuber. She is best known as iJustine, with over one billion views on her YouTube channel. She gained attention as a lifecaster who communicated directly with her millions of viewers on ...

, but afterwards deleted her channel and moved to

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. She relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in early 2017.

Early life

Brodack was born in

Putnam, Connecticut Putnam is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 10,214 at the 2020 census. History Putnam, originally known as Aspinock, then part of Killi ...

. She has been making videos since she was nine years old. Graduating from

Wachusett Regional High School Wachusett Regional High School (abbv. WRHS) is located in Holden, Massachusetts, United States and services the Wachusett Regional School District. Founded in 1955, the school educates students from Holden, Paxton, Princeton, Rutland, and St ...

, she then attended college at

Worcester State College Worcester State University (WSU) is a public university in Worcester, Massachusetts. The fourth largest of the Commonwealth’s nine Universities, WSU enrolls over 4800 undergraduates and nearly 900 graduate students in more than 80 undergradu ...

Quinsigamond Community College Quinsigamond Community College ()(''colloquialism, colloq:'' QCC, Quinsig) is a Public college, public Community colleges in the United States, community college in Worcester, Massachusetts. It has an enrollment of over 7,000 students. Many stud ...

and

Mount Wachusett Community College Mount Wachusett Community College (MWCC) is a Public college, public community college in Gardner, Massachusetts. Established by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1963, it features an open admissions policy for the majority of its academic ...

, ultimately

dropping out Dropping out refers to leaving high school, college, university or another group for practical reasons, necessities, inability, apathy, or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves. Canada In Canada, most in ...

of all three. Brodack worked from 2003 to 2006 as a receptionist and hostess at the 99 Restaurant, and she volunteered (2003–2005) for the NEADS program (Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans) in

Sterling, Massachusetts Sterling is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,985 at the 2020 census. History Previous to its incorporation, it was "the Second Parish of Lancaster." It was commonly called by a portion of its In ...

. Brodack lived in

with her mother and younger sister, working as a receptionist.

Internet success

Brodack began posting her short comedic videos on her "Brookers"

channel in September 2005. By June 2006, she was offered an 18-month development contract from

, the host of a late night show on

, but nothing ever came of it. From July 3 to August 17, 2006, her "Brookers" channel was the most-subscribed on YouTube. She was named a "Crossover Star" by ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' on its New Media Power List on July 29, 2006. Brookers directed, edited and performed in her early videos, most of which were set at her family home in

. ''

'' has called her videos "defiantly madcap." Her single-most popular video, "Crazed Numa Fan!!!!", a

lip-sync Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , like the word ''sink'', despite the spelling of the participial forms ''synced'' and ''syncing''), short for lip synchronization, is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements ...

parody of an earlier

Internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

, Numa Numa Dance by

Gary Brolsma "Numa Numa" () is an Internet meme based on a video by American Video blog, vlogger Gary Brolsma made after the song "Dragostea din Tei", released by Moldova, Moldovan pop group O-Zone in 2003. Brolsma's video, entitled "Numa Numa Dance", was up ...

(itself a parody of "

Dragostea din tei "Dragostea din tei" (; Romanian: "Love From the Linden Tree") is a song recorded by Moldovan group O-Zone, released around July 2003 in Romania by Media Services as the lead single from their third studio album '' DiscO-Zone'' (2003). It was ...

" by

O-Zone O-Zone is a Moldovan Eurodance group and boy band produced by Dan Bălan; originating in 1999 as a duo, which consisted of Bălan, and Petru Jelihovschi before the latter's departure. Their official trio lineup in 1999 consisted of Bălan, ...

), was viewed on YouTube over 8.2 million times. Her younger sister, Melissa "Missy" Brodack, performed alongside her in many videos, including "Crazed Numa Fan!!!!" Her video "Chips," a spoof suspense drama about eating potato chips, was called "brilliant" by ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'', which has listed it among the "great moments in YouTube history." From August 2006 to April 2007, she played a large role on a Daly-hosted, NBC-sponsored video contest website, It's Your Show TV posting many videos there. She appeared on ''

The Tyra Banks Show ''The Tyra Banks Show'', also known as and shortened to ''Tyra'' or ''The Tyra Show'', is an American talk show hosted by Tyra Banks that aired from 2005 to 2010. While Banks's show covered a variety of topics, there was a sensationalized focus ...

'' (December 6, 2006), as a judge for a student video competition. In February 2007, she appeared alongside other early YouTube stars in "The Sound of Your Voice," a viral music video for

Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies (BNL) is a Canadian Rock music, rock band which was formed in 1988 in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their Barenaked Ladies (EP), self-titled 1991 cassette becoming th ...

. From May 2007 to March 2008, Brookers had her own web channel, brookebrodack.tv, which was offered through www.me.tv, a new service Daly helped to found. She participated in the 777 (July 7, 2007) YouTube gathering in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In November 2007, she released, "Ozzy's Magical Glasses n' Stuff," a viral video advertisement for a live auction of

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

items on the

Auction Network Auction Network is a 24-hour Internet and cable television channel that allows viewers to participate remotely in auctions taking place throughout the world. Viewers become “virtual bidders” in live auctions of items, including automobiles, co ...

, for which she was paid "a solid five figures" by the Palisades Media Group.

Later life

From mid-2013 to early 2017, she lived in

, working on video workshop lectures in collaboration with Design Infinium. As of February 2017, she relocated to Los Angeles. On July 12, 2017, Brodack deleted her YouTube account. She also deleted her Twitter and set her Instagram profile to private. In mid-2018, she returned to YouTube on a new self-titled channel. This channel also no longer exists. On December 11, 2018, Brodack created a new YouTube channel under her real name. As of March 2025, the channel had 1,870 subscribers.

References

External links

Myspace profileYouTube profile, old and terminated channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brodack, Brooke 1986 births Living people People from Holden, Massachusetts People from Putnam, Connecticut Actresses from Massachusetts American comedy YouTubers Viral videos American YouTube vloggers 21st-century American women Number-one YouTube channels in subscribers YouTubers from Connecticut YouTubers from Massachusetts American expatriates in India

Early life

Internet success

Later life

See also

References

Further reading

Books

Articles and videos

External links