“IS IT HOGAN OR PITT?” That was my first question to the model slash business owner slash mother as we chatted for the first time over video link, maneuvering around baby naps – or lack thereof. We’re using those precious scraps of infant siestas to discuss wellness, the highs and lows of business, and an arduous IVF journey. And, understandably, the whole last name thing is something that she’s not quite figured out yet. There’s a lot happening for Brooke, and last names, for now, are not a priority.
Take a look at Brooke Hogan’s Instagram (we’re going with Hogan, “it’s my maiden, professional name, though it’s confusing. I’ll get to it later,” she confesses) and you’ll be greeted with a grid of golden beauty. (If we’re all dogs, she’s a flaxen retriever – I’m a short beagle.) It’s clear that family is a priority; her cherubic son Billy stares out with striking blue eyes and a toothy, gummy 10-month-old grin, her partner Myles, a picture of the doting, supportive husband and father. And intermingled throughout the grid of family, the business of Brooke beams through. It’s two-fold: one part Brooke the brand, the other a successful co-owner of Pilates app, Our Pilates.
It’s been a winding road to where Brooke now finds herself. The Mornington Peninsula local first entered the public eye at 21 on the cult noughties TV show Australia’s Next Top Model. Despite placing in the top ten, the primetime program catapulted her to stardom. “I was modelling a bit before, but the show really propelled me into a new area, helping me navigate my career and place me in front of a lot of agencies,” she explains. “I remember wanting to win [the show] but equally wanting to be eliminated so I could go home. That and the overwhelming feeling of awe and terror in front of the judges.” It was an amazing launch pad, but as Brooke would discover, it wouldn’t be the last time she felt judged.
Lululemon jumper, Nagnata bodysuit and shorts, Haulier International mesh top worn underneath bodysuit.
BROOKE WOULD GO on to model for the next nine years. Now 32, she reflects on her twenties, explaining a sense of omnipresent pressure: to be at every casting, to be a different size. The commentary on her body, on how she looked, didn’t just skim the sides. She buried it, telling me today, “I stuffed it down where I don’t have to touch it”.
When pressed on the need to conform to an idealised, and often unrealistic, body size, Brooke recalls a pivotal moment in New York. She was with her mum, having already signed with an agency in London, and decided she’d leap over the pond to make a foray into the American market. Casting agents were flattering and honest. They mentioned she could work with the likes of Victoria’s Secret and Sports Illustrated, “You just need to lose a few inches off your waist.” She was 23 at the time, and following that fateful meeting, she marched over the road with her mum, straight into the welcoming bright lights of Shake Shack.
“Unfortunately, it’s the nature of the business,” she says “I was younger and had to really take those comments with a grain of salt. Casting agents, not booking you based on your size, not fitting their measurements, it was a shock in the early days and consequently I didn’t enjoy modelling.” But as she absorbed the slings and arrows of a cutthroat industry, Brooke discovered a sense of logic and defiance that would come to define her. “I told myself, ‘It’s okay if they don’t like me the way I am. Someone else will.’”
Ultimately Brooke wasn’t prepared to sacrifice things in her life that made her happy – wine, cheese, burgers among other things – and she worked very hard to retrain her brain. “Why put myself through the mental and physical battle?” she asks. And I don’t know about you, but that’s probably one of the most pointed and real responses I’ve heard on such a complex topic.
Canada Goose off white hooded jackets, Lululemon zip front Jacket, The Upside Crop top and leggings (worn under pants), New Balance track pants, Uniqlo socks, New Balance sneakers.
AT 28, BROOKE took her first step into the world of business apparel, creating Le Mon, a sustainable clothing and swimwear business. It ran for two years, and while not ultimately her bread and butter, the experience provided valuable lessons. “I made so many mistakes: I outsourced too early, I spent money to make money, I went too fast.” And what advice would she give other small business owners in those first test-and-try years? The opposite. “Just go slow. Get through those first 20-or-so months to make it to the other side. And in the wise words of my mum: they’re not mistakes, they’re learnings.”
Ultimately Brooke’s first business helped pave the way for her current one. Our Pilates, a co-owned online subscription Pilates app, really hits the sweet spot for Brooke in terms of connecting to women, supporting their bodies and showing them just how strong they can be. She especially delights in nurturing people mentally too, hoping to offer respite from the rigours of the rat race. But as much as it edifies her customers, Brooke’s business also offers a functional and creative outlet she has long craved. In fact, Our Pilates is due to open a brick-and-mortar studio in Sorrento shortly, fulfilling Brooke’s life-long dream of owning her own studio. At this point, we find it hard to resist going completely off-topic and discussing matte finish walls and herringbone flooring for the rest of the chat.
Haulier International cap and t-shirt, The Upside crop top, Moncler skirt.
Pilates, while the love of Brooke’s life (at least exercise-wise), isn’t the only form of movement that’s gripped her. Running, well, we’ll file that one under ‘it’s complicated’, though there’s been a real evolution of late. Initially Brooke saw pounding the pavement as functional – a tool to lose weight and placate agents. But in recent years it’s become something wholly more enjoyable. A place to meditate, to take a moment for herself, to limber up and feel that exquisite burn. She missed it while she was pregnant, but most of all during her IVF journey beforehand. And sadly, she couldn’t reach for that outlet when she perhaps needed it most of all.
Up There Athletics District Vision sunglasses, PE Nation jacket, MAAP cycling jersey, P.E Nation bike shorts, Up There Athletics Tracksmith running shorts.
WHEN ASKED ABOUT her and husband Myles’ IVF journey two words echo: “Billy’s here.” The business owner describes the overwhelming gratitude she feels now not only for “the very being of Billy” but also the science, the unwavering quiet optimism of Myles, friends and family, and, of course, her “IVF buddies”.
In the world of IVF, Brooke and Myles’ experience was a relatively short one – they tried for two years and undertook IVF for six months. Regardless, it was incredibly trying. It invaded Brooke’s every thought. She describes the inability to think of anything else, to go anywhere for fear of missed opportunities, to not be able to exercise the way you want or eat what you like. She felt as if she had failed at something. “I hated that I couldn’t give my husband a baby. Give myself a baby. And then you look around and you realise that so many other people are going through it, too.”
One of the hardest parts of struggling to conceive wasn’t the endless needles, surgeries and appointments, it was the absence of any clear explanation. No one could tell Brooke why, and they certainly couldn’t provide any definite answers. So, she went digging; endless forums, blood tests aplenty, alternate therapies. Any rock to turn over, she heaved up.
Seeing others go through the joy of conceiving in front of her was incredibly difficult. “You’re so happy for them, but there’s this guilt that you feel, and you’re asking yourself ‘Why am I holding back for them?’ Why don’t I want to go to this baby shower?’ And I learned a term, You can be unhappy for yourself, not unhappy for them. That helped. And I tried to stop hating myself for it.”
Advice she gives to those who have friends or family experiencing IVF: “You can’t say anything to make them feel better, and you’re not supposed to know. Just offer support, not solutions.”
Would she and Myles like more children? She laughs. “I’d like three, Myles is pretty adamant on two. Of course, if we can.” Brooke goes on to describe a bandana she bought on Etsy before the couple started trying to conceive. It reads, ‘I’m a big brother’ and was initially destined to be worn by their dog (a golden retriever) to herald the happy news. The bandana would sit in Brooke’s drawers for 12 months as the trials of the IVF journey made that scrap of fabric, and its triumphant message, redundant. There was no big reveal or bandana moment. “Perhaps Billy can wear that next time,” she says with an infectious smile.
Bondi Born one piece, The Upside t-shirt and track pant.
It’s clear from Brooke’s Insta account that social media is an important string in her varied bow. With around 640,000 followers on the platform, people are listening to what she has to say, and between parenting, business-ing and being, it’s an around-the-clock job. Keeping the noise out and retaining balance is key. When an opportunity, a sweet morsel of solitude presents, Brooke opts for a long evening shower, coating herself in her favourite Palmer’s Stretch Mark Lotion (a staple during her pregnancy, postpartum and beyond. “I can’t live without it,” she confesses), a morning workout at home in the living room, headphones and a stroll, and some centering, whenever and however.
But Brooke admits that stress inevitably slithers its way in, and when that happens, she asks herself three main questions: Why am I feeling this way? What am I doing too much of? What am I doing too little of?
Lacoste jacket and shirt, Lululemon crop tops.
What’s keeping her up at the moment? She lists her personal goals as if they’re constantly on the tip of her tongue: “To be a really present mum, a really present business partner, a really present friend, and a really present wife.” That’s a lot of ‘really’s and Brooke admits it’s a constant juggle. “I do what I can, when I can.” She’s self-aware enough to know those goals are just that, goals.
“I think it’s a good point to add that whatever your days consist of, finding the perfect balance is unachievable,” she says, “And I’m managing this mindset at the moment, reminding myself that getting it perfect is nearly impossible.” Her current mantra: just go with it. And throw in a Shake Shack burger whenever you want, too.
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