Hello Brooklyn #11 - Rock Made That

Wager your bets, if you will, on a helmet. 

A helmet that can all at once provide you: central air, music, entertainment, and garner you serious style cred. That is, of course, if you have the confidence to wear it. 

Somewhere between Daft Punk and virtual reality, is Rouark Alexander's Rock Made That  computer screen helmets. The not so secret, secret braggart-worthy moniker of his future forward helmet LLC.

The only secret? Rock himself.  At the beginning of this interview, he insisted we not reveal his face. So, there in his backyard, we sat; his awesome invention on his head; Moonboots crossed casually. Muffled speech and a helmet screen between us.

"Part of the mystery", he said. 

#1 In a professional sense, what do you call yourself? I can imagine announcing your job title makes for interesting dinner conversation.

I've heard the term visionary a lot. I don't like to toot my own horn though.

#2 How long does it take to make a helmet? What's the process?

At first it used to take me 30 to 40 hours to make one. Now I've got it down to about 20. The more I make them, the better I get. It begins with a light material. I design the shape. There’s not lots of different components. It's all one piece. The outside material is vinyl. It can come in any color. I do all the electric work and the wiring, and the circulation system. The unit itself is a light foam board. Then you have the LED's of course. The screen is a mirror film. 

#3 How do you see?

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I get that question a lot. How do you see? How do you hear? You can’t see my face at all, but I can see you clearly. It’s a one-way mirror.

#4 And so, you like that anonymity?

If I had it my way, my face would never be seen.

#5 What’s the experience like inside the helmet?

I always ask people if they’re claustrophobic. It does kind of feel like you’re in an enclosed space. But there’s a Bluetooth speaker and camera inside that hook up to your phone.  

#6 In your site's bio, you talked about the varying reactions from the public towards your helmets? Why do you think people react so strongly?

As humans, we’re so used to, upon first contact, seeing someone’s face. So not seeing a face, when clearly a face should be there, it’s kind of trippy. I’ve had people run away from me in terror— people laughing hysterically. One time I walked on a train and one girl saw me and ran off the train. The train doors closed and she took off. 

#7 Who wears your helmets? And what is their purpose for wearing them?

Very few people have their own. Only a handful of people. At the moment, it’s pretty much me. There are so many uses for it. It could be a Halloween costume, which was my original idea. I’ve done some modeling with it for photoshoots. I’ve heard people say this would be crazy at a rave. A whole host of things can be done with it. I think I’m just scratching the surface. 

#8 What place do you feel your products have in the marketplace? What marketplace would that be?

I would like to tap into fashion and collaborate with a clothing line. I could also see DJ’s wearing this. 

#9 What is the future for your helmets? Do you think there is a future for them?

These versions are the initial versions. I’m going to keep on evolving it and making them better.

#10 How does living and working in Brooklyn help foster your creativity?

Brooklyn is the place to be if you want to do things like this. If I was living in rural backwater middle of nowhere, I wouldn’t get the exposure and be seen as much as I would like to. Being surrounded by other creative people also helps. It inspires me. I’ve been here all my life.   

Image Credit courtesy of @rockmadethat/Amel Ibrisimovic