Roger L Brooks

Roger Louis Brooks (born October 31, 1969) is an entrepreneur, sales executive, bestselling author, and podcaster who has had a successful business career in the customer loyalty and fintech (financial technology) industries; mainly helping startups and early stage organizations grow to high rate profitability. Brooks has been part of the leadership team(s) that includes three successful exits totaling more than $100MM in acquisitions. In addition, Brooks is best known as the founder of the American Real Publishing Company, the Bestseller Academy, and the host of American Real TV where he has interviewed over two-hundred fascinating people from around the world. He is a three-time bestselling author and was named one of the most impactful people on LinkedIn in 2021 and 2022, respectfully.
==Early life and education==
Brooks was born on Halloween (also known as All Hallows’ Eve, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints’ Day), and raised in Binghamton, New York, in an Italian-American, Catholic household with one older sister. His parents were his first example of a hard work ethic; his mother a full-time legal assistant, and his father a social worker and at one time worked four jobs to help make ends meet. As a young man, Brooks excelled in the sport of baseball at Binghamton High School in 1986 and 1987, and was part of the 1987 roster that won the New York State Division and Section IV titles. After high school, Brooks enrolled in Broome Community College as a student-athlete playing baseball for the Hornets in 1988 and 1989. While there, he majored in Liberal Arts and minored in Theatre and Communications where he became skilled at public speaking, video production, and editing. While pursuing his education, he worked part-time at the Little Theatre, where he gained valuable experience in stage production, ticket sales, marketing and business operations. 
After community college, Brooks chased his dream of playing Division I Collegiate Baseball at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. In the fall of 1990, he walked onto the Vikings roster as a relief pitcher. In the spring of 1991, head coach Jack Dunn called Brooks into his office releasing him from the team. He said, “Roger, we all have talents. Find your special talent and you will find happiness.” Brooks withdrew from college after his junior year to pursue his entrepreneurial career.
Brooks began studying the power of positive thinking after being highly influenced by several mentors and personal growth influencers such as Denis Waitley, Napoleon Hill and Earl Nightingale. At twenty-one, he became the youngest member of the Portland-Peninsula charter of Optimist International, a service club organization whose Members work each day to make the future brighter. Ever since, Brooks has lived by the Optimist Creed.
==Career==
Brooks began his entrepreneurial journey founding a clothing line, Roger Brooks Wear and RIP CITY T’s. While still a student at Portland State University, Brooks was threatened to be sued by the Portland Trailblazers over copyright infringement from a t-shirt design, RIP CITY USA. The design was carried by multiple retailers throughout Oregon and Washington. After public outrage in May 1991, the Portland Trailblazers relinquished their claims to the proclaimed trademark. Brooks then partnered with legendary NBA All-Star Clyde Drexler, managing Slamma Jamma Sports. There, Brooks created the DREXLER clothing line, a popular array of designs that was mass produced. After two years, Brooks took a position with Dina A Mate, Inc., a Binghamton, NY based company who produced high valued coupon books filled with merchant offers and were sold as a fundraiser by schools, non-profit organizations and civic groups. Brooks became the director of sales and marketing before the company sold to Cendant Corporation (NYSE:CD) in 1997.
In 2000, Brooks founded MovieClubOnline.com, an online membership club that offered discounts on movie tickets purchased in bulk quantities. The company had a successful run until it sold to Spun.com.
In 2006 and 2007, Brooks published a book series, Faces of the Southern Tier, which contained portraits and profiles of 50 fascinating subjects in each of the two volumes. The book honored people for their contributions to the community and the world.
In 2006, Brooks joined ValueCentric Marketing Group (VCMG) as its VP of sales and marketing. The company build a loyalty and rewards software platform and had key clients such as Saks Fifth Avenue, BP, Bank of Montreal, and FIS. In 2010, VCMG sold to FIS. Brooks wrote his first book, The Power of Loyalty (Entrepreneur Press: 2010), which he attributes to opening many doors for his future.
In 2017, Brooks founded American Real TV, a weekly podcast/ talk show featuring fascinating guests from around the world. Brooks debuted the show after graduating from the London Real Academy. His first interview was with his longtime friend and world renowned artist, Anthony Brunelli. Over the next few years, Brooks would interview over two-hundred guests and share their stories, including Guy Kawasaki, Ed Mylett, Brian Rose, Evan Carmichael, Jordan Harbinger, David Neagle and Jeffrey Gitomer.
In 2020, the American Real brand expanded to include the American Real Publishing Company and Bestseller Academy. Here, Brooks provides writing mentorship for aspiring authors and is one of the most sought after book writing coaches around the world because of his proprietary and easy-to-follow book-writing method. The company’s imprint, AR PRESS, has published over fifty titles and is home to dozens of bestselling authors. The company is one of the fastest growing publishing companies in America, disrupting the traditional publishing industry by providing stellar customer service, and outstanding editing and production services. The company’s key differentiator is that their authors retain 100% of their rights and royalties.
In 2022, Brooks joined Car IQ as director of merchant development. The company enables commercial vehicles to pay for fuel, EV charging, parking, tolls, maintenance, and insurance (among other items), while eliminating the need for a plastic card.
In 2024, Brooks joined Velocity Logic as a loyalty and payments advisor, contributing to the company's technology solutions and services for the convenience store and loyalty program industries.
Brooks is also a prolific author, drawing on his extensive experience in fintech, customer loyalty, and publishing. His debut book, The Power of Loyalty: 10 Essential Steps to Build a Successful Customer Loyalty Strategy (StartUp Series), was published in June 2010. He has since authored several other notable works, including The Power of Being Rich, How to Write a Book of Meaning in 10 Essential Steps, and Build The Best You, the latter of which became his first worldwide Amazon bestseller.
==Bibliography==
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==References==
==External links==
* American Real TV
* American Real Publishing
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Category:1969 births
Category:American entrepreneurs
Category:American business executives
Category:American authors
Category:American podcasters