Now 49, the lifelong transportation enthusiast, writer, photographer and publisher has returned to Owls Head as Executive Director of Owls Head Transportation Museum. Rocknak succeeds Charles Chiarchiaro, who spent 36 years at the helm of OHTM.
Rocknak credits his father’s passion for automobiles as the original catalyst for his own lifelong love of cars.
“My dad has been a very big influence in my life,” he said. He recalls a memorable ride in the back of a 1958 Aston Martin DB Mark III that his father purchased when he was a young boy.
“He turned around, and apparently I was grinning like the joker; I’ve never really been the same,” Rocknak explained. His father gave him a 1929 woody wagon when he was just six years old, and while Rocknak has bought and sold many vehicles since he still has that wagon, which is in running condition.
Rocknak’s family moved from Toms River, New Jersey to Jefferson, Maine in 1972, and his parents now reside in Lincolnville.
After studying graphic design at Portland School of Art, Rocknak began his career at a small advertising firm. In 1988—at the age of just 25—he was tapped to spearhead the revival of the then Massachusetts-based luxury lifestyle publication Robb Report, where he worked for 14 years.
During his tenure with Robb Report Rocknak took his passion for automobiles to an elevated level, traveling the world over to test drive and write about luxury automobiles. He developed enduring relationships with some of the worldwide automotive community’s most influential personalities, including renowned collectors, designers and drivers.
“The common denominator is always automobiles,” Rocknak explained regarding building relationships in the automotive community.
From driving a 1929 Bugatti at speeds over 100 mph along a country road in England to racing with Paul Newman at Lime Rock in Lakeville, Connecticut, Rocknak’s experiences in the automotive world are as diverse as they are exciting.
“It’s one of those checked boxes in your life,” he said of driving the ’29 Bugatti. He makes that particular reference often as he recalls the numerous stories that color his experiences in the international automotive community, including driving on the famed Nürburgring Racetrack in Nürburg, Germany, attending the Mille Miglia rally race and road testing a plethora of exclusive vehicles, including numerous rare Ferrari models.
After leaving Robb Report in 2001, Rocknak spent several years in the world of corporate internal advertising in Boston, but despite his career change his passion for cars was never completely tabled.
“The common theme was that I had been around the world, and everyone kept talking about New England; it was a continuing theme,” he said. During his foray into the corporate world, a plan began to materialize.
“I wanted to put together a magazine that celebrates the New England automotive community,” Rocknak explained. After running the idea by a few respected friends in the automobile world he decided to see his vision to fruition, publishing a model version of his magazine.
After sharing that model edition with industry friends, Rocknak said he received an overwhelmingly positive response. Several of those friends volunteered to be interviewed for future editions of the publication, and the first issue of the bi-monthly Mesh New England magazine—the hub of the New England’s car community—debuted in 2011.
Rocknak has continued to build Mesh New England organically, attracting subscribers hailing from the world over. The publication has a niche following and is not sold on newsstands, he said.
As Executive Director of Owls Head Transportation Museum, Rocknak said he reflects on his own life-changing experience of visiting the museum as a boy.
“I want [visiting OHTM] to be a take-home experience for any kid, or adult for that matter, not a static experience; everything here is happiest in motion,” he said.
Rocknak plans to bring some of the gems of the museum collection to a variety of regional car shows this year, including Misselwood Concours d’Elegance in July, the Boston Cup in September and the British Invasion, also in September.
“To come back [to OHTM] as Executive Director, it seems like I’ve come full circle; I can take all of [my] experience and fold it into the mix,” he said.
Photo caption: Owls Head Transportation Museum Executive Director Russ Rocknak pictured with an array of examples from the museum collection. Clockwise from back: 1929 Pitcairn Sport Mailwing PA-7 aircraft, 1932 Harley Davidson model V motorcycle, 1880s bicycle, 1907 Renault Vanderbilt Racer and 1932 Ford/ Cragar Racer.
Owls Head Transportation Museum is open daily, year round, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
No comments:
Post a Comment