Soap opera is no Mean existence
Brooks dealing with upheaval of a new legal battle over old issues
A WEEK ago Neil Brooks’s Instagram page was a place of inspiration, motivation and perspiration as he worked towards another gruelling halfironman, this time on the southeast coast of China.
Then the former Olympian’s wife was arrested and he was forced to use the social media platform to defend their reputations – again.
“Been a tough couple of days but we’ve been there before and we will keep fighting to prove and show just how wrong they have this barbaric story,” Brooks posted two days after police confirmed a warrant had been issued for him over an alleged $1.95 million fraud almost a decade ago.
“Once again thanks for all the love and support from those who count and are important in our lives. I feel numb but always manage a smile when I’m in my peaceful place in a swimming pool.”
His hashtag of choice – #notguilty.
Whether that’s true will ultimately be determined by others but what is certain for now is the former Aussie sporting great is yet again in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Since finding fame as a member of the Mean Machine – the men’s 4x100m freestyle team that claimed gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics – Brooks has been suspended as an athlete, sacked as a TV presenter and battled demons as an alcoholic.
However, it is he and his wife’s business dealings that have arguably caused him the most headaches since setting up home at Hope Island in the early 2000s.
“The perception of being a fraud – albeit not true – is really difficult to live with,” Brooks said in 2013. “It hangs over my head every day like the toxic cloud that it is.”
THE LOWS
Linda Brooks, who appeared on TV’s The Mole and is known as Elle these days, was arrested last Friday after flying into Perth from Bali.
Charged with one count of serious fraud related to an alleged 2008 offence, Queensland Police said: “It will be alleged (she) was a director of a sports clothing manufacturing company who, along with other directors, made dishonest representations about the success of the business in order to induce a victim to purchase a 50 per cent share of the company.”
The 45-year-old will appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court next month. Whether her 55-year-old husband will be there – let alone in the country – remains to be seen.
Since leaving the Gold Coast in 2010 after a multimillion-dollar business collapse resulted in allegations of fraud, counter fraud and threats of violence, the Brookses have lived the life of Aussie expats.
An initial stint in France was followed by a move to England where Brooks claimed he busked on the streets of London to try to earn a living.
When he returned to Australia in 2013, it was to sue Channel Nine’s A Current Affair for defamation over stories it ran on his business collapse that the broadcasting watchdog had found breached accuracy, privacy and complaints-handling codes.
“I’d give my medals away in a second just so I can walk down the street and say ‘Hi, I’m Neil Brooks’ and not have people look at me like I have