When Chad Brownlee arrived at Minnesota State in 2003 to play hockey, he was a sixth-round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks and hoped to carve out a career in the National Hockey League following college.
But the defenseman left Mankato with two surgically repaired shoulders and reinjured one of them during his first season of pro hockey in Idaho.
“I needed to play physical, and my strength was taken away from me,” he said. “It was tough. It took the wind out of my sails. I lost my love of the game, plain and simple.”
So like many athletes who see their playing days come to an end, Brownlee had to deal with moving on. He was a psychology major at Minnesota State Mankato, but he opted to pursue a different career, one that might be as difficult to break into as professional sports: the music industry.
“I just jumped onto another set of tracks,” he said.
Brownlee is now a budding country singer. He has written and recorded a few songs that can be heard on his MySpace page and one single, “The Best that I Can (Superhero),” that is available for purchase on iTunes.
That song is going up the country charts in Canada — Brownlee lives in Vancouver, British Columbia — and, as of Tuesday, Brownlee’s name was at No. 29, below big names such as Reba, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift and above stars like Brad Paisley, Keith Urban and Martina McBride.
For the complete Free Press story go to http://www.mankatofreepress.com/sportscolumnists/local_story_336004707.html
For more Free Press news go to www.mankatofreepress.com
Email this article | Permanent link | Topstories news | Topstories news archives
Minnesota State
University, Mankato
Mankato, MN 56001
1-800-722-0544
© 2005-2013 Minnesota State University, Mankato. Minnesota State University, Mankato is a member of
Minnesota State Colleges & Universities system and an affirmative action/equal opportunity university.
