Meet The Ball Man of Prospect Park

If you run, walk, bike around the Prospect Park loop on the regular, you may have encountered the Ball Man. While almost everybody else is following the unwritten rule of running/walking/biking counter-clockwise, the Ball Man defies conformity, kicking his big ball in the "wrong direction." FIPS reader Blake Eskin took some time to get to know the Ball Man:

Day after day, like Sisyphus, he rolls, tosses, and kicks a large playground ball around — and occasionally across — the Loop Road. The dark-red ball introduces more entropy into the early-morning exercise ecosystem than any of the other clockwise guys, and it elicits stronger reactions, including rage from runners who break their gait and cyclists concerned about a potential accident.

Ball Man’s name is Camilo Brooks, and he is a licensed massage therapist. Before that, he worked in insurance. Camilo says he goes clockwise not to draw attention to himself, but because it’s safer. Like a bicyclist on a country road, he can watch out for oncoming traffic. Camilo worries about accidents. On his way to the park, he envisions horrible collisions, blood on the ground. He uses his knowledge of the terrain to minimize risk, but “anyone is capable of an errant throw,” he says, “especially when you're not used to the ball.” A situation Camilo may recognize as harmless might unnerve a cyclist, or a good Samaritan could make things worse. When he finishes his workout and leaves the park, he thanks God that nobody got hurt.

Eskin asked Ball Man if he could join him on one of his daily jaunts, and got to see first-hand how people react to seeing a grown man kicking a giant ball around:

Neighbors, friends from church, park employees, a former colleague, and strangers said good morning, and a few remarked on his having company. A couple of pedestrians, thinking he’d lost his ball, picked it up and gave it back to him. A speedy cyclist in racing Spandex yells, “Hey Mister Big Ball Man, stay out of the road!”

Have you seen Camilo kicking his ball around the loop?

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