Rensselaer Magazine: Sultan of Stuff, Marshall Brain ’83 (page 4)

For Brain, the evolution and growth of his company keeps confounding his expectations. “It’s amazing to me how well the whole idea of ‘how stuff works’ works in all these different mediums.”

These days, Brain is doing real-life research into “How Twins Work.” In early April his wife gave birth to twin boys, who join the Brains’ other two children ages 4 and 2.

“I haven’t gotten a lot of sleep lately,” says the proud but overwhelmed father. “ ‘How Twins Work’ seems like a logical article to be working on but now I’m just trying to get over the shock,” he says with a chuckle. “The twins have strong lungs and good endurance at night.”

Meanwhile Brain continues to expand the HowStuffWorks franchise. This fall, he will host “HowStuffWorks at the Movies” on TBS Superstation. Based on the network’s popular “Dinner and a Movie” feature, the show will wrap a movie in hosted segments that demonstrate how things work.

Brain will explain everything from common items such as an alarm clock to how Hollywood creates special effects. He’ll appear during the broadcast of about 40 movies on the network over the course of a year. Brain is excited about this newest deal with the cable network and the opportunity to explain how stuff works to an even larger audience.

For Brain, the evolution and growth of his company keeps confounding his expectations. “It’s amazing to me how well the whole idea of ‘how stuff works’ works in all these different mediums,” he says. A series of home videos on topics such as “How engines work,” for example, is yet another project under way. While he prefers not to speculate on the future of the company—“you never know what will happen down the road”—he continues to explore other possibilities for TV, radio, and even for large arena events, anywhere the “how stuff works” concept might take hold.

“One bit of advice I wish I had gotten in college is to take business classes. I should have gotten an MBA or minored in business,” Brain says. “You often end up doing something with your life you didn’t train for.” But Brain seems to know how business works just fine.

Rensselaer Magazine: June 2002
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