"I had bought six pairs of Japanese-made drumsticks from a passing salesman. I didn’t remember who sold them to me, and I didn’t know what kind of wood they were made from. All I knew was that they were much better quality than domestic sticks."

He tracked down the manufacturers in Japan and started to send them US models but with strict intructions as to the changes he wanted. Soon Pro-Mark was born and Herb started selling the sticks to his students and to traveling drummers passing through Houston, before word spread and he sold them to drummers all over the world.

Pro-Mark, purchased by D'Addario in 2011, still operates as a family business based in Houston, Texas. The company exports to 110 countries around the world. Their products are endorsed by artists such as Phil Collins, Neil Peart, Simon Phillips, Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, Mike Portnoy and Dominic Howard.