06/19/2026
Frank has been skating for over 49 years, and a full-time coach for 32. "It all began with a surprise ice skating party (at Winterhurst) in celebration of my 6th birthday. My late mom arranged a small gathering with several of my friends, complete with free rental skates, and a candle-lit birthday cake which was placed on a table in the center of Rink 2. I recall my mom walking me to the edge of the ice and saying, 'Go get your cake!' The next thing I knew, I had walked out to the table and began to eat it with my bare hands (rink staff forgot silverware)! My friends couldn't make it more than a few steps without falling, so the rink aides slid them out on a large bench to sing me Happy Birthday. My mom would tell her friends that I was born to skate. I tell everyone that I was just hungry! My last competition was at the 2024 Adult Championships where I competed in Masters Emotional Showcase (2nd) and Centennial Dance (4th) with the incredible force known as June Smith! But the medal that I am most known for is a shiny, shared bronze from the 1993 US National Championships in Arizona, where my former partner Tiffani Tucker and I proudly became the first Black ice dance team in history to capture a National title (3rd place) and stand on the podium of champions! Other proud moments include when I skated in both Opening and Closing Ceremonies at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City in front of billions worldwide. The Olympics was an experience with an electricity like no other before or since. It was a pretty proud moment to hear my mom say 'You've just changed our family tree; we've never had an Olympian... Until you.' But the sweetest is going to my mailbox and seeing Tiffani Tucker and myself on the front cover of the February 2020 issue of SKATING Magazine in honor of Black History Month!! Never in my wildest dreams did I consider how validating it is to be recognized. There is incredible power in acceptance; it can awaken, enrich, and energize others to rise and to thrive while encouraging those who are new to the sport to have a strong voice, a solid purpose, and a hunger to never stop learning. My home rink is Winterhurst (where my ever-growing LTS program is based), but I am also on staff at Brooklyn FSC, Pavilion Skating Club of Cleveland Heights, N. Olmsted Recreation Center, and the Cleveland Skating Club. My mom would say, 'Get Up, Dress Up, and Show Up,' and I always like giving that advice to my students. I've known for some time that I am the first, the last, and the only of my unique species (as we all are), and therefore on the endangered list since Day 1. So whenever I'm asked why I skate, I always answer, 'Why do I breathe?' Embrace your uniqueness. love always, in all ways. Stay mighty. There's absolutely nothing wrong with being a deep and gorgeous rocker choctaw twizzle in a world of quads!"
Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze Photography/U.S. Figure Skating.
