So Who Is This Guy?

March 26th, 2008 was going to be like every other Wednesday night. Up until that point, my Wednesday nights consisted of taping an installment of Tha O Show at Secret Suburbia Studios. It was the week of WrestleMania 24 in Orlando and our special guest that week was the legendary Brutus Beefcake.

Unfortunately, March 26, 2008 was going to be my last appearance on Tha O Show and it would begin my 21 month absence from the best radio show of its kind. How it happened, why it happened, and what has happened since then is something that I have been asked about frequently over the last several months.

Judging by the reaction I have received from many O-sters, I think it is only appropriate that I introduce (or reintroduce) myself to many of you. So, let’s get started.

To tell this story properly I really need to go back in time many years, 10 to be exact to 1999 when I was a 15-year old high school freshman. I had been a wrestling fan since childhood, really as long as I can remember. From the minute I had internet access all I wanted to do was read about the business, going to every wrestling news site you could think of.

1999 was the year I discovered Live Audio Wrestling. This wrestling radio show was hosted by Big Daddy Donnie and Jeff Marek, airing on a local sports radio station in Toronto. After tuning in one Saturday I was hooked and I even became a frequent caller into the show. It was through listening to The LAW that I became known to Big Daddy Donnie, even after he left the show to pursue other interests, we kept in touch and would talk wrestling on occasion.

I had always had the goal of joining a wrestling news site, but never thought I would ever get the chance. I had thought about starting my own news site, but never knew how to make it different from the other 1000 sites that were already out there. That would soon change.

In September of 2006, after reconnecting with Big Daddy Donnie, I was given the chance to join his new wrestling site, Tha O Show. I began as a regular columnist and was happy being a contributor to the site while still finishing school. The site quickly gained in popularity and by February of 2007, both Big Daddy Donnie and Dan-e-o decided to add a weekly audio component to the site.

This was not the first time the site experimented with an audio feature. For the several months prior, Tha O Show had conducted many audio interviews with stars such as DDP, Steve Corino, and a groundbreaking interview with Kanyon. The Kanyon interview helped put Tha O Show on the map as it was in that interview Kanyon spoke candidly about a conversation he had with Bret Hart about the 1997 screw job in Montreal. His comments during that interview became a major news story, being covered in every wrestling newsletter and web site on the internet.

I was originally asked to join the weekly radio show in a 3rd chair capacity. I would have a weekly segment on the show and would also sit in "Tha Round Table". Having been trained in theatre I thought radio would be an easy transition. I soon realized I was dead wrong.

After about 4 instalments of my weekly “rant” I realized I was not getting over and my segment was among the worst on the show every week. At the risk of losing my dream job I knew I needed a change. I realized that I needed to be more of myself and not portray a character that was very different from whom I was.

The segment was soon dropped but I retained my role in "Tha Round Table" segment. My role off air also changed as I was given the title of Associate Producer where I was in charge of producing news segments and booking guests.

The major turning point for my role on the show came in August of 2007 when I presented the guys with an idea. After having struggled with my weight for the last several years I knew I needed a change. I knew that if I had a weekly radio show to hold me accountable, I would lose the weight successfully. With that came the “Frank Fronte Weight Loss Gimmick.”

The concept was simple; I had 4 months to lose 40Lbs. If I was unsuccessful I would need to legally change my name to "Fatty" and wear a dress to every O Show appearance in 2008. The weekly segment became a favourite among many and garnered so much hype that the blow-off show was the most listened to edition of Tha O Show ever up until that point.

Unfortunately, it was during this time where I began to have a great deal of change in my personal life. After having moved cities, struggling with personal relationships, and going through major career changes, I began to lose focus and was not 100% committed to Tha O Show. My responsibilities on the show as Associate Producer began to take a backseat to many other issues in my life to where I began to resent the job and would be just as happy to quit.

Not speaking to Donnie or Dan-e-o about this made things worse. After losing the “Weight Loss Gimmick” and having my responsibilities of Associate Producer be divided up between Donnie and others, I was at a point where I was mentally done with the show. For the 3 months before my departure I stopped watching wrestling, reading news, and was slowly divorcing myself from Tha O Show.

My relationship with Donnie and Dan-e-o got worse and reached a point where a major fight between us on March 26th, 2008 signalled my end. At the time it was a sense of relief. I didn’t want to be on the show anymore and wanted nothing to do with wrestling.

As soon as I left there were rumours as to why I left and where I was going. The most popular rumour was that I was going to become the new co-host of Live Audio Wrestling with John Pollock. Needless to say, that never happened and to be honest, I have no idea how that rumour started. Though I have spoken to members of The LAW in the past, it was never to join the show. To be very honest, I was looking at having no involvement with wrestling at all.

However, in the months that followed I began to feel terrible for how things ended and felt that I needed to make right to the men who gave me my start in wrestling. The fact was, my departure from the show was entirely my fault as I let issues in my personal life affect my responsibilities on Tha O Show. Struggling with this guilt, I was not sure the best way of going about extending the olive branch.

As time went on I soon realized that I loved wrestling way too much to not be involved in it. I began to watch and keep up with news more frequently and also began to listen to Tha O Show once again. Issues in my personal life were never better as I began working in the golf industry, my other love, and also began running to lose the extra weight. I recently ran a Half Marathon and will be competing in a full Marathon next year.

The idea of coming back as a permanent member of the family never entered into my head. My goal was to make an appearance on the show, shake hands, make amends, and move on. Having said that, this truly is what I was meant to do. Being in the studio once again last week was so special and it made me realize the opportunity I had squandered 21 months prior.

Having done a lot of growing up, I realized just how selfish I was in my past mistakes and know that I was wrong. I am a man who believes in second chances and am thankful that he has been given one.

Happy Holidays to the Nation of O and watch out for F’n Frank Fronte in 2010.

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