by Clint Liquor
From the May 2005 issue of Prick Magazine.
You might remember Frankie Abernathy as the moody
punk rock chick from MTV's "Real World" San Diego.
It was a cast and season ago so let me refresh your
memory: She's the one that got so fed up with her roommates
and missed her boyfriend Dave so much she had to leave the
show. She cut herself intentionally with a kitchen knife and
shocked kids around the world to prove her pain. There was a lot
of drama that surrounded Frankie, but
that seems to be a prerequisite for
the MTV reality show.
Regardless, it made for compelling
TV watching.
You may also
remember her as the cast member with Cystic
Fibrosis, a genetic disease which leads to life-threatening
lung infections. Frankie is no victim,
though. In fact, she says her illness has never
really interfered with her daily life until she
turned 18. That was the first time she really
became sick.
Now 23, Frankie says she's grateful
that her mother "didn't make a big deal
about her condition when she was
younger. I think in a lot of ways it made
me live a normal life and not constantly
worrying about the things I couldn’t do,"
she says. It seems she gathers her
strength from her family and friends, and
it's one of the reasons leaving the show
made sense for her. She wanted to be back
with the people she loved. The average age of
survival for a person with CF is in the mid '30s
and Frankie is not wasting a moment of happiness.
(To find out more about CF, check out the Cystic Fibrosis
Foundation website www.cff.org)
Since her MTV debut, the aspiring star has been
hoping her 15 minutes of fame will open the right
doors for her. She's made a few appearances in the latest
DVD releases for Art Intensity Network and may
also make another appearance on MTV, but we'll have to
wait and see on that one. If nothing else, we know at least
one guy has gotten her autograph tattooed on his arm!
Frankie got her first tattoo at 18 on the nape of her neck, but she's been experimenting
with body modification since she was 14. She met her current boyfriend, Dr.
Dave, a tattoo artist from her hometown of Kansas City, when she was 16 while he
was working at an adult retail store.
Frankie, Sick J. (autograph recipient) and Dr. Dave
"He was punk rock and so cool," she says, the two later started dating. He is
the artist behind all her tattoos and she plans to get more ink eventually.
No matter what your take on Frankie's "Real World" days, off camera she is a
down to earth punk rock girl. She may be too punk for MTV, but she's just fine for
PRICK. Hanging out with Frankie and Dr. Dave was like
hanging out with old friends. Keep an eye out for the duo
as they make their way to more tattoo conventions,
working the circuit with the
Art Intensity Network.
