Dinner With Frank Shamrock At The Grand Bohemian

A few weeks ago, I received a phone call from my good friend Frank Shamrock.

“The Legend” said he was going to be in Orlando, Florida during the third week of September and wanted to get together for dinner.

Frank was coming to town from California to meet with the company that’s producing his video game due out in 2010, as well as to do a book signing for his wildly popular MMA For Dummies book.

I willingly accepted Frank’s gracious invite and made the trek to Orlando with my wife and son.  Anja, Austin and I met up with Frank at the luxurious Grand Bohemian hotel where he was lodging.

This place was fancy-shmancy to say the least.

The hotel comes complete with an extensive art gallery, 19th-century Viennese elegance, velvet accoutrements, fine sculptures decorating the halls and a very rare Imperial Grand Bosendorfer Piano that was clearly the hotel’s pride and joy. Only three such pianos exist in the world today.

Now, I could write an entire book about the many interesting topics that Frank and I discussed that evening. Man, the hours just flew by.

But one thing that I would like to mention here is that Frank Shamrock is still as entrepreneurial as he ever was. That one characteristic has always impressed me about Frank Shamrock and always made me respect him even further.

Frank is far from your typical “fighter.”

Outside of the ring, he’s a lot like a George Foreman and absolutely nothing like a Mike Tyson. Frank is sharp! He’s a big thinker. And he’s always been a total class act. A real professional and a real gentleman.

So what do I mean when I suggest that Frank is entrepreneurial?

For starters, the sales numbers of his MMA for Dummies book made me raise my eyebrows, as I leaned forward in my chair.  ‘How many a month?’ I asked.

As I mentioned, he has his own MMA video game on the launching pad. Action figures are also in the works. How cool is that?

He’s about to begin getting ready for his next big MMA fight in December, at which point he’ll spend three solid months training full time like a total beast. (Opponent be scared…be VERY scared.)

He’s in the process of putting together a very unique jewelry line, inspired by the titanium plate that was removed from his broken arm that resulted from his recent Cung Le fight. Interesting.

His Frank Shamrock Tapout T-Shirt is selling like hotcakes. (I had no idea a T-shirt could be that lucrative.)

He’s a highly regarded commentator for CBS/Showtime and continues to receive opportunities to appear in various movies.

Frank is working with a writer, who has six best sellers under his belt, to create Frank’s much anticipated autobiography, due out in 2010. (Can’t wait to get a copy of that and I’ll do a review right here in this blog for you.)

And, Frank has a huge and value-packed vision that incorporates all kinds of ideas that will help “give back” to the martial arts industry, for which he is extremely grateful.

In fact, Frank and I explored a number of creative concepts centered upon how I might become a part of this vision for the martial arts industry, which was a real honor. At this stage, everything is purely exploratory. We shall see.

Entrepreneurial? This is the tip of the iceberg. I’m just touching upon the highlights…

Let me conclude by saying that I’m so happy that Frank Shamrock is doing so well.  I love it when one of the good guys makes it big.

Me, Anja and Austin wish “The Legend” continued success in all of his many ventures…for many, many years to come.

(To learn more about Frank Shamrock, please visit frankshamrock.com.)