Michael Frank grew up in the Northwest, learning to ski, fish, hike, and be a car nerd as well. He took that knowledge to Colorado for college, then eventually to the Hudson Valley, where he still lives and avidly mountain bikes, climbs, skis (both skinny and wide), and rips around on motorcycles.
Besides these pursuits, Frank has cultivated an actual career as a journalist. During his tenure, Frank worked at outlets like Esquire and National Geographic Adventure, helping editorial teams win two National Magazine awards—one, respectively, at each. But his goal was always to get back into the outdoors, not drive a desk forever, and living outside New Paltz (a.k.a., The Gunks) has enabled a better work-life balance.
Frank has always had greasy fingernails working on and ripping on bicycles and motos and has a passion for just about anything with wheels. He’s been a full-time automotive editor and a part-time automotive journalist, as he is still, but he always mixes in gear of other varieties and more serious reporting, too, which he does these days, writing about sustainability and environmental concerns.
Number Of Products & Number Of Hours Expert Has Tested: 2,000+ products, 10,000+ hours
Career Highlights
Surviving a Gran Fondo in Italy with serious gastric distress—but somehow still not finishing DFL.
“Testing” ski gear above the Arctic Circle in northern Norway, which was really just about jumping from snow into a fjord or three and then immediately back into a sauna.
Interviewing Alex Honnold a few times for Adventure Journal; once about how he could be such an awesome climber and still eat like garbage.
Driving over 100 miles an hour over the course of five days for the Mille Miglia—a perfectly legal thing to do in Italy for no sane reason at all.
Writing about undocumented farmworkers in the Hudson Valley for the Atlantic in 2017.
Education & Certifications
Education: Bachelor, Humanities, University of Colorado; Master’s English Lit, American University
Years of Writing: 20+
Club or Association Memberships: Fats in the Cats Mountain Bike Group Board Member
Previous Publications: Adventure Journal, Coolhunting, PopMech, Bicycling, Gear Patrol, Consumer Reports, Inverse, Ars Technica, Forbes, Esquire… and many more…
A Word From Michael Frank
I got here by dumb luck. I was interning on the Hill in D.C. and one broiling summer night I had my camera on me when somehow, a giant stone fell into the lap of Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial. This was pre cellphone, so having my camera was key, because I caught the moment on film and the shot wound up on the cover of the Sunday Washington Post the next morning.
That was my “big break” into journalism—and my exit door from academia, thank heaven! Today what I love most about journalism is really talking to anyone from any walk of life. I love to know how people tick and where I can, to get that into stories. But I also love gear and the invention of it, and explaining to readers how it works and what separates “meh” from better-than-meh, and I genuinely enjoy working with other editors and writers as a team, to improve how we communicate and make something we can all be proud of.
Founded in 2001. 15,000 products reviewed. Live the outdoors.Founded in 2001. 15,000 products reviewed. Live the outdoors.Founded in 2001. 15,000 products reviewed. Live the outdoors.Founded in 2001. 15,000 products reviewed. Live the outdoors.
