Franky brings an awesome vibe of love and light
Franky So is a cult figure in Alice Springs. Nearly everyone knows Franky! And everyone who does know him, loves him. Read his story.
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FRANKY So is a cult figure in Alice Springs. Nearly everyone knows Franky! And everyone who does know him, loves him.
‘Franky the cameraman from Bellette’ has been a witness to history for the best part of the past two decades in our town.
He’s been there helping to bring local businesses advertising messages to life, and worked hand-in-hand with major TV networks from the East Coast, capturing the action when the big news came to Alice.
Most of all, Franky brings an awesome vibe of love and light.
In 2012, Franky volunteered his time for an event at Kmart, to help raise money and awareness for the Christmas Wishing Tree initiative.
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He dressed-up as Psy, the popstar who had the mega-hit song of that year, Gangnam Style. The song was popular, the accompanying dance moves were iconic.
Franky led a group of hundreds of kids on the shop floor of Kmart in a rendition of Gangnam Style, complete with all the dance moves! The kids were in awe. Franky brought so much joy to those kids, as they did to him.
A couple months earlier, he danced Gangnam Style with Olympic immortal Cathy Freeman during a radio interview.
After 16 years, Franky is about to leave Alice.
So let’s take this moment to celebrate his life, recognise his contribution to the town, and send him off with great salutations, as Franky So embarks on the next chapter of a life of epic adventure.
A life that began in his hometown of Hong Kong.
“The apartment we lived in was a really old one. There was no lift, because at that time, they were very expensive. It was a 15 storey building and everyone had to take the stairs! We lived on the fifth floor,” Franky told the NT News.
“I loved collecting stamps, they were the old stamps before the hand over of Hong Kong from the British. So they still had Queen Elizabeth on them. They cost quite a bit these days.”
Franky’s time at school was not such a pleasant one, but it helped make him into the strong man he is today.
“I didn’t really enjoy school. The bullying was quite serious at that time, but I handled it pretty well. It helped build my personal characteristics, and I was OK to be alone or single. That helped for me to cope when I first moved to Alice,” he said.
“Now I am pretty picky about who I become friends with – it’s about quality, not quantity!”
Franky did an art diploma course, specialising in desktop publishing and computerised printing. This was at the end of the 90s, and right on the IT boom.”
He won an exclusive job at a printing company, after impressing in an interview process that involved all of the graduating students.
In 2000, the dawn of a new millennium saw Franky pack his bags and move to Australia.
He was following in the footsteps of his older brother Raymond, who was already based in Brisbane.
“When I first came to Australia, I quite liked it! I did miss the people at home, my friends and also the food! But I knew coming here would allow me to build my own personal life,” he said.
“I could have my own place. That’s something I could not achieve in Hong Kong, because it’s so expensive. I could have my own car, my own family.
“I did a Bachelor of Multimedia at Griffith University in Brisbane. I have a lot of good memories. Staying back overnight at Uni and doing group assignments, and I met a lot of my Hong Kong friends there.
“I stayed with a Chinese family in the suburb of Runcorn. They were great. They taught me how to speak Mandarin. Because growing up in Hong Kong, we spoke Cantonese.
“Then I did a Master of Arts in Media Production. I did the summer course so that I could finish it in 18 months instead of two years.
“Then I started applying for jobs everywhere, I didn’t even look where the job was. I sent 20-30 resumes across the country for an editor/camera operator position. Then I heard from Bellette in Alice Springs.
“I had a phone interview with Kate Bellette. It was in the middle of the day, when I was at my part-time job. This was before mobile phones. So I had to do the interview on a Pay Phone next to the main street. It was so noisy. All the traffic!”
Evidently, the interview went well, because next Franky was packing his bags and moving to Alice Springs.
“I really appreciate Brad and Kate Bellette so much for giving me that opportunity. They have helped me so much over the past 16 years, beyond just the relationship of employment, they are my really good friends. I will always keep in contact with them,” he said.
While Franky hit it off straight away with Brad and Kate, it was a different story with their pet dog, Bear.
Bear has been immortalised as the Bellette company logo, and despite being a relatively small pooch- a beautiful Jack Russell Terrier- he might as well have been a Saber Tooth Tiger, as far as Franky was concerned.
“On my first day, I chatted to all my colleagues, then quickly went to my office and shut the door, to keep Bear out. I was really scared of dogs. No matter what size,” he said.
“But after years of Bear barking at me, then licking me, then following me, sitting next to me, begging for some food, eventually Bear fixed me, and I’m no longer scared of dogs.”
In 2008, Franky became a true blue, fair dinkum Aussie!
“Getting my Australian Citizenship was a really proud moment! I was really happy, it was a huge step- finally I could say, ‘I’m Australian’. I was really proud,” he said.
“Alice Springs has brought me quite a lot of things- my driver’s license, my first home, my first job in Australia and my citizenship.
“I have so many good memories in Alice. I love going out camping in winter, especially during Finke. Going out driving, the scenery, stargazing at night. I love the people here, they are really helpful and really nice.
“I loved working at Bellette with all the different clients. All the local businesses, and then also big companies like Sony Australia and QANTAS. It was the best job!
“Brad is always buying new equipment too, so I could learn a lot and use the latest. And I was able to travel out bush to remote communities, and then across the major capital cities for work.”
Franky’s family is very dear to him, and he’s suffered more than his fair share of loss, with both his Mum, Grace, and brother Raymond tragically passing away within a year of each other.
But their legacy lives on inside of Franky.
“My Mum really encouraged me and my brothers to move to Australia, to really develop ourselves overseas,” he said.
“I would go home to Hong Kong twice a year. When I would leave, Mum would always say ‘Don’t worry, I won’t miss you’, but she was crying, and you could tell she really does miss us, but she didn’t want us to worry about that.”
Franky’s Dad Tommy has been a successful businessman in Hong Kong, owning restaurants and bars, and has been a constant source of inspiration and friendship for Franky.
“He taught me a lot about business, and contracts and dealing with people,” he said.
“We love sharing time together, having ‘Men’s chats’. We share personal things, no barriers, just like friends.”
Franky and his late brother Raymond “both loved computers. We’d go computer shopping together, even window shopping and have ‘Men’s chats’ as well.
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“At my Mum’s funeral, Raymond said to think about it like Mum is going away to Heaven for a banquet. She has just gone first to set-up the table for the rest of us, then one day we will all go there and stay together forever,” he said.
Raymond’s surviving wife May lives in Brisbane with their beautiful little children, Sonia and Ryan.
Uncle Franky says “I love those kids! They are so energetic and active and have very good minds as well.”
Franky says his surviving brother Vincent “taught me a lot about my emotions and feelings, he is sensitive and Raymond was practical, and they both help me to have a wider mindset when making decisions.”
Franky will soon leave town, and handover his Presidency of the Central Australian Aviation Museum- another great passion and hobby.
Franky is 41, and still doesn’t look a day over 30. He dreams of starting a family and landing a dream job at SBS in either Melbourne or Sydney.
Franky, you’ve got the whole of Alice Springs’ community in your corner, mate, and we can’t wait to see what you do next.
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