Frankie milestone
Cape Breton YouTube star posted first video 10 years ago
SYDNEY — Frankie MacDonald might be known for his catchphrase “be prepared” but the Whitney Pier weather forecaster never predicted he would become a bona fide internet sensation.
Earlier this month, MacDonald celebrated the 10th anniversary of the first video he posted on his eponymous YouTube channel.
“I got 265,000 subscribers as of right now. I got over 40 million views since June 13, 2011,” said the 37-year-old, who has 140,000 followers on Twitter and another 76,000 on Facebook, making him one of the most famous amateur meteorologists in the world.
MacDonald, who has autism, also has his own bobblehead doll, a line of “Frankie Says Be Prepared” T-shirts, and he even authored a book, “Be Prepared: The Frankie MacDonald Guide to Life, the Weather, and Everything.”
While he would later gain fame for his exuberant weather reports, MacDonald's original video doesn't feature any of his beloved booming commentary. In fact, the only sounds you hear are vehicles driving by and MacDonald's foots films of a downtown Sydney street above the description: “They Haven't Done a work on Townsend street for a long time and This Street is in bad shape and they never paved that part of Townsend Street for a long time now.”
However, MacDonald would soon find his voice — and a fervent fanbase that leaps to his defence whenever commenters take shots at him.
FAMOUS FORECASTS
MacDonald said he has always been fascinated by the weather and studies weather models from across the world to produce his entertaining — and typically accurate — forecasts.
“I get a great reaction," he said. "A lot of people like my weather reports and things like that. Especially ‘Massive Earthquake Hitting New Zealand Anytime Soon' — I got it right. I did a video Friday, Oct. 21, 2016, and then on Nov. 14, 2016, my prediction was right. A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit New Zealand and so many people in New Zealand watch my videos.”
However, MacDonald doesn't just make videos about impending snowstorms and natural disasters. He also enjoys posting clips in which he acts out various scenarios, whether he's being chased by foxes, acts like a gorilla or pretends to be a vampire.
In fact, his most popular video is titled, “Guy Tries to Eat 50 Hot Dogs at Once.” It has garnered 1.7 million views.
“I taught myself,” he replied when asked if he has taken any improv or acting classes.
And MacDonald doesn't plan to stop making videos anytime soon.
“I'll still be doing videos for a while yet,” he said.
“One of these days, some news station from around the world, some international news station, will probably pick up my video. We don't know yet.”