Unique Personalities
By Ken Weingartner
The ‘Daredevil Real Estate Artist’
Frank McKinney looks like Fabio and sells his own action figure. But he’s also a real estate icon.
Frank McKinney wanted to grow up to be Evel Knievel, Willy Wonka, or Robin Hood. He managed to become a combination of all three. Known as a “daredevil real estate artist,” in large part because of his success in spectacular development, McKinney is also a “philanthrocapitalist,” five-time bestselling author, and competes in ultra-marathons.
“I decided that to live an extraordinary life I needed to avoid the ordinary,” says McKinney, who founded his real estate investment company at the age of 22 and has since created and sold three dozen oceanfront properties at an average price of $14 million. “At every turn, I’ve really tried to live that mantra.”
McKinney grew up in Indiana and was asked to leave three high schools before graduating with a 1.8 grade-point average. He moved to Florida at the age of 18 and soon realized he needed to redirect his energies if he wanted to be successful.
“There was no more calling mom or dad when I got into trouble,” says McKinney. “I had a tremendous amount of misguided adrenaline. I simply turned it from a counterproductive pursuit to a productive one. I still have that – not that it’s an adrenaline rush anymore; it might be more like an adrenaline drip. But it’s still there, and I satisfy it through my real estate artistry or my hobbies, like ultra-marathoning.
“I’m very keen to keeping it directed in a positive direction. If I’m not living up to my ideals or morals, I’m very quick to correct that. I may not appear it, but I’m really hyper-disciplined. I’m a nerd in sheep’s clothing. From an early age, I swore off all vices and unhealthy temptations. I’m a pretty boring person when it comes to that.”
McKinney recently completed the $22.9-million Acqua Liana, billed as the world’s largest and most opulent certified “green” mansion, in Palm Beach County, Florida. Meanwhile, his Caring House Project, which he started in 1998, builds self-sufficient villages in poverty-ridden countries around the world, most notably Haiti.
“On one hand, we build magnificent oceanfront homes, but I spend as much time over in Haiti,” says McKinney. “I live in both of those worlds on a weekly basis. To take the risks associated with living a full and balanced life, you have to take that paradoxical approach.”
For McKinney, risks lead to rewards.
“When life presents you with a change or challenge, you’re going to have the opportunity to take a risk,” says McKinney. “When you think about that risk, what happens? You have fear. And fear is only natural. What’s unnatural is constantly saying no to the risk. That’s where one’s life becomes mediocre and stagnates.
“Frank McKinney feels fear every day, but it doesn’t necessarily stop me from taking that risk that’s associated with change or challenge.”
Among the challenges has been competing in the Badwater Ultramarathon, which is held every July. The 135-mile test begins in Death Valley and goes through the Mojave and over three mountain ranges. Called the world’s toughest race by National Geographic, it must be finished in 60 hours to avoid disqualification. McKinney is one of 43 people to complete the race four times.
As an author, he has written five books that span genres from business to spiritual inspirations to young fiction.
And nearly 25 years after beginning his career in real estate, McKinney remains enthusiastic about his day job.
“In business today, it’s ingenuity and creativity that’s rewarded,” says McKinney. “I love the artistry associated with what I do. I create a three-dimensional piece of art that people can live in.”
-
Frank McKinney is participating in the Badwater 135-mile ultramarathon in Death Valley in July to raise money for his charity.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
No Small Change
Joan Thomson broke new ground with Waterfront Properties and Club Communities.
When Joan Thomson decided in 1986 to change the focus of her company to market only waterfront properties, she was uncertain she made the right move. It proved successful and revealed that after 17 years in the business she was unwilling to become stagnant.
“I think people tend to do something and keep on doing it whether or not it is the right thing at the time,” says Thomson, the broker/co-owner of Waterfront Properties and Club Communities in southeastern Florida. “I realized two years in a row we’d sold a lot of waterfront; maybe 70 to 80 percent of our sales were waterfront. Today, that doesn’t sound like a big decision. But back then, I don’t think anybody was doing anything like that because it entails turning away properties.
In May, Thomson received the Lifetime Achievement Award from LuxuryRealEstate.com. The mother of five children and former kindergarten teacher started her real estate career in 1969 and formed her own company in the early 1970s.
A few years after deciding to focus on waterfront, Thomson added club communities. Thomson and her agents represent only specific locations within the company’s 21-town coverage area —
another innovation.
“People talk about doing that type of thing, but rarely do they ever do it,” says Thomson. “When a buyer wants to see the kind of property you are marketing all the time, you already have all the information about the properties; you don’t have to go research anything. I never enjoyed doing last-minute research. It seemed like you weren’t really prepared.”
Today, the 77-year-old Thomson has four offices and more than 30 agents. Her son, Rob, is managing partner and received LuxuryRealEstate.com’s 2008 award for most innovative marketing initiative. Two of her grandchildren have joined the business as well.
“That’s nifty,” Thomson says of the family ties. “It makes it more enjoyable, very much so.”
- Joan Thomson shows no signs of slowing down, which is no surprise seeing as her mother, Esther, was active until the age of 100.
[...] Unique Personalities [...]