My Throwback Interview With a Former Nazi Skinhead (Patreon)

During Summer of 2014 I read a book called "The Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead" and reached out to the author, Frank Meeink, for an interview. You can read it below.

ts a regular night for me when I receive my Skype call from Frank Meeink. Before we connected, I was a bundle of nerves. What in the hell kind of conversation was I about to have with a former Nazi skinhead? Sure, I had read his book and watched a few of his interviews- but a little voice inside of my head told me to be fearful and nervous. It's a good thing that fear and nerves had never stopped me before, because the next 35 minutes would be a fascinating insight on racism, race relations, and addiction. At the age of 14, Frank Meeink became a nazi Skinhead. He devoured the teachings of his organization, who preached hatred of Jews, blacks, Muslims, and just about any other non-hetero white-male group on the face of the planet. In his book, he chronicled his beginnings into the world of hatred. Oddly enough, he didn't grow up harboring hatred for black people at all- in fact, he regularly interacted with them. "I had somewhat good interactions with some of the black kids in my moms neighborhood. I played against them in football so they always had respect for me because I was one of the better athletes." This would change when he was kicked out of his stepfather's abusive household and was sent to live with his father. His new school, called Pepper, was much different. It was a "really rough school in the middle of the projects", where everyday was a battle. "Me and the other white kids- we got off the trolley everyday and would say 1-2-3 GO! Like it was a game." They would run through the projects to their middle school, where one (or a few) of them was usually left behind to get their asses beat. It was here that he began feeling resentment towards those of color- and the turning point would be a Summer visit to his cousin's house, where he was introduced to the neo-nazi movement. "Do you think that as humans we are designed to be followers?" I ask Frank. "Hmm... the herd mentality is always there. I always tell my kids to be the leaders, not the followers." He didn't want his kids to be like him, because he says he gave up his sense of humanity and empathy for acceptance. Over the next few years, Frank would engage in countless violent acts with his Neo-Nazi pals while also heavily indulging in alcohol. After a couple of run-ins with the law, a television show full of badly-coordinated skinheads, and some baby mama drama (you'll have to read his book for all of that), he ends up in prison, where he becomes the Spades partner of an old black Vice Lord. This Vice Lord would ultimately tell him he was the best cheating white boy he had ever played with. "I switched over to a game named Pitch now, but Im good at it because of my Spades days." He then demonstrated how he and his Vice Lord partner would cheat, using hand signals. "We had a whole system down." Also while in prison, he met Lil G and Jello, two black inmates who would change the way he thought about black people... and ultimately other races. "Every white racist says 'All black people are this way except for Rodney.' Or 'Chris'. They all know that one cool black guy or cool black chick." He then explained that though they knew one or two cool black people, they ultimately end up lumping them into the derogatory nigger category with the rest of the black people. Instead of this happening, Frank actually allowed himself to be swayed in prison. He came out with a whole new outlook on the people that the neo-nazis had been telling him to hate. One of the epithets the Neo-Nazi's heavily used, "Nigger", is now a disdainful and ugly scar for Frank, who at one time desired a race war. "The word isn't acceptable in my home. I don't even care too much for black people using it... [I blinked] but we as white people have definitely lost the privilege to use the word." One of his biggest aggravations are the excuses white people make for playing down the harshness of the word. "They say 'they need to stop being mad at slavery'. Its not just slavery, its the fucking 50's and 60's where people were getting sprayed with fucking firehoses is what they're pissed about. People from that generation are still alive."Frank's story is more than a cautionary tale about hatred. In the 350 page tome that is his book, Frank also detailed his addiction to drugs. He's been sober for a couple of years now, but mentions that he still has struggles. These struggles are nowhere near as harsh as his past ones- he recalls a house of crackheads pulling an intervention on HIM, whens at the time he was addicted to heroin and opiates- because they actually help him to think positively about his future. "To come from those days to when life is fucking beautiful...." he sighs. I ask him what people don't understand about addiction. "It really is a disease. People are like, why can't you just stop? Because you cant. Just to get that hour of Nirvana, you go through 23 hours of hell for it." He also mentions how addiction can influence thoughts of suicide. "I was so willing to prove you wrong that I was addicted to heroin that I was willing to kill myself over it. And thats a common thought of most drug addicts and alcoholics."Nowadays, Frank is a father and activist. He's grown closer to his oldest daughter, who he didn't get to see much of during his early life due to prison and addiction. One of his sons, the oldest, is in India doing humanitarian work (and also supports women's rights on his college campus.) Between dividing his time amongst his two youngest, a 10 year old Eminem loving hockey champ and a "5 year old who doesn't know shit but runs the world", he also spearheads a program entitled Harmony Through Hockey. "Hockey is one of my greatest loves. So for me to help spread the game to help more black and latino kids and other kids of color who wouldn't otherwise get into it... its great. Hockey is expensive, for one. It's an investment. A lot of parents don't wanna pay for something their kids have zero experience in. We sponsor kids once a year... it's free for them. 100% The coaching, the uniforms...." So why is it called Harmony Through Hockey? Because it teaches the kids about equality. "I love hockey because it teaches all of these kids how to be on a team together. To lose together, win together. It's such an equalizer." There's a serious rule on the ice with Coach Frank: no laughing at anybody else. As the kids (some of whom have never touched a pair of skates before) flail around on the ice, clearly nubile and equal, the true learning can begin. Just as the fresh faced youngsters learn about Harmony Through Hockey, Frank has learned about humanity by looking back on his actions and life. "Im not allowed to- in anger, force my anger on other people by way of violence. I've learned that.  "People are like, this guy should be in prison for life- but you know, shit happens. Ive came across the guy I kidnapped and beat up.  I made my amends to him." In addition to speaking out against racism, Frank is an outspoken advocate for marriage equality. He remembers relentlessly gay bashing in his youth- and is set on making it right by way of advocacy for their equal rights. This parallels his work with the homeless. "When we were kids we thought going around beating up homeless people was funny. Now I try to help them out and speak out against it." In addition to constantly writing new material and coaching hockey, Frank regularly gives lectures at universities and schools across the country. You could definitely say Frank Meeink is a changed man.His 23 year old daughter even brought home someone special for him on Christmas one year. "When my daughter was 16, she called me up and asked me if it was okay if she could have her boyfriend over for Christmas. I was like sure, you'll sleep upstairs, he'll sleep downstairs with me. You know, I'll spoon with him." He then proceeds to tell me that his daughter revealed to him that her boyfriend was mixed (half-black, half-white). His reaction? He didn't care. "I asked her 'Is he mixed like half human, half alien, or-' and she was like dad, you asshole, you know what I mean. He's half black, half white. I told her I didn't care. And you know what she said to me? 'I knew you wouldn't care, I just wanted to tell you." The smile on his face is bigger than the sun. "Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead" is currently available for purchase on Amazon.