Until the age of 11, Frank lived with his mother, stepfather, two sisters and brother. But it was a troubled family. Frank left at age 12, and grew up in a series of foster homes, state homes and institutions. Later, Frank was admitted to the Shamrock Boys Ranch, an adolescent group home for wards of the state. There he met the Ranch founder Bob Shamrock, who encouraged Frank, believed in Frank, and later adopted him. After a series of brushes with the law, at a time when Frank could easily have entered a life of crime or drug addiction, Bob Shamrock urged Frank to join his adoptive brother Ken in the study of martial arts. The decision changed Frank forever, and changed the face of American fighting.