Today we’d like to introduce you to Frankee Chapa.
Hi Frankee, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I moved to San Antonio in 2014 from Maine. I grew up in a small town near Bangor, Maine, where the population was close to 30,000 people. So when I moved to San Antonio, I was blown away by how much there was to explore.
I would hear people say, “There’s nothing to do in San Antonio,” and I honestly thought, Are you kidding me?! Coming from a small town in Maine, this city felt HUGE to me, and there were so many restaurants, events, attractions, and hidden gems to discover.
And don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Maine. It’s a gorgeous state: But it still makes me laugh that the entire population of Maine is roughly the same as the population of San Antonio and sometimes that winter weather makes you feel a little isolated when you’re forced to be inside a little bit more.
I started casually posting about the different places I was discovering, especially restaurants on my personal Facebook. I worked for a real estate office, so I had the blessing of going out to eat quite often with business partners and clients. One of the real estate agents I worked with eventually commented, “I’ve lived here for 20-something years, and I didn’t even know about half of the places you’re posting!”
They told me I should start a blog. Instead, I started an Instagram page. At the time, I thought a blog sounded like WAY too much work!
When I started, Instagram was mostly just photos, so I would share pictures here and there. Some of them started getting a surprising number of views, and then Reels came along.
I remember a little juice shop reaching out and asking me to come in and make a video for them. I did and over time, more and more local businesses started reaching out and asking me to come experience their businesses and create videos.
And honestly? This is still a hobby for me.
I absolutely love my full-time career as a Franchise Consultant and working in the corporate world, but this little corner of the internet has become something I genuinely love.
I get to explore San Antonio, discover new places, support local businesses, and share those experiences with other people who are looking for things to do in this amazing city.
What started as, “I just want to share some cool places I found,” has turned into a community of people exploring San Antonio with me and I’m so grateful for it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Balancing this part-time hobby with everything else in my life is definitely a challenge sometimes. Between my full-time job, being a single mom, and raising two big kids, one going into seventh grade and one starting college locally in the fall, my days are pretty full.
I think the hardest part is just finding the time to do something I genuinely love. When people ask me what my hobby is, I let them know going to restaurants and exploring the city, because that’s truly what I enjoy doing. I make time for it because I love it, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t time-consuming.
Another challenge is that I would love to do even more with this, but I’ve had to learn to say no to things so I don’t spread myself too thin. I still want to be present for my kids, making it to as many soccer, volleyball and basketball games as I can,and my corporate job also requires some travel, which naturally limits my time as well.
But I’m not complaining. I’m very aware these are first-world “problems,” and I’m grateful to even have the opportunities and choices that I do.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m going to stick to this being about my content creation. I’m proud because I think I’m just down to earth and I keep it very simple. I don’t have a bunch of flashy, camera cameras, or editing tools. I just make some simple videos that just showcase businesses around San Antonio.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters most to me is knowing that God has given us this one life, and our time here is temporary. I want to experience it to the fullest and never take for granted all the amazing things life has to offer.
Most importantly, I want my kids to experience as much as they can and create incredible memories together. Creating content has given me opportunities to take them zip lining, on VR experiences, bring my daughter to an incredible sushi restaurant or my son to a pizza festival and experience things we might not otherwise have done.
I also love the community here in San Antonio. We have such an incredible food, restaurant, entertainment, and small-business community, and I want to help showcase the people and places that make this city so special.
Whether it’s an incredible meal, an exciting adventure, or simply walking a trail together, I just want to make the most of this life God has given us.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thingstodoinsanantonio
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@thingstodoinsanantonio
