Kevin Franke Height, Weight, Age, Body Statistics

Kevin Franke is an American social media star, engineer, and university professor best known as the patriarch of the family behind the now-defunct YouTube channel, 8 Passengers, with his ex-wife Ruby Franke. The channel was created in January 2015 out of his former wife’s desire to show the way an active life with 6 children looks like on a daily basis, and also promote the beauty of motherhood through family vlogs. Kevin had a hands-off role from the channel due to his busy work and travel schedule that stems from being an assistant professor of civil engineering at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, United States. He also worked as a professional geotechnical/earthquake engineering consultant for around 7 years.

He also came to prominence in November 2018 as part of a Brigham Young University team consisting of him and a fellow chemical engineering professor John Hedengren. They made a program that allowed drones to map their own routes and 3D image the whole city, thus effectively making them self-flying. He traveled to Italy with his daughter Shari Franke back in 2016 and tested out the algorithm on a drone that flew over Italian cities that were destroyed by earthquakes. With that, he mapped out 3D models that he made public to aid the entire engineering community. Kevin had also amassed a large social media fanbase with more than 100,000 followers on Instagram before shutting it down.

Born Name

Kevin W. Franke

Nick Name

Kevin

Sun Sign

Libra

Born Place

United States

Residence

Springville, Utah, United States

Nationality

Education

Kevin graduated Magna Cum Laude from Utah State University in Logan, Utah, United States in 2004.

After he got his bachelor of science degree, Kevin and his family moved to Seattle, Washington, United States, where he got his master’s degree from the University of Washington in 2005.

After the whole family moved back to Utah, Kevin got his Doctor of Philosophy degree from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, United States in 2011.

Occupation

Social Media Star, University Professor, Engineer

Family

• Father – Donald Franke
• Others – Chad Griffiths (Father-in-Law) (Social Media Star), Jennifer Griffiths (Mother-in-Law) (Social Media Star), Beau Griffiths (Brother-in-Law) (Social Media Star), Julie Deru (Sister-in-Law) (Social Media Star, Nurse), Ellie Mecham (Sister-in-Law) (Social Media Star), Bonnie Hoellein (Sister-in-Law) (Social Media Star), Emily Griffiths (Sister-in-Law) (Social Media Star), Landon Deru (Brother-in-Law) (Social Media Star), Jared Mecham (Brother-in-Law) (Social Media Star), Joel Hoellein (Brother-in-Law) (Social Media Star), Kate Griffiths (Niece) (Social Media Star), Henry Griffiths (Nephew) (Social Media Star), Clara Griffiths (Niece), Emma Deru (Niece) (Social Media Star), Cooper Deru (Nephew) (Social Media Star), Porter Deru (Nephew) (Social Media Star), Lucy Deru (Niece) (Social Media Star), Jackson Mecham (Nephew), Tommy Mecham (Nephew), Calvin Mecham (Nephew), Olivia Hoellein (Niece) (Social Media Star), Cody Hoellein (Nephew) (Social Media Star), Lincoln Hoellein (Nephew) (Social Media Star), Boston Hoellein (Nephew) (Social Media Star)

Manager

Kevin Franke self-represents his career.

Build

Athletic

Height

5 ft 10 in or 178 cm

Weight

80 kg or 176.5 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Kevin Franke has dated –

1. Ruby Franke (2000-2022) – He met Ruby in 2000 during her 1st year at Utah State University when she was fresh out of high school and was just dropped off by her mom. He spotted her at the hot dog stand at the university’s meet and greet event, immediately thought she was pretty and decided to approach her. Through their conversation, it turned out they lived in the same apartment complex and he decided to pursue her more seriously because she was very flirtatious. However, he later found out that she flirted with all of the boys and played hard to get intentionally. In fact, during one of the times they hung out, she held his hand under the blanket while holding the other boy’s hand on the other side. When Kevin saw that, he got very angry, said he didn’t care and stormed out. When he came back home, he realized that other guys were also chasing Ruby at the same time and “weren’t messing around”. The very next day, he went to her room and told her he was serious about dating her, in front of many students that struggled to pass him to get to their rooms. She was the 1st one that brought out the idea of marriage and even though he was only 22 and she only 18, he decided to risk it. They met each other’s parents after only a week of seeing each other for the 1st time in their lives and got engaged after 2 weeks. On December 28, 2000, the two got married in a small ceremony attended by close family and friends. 3 years later, on March 3, they welcomed their 1st kid, daughter Shari Franke, and only 2 years later, on February 2 their 2nd, a son named Chad Franke. Daughters Abby Franke (b. April 14, 2007) and Julie (b. January 11, 2009) followed soon after. On July 9, 2011, Kevin and Ruby welcomed their 2nd son, Russell Franke and on September 1, 2013, their 4th daughter, Eve Franke. The couple separated in 2022 and filed for divorce in December 2023.

Race / Ethnicity

White

He is of American descent.

Hair Color

Bald

Eye Color

Blue

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

• Tall height
• Bald haircut

Brand Endorsements

Kevin Franke, as a part of 8 Passengers, had endorsed brands such as –

• Square Panda
• Organizing Habits
• Total Wireless
• Walgreens
• Clorox Disinfecting Wipes
• Kellogg’s
• Walmart Grocery Pickup App
• Wet Ones Hand Wipes
• RetailMeNot
• Xfinity
• Hum By Verizon
• Bollie Brand
• Crockpot
• Hunter
• Invisalign

Religion

He attends the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Best Known For

• Being the patriarch of the Franke family and founder of the now-defunct family vlogging YouTube channel, 8 Passengers with his former wife Ruby, starting in 2015, which had garnered a fanbase of more than 2.5 million subscribers before getting shut
• Formerly having a fanbase of more than 100,000 followers on his personal Instagram account

Personal Trainer

He is in very good shape and according to his son Chad, he takes multivitamins and fish oil pills on a daily basis. Besides working out whenever he can, due to a busy work schedule and an active family life, he also takes protein supplements to either replace a snack on-the-go or just add to his daily protein intake. He typically wakes up around 5:00 A.M. to get a workout in as he is a morning person. Kevin trains under the supervision of Brooklyn Goodsell, a nutritionist, certified private trainer, and strength and conditioning coach in a local gym in Springville, Utah, United States.

Kevin Franke Facts

1. One of the hardest things he had to endure was selling the house he and Ruby bought in Idaho, United States. It was in a good neighborhood but they were young and “bit more than they could chew” so the debt kept rising dangerously fast. After they sold it and paid off the debt, the only solution was to rent a house in Utah, United States.
2. In the past, someone created an Instagram account under the handle “8passengers_kevin” and tried to impersonate him. His son Chad confirmed it was fake.
3. Despite being positive in his videos, Kevin has admitted to battling depression throughout the years. He is the type of person to gets stressed out and wound up over sad times. The only solution he has found is to have a special “hands-off” time where he isn’t focused on work or obligations and just relaxes.
4. According to his son, Chad, Kevin was about 5 ft 10 in tall at the age of 14 and was also much more muscular than him at that age.
5. He named their family van Yang and had a black truck that he named Yin.
6. Kevin and Ruby bought an empty plot of land in mid-2018 and decided to start building their dream home there.
7. In August 2019, he underwent a major surgery that Ruby also underwent in the past. She cried for 3 days straight and said it was the most painful surgery she experienced. Kevin later revealed that he had hemorrhoids removed and wasn’t ashamed to share it.
8. Their YouTube channel 8 Passengers collapsed completely after Kevin’s then-channel partner and former wife, Ruby was arrested in 2023.
9. Visit his family’s official website @ 8passengers.com.

Featured Image by Kevin Franke / Instagram