People
Ben Brooks
FGTM Founder. Head of Content & Creative.
Ben Brooks was born and raised in North Carolina and attended Wake Forest University for his B.A. in History & Spanish. After, he attended Boston University, receiving his M.A. in Latin American Studies. He continued his education at the University of Miami, earning his J.D. with a concentration in Asylum and Nationality Law. Ben is currently an anti-poverty and immigrant advocate in North Carolina, and regularly contributes analysis for LACarolina, Fried Green Tomato Media’s premier newsletter. When Ben isn’t working on RSR, he enjoys finding new music and working on his forthcoming project on the history of white supremacy in North Carolina.
Abby Virgil
FGTM Founder. Head of Business & Operations.
September Virgo. Elder Gen Z. Culture vulture. Wannabe pop star. Sometimes philosopher. Always dog person. Podcast producer and consumer.
Abby is passionate about partnerships, storytelling, and not taking things so seriously; all of which led her to leave the Washington, DC grind and co-found Fried Green Tomato Media in 2024.
Originally from Wilmington, NC, young Abby had three main objectives: performing for anyone with eyes and ears, honing her entrepreneurial skills in any way she could, and getting good grades. This background enabled Abby to travel several hours on I-40 to study Philosophy and Spanish at Wake Forest, which in turn led to driving several more hours up I-95 for her Master’s in Latin American Studies at Georgetown. After all that driving, and all those classes, she can confirm her core objectives remain the same.
Some of her favorite life accomplishments include… fostering five dogs, speaking at the UN, playing Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, working in international tech policy, having Bojangles at her wedding, never once voting Republican, seeing the Eras Tour four times, studying and working in Cuba and Chile, starting her high school’s Gay-Straight Alliance (she’s just now realizing how out-of-date the name of that club sounds, but it was super progressive back in the day, just trust her), spending a Christmas season working retail, becoming fluent in Spanish, watching every episode of Modern Family at least four times, and never, ever making a mistake!
Abby lives in Raleigh, NC with her husband James and their two miniature pinschers who think they’re Dobermans.