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'I Am Shauna Rae': Inside Mark Schrankel's puppet troupe and how he filed for bankruptcy

Looks like it hasn't been all smooth sailing for Shauna' stepfather, Mark.

For Shauna Rae, dealing with her condition daily can be exhausting, as people often come with preconceived notions about her. While navigating through adulthood is hard, Shauna has given fans glimpses into what her childhood was like.

While her mother, Patty and stepfather have been incredibly supportive through her childhood, it certainly wasn't easy for her. Mark and Patty had to think was ways to deal with Shauna's issues and one of them was puppets.

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Mark explained that he ran a theatre troupe, WhoBuddiez and was all set to put up a show with the help of Rylee for the first time in two years. While Rylee inspired the name, Mark began making puppets because of Shauna. He noticed early on that because of her chemotherapy and treatments, Shauna was prone to anger. She's often hit people and laugh about it. When she hit a puppet once, Mark told her she hurt the puppet, causing Shauna to regret her actions. This helped Shauna learn empathy, as she was hurting someone or something smaller than her. 

Fans thought it was rather cool that Mark had his own puppet troupe. "#IAmShaunaRae Is this puppet business his real job or just a side gig, asking for a friend" tweeted a fan. "The puppet show was pretty cool. #IAmShaunaRae" added another. "Riley is a good sport lol at 18 ain't no way I would've been doing the puppet shows with my dad  #IAmShaunaRae" noted a fan. "I'm kind of mad. I was totally prepared to hate watch this show but I can't. So far the whole family is likable. #IAmShaunaRae" added another. 

What does Mark Schrankel do?

As per his LinkedIn profile, Mark Schrankel is the President and Owner of WhoBuddiez, as seen on 'I Am Shauna Rae'. Prior to this, he was the Art Director at Gardwell Mfg. Corp. from 1984 – Jun 2000. As reported by The Sun, Mark filed for a chapter 7 bankruptcy back in 2012 where he owed $204,643.58 and a chapter 13 bankruptcy in 2015, where he owed $181,608.8 to creditors. During 2012, Mark was listed as 'self-employed' and in 2015, he was listed as a 'labourer'. 
While it looks like he is still running WhoBuddiez, the family now allegedly makes around $25,000 per episode. 



'I Am Shauna Rae' airs on Tuesdays at 10 PM ET/PT. 


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