I was a chef; specializing in authentic Abruzzi style cuisine through training in Italy. I was responsible for the ordering, labor control, food cost, hiring, creating new menu and marketing ideas, and controlling the chaos that comes with every restaurant. I had managed in all three of the restaurants we owned two of which I helped open.

You came to us from the State of New York. What made you leave your job and home to come and work with reptiles at Gatorland?

I had flown down to Florida for a vacation and was looking for wildlife parks to enjoy. As I was heading back to NY my girlfriend’s mother told me about Gatorland. When I arrived home I looked up the web site and fell in love. I knew that was what I wanted to do. I went in to work the next day and gave my boss a 1 ½ year notice.

Once you decide to move here and work for Gatorland did you know you would have to become a gator wrestler?

No, I wanted to work with reptiles and found out the main people who work closely with reptiles including alligators and crocodiles were entertainers/gator wrestlers. I was definitely up for the challenge.

Tell us about what makes it fun and keeps you excited.

Wrestling gators is all about having fun. Every time you enter the arena you never know which gator you’ll wrestle and what they’ll do. I love educating people about these dinosaurs we work with and there are not many of us out there. We are the few, the brave and the crazy!

What is your favorite alligator at Gatorland and why?

It is really tough to pick a favorite gator; they all have different personalities. I would have to say my favorite gator to wrestle was Stinky. When I first started wrestling he was one of the biggest in our arena and had an attitude. Any stunt you performed on Stinky his mouth would open really wide. There is also a picture of me wrestling Stinky at the admissions booth when you enter the park.

If you had a choice to travel anywhere in the world to study animals, where would you go and what animal would you study?

If I could go to Tanzania, Africa it would be absolutely incredible! Tanzania has a vast array of terrain, beautiful landscapes, and interesting species. It has all three lakes that inhabit all the African species of cichlids, Kilimanjaro, big game, venomous snakes, and black throat monitors. My favorite pets are my black throats and there is not much information out there on this species. Their scientific name has even changed five times over the past thirty years. I would love to see these beautiful animals in their natural habitat.

Have you ever had any close calls working with alligators or any other animal here at Gatorland?

In every line of work you’ll have close calls especially having a dangerous job. I’m sure every fireman has breathed in smoke from time to time and felt the heat of the flames. Having close calls is a good thing; you walk away in one piece and learned from what you have seen. All the animals are capable of anything at anytime and the more you learn the safer you’ll be.

What made you interested in alligators/reptiles?

I have always loved reptiles since I was a child. My passion has grown intensely over the years; even while I was a chef I had a zoo in my apartment. Looking back to when I was in kindergarten, I wrote that I wanted to be an entomologist when I grow up.

What kind of pets do you have at home? Why those pets?

I don’t have nearly as many pets as I once did in NY. I have black throat monitors, bearded dragons, leopard geckos, spotted pythons, and emperor scorpions. Most pets I have acquired throughout my life have been donations or rehabilitations. People constantly buy pets they know nothing about and can’t handle them. When people have pets that get to be too much they call me.

Do you have any special talents?

I wouldn’t say this is not a special talent, but my drive and ambition. I see something I like or want to do and do it. How many times have you said “Oh that would be fun to do or I would love to have that job” and do nothing about it? Everything I’ve wanted to experience in life I’ve grabbed the bull by the horns and excelled at it.

Do you have someone who inspired you to get in to this field?

While I was growing up my brothers were always catching reptiles and insects, so it became a part of my everyday life early on. We always had tons of pets a bred most of them. Over time, Steve Irwin became an idol of mine. He was extremely passionate about wildlife and strived to educate people about conservation. He was the conservation warrior of the century.

What is the hardest part of your job as a Gatorland Entertainer?

It is funny that this is actually a job. To me, a job is something you wake up and drag yourself into day after day. I would do this everyday for free. Being from upstate NY the Florida sunshine is a lot to bare in the summer. Sitting on the back of an eight foot gator, on white sand for 1 ½ hours, with a heat index 120 is a bit of a challenge.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 5th, 2008 at 8:40 pm and is filed under Entertainers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.