Joe Exotic (whose real last name is Schreibvogel, although he now goes by Joe “Exotic” Maldonado-Passage) grew up as a misfit in Kansas. Ostracized for being gay by his own family, Exotic drove his car off a cliff and broke his back. He went to live in Florida for therapy, and it’s there that he met his neighbour, the manager of Lion Country Safari. The neighbour would sometimes bring home cubs and baby monkeys to bottle feed, and Exotic was invited over to spend time with them. He immediately fell in love with wild animals, and felt like being around them was his calling — although even as a young man, Exotic claimed had always shown an affinity toward animals.