MEET THE LOCALS

A tourism mecca, Orlando is home to some of the world’s best entertainment venues. Four intriguing personalities give you the inside scoop on life in one of the world’s most-visited cities.

BY JILLIANNE PIERCE
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHANE LUITJENS

GENE RICHTER
GENERAL MANAGER, LEE & RICK’S OYSTER BAR
8 years on the job

How does it feel to run an Orlando institution?
“It means a lot to me that it’s a third generation. (Richter’s grandparents, Lee and Rick, established the restaurant in 1950.) I know a lot of people in this town from this place, and a lot of people know me. It’s really neat just to know that I run one of the oldest businesses left in Orlando—and a very popular one.”

Are raw oysters the most popular menu item?
“That’s what we’re famous for, more than anything else… We’ve been doing it for 58 years; we’re the only game in town. There’s really no [other] place that you can sit at a bar and they shuck the oysters right there in front of you.”

How many oysters are shucked on an average night?
“Roughly 500 dozen.”

BRET CHISM
GATOR WRESTLER, GATORLAND
15 years on the job

How did your family react when you told them you were wrestling gators?
“I didn’t tell them anything. [One Sunday, on the] front page of the Orlando Sentinel, I was sitting on the back of the alligator… I was 20 at the time. My mom said, ‘You never told me you were wrestling gators.’ They thought it was cool [and] didn’t mind me doing the show.”

Were you ever afraid to do a show?
“I did the very first gator wrestling show here at Gatorland. It was the scariest thing I ever did.”

How many times have you been bitten by a gator?
“Six or seven times. I’ve been bit by alligators, I’ve been bit by a bear, I’ve been bit by a rattlesnake twice… I’ve been bit by monkeys, birds. I was struck by lightning here at Gatorland.”

DIANA CANNON
STUNT PERFORMER, UNIVERSAL STUDIOS & WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT
17 years on the job

How did you get started doing stunts?
“Universal Studios was opening and called the dance studio where I worked and said, ‘Do you have anybody 18 or older who can do gymnastics?’ [The woman who answered] came in my class and said, ‘I’m taking over—you’re going to Universal for an audition.’ I kind of slowly stopped dancing and started doing stunts because I got paid more money.”

What’s your favorite stunt?
“I love to do fight scenes.”

Do you do stunts when you’re not on set?
“Oh, yeah. My husband and I are crazy. We’ve jumped off the roof. We constantly [practice] fi ghting in the house, and I have a lyra, which is a huge hoop hanging in my living room, and I do aerial tricks. I hang off that, watch TV, flipped upside down.”

BUDDY DYER
MAYOR, CITY OF ORLANDO
5 years on the job

What is it like to be mayor?
“It is the most wonderful job you could possibly have serving the citizens of Orlando. I go to different departments, so I’ve done everything from riding with the mounted police to… cleaning a wastewater treatment plant clarifi er… and I was the fi rst to ride The Simpsons ride.”

What do you love about Orlando?
“I love everything… especially the people. I think that we are just beginning the golden age of Orlando, so I’m extremely excited about how our city is progressing.”

Why should someone visit?
“We have the world’s greatest theme parks. We have beaches, we have the space coast, we have a beautiful natural environment. There’s great outdoor activities, from bicycling to canoeing to kayaking to fishing.”