Editor's note: In 2014, This Land reporter Holly Wall made the trek to Wynnewood, Oklahoma to get up close and personal with zookeeper, gubernatorial candidate, and all-around wild man, Joseph Schreibvogel. Originally published in This Land, Vol. 5, Issue 11, June 1, 2014.
“Hang on, I’m gonna go out there and throw up.”
Near the end of our first hour-long interview, Joe Exotic, a.k.a. Joe Schreibvogel, interrupted my question and hoofed toward the gift shop’s back door, his shoulder-length, bleach-blond mane waving at me beneath a beige ball cap. While I waited, I browsed the wares for sale around me. There were the typical stuffed animals and animal-themed tchotchkes you’d expect to find at the zoo, but there were some unexpected things as well: lion bobbleheads, for instance, available with or without tiny dachshunds perched on their paws. Tiger posters framed in cheap plastic. Hormel microwaveable meals. Bumper stickers with a mischievous-looking Calvin character in a backwards cap looking over his shoulder, sending a stream of urine onto the letters “PETA” or “HSUS.”
There was an entire wall of brightly colored and patterned men’s thong and brief underwear, some shimmery, all bearing the label “Tiger King.” Beside them, more Tiger King products: soaps, lotions, and premium condoms. Next to those were CDs with Joe Exotic’s name and picture on them, country music he recorded and burned himself. A couple of televisions inside the shop played his music videos on a loop.
Schreibvogel came back in after a couple of minutes, while I was still examining the premium condoms. Each label bore a photo of Joe wearing a shimmering zebra-print shirt, posing next to a tiger in front of a cascading waterfall.
“I took so many pain pills last night trying to get to sleep I made myself sick to my stomach,” he said.
“Oh,” I said. “Are you injured?”