Karen Peters was traipsing through remote villages in Cameroon, Africa, when it hit her. Everyone she met in the bush country, from young children to elder Baka tribesmen, had flawless skin. No blemishes. No wrinkles. Just smooth, soft complexions. Could it be their environment? Peters wondered. The wonderfully cool breezes from the ocean? The sweet and mellow aroma of hibiscus and eucalyptus trees?
Where did Dennis Eckart get those abs of steel? Perhaps nine years of practicing the sweeping kicks, spontaneous jumps and agile cartwheels of capoeira has something to do with it. The unique martial art — marrying fluid dance movements with cunning self-defence techniques — is a fast-growing sport the 26-year-old alpha athlete has mastered through intense training in Brazil.
To most Americans, the Statue of Liberty is much more than a colossal piece of art or one of the most recognizable icons in the world. She is the stuff history lessons are made of, an amiable figure summarizing independence, enlightenment and forward momentum. She is a symbol — one of dignity and jubilance, magnified each time you glimpse at her from a plane.
Like any entrepreneur’s, Lorenzo Zayas’ work life seriously invades his home life. Not only is the around-the-clock businessman surrounded by the ubiquitous paperwork and paperclips, but he’s also encircled by 25 species of brightly colored insects, which happen to be his main source of income.
On a chilly Friday afternoon I pop into Kate Ingram’s office in the Central Florida Research Park, where a bastion of UCF theater classes are held. By the door: three giant yoga balls, next to a bag of smaller, weighted balls. A row of shelves holding tattered Shakespeare novels and human anatomy textbooks.
Just days after tossing his gold-tasseled cap into the air at the University of Central Florida’s 2000 graduation, 22-year-old Rodel Oiga packed his belongings, said his goodbyes and drove across the country to Vegas. After a two-year stint in Sin City, he tried on L.A., West Palm Beach and New York for size. Why not? It’s the itinerant lifestyle of his generation.
For years, fictionalized family-owned businesses have captivated audiences. Remember the power-struggling Ewings of the hit show “Dallas”? It made for quite the quintessential high-drama soap opera. More often than not, however, real-life family businesses are the opposite. Instead of being rooted in deep, divided conflict, they are mainstays of tradition and success.
It’s a rainy Thursday morning at the Enzian Theater in Maitland. Executive Chef Josh Oakley enters the lobby toting his carrying case full of fancy kitchen knives. Opera music coming from the theater wafts through the building. In another eight hours, the place will be hopping with activity.
It’s 8 o’clock on a Monday morning as I trot into the Human Performance Institute, a stone’s throw from Orlando’s Lake Nona Golf & Country Club. As quickly as I say hello, I’m whisked away — outfitted in a pastel purple swimsuit and black Speedo cap, and wrapped in a plush terry cloth robe.
By the time 29-year-old eco-preneur Julie Norris cruises into work at 10 a.m., her café is buzzing with activity. She briefly ignores her extensive to-do list and pulls up a hand-painted, secondhand chair for a quick bite to eat. While nibbling away on a Curty Pie — organic apple slices topped with cinnamon, cream cheese and cranberries held together by a toasted English muffin — she passionately explains her unusual business plan.
It’s an unseasonably warm morning at the Crescent J Ranch when Frankie Price arrives. Her silver spurs squeak like a metal gate opening and closing. She not only looks the part of an expert wrangler — wearing snakeskin boots, a red bandana and a handmade leather belt — she is. She’s been roping and riding for more than four decades.
It has all the makings of a Hollywood movie script: a gregarious leading character who falls from his heroic platform, plenty of behind-the-scenes drama and what looks to be a happy ending. The story of The Plaza, a three-towered building project with strife and triumph, goes something like this:
