G.W. Zoo animal keeper “Saff” Saffery wasn’t wrong when he called his boss “an entertainer by nature” in the first episode of Tiger King. Drawn to the spotlight and eager to see his name in lights, Joe Exotic has always been determined to make a name for himself. But just one day job couldn’t possibly contain this man’s unlimited potential. When he wasn’t busy running his zoo into the ground, Joe moonlighted as a number of other professions on his path to stardom. Here are all of Joe Exotic’s side hustles that may or may not have been more lucrative than illegally trafficking exotic animals.

Number 1

Job title: Country singer

Description: Move over, Tim McGraw. Joe is ready for his headline gig at the Country Music Awards. 28 songs. 16 music videos. Two albums, aptly titled I Saw a Tiger and Starstruck. Happy listening, folks. Just ignore the fact it’s allegedly not Joe Exotic singing his own songs.

7 of Joe Exotic’s Side Hustles, from Country Singer to Magician

Number 2

Job title: Reality Star

Description: Before TV producer Rick Kirkham came along to make Joe’s reality show dreams come true (that never went anywhere thanks to a stray act of arson), Joe Exotic hosted a nightly show at 6 p.m. on JoeExoticTV.com. How many people tuned in for his live rants about Carole Baskin? Oh, about 80, on a good day, according to Kirkham. But let’s take that with a grain of salt.

7 of Joe Exotic’s Side Hustles, from Country Singer to Magician

Number 3

Job title: Underwear Designer

Description: At the G.W. Zoo’s gift shop, Joe Exotic had his name branded onto every product imaginable: from condiments like honey and barbecue sauce to skin scream and sex gel for him and her. But the Tiger King’s bestseller? His very own underwear line. “People just go crazy over ‘em because they’re all in animal print,” he said in Episode 1 of the docuseries. But the designer won’t be donning his eponymous skivvies himself anytime soon, as he proudly claimed, “I don’t wear underwear.”

7 of Joe Exotic’s Side Hustles, from Country Singer to Magician

Number 4

Job title: Public Speaker Against Drugs and Alcohol

Description: Joe founded the G.W. Exotic Animal Foundation in memory of his late brother, who was killed by a drunk semi-driver. So as one of his side gigs, Joe spoke to schools about drugs and alcohol (excluding anecdotes about his own personal use, of course). But since he couldn’t keep their attention, he just had to take his animals with him. “What do we say to drugs?,” he would ask the kids as they pet tiger cubs. “We say no to drugs, that’s right. Because drugs make your teeth fall out, and you get really ugly and you don’t have any friends.”

7 of Joe Exotic’s Side Hustles, from Country Singer to Magician

Number 5

Job title: Magician

Description: When Joe Exotic didn’t think bringing animals were enough to liven up his speaking engagements, he introduced magic into the equation. Joe took his magic shows on the road to local malls thanks to the help of his mentor, master magician JP Wilson, who at the time, was in eighth grade. Fun fact: during this magical mystery tour era is when Joe Schreibvogel made the leap to officially change his name to Joe Exotic.

7 of Joe Exotic’s Side Hustles, from Country Singer to Magician

Number 6

Job title: Presidential and Gubernatorial Candidate

Description: “Is America ready for the first redneck, gun-toting, mullet-sporting, tiger-tackling, gay, polygamist president?” No, it was not, but that didn’t keep Joe Exotic from pulling his biggest publicity stunt yet - running for President of the United States in 2016 as an independent. And when that didn’t work out, he went for the next best thing, Governor of Oklahoma in 2018. He ran as a Libertarian, but as his former campaign manager Josh Dial attests, Joe Exotic still has no idea what a Libertarian is. We’d direct you to both his www.JoeExotic2016.com and www.joeexoticforgovernor.com campaign websites, but they are unfortunately both defunct.

7 of Joe Exotic’s Side Hustles, from Country Singer to Magician

Number 7

Job title: Pizza shop co-owner

Description: When Joe opened up a pizza restaurant, Zooters Pizzaria (yes, it’s spelled with an “a” instead of an “e”), on-site at the zoo, he made a “Joe Exotic” promise that he cooked it from scratch every day. Well, that’s hard to believe when the toppings were literally pulled from the expired meat meant for the tigers off the Walmart donation truck. Joe Exotic’s current role though, for those keeping track of where the cast of Tiger King are now (link to Jean’s article), is as a felon serving 22 years. Hopefully the pizza is better in the correctional facility than at Greater Wynnewood.

7 of Joe Exotic’s Side Hustles, from Country Singer to Magician