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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIn July, two police officers arrested the pizza-loving rodent Chuck E. Cheese inside the arcade in Tallahassee.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIn July, two police officers arrested the pizza-loving rodent Chuck E. Cheese inside the arcade in Tallahassee.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Screenshot via YouTube\/the Florida Times-Union<\/a><\/p>\n While other media outlets write a year-in-review for 2025 to encapsulate the major historical events over the last year, New Times wants to highlight the past year\u2019s milestones through coverage of a very unique species that only exists in Florida<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to Google\u2019s AI overview, \u201cFlorida Man<\/a> refers to a popular internet meme and news trope about bizarre, outlandish, or foolish acts committed by men in Florida.\u201d Based on these guidelines, we have seen our fair share of Florida Men come out of the woodwork over the last 12 months.<\/p>\n The unique Florida phenomenon comes in various forms, from professional basketball players to the prototypical scammers that thrive in the Sunshine State, to your child\u2019s favorite character gone wild. In no particular order, here are eight Florida Men we met in 2025:<\/p>\n Iguana Division<\/p>\n In true Florida man fashion, Andrew Morales, also known as the Cuban Tarzan<\/a>, caught an iguana the size of an elementary school-aged child back in October. The creature\u2019s tail alone is longer than the length of an average iguana, and its claws look like they came straight from a horror movie set.<\/p>\n Morales\u2019 Instagram<\/a> features various videos of the young man chasing after and capturing the large tropical lizards, often launching himself into community pools and stagnant streams to retrieve the creatures. It\u2019s unclear what Morales does with the iguanas after catching them.<\/p>\n Sports Division<\/p>\n If Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro wants to stay here for the long haul and bring another championship to the Magic City, it is only right that he go full Florida man. In June, Herro went viral after he admitted during a livestream with popular streamers Adin Ross and N3on that he doesn\u2019t believe in history before 1950.<\/a> Among the notable historical events that he disputes, the Heat star doesn\u2019t think that Wilt Chamberlain ever scored 100 points in a game, that the Moon landing occurred, or that Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1492.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t believe that shit!\u201d Herro said in the livestream. \u201cI never read that shit in school.\u201d<\/p>\n Misogyny Division<\/p>\n After the self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan arrived in Fort Lauderdale from Romania in February amid their ongoing legal issues, the Tampa Bay Young Republicans<\/a> welcomed the brothers to the Sunshine State with open arms.<\/p>\n \u201cTBYR formally welcomes @Cobratate & @TateTheTalisman to Florida,\u201d the group wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in a post that has since been removed. \u201cAs free speech absolutists, the Tates haven\u2019t been formally convicted of any crimes and are welcome to speak to our group. We\u2019re old enough to remember when a \u2018Convicted Felon\u2019 won the presidency #Freestate.\u201d<\/p>\n Fellow conservatives like Megyn Kelly and Blaise Ingoglia quickly condemned the Tampa Bay Young Republicans for celebrating the brothers\u2019 arrival.<\/p>\n Scam Division<\/p>\n You know what they say about Miami\u2026a sunny place for shady people. It is where the scammers thrive. Earlier this year, a Florida man dined and dashed <\/a>at five Sports Grill locations across Miami, accumulating $650 in unpaid tabs. He followed the same script during each visit: he would sit alone at the bar, order beers, wings, and shots, and then claim his wife \u201cjust arrived outside.\u201d Once his takeout was ready for said wife, he would go outside to \u201cdeliver\u201d the food, and poof, he was gone!<\/p>\n On one occasion, he allegedly waited for the bartender to go grab extra sauce before he vanished. At the Doral Sports Grill, he spent four hours at the bar, drinking Don Julio, then skipped out on paying his bill.<\/p>\n Juan Carlos Rivera, 40, was later identified in a photo lineup. He was arrested<\/a> on charges of organized scheme to defraud and defrauding an innkeeper. <\/p>\n \u201cYou need to stay away from Sports Grill, sir, \u201d a Miami-Dade judge said in court. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tWill you step up to support New Times this year?\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAt New Times, we\u2019re small and scrappy \u2014 and we make the most of every dollar from our supporters. Right now, we\u2019re $17,800 away from reaching our December 31 goal of $30,000. If you\u2019ve ever learned something new, stayed informed, or felt more connected because of New Times, now\u2019s the time to give back.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Alligator Alcatraz Division<\/p>\n A man attempted to expose the world to what was happening inside the controversial immigration detention facility, dubbed \u201cAlligator Alcatraz.\u201d But was it for the greater good or for some extra cash?<\/p>\n When the facility first opened deep in the Everglades, the TikTok user @skitheteamroski posted a series of viral videos inside the detention center<\/a>. He showed what appeared to be a dorm inside the facility, the facility\u2019s laundry tent, and the staff dining hall. As of July 9, his videos had garnered more than 2 million views.<\/p>\n The man was later fired for his videos and received a trespassing warning from the facility. He declined to speak with New Times \u201cwithout compensation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not trying to elaborate more than I already have unless I\u2019m compensated for doing so,\u201d he wrote in a direct message on Instagram.<\/p>\n Crime Division<\/p>\n Ahead of his federal trial, convicted Trump assassin Ryan Routh <\/a>had some unusual requests from behind bars. While serving as his own defense counsel, Routh proposed a one-on-one \u201cbeatdown session\u201d with the president instead of a trial. But if that suggestion proved too intense, he had another idea to decide his fate: a round of golf \u201cwith the racist pig.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe wins, he can execute me,\u201d Routh wrote in a pretrial motion. \u201cI win, I get his job. Sorry hillbilly Vance.\u201d<\/p>\n To get him in the right mindset for his proposed golf game, Routh suggested female strippers and a putting green to work on his putting skills. He also requested access to documents, visitation, email, a computer and printer or a \u201cfancy typewriter.\u201d<\/p>\n Childhood Nightmares Division<\/p>\n The children will be scarred forever. As Charles Entertainment Cheese, better known as Chuck E. Cheese, was charming children inside the restaurant-arcade in Tallahassee in July, two police officers came to arrest him for allegedly using a stolen credit card<\/a>. Bodycam footage shows the officers approaching 41-year-old Jermel Jones in full costume.<\/p>\n \u201cChuck E. is a little busy, ma\u2019am,\u201d one of the officers says in the video. \u201cCome on. Chuck E., stop resisting, stop resisting. You\u2019re being detained.\u201d The officers escorted the large rodent out of the arcade in handcuffs, as confused children looked on in horror. One child is heard saying, \u201cOh no!\u201d while a mother tells the officers that they are traumatizing the children<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWould ya\u2019ll put Mickey Mouse in handcuffs?\u201d she asks in the body-cam footage.<\/p>\n Superhero Division<\/p>\n