By Martie Thompson
editor@floridanewsline.com
Stephen Brezil said he has loved animals his whole life — somewhat surprising since his parents were not “animal people,” especially his father. Born in California and raised in the wilderness of Virginia, Brezil grew up exploring the woods and all the critters he could find. At one point, his mother limited the number of tanks he could have in his room containing animals, so he said he researched to learn which animals could live together in a tank so he could fit more in. Throughout his life, he has worked for a variety of pet stores, including his own: Blazin’ Reptiles, which he opened when he was still a teenager and eventually, Xtreme Exotics, now open on Philips Highway in Jacksonville. Almost five years ago, he started Xtreme Exotics Wildlife Foundation, a non-profit with the mission to take in rescue animals and endangered species. It is located on US Highway 1 just south of Palencia.
Q: What was your first job working with animals?
A: I started the selling of animals when I was a boy and we would travel from Virginia to Florida for family vacations. The pet stores in Virginia would buy invasive species such as iguanas that I would bring back from Florida. When I was 14, I got a worker’s permit to work underage for 20 hours per week at a pet store in Virginia. When we moved to Florida, I was 15 and I continued working in pet stores. My first job here was at AquaZoo. I always wanted to not just sell someone a pet, but I wanted to teach them how to keep the animal alive and healthy.
Q: Have you ever caught an alligator?
A: I have! On one of our family vacations to Florida, my goal was to catch an alligator. I did. I told my mom about it when we were in a restaurant and she screamed. I told her that [“Crocodile Hunter”] Steve Irwin had caught one when he was nine years old and I did it at 12, so I wasn’t that far behind. It was about three feet long and yes, the FWC did come and tell me I couldn’t keep the alligator, but I had already set it free. Of course you need a permit to catch an alligator … as I now know.
Q: When did you open your pet store, Xtreme Exotics?
A: As a teenager, I worked at a number of pet stores. At one point, the owner of one of the stores told me that I would never be successful in the business, so 30 days later I opened Blazin’ Reptiles, my first store, because I didn’t want to work for someone else again. I wanted to keep the animals safe and I even vetted potential owners. I owned Blazin’ Reptiles for about 12 years, and then decided to start over and change the name to keep things fresh and also to reflect that we sold more than just turtles and lizards. I opened Xtreme Exotics in 2016 with the support of many of my previous clients. We have everything from Bengal cats to bearded dragons, turtles, snakes, monitor lizards, and ferrets.
Q: What led you to start the Xtreme Exotics Wildlife Foundation?
A: At the pet store, we would take in between 100 – 150 rescue animals a year … sometimes the owners had lost their home or many times a military family had an abrupt transfer and they were unable to take their animal. About five years ago, I decided to buy some land after someone gave me a serval cat. The goal for our rescues is to get them healthy and then place them with a family if possible. We’ve grown to include endangered species with an eye towards conservation; we either release them to the wild or place them in zoos. We have monkeys, lemurs, kangaroos, owls, and a river otter from the Brevard Zoo, whose mom was killed in an accident that also left him permanently handicapped. He will live with us in one of our lagoons.
We live and work with these animals and we get the opportunity to show people what it takes to own them. The foundation is a non-profit and we offer private tours and accept donations of money and items to keep it going. For instance, two different Publix stores donate all their extra produce to us on a daily basis.
Q: What is the most interesting animal that you have at the Foundation?
A: Probably our clouded leopards, which are a threatened species. We have two girls that live at the Foundation and they became somewhat famous on TikTok last year.
Q: What do you do in your spare time?
A: I don’t really have much spare time between the store and the foundation. But I like to travel to other people’s zoos to learn what they do and offer to help with our knowledge if I can.
[Author’s Note: Tours are available at Xtreme Exotics Wildlife Foundation. Visit them on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok to learn more.]
Photo courtesy Stephen Brezil
Stephen Brezil
