John Reinke

Tiger King star John Reinke knows what it is like to stare into the face of adversity. In the nineties, Reinke was a professional bungee jumper who tested out zip lines for a company. While testing one out, the pulley failed, and Reinke fell over fifty feet. In this life-altering moment, Reinke shattered his feet and broke his hip and back. It took Reinke years to overcome his paralysis, and even longer to find the strength to walk again with his eye-catching prosthetics. Reinke was a relative unknown until Netflix released the world-renowned docu-series “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.” Now one of the shows most recognisable faces, Reinke has lived through one of the most bizarre stories to come to the globe’s attention.

For fourteen years, Reinke worked as a zookeeper at Joe Exotic’s infamous GW Zoo. Through his time there, Reinke cared for over 500 animals, including 187 big cats and his own cub Bonedigger. Recognised for being one of the most loveable and down to earth people to feature in “Tiger King,” audiences were blown away by the larger than life story to unfold before their eyes. Through it all, Reinke maintained his cool composure and appeared as one of the most honest and reasoned voices on the popular show. As time goes on and the world continues to question the innocence of Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin and Jeff Lowe, Reinke stands out as the man to listen to. After all, Reinke lived through it all too!