Luca Martinez: the Lorax of the Everglades
Miami Herald | by Ashley Miznazi
January 10, 2025
Luca Martinez, 20, is a conservation filmmaker who shares the story of the Everglades' underwater world, that for so long went unseen by many.
For many people, visiting the Everglades means staring out the car window at seemingly endless sawgrass marsh in between stops to ride an airboat packed with tourists, stroll a boardwalk or swat mosquitoes. But millions of others wade deep into pristine sloughs and isolated cypress stands and come face-to-face with all sorts of amazing wildlife, maybe picking up cottonmouths or even swimming with alligators. TOP VIDEOS They’re not doing this in person, of course. They’re visiting through social media, streaming the exploits of dozens of very Florida characters who have built followings, some of them massive, for their forays into the sprawling marshes, ponds and forests of wild South Florida.
Call them the Everglades influencers.
Let us introduce you to three of the most popular — fans know them as Gator Chris, Luca and the Yoink Guy (a catch phrase uttered when encountering critters). Together, they boast a combined 25-million-plus followers across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. That’s not Kardashian-level clout but it’s a very big social media footprint on environment and climate issues. Everglades National Park, for instance, has 123,000 Facebook followers.
Encounters with wildlife life can be unpredictable and dangerous. One well-known internet snake wrangler made the mainstream news last month when he was bitten by a venomous rattler. But it also can be a lucrative job, with the top influencers pulling in six figures through social media video-view payments as well as ads and even brand deals.
Getting up close and personal with critters is clearly the key to luring audiences and the way one of them in particular — the Yoink Guy, also known as fishingarrett— has sometimes drawn criticism from his audience and wildlife activists. But each, to varying degrees, also explores the impacts of climate change, pollution and other threats to the survival of the River of Grass.
