A brand name
As the park, as well as Joe’s magic shows, gained popularity, Joe officially became Joe Exotic, and he turned himself into a brand. He put his face as the park’s logo, and his name on different eclectic merchandise sold at the park’s gift shop (including under garments with Joe’s face on them).
While the park started as a sanctuary for unwanted exotic animals, Joe soon realized he had to find a way to enlarge his profits, in order to pay for the zoo’s expenses. Raising wild animals is a lot more expensive than you might have thought; big cats and lions’ diet consists of meat, and a lot of it. As Joe Exotic, and Doc Antle – who runs the Myrtle Beach Safari – shared they could spend thousands of dollars a month to feed the big cats.