@KeyLargoFL, There was a kid named Frido who felt the pain of Florida. The game two Heat "give away" broke his heart as he saw the town sad. Seeing other people hurt made him cry. He was so sad, he decided to cheer up the town. His tears dried up as he put on the biggest smile his stomach allowed. He danced around the arena waving the Conch Republic flag. He told people when he's down, a visit to the Keys for the day always helps you feel refreshed emotionally.
When the media from major networks, satellite radio, news papers, and bloggers asked him why he was wearing a soccer jersey from Barranquilla, Colombia waving a Conch Republic flag- he said, "HA HA #madeyoulook!" as he danced his goofy moves and honked a silly horn in the camera. "what the..!?" said the camera guy as he kept filming. He looked like a clown, but that's a very common behavior for sporting events around the world. "Vamo Heat #VIVAFrido!" they chanted as he rallied the crowds for the camera crews. People who saw him on TV, tweeted "I wanna party with that guy! #pasapaca!" This kid you picture in your head is a 28 year old adult who already did 6 years army. He's a man! He's a six foot zumba dancing, polish comedian.
After the game, the buddies he made, followed him to the keys. He told them, "I'll tweet you directions so my other friends know where I'm going too" They stayed two nights with their family of 5 at a camp ground on the water of Blackwater Sound. After the kids and grandma fell asleep, the parents snuck away for a late night date at "the Crib" where they took Facebook and #Twitpics pictures of the Jax 420 mile marker. Within minutes a local blogger's software automatically logged all RT, mentions, #shoutouts, twitpics, and his buddies in Poland, California, Colombia, and Tallahassee personally replied to the feedback welcoming Frido's friends to the Keys. As they watched the lastest hit show, Workaholics, #TeamKeys didn't want to miss the opportunity to promote Key Largo while Miami was full of tourist who were searching #trending topics on twitter to find nice places to hang out. The team succeed creating enough buzz for local radio to suggest that the Keys were a great place to bring your grandkids for the weekend.
The next day, there was so much buzz online talking about a crazy guy with a flag, Frido tweeted all the way from the Chamber whistling while walking to the Conch Republic. Honks, tweets, facebook pictures, and people stopping to ask what he was doing. made it a 8 hour walk. He just handed them an article he wrote and told them, "#followme on twitter! Enjoy your stay, eat some fresh fish, have a cuban coffee, look at a palm tree, and breath. Let me tell you about who we are down here. There's some rules in the Keys..." The day after, he took again to the streets, but on a trike. He claims next year, "I'll lead a bike rally from Tallahassee to the Keys in support of local Keys Kids."
Local businesses asked him how are you going to make me money by holding a flag and fiddling twitter?
It's not his problem- he's getting you free attention. He's a free spirit. He's a funny guy. He's our mascot. He's Frido! The question isn't for him to figure out how our flag will make your living. Let's figure out how get this community organized enough to work as a team to capture momentum from florida and bring it to Key West. We really don't want the party here. We want Calle Ocho and Duval St to stay there. We want the families to have lunch, dinner, watch the sunset, listen to the band, and have a quiet night in our vacation homes in the upper Keys. We want the working mother to have a nice weekend with her kids at an affordable event. We want the grandpa to have a place to fish with his grandkids. We want family reunions to happen in Key Largo.
When you see Frido- invite him for a sandwhich. When he hangs out at your business and chats on twitter, people know where he is with the help of #4sq. He has a large online following who like to shop where Frido shops. When you see him with his flag, put a faccebook picture of him on your wall and boast to everyone- #iFoundFRIDO!
@BenniFrido
Great story
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