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Sarasota area entrepreneur Jesse Biter has done a lot with his life. He helped build and lead three companies from scratch to well more than $1 million in annual sales. He's bought and sold multiple downtown Sarasota buildings and is an outspoken voice for rules that promote affordable housing and a vibrant downtown. He climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in 2014.
Now Biter can add another part: Reality TV star, where he gets to be the obnoxious American, who belittles the help on a luxury yacht, drinks alcohol like it's water and is part of loutish group of demanding snobs. That's how Biter mostly comes off on two recent episodes of the Bravo TV show “Below Deck Mediterranean.”
The show is ostensibly about a group of young crewmates on a luxury yacht, and their lives on and off the job “below deck.” But on episodes that aired July 5 and July 12, Biter and seven other guests on the yacht are “vulgar, rude and disgusting,” according to a crewmate who was Biter's foil on the episodes.
Despite a stream of negative social media comments, Biter has no regrets. “I didn't mind being the show's villain,” Biter tells Coffee Talk. “I hope people realize reality TV isn't necessarily real.”
Biter couldn't comment on some aspects of the show due to a confidentiality agreement, but with a few weeks to reflect after the shows aired, he did have some general comments.
What was the show really like?
We had a lot of fun. It was a great experience. We learned a lot about how a reality TV show is made, which was a lot of fun. A lot of people don't get it, but it was really a game. And it was fun playing a role.
Are you worried your image in the business community or with your family will suffer from the way you came off in the show?
People who know me know me know this isn't real. Bad service equals complaints equals drama equals good ratings. My mom's best friend loves the show, and she had a big laugh watching it. The producers wouldn't be doing their job if everyone on the show were happy.
Would you and Katie go on the show again?
We would definitely do it again. We might want to have more say in how the story is told, but we would absolutely do it again.”
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