By Amy Patton
Imagine you’re maneuvering a pedicab down a stretch of Key West’s Duval Street with nightfall’s rosy sunset on the horizon.
All is well until your young female passenger pops suddenly out of the three-wheeler and starts jogging beside it. Wait, what?
Well, that’s what happened to Charles Deyo recently on his quest to raise funds for the marine conservation organization Reef Environmental Education Foundation at reef.org.
“This girl just jumped out and started racing me,” Deyo laughed. “It turns out she was a track star in high school.”
Deyo, a local Key Wester, pedals the cab-for-hire several weekends a month mainly in the Old Town district, picking up passengers and donating the cash proceeds entirely to one of his favored causes, the protection of the marine ecosystem both here and globally. “I raise about $1,000 a month doing this,” he said last week while readying the cab for a night out. “It’s quite a workout for me.”
Deyo’s mission sometimes pays off. “I try to educate the people I pick up about REEF. Most of the time they don’t believe me, that I’m giving all the money to help save the coral environment that we’re in danger of losing.”
But waiting for passengers among the throngs of nightcrawlers who spill out of the bars and into the streets in downtown Key West isn’t all that Deyo is accomplishing with his voluminous charity work and altruistic ethos. The 60-year-old, Texas-born businessman, who staked his success early on in a software company and now manages rental properties here on the island, vibrates with an intense energy that’s hard to measure. He’s passionate about renewable initiatives and loves to talk about how his nearby motor yacht, Isabella, is powered entirely with solar energy. “That’s about as sustainable as you can get.”
Deyo said that when Hurricane Ian brushed past the Keys in late September, he was able to use the yacht’s solar panel energy to desalinate seawater, a feature he already has on board. With the help of his crew, much-needed supplies of fresh water and food (mostly Spam and Gatorade, he said) were delivered to those in need during and after the storm.
The tireless eco-entrepreneur’s dedication to a cleaner environment is clear.
“My main goal is to encourage people to invest in renewable housing and solar tech. It’s out there, it’s real and we need more awareness about how our decisions impact the earth. I would like everyone in this world to have a sustainable mindset.”
Deyo, though, is taking a temporary break from his local mission for change, so don’t expect to see him out on the Duval crawl pedicab circuit anytime soon. He’s leaving next week for a world tour to some exotic “bucket list” destinations. “I’m flying to London for Christmas, then on to Athens.”
If that’s not enough travel, Deyo will be visiting the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt and then hop on over to Africa’s Serengeti plains. A stop later on the itinerary is Rwanda to hang with the golden monkeys.
“I’m checking some boxes,” he said.
When he returns home to Key West, “I’ll continue to support the reefs in this unique way, ” said the hands-on philanthropist.
One pedaling block at a time.
