by Toni Daylor
Throughout the years, Southwest Orlando resident John “Lucky” Meisenheimer has become quite the celebrity in Central Florida and beyond. Sporting his signature hat, swimming goggles and surgical scrubs — and often seen within close proximity to a yo-yo or two — Lucky is unforgettable to almost everyone he meets. One walks away with the impression that this man of many interests and accomplishments embraces life to its absolute fullest.
In addition to running a successful dermatology practice and day spa, Lucky is an author, Screen Actors Guild member, short film and commercial producer, Guinness World Records record-holder, honorary Kentucky colonel, Special Olympics swimming coach, accomplished masters swimmer, and reputed world expert on all things related to yo-yos. Incredibly, this list continues to evolve as new projects pique his interest.
It is not unusual for people to have pursuits outside their professions, but what makes Lucky unique is the eclectic nature of his hobbies. So one may wonder, where did this desire to venture out beyond the ordinary originate?
“My parents were really good about encouraging us to explore different things when we were young,” said Lucky, whose mother was educated as a horticulturist; and father, who, in addition to obtaining a Ph.D. in organic chemistry, served as a meteorologist in the U.S. Air Force.
It is said that the apple does not fall far from the tree, and that is certainly true when taking a closer look at Lucky’s father’s own brand of esoteric hobbies. When not experimenting with a variety of chemical compounds or discovering new molecules, John Meisenheimer Sr. was an active member of the Commonwealth of Kentucky Long Rifle Team from 1964 through 1970. Specially selected from the association’s core membership of more than 250 marksmen, John Sr. was part of an elite competitive team composed of 10 members who traveled the country for exhibitions and competitions.
“I would work very hard, practicing every day and lifting weights,” said John Sr., who was required to try out for the team each year. “But I always made it.”
He won many local competitions, as well as the Indiana state championship; however, he missed a national title by a fraction of an inch. John Sr.’s chemistry background gave him an edge over his competition. Using an analytical scale to ensure consistent weight and size, the lead bullets he fabricated resulted in a more accurate shot.
And that is not the only sport John Sr. excelled at. He also was a collegiate tennis player and just recently gave up the sport because of an injury.
Whenever possible, John Sr. included his two sons in his activities.
Though his younger brother did not care much for shooting, Lucky tried his hand at the sport. When he started, the rifle was longer than he was tall. But true to his drive for excellence, he became the southeastern junior muzzleloader rifle champion and record holder at the age of 12.
“I got a lot of my work ethic and drive watching my dad when I was growing up,” Lucky said. “I would see him work really hard and train for something that he wanted.”
In turn, Lucky tries to set a good example for his three sons, John, Jake and Maximus.
“Hopefully, my boys understand the importance of working toward a goal when they see me train,” said Lucky, who has been a competitive swimmer for more than 30 years.
From his youth, throughout college and into adulthood, Lucky has won a myriad of swimming awards and set records along the way. He currently serves as president of Team Orlando Masters Swimming and is on the board of directors for the YMCA Aquatic Center on International Drive. Lucky even earned a spot in Ripley’s Believe It or Not when he swam the backstroke for one-half mile with his foot in his mouth.
Southwest resident John “Lucky” Meisenheimer earns a spot in Ripley’s Believe It or Not after swimming one-half mile with his foot in his mouth.
“I was in college at the time — the same one where my dad taught,” Lucky said. “But he didn’t seem to have a problem with all of the crazy publicity.”
“I’ve always been proud of anything Lucky did,” said John Sr., who learned to take his son’s exploits in stride.
Like his father before him, Lucky makes his family a priority and tries to involve them in his activities. His wife, son and mother have completed the famous 1K Lucky’s Lake Swim that he hosts daily at his Lake Cane home. Though none of his boys have officially committed to pursuing competitive swimming, his oldest son, John, seems to be the one most drawn to his father’s favorite sport. Ironically, Max, with his uncanny eye for marksmanship, is taking more after John Sr.
“We encourage our boys to try all types of sports and don’t push them in any one direction,” Lucky said. “I want my kids to be happy and love what they do.”
The outdoors has always attracted Lucky and his father. As a boy, Lucky remembers hunting for snakes, tadpoles and anything else he could collect. At one time, he had accumulated more than 50 snakes, which, surprisingly, didn’t make his mother bat an eye.
To replicate those experiences with his own boys, Lucky participates in the Dr. P. Phillips YMCA Family Center’s Indian Guide program.
“It is a lot of fun camping and spending time with my sons; it’s a great program,” Lucky said.
Another passion the Meisenheimer clan eagerly engages in revolves around the film industry. Owner of Lucky-Rose Films, Lucky has written, directed, acted and edited many short films and commercials.
With a family ready and willing, he rarely has to look far for extras.
Testing their own creative mettle, the three young Meisenheimer boys collaborated to create two short films that received wide acclaim at their school’s talent show.
“They did it all themselves,” said Lucky of his sons’ project, which included everything from conception to final editing. “The audience went wild when they saw it.”
In 2006, John and a friend auditioned and were chosen to recite a spooky tale during Harry P. Leu Garden’s annual ghost-storytelling event, where thousands of guests gather to hear professional storytellers spin tales designed to send shivers down the spine.
Lucky also is no stranger to performing. He has appeared in movies and on TV, and he made his directorial and screenwriting debut with the featurette film National Lampoon Presents RoboDoc Dissected, the Making of the Movie RoboDoc. Lucky completed the film after appearing in the major motion picture National Lampoon Presents RoboDoc.
Though exploration and creative expression were encouraged in the Meisenheimer household, academic achievements were equally emphasized in Lucky’s upbringing. He completed his undergraduate studies at Eastern Kentucky University, where his father was a professor held in high esteem.
“I guess I never questioned that I would become a doctor, especially since my dad was the pre-medicine studies adviser,” Lucky said with a chuckle, which always seems to be an undercurrent to his booming voice.
“I took some classes from my dad, and I would say he was a pretty good teacher,“ he recalled with a boyish grin.
Lucky went on to earn his medical degree from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and became board-certified in dermatology.
Lucky serves as the dermatology chair at Orlando Regional Medical Center and is an assistant clinical professor for ORMC and two-time past president of the Central Florida Society of Dermatology. Though some of his outside interests may be considered eccentric, when it comes to practicing medicine, Lucky is all business.
“Many of my patients tell me I’m different outside of the office,” said Lucky, who puts an emphasis on providing personal patient care and cutting-edge dermatological procedures.
With many academic accolades and published papers under his belt, John Sr. also established a reputation for excellence and was ranked among the top professors at EKU during his tenure of more than 30 years. Teaching academically challenging coursework, John Sr. had a way of making his classes interesting and relevant, even if some of his methods may have seemed a bit unorthodox. For example, as an incentive to earn bonus points, his students were encouraged to dress up on Halloween as their favorite molecule or chemical reaction.
Undoubtedly, his years teaching at the college level were rewarding ones, but some may not know that he had already gained a certain degree of notoriety prior to stepping on campus.
Shortly before the formation of NASA in the late 1950s, Cape Canaveral was buzzing with activity as the U.S. focused on entering the space race. The Soviet Union had successfully launched Sputnik 1, and the U.S. was anxious to catch up.
After completing the USAF weather officer program at the University of Chicago in 1955, John Sr. was stationed at Patrick Air Force Base near Cocoa Beach and served as the launch and flight weather officer for the first U.S. intercontinental missile launched in 1957.
While serving as a U.S. Air Force launch and flight weather officer in 1958, Lt. John Meisenheimer Sr. monitors “state-of-the-art” radar weather forecasting equipment.
But it was not until Jan. 31, 1958, that John Sr. made his mark on history. The Explorer 1 satellite was scheduled to launch Jan. 29, 1958. The young lieutenant reported that a jet stream moving across the cape would produce winds in excess of 200 mph. Realizing the missile carrying the satellite would not survive the wind shear, John Sr. recommended the launch be scrubbed. The next day’s forecast was not much better, and the junior officer stood his ground, despite pressure from his superiors, who, in turn, had to answer President Eisenhower’s calls to Florida to see what the holdup was about.
“The army general had some choice words for me, but again, it would have been a disaster if the satellite was launched in those conditions,” John Sr. said.
Finally, the winds subsided Jan. 31, allowing John Sr. to give the thumbs up to launch the Jupiter-C rocket that would carry and deploy Explorer 1. John Sr. will always have the distinction of being the man who effectively delayed the U.S.’s entry into the space race by two days. However, his courageous stance averted a disaster that would have surely hindered America’s ultimate quest to beat the Soviets to the moon.
Last year, John Sr., Lucky and his sons traveled to Cape Canaveral to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that launch.
“It is great for my sons to see that their grandfather had a part in our country’s history,” said Lucky, who, in his own way, has made a mark his sons will be proud to proclaim to their future children.
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