People of St. Pete: Stephen Favata

By Tina Stewart Brakebill

St. Pete is celebrated for its fabulous weather, beautiful vistas, worldclass food scene, and thriving cultural atmosphere but the people of St. Pete truly make this city something special. In appreciation, each month Green Bench shines a light on one of the many people that make St. Pete unique.

As a firefighter and paramedic, Stephen Favata plays a vital role in St. Petersburg Fire Rescue’s mission “to serve all citizens of our community by promoting, protecting, and improving their health, safety, and quality of life through exceptional emergency service and education.” When he’s not waiting for the fire bell to ring, you might occasionally find him listening for another bell as his alter ego, professional wrestler Steve Madison.

Dreaming of the Ring

At 18, Favata was a good student, senior class president, and promising baseball player. The great-grandson of Sicilian immigrants, he was expected to attend college. Favata had different dreams. He grew up during the 1980s golden era of wrestling and aspired to emulate hometown hero Hulk Hogan. His parents, however, envisioned a college class ring in his future. As a compromise, he entered the University of South Florida in 2001. He also attended World Wrestling Federation superstar Steve Keirn’s Professional Wrestling School of Hard Knocks and performed locally. In 2003, his connection to Keirn led to an offer to join the inaugural tour for a new enterprise, World Japan Pro Wrestling. For the next four years “Steve Madison” traveled regularly to Japan for two-week tours and continued to wrestle locally, while Stephen Favata attended college. It was an exciting time for a young bachelor, but as he approached his mid-20s, he looked to the future and asked, “How am I going to reinvent myself?”

Reinvention: New Dreams

Urged by some fellow wrestlers to consider firefighting, Favata realized that the profession’s team approach and required physicality seemed a good fit. As he began the work to make his new dream a reality, he continued wrestling and became a key player in training young hopefuls, including women hoping to polish their skills for competition. By 2012, he had graduated from fire school, Emergency Medical Technicians school, and paramedic school. He joined the Pinellas Park Fire Department and soon was recognized as paramedic of the year. In 2011, Favata met Liz, a fellow paramedic trainee. They married in 2015 and now have two sons, Brock and Brody. Impressed with its forward-looking systems, training opportunities, and progressive family policies, Favata actively pursued a job with St. Petersburg Fire Rescue. Hired in 2016, he began at the downtown master station and since has moved to Fire Station 14. He serves on the elected board of Local 747 St. Petersburg Association of Firefighters, which allows him to pursue his passion for community engagement. The organization donates food, money, and other resources to organizations including the St. Petersburg Free Clinic, Kind Mouse, and the guardian ad litem program. At the 2021 Florida Legends Luncheon, “Steve Madison” was honored for more than 20 years of dedication and contributions to the sport and celebrated for “spending most of his career putting others before himself.”

Photo by Brian Brakebill