CINCINNATI — One of the most inspiring people working at the Bengals stadium isn’t on the field or in the stands, he’s tucked away doing a job he loves, despite its ups and downs.

What You Need To Know

  • Bengals elevator operator Chris Wimpye inspires those around him when he works the press box elevator

  • Wimpye found himself in a wheelchair after being shot in a case of mistaken identity

  • Wimpye said he had to lose the anger and start a new life filled with smiles and positivity when he left the hospital

Chris Wimpye works as an elevator operator, taking people to and from the press box.

“I was sitting around the house retired not doing anything,” Wimpye said. “I had a buddy who said I should go back to work. So I said, ‘I’ll do this, it’s easy.’ It makes me happy to see people smile.”

He goes up and down all day long, but he said it never gets boring.

“I actually count the number of times I go up and down,” he said. “I think the most I’ve ever went up was like 94 and of course, that means I went down 95 times.”

By the numbers, Wimpye has one of the rarest jobs at the stadium or anywhere.

“You don’t see this occupation too much anymore,” he said. “But I think it’s a beautiful thing to be hands-on with people and to call out where they’re going. To call out their floors, people still love that they like it.”

Since growing up in Cincinnati, Wimpye has lived in some other cities around the country, but he couldn’t wait to get back to the Queen City.

“I didn’t realize how beautiful the city was until I left,” he said. “I realized that Cincinnati is the Paris of the United States. I missed the beauty of it and not just the city itself, but the food, Skyline Chili. I missed my friends, and I missed White Castle.”

He’s also a fan of the soccer team FC Cincinnati, where he works in the elevator at TQL Stadium. He’s crazy about his beloved Bengals and wears the 2021 AFC championship ring.

“I love the Bengals. I love everything about them,” he said. “To me, it is the best uniform in the league. I love stripes and the orange.”

He’s close to the action, but still far. He uses his phone to keep tabs on the game.

“I usually hear the roaring stadium and then 30 seconds later, I see it on my phone,” he said.

He’s not complaining and loves his job.

“I enjoy doing. It is easy,” Wimpye said. “I like to see people smile and see people happy. I see a million smiles a day and that’s probably the reason why I do it.”

His favorite Bengal to ride in the elevators is one of the most colorful characters in league history: Chad Ocho Cinco Johnson.

“He’s the coolest anywhere,” Wimpye said. “I think he was ahead of his time.”

Wimpye said Johnson always has a positive attitude, and the elevator operator could easily be a negative person, after what happened to put him in a wheelchair.

“I was the innocent victim of a violent crime,” Wimpye said. “I was driving down the street, minding my own business, and somebody thought I was somebody else. So it was a mistake.”

He said that he dealt with the anger during the many months he spent recovering.

“I was in the hospital for so long that I knew in order for me to leave the hospital, not so much as for the healing process physically, but I knew I could not leave the hospital with any anger because I was coming back to the world,” he said. “So I suppressed all my anger inside the hospital, left with a new mind, a new beginning and a new life.”

A life filled with smiles, working at the stadium of the team he loves.