Acrobat, hand-balancer. He was the youngest son of Floriano Peixoto, the second president of Brazil, and of Josina Vieira Peixoto. When he was fifteen years old he quit his military career to join Circo Olimecha, where he became a famous acrobat. Together with Manuelito Olimecha, son of the Olimecha patriarch Carlo Franco, they were known for their superior acrobatic skills, especially in somersaults. Zeca Floriano was one of the first Brazilian bodybilders who specialized in olympic gymnastics, jiu-jitsu, boxing and martial arts in the 1920s.