The Sevan Podcast - #242 - Dusty Tuckness

Episode Date: December 27, 2021

Dusty is a legendary bullfighter and an avid CrossFitter. 13x WNFR Bullfighter. 10x PRCA Bullfighter of the Year. CF-L1 Trainer.Follow Dusty on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dusty_tuckness/The Sevan Podcast is sponsored by http://www.barbelljobs.comFollow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/therealsevanpodcast/Watch this episode https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC59b5GwfJN9HY7uhhCW-ACw/videos?view=2&live_view=503 Support the showPartners:https://cahormones.com/ - CODE "SEVAN" FOR FREE CONSULTATIONhttps://www.paperstcoffee.com/ - THE COFFEE I DRINK!https://asrx.com/collections/the-real... - OUR TSHIRTS... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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We'll start the show without you. We're starting the show without the guest today. Look, there's Will. Streaming live to access. Guys. Hello. Hey. Wow, that was a seamless change.

Oh, shoot, Will. Look, I fixed it. Let's try that again backstage oh look he's in two places at once yeah which one do you like better oh that one that second one i think we got a better connection okay let me i just kicked you out all right how's that that awesome. Now I'll fix your Instagram. Perfect. This is like the old days.

Yeah. I know you guys think you're looking at a young man, but, man, if you start digging into this, dude, this is an old dude. Do you feel young or do you feel old? Man, honestly, I feel pretty young. How old are you? 35. Man, because you know stuff. Yeah, no, I still feel like I'm pretty much really getting in my prime honestly i think it's all meant meant the mentality you

have between your ears on and how well you prep prepare yourself inside and outside the arena so uh and it's life's good um dusty who what's the oldest guy in your profession oh man i don't know i know there's been as a right that's going right now. I'm not a hundred percent sure. I mean, I'd probably say mid, mid forties, but I've known guys that have went into their, went into their fifties before. For me, ideally, I think if I keep the right mentality and keep working hard, I think I've got another good 10 years in me for sure. In all, in all fairness I mean I'm not I'm not a huge football fan but like in football right like you hit 35 like everyone's wondering

if you're let's say your quarterback everyone's wondering like is that your last year right oh yeah yeah now there's is it like that behind your back is everyone like all right this has got to be Dusty's last year all right oh shit this has got to be his last year oh i'm sure there is just due to the fact of you know you know how the world works you know people are ready for change and and something new at times but uh you know yeah i've had the question before when are you gonna retire or you about done and you know for some people age 30 to you know late 20s to mid 30s, you know, they are done. They've had enough of it. But I truly feel this is the calling for my life that God's given me.

And like I said, I'm healthy. Right now I'm nursing an injury from the Wrangler National Finals. But that's part of it. You just got to take the good with the bad. It's just like with any type of physical career choice you choose. There's going to be good days and rougher days, but you just got to learn to overcome. There's a sport, for those of you who don't know, for those of you like me, and it takes place in a stadium. And there's dudes who get on bulls, and I guess they have to stay on them while they ride

around. I guess they get on horses too. And then when the guy, the guy is holding onto the bull and then when he falls off the bull or when his ride is done, he has to separate himself from the bull. And there are three guys, guys sometimes two i guess sometimes even one and they're called bullfighters and what they do is they help escort this guy off this crazy animal um to safety and from doing a little research on dusty not only do are they trying to keep the guy safe i guess they're trying to keep the bull safe i guess they're just good dudes out there and what dusty has appeared to have done is he's kind of flipped the script on the sport i'm trying to think if there's another sport that's happened like this but he's basically um you know he's part referee

part judge part medical staff part i don't know what you I don't know if there is there a parallel to what you do in any other sport? Dusty, you know, like I said, you kind of touched on a lot of it, but I like to just say, you know, we're the insurance factor. More than anything is we're there to take the blows so that they don't have to or they can get up and get out of there. So it's it's a pretty unselfish sport um you're kind of putting your own well-being out there for that for another human being but i wouldn't trade for anything in the world so so dusty does this and he's done it to such a high level and um what's interesting is he is not um he is not connoror McGregor in his demeanor and his rhetoric, and yet he has brought that type of attention to this.

People are now going to these events. What do you call them, rodeo events? Yeah, so you've got your traditional rodeos that has a horse riding in the town events, and then you've got your your your uh extreme bulls events your pbr events that are just strictly uh bull riding but uh yeah definitely in the western industry and so what dusty does is he that's him right there so you saw him pull the rider away and then he's getting the bulls attention from what it looks like in order so that guy can get back to safety and so now people

are going to these events to see dusty work and if you watch this video from 2013 if you google his name dusty tuckness i think it's worth a half hour of your time watching his videos it will change your whole perspective uh it will change your whole perspective on what humans are capable of what this sport's all about dusty do you know i know you're also a crossfitter do you know who colton mertens is uh colton mertens uh not off the top of my head um i'm assuming he's something to do in the crossfit world yeah he's a he's a pig farmer out of iowa um five foot four 185 pounds six percent body, just dying to go to the CrossFit games again. Right. And I had, and he takes care of 15,000 pigs on his farm.

And I had him on the show two days ago and he told me, I said, Hey, what's the craziest stuff that's happened to you in the last month? And he was telling me about pigs, just like snouting them and throwing them, throwing them in the air. And I'm like oh my god and by then i had already started researching you and i've seen you get just chucked yeah oh yeah it's uh those animals they're their uh strength and power is 15 times more than we can even imagine you know and uh it's not necessarily the the the horns or the head the hookings that necessarily hurt the worst it's uh it's their feet you know when you

get stepped on and that's how i accumulated this injury a couple weeks ago is you know when they're you know they're anywhere from 14 to 2200 pounds that's a lot of weight coming down on your body and something's going to have to give and more or less it's of weight coming down on your body and something's gonna have to give and more or less it's gonna be something on you usually so um you have a you have a a line i don't know if it still is i don't know do people's favorite scripture change or do you stick with one your whole life some some do especially you know different uh scenarios that strike up in life but for me it's been pretty solid for for a really long time and it's john 15 13 yes sir and i had never heard it before till i heard you say it yeah and i read it the other day on the show it says and

if i'm quoting it wrong i apologize greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Yep. Those dudes aren't your friends, are they? Yeah, a lot of them are, and some aren't, I guess. But at the end of the day, I've signed up to do a job, and I've got to do it regardless. That's the kind of way I was raised, is to step up to the plate and put your best foot forward and you know when you when you're referring back to John 15 13 that's what you know Jesus has done for us you know some are going to like him some aren't going to like him but he still you know paid the ultimate sacrifice for us and it just for me it hit home at such a young age fighting bulls and

some adversity and stuff that I went through as a kid. And then it just hung to me. And you know what? If he could do that for those who don't love him, why can't I do that for those who may not respect or love me? But the camaraderie in the sport of rodeo is honestly second to none. If I were to line it up with another professional sport, I would probably say CrossFit because there's the rivalries that everybody wants to see. But after each event,

you consistently see those athletes genuinely happy for each other to be successful or to win an event or make the games for that matter of fact fact so that's another reason why crossfit i think i really have been drawn to the community of crossfit is no no different than the community rodeo to put um what dusty done is in in perspective the guy who's the second best in the world has won has won i guess you guys call it a championship, five times. And depending on, I don't know the difference between the leagues, but you've won it 10 times through the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association and 13 times through the Rangar National Finals Rodeo. Is that correct?

Yes, sir. And those events that you win, can you describe that to me? There's not riders on bulls. That's just you jump in with the bull and dance well so uh the 13 times that's referred back to the wrangler national finals what we just got done a couple weeks ago and that's uh to give everybody an insight of what that is if they don't know it it'd be like the super bowl of revue you know you got to all seven events the the top 15 cowboys and Cowgirls in those events competing for a world championship. So all they did all year long, everybody wants to make it to Las Vegas at the end of the season because that's when they're competing for over 10 million in prize money and they're chasing a gold buckle.

Wow. In time, PRCA Bullfighter of the Year, that's an award that's kind of voted on by your peers and the association on, you know, more or less your performance throughout the year. And, you know, obviously your personality, your athletic ability, a lot of stuff plays into hand on that. And it's just a blessing to be a part of one or the other. And it's overwhelming to be a part of both. Do they. So you get a part of both of them. So you get invited to both of these events? So the 10th time, the Bullfighter of the Year, it's an award that's just voted on.

So yes, we make the top five nominees list. At the end of the year, we do kind of like an awards banquet, just like you would see in like CMAs or any other sporting event where they, you know, showcase athletes. So that's like the Heisman. That's like the Heisman. Yeah, yeah, for sure. And then the Wrangler Antifar, yes, at the end of the season, the top 20 bull riders in the world, bull riders in the world the end of September vote in a pool of probably I'd say 80 to 100 eligible bullfighters and then they they cut down that to the top five vote getters and then the following week they'll vote the top three out of those and so you're yeah you're selected and hired

by the guys that are actually going to be riding and so And so it's a pretty good honor and it's a prestigious honor that knowing the best guys in the world have picked your name to keep them the safest possible for them to have a chance at a world championship. Yeah, there's no greater compliment, right? Yeah, no, for sure. It's very humbling. You know, it's something you work. It's just, you know, if we're going to refer back to CrossFit a bit today, too,

is, you know, you work so hard for something. And, you know, the difference between it is it's kind of out of my grasp at the end of the season. You know, it's not that I work so many performances or I save so many guys. It's what they saw of me inside that arena and what they think that I'm capable of. So my chances of going to the NFR is in their hands, but that's where I strive for perfection even more because of that factor. You know what? I'm not going to take any day for granted.

I want to work on being consistent and work on pursuing excellence each and every day. I want to work on being consistent and work on pursuing excellence each and every day. So when you go, when you show up to these events, you're just the help. But are people starting to cheer for you? Like when they say, when they, when they say, and we have, what's it, we have Dusty and Cody as the bullfighters today. Does the crowd like start going nuts now when they see you? A little bit. The sport of bullfighting is really kind of obviously any type of social media um public publicity that anything really gets it

it definitely gets some hype and there's a lot there's been a lot more attention drawn to bull fighting um and what we do as a team out there and you mentioned cody uh cody webster you know he's one of my best friends. And we just got to jam together like we can. I don't know. There's a chemistry there that's kind of unheard of. But, yeah, you know, you got fans that, you know, you'd be signing autographs one day or whatever, and they say they get caught watching us more than the bull riding.

And that's cool. You know, at the end of the day, we're kind of unsung heroes. It's kind of an old saying, which I'm not a spotlight guy. You know, yes, I'm thankful for where I'm at, what I've got to do in my life. But at the end of the day, I've got a job to do, and that's my main objective. And, you know, I need to go take care of that business and be consistent day in and day out. It's a trippy sport, both the bullfight. I mean, there's two sports going on at once now, I guess.

Maybe that's what's unique about it. There's the rider and then there's the bullfighter. But like auto racing, I guess all sports are kind of like this. They're not all a chunk of them. People want to see you get like tossed. People want to see a car crash. I mean, I guess them people want to see you get like tossed people want to see a car crash i mean i guess no one wants to see you get hurt but like like people want to see like the bull throw you and you do a flip and land on your feet right yes some do you know and there's

a ooze and awes of the sport you know it's uh you know it's kind of like uh standing on the street corner waiting for wreck to happen and jumping in. You know, nobody wants to – everybody wants to see a wreck, but everybody wants to see you come out of the wreck. Right. And they don't want to miss it. You know, like I said, if there's a wreck, they don't want to be at the concession stand and miss it, even though they might not want to see it.

So it's a game of inches, really. It's the sport that's unpredictable. Anything can and could happen. And I think that's what keeps the excitement to an all-time high, especially when you talk about the Super Bowl or rodeo at Las Vegas. The atmosphere in the Thomason Mac with the crowd, I would say it's similar to Madison when they're doing an event at night and they bring out the rigs and the barbells.

I mean, it's just that there's something about that arena floor at the Thomas and Mac for 10 nights. The competition level is just out of the roof. It's just if you can't get excited there, your wood's wet. Did you say your wood's wet yeah uh are you getting better at it as i was trying to i'm watching it and i'm like wow sometimes he stays close to the bull so i'm assuming so that way it can't like you have you actually have your hand on his head and like you guys are like running together sometimes

you're running away sometimes you're putting moves on them like are you getting better do you know what to do not more now than you did 10 years ago is it like light and day you're like oh my god i can't believe i used to go left here now i'd go right oh yeah i think i should honestly i think that's anything in life you know if you if you're not consistently learning consistently trying to get better than you know kind of what are you doing there you know you're kind consistently learning, consistently trying to get better, then, you know, kind of what are you doing there? You know, you're kind of being mediocre. So, yeah, I've learned a lot over the last five, six years, even last year. At the end of the day, the Bulls will be the ultimate teacher.

They're going to show you what you can and can get away with. But, yeah, it's a lot of it's not thinking. Usually if you're thinking about it, you're usually second late. It's a lot of anticipating where that you're thinking about it, you're usually second late. It's a lot of anticipating where that cow is going to go and then reaction. You're kind of seeing it unfold before it actually happens, so you're putting yourself in a position. When that whistle blows or that bull rider does hit the ground, you're just one, two steps away to where you can get that bull's attention

and then draw him back over. You and your partner or the other two guys, depending on how many you're working with, can work as a team in unison to help distract that bull and get him drawn away from that bull rider as well as kind of try to help that bull get in and out of the arena as well. Why do they call you a bullfighter? You guys don't hurt the bulls at all, right? I think I've even heard you say you're there to protect the bull and the rider.

Yeah, no, that's just, you know, because they're bulls, and, you know, we kind of got to fight to get away from them, I guess, in a sense, you know, especially in the protection part. You know, not all bulls are mean. Some, you know, just really enjoy the buck and just leave the arena, but there's that factor in there that they are an unpredictable animal and they can do what they want when they want. The tradition of the sport in a lump sum was years ago when rodeo started. It was just cowboys keeping cowboys safe.

Then it evolved into what they called the rodeo clown where they would fight bulls or steers at the start of it before the brain of a bull come into the picture and entertain the crowd. Well, as the sport developed even more and the freestyle coming to play and rodeo just become a bigger picture, there's a lot of guys that either started sticking with just the rodeo clown barrel man part and then some starting sticking with just the rodeo clown barrel man part and then some starting sticking with just the bullfighting part and so there's a there's kind of that discrepancy of what do you do and i'll say i'm a bullfighter well they always think i'm a bull rider but then i have to kind of explain what i do so i'll say you know the rodeo clown oh so you're the funny guy no i'm not the rodeo clown barrel man is the funny guy but that it's kind of separated into the sport now to where our main objective is

cowboy protection. So I guess that's kind of the word that stuck, bullfighter. We don't ride them. In a sense, we do fight them because not with our fists, but more with our athletic ability. And tell me the distinction between a rodeo clown and a bullfighter. Are you guys always out there together like when i see these videos of you and i see you and the one or two other guys is there a clown somewhere around yeah yeah so the rodeo clown his main job or his main job is entertaining

the crowd you know if there's a low spot in the van if if a bull's not wanting to load or a horse or whatever, to kind of fill in that time to where you're not just sitting there kind of waiting for something to happen. So they're telling jokes. They're getting the crowd involved into it, kind of making everybody feel more part of the show as well. Also then in the bull ride, they'll also have a barrel out there we call the clown barrel. But it's a barrel with two open ends on it. It's built specifically for the sport. There's padding on the inside.

It's either a steel barrel or aluminum barrel to where these guys can pack that barrel in. It's kind of like an old island of safety, whether for us or the bull rider. The bull can hit it around. The crowd enjoys seeing that. The guy comes out and does some comedy. That's the rodeo clown barrel man. Our objective is, like I said, strictly cowboy protection. We're not out there telling jokes.

We don't have a microphone. We're basically just in the arena during the bull riding. That's kind of the difference between the two. There's some guys that do both uh but there's a they're mostly guys you know do one or the other and that video that you're putting on there is is what we would call freestyle bullfighting to where you're fighting a mexican purebred fighting bull for 60 seconds and then you're also you're judged uh 125 um on the bullfighter, 1-25 on the bull, with two judges of possible 100 points across the board.

So that's a very exciting part of what we do as well through the BFO Bullfighters Only events, where you can also be crowned world champions. And it's just a high-intense sport. When you jump out there, is that like you heard a timer go off okay you made it the 60 seconds so yeah there's a lot of time so you there's a there's a mandatory 40 second whistle so you've got at least be in the arena and fight your animal for 40 seconds in order to have a qualified time and then between the 40 second and 60 second mark you know it's it's kind of a you're

judging your your your uh your finish in a sense so i guess uh relating it into crossfit uh frazier i thought was always good at it uh about you know his pacing and his timing and how how strong of a finish he wanted you know is he gonna kind of burn it out or is he going to be like okay i still got four days left you know i'm going to take a breath here and then i'm going to roll um so that that last 20 seconds we want to sell it on a high note and what i mean by high note is whether you jump bull or jump them off the barrel or or something like that you want to basically leave the fight that you're in control. And so that fight right there that you showed, that was a bull named Spitfire, was a really, I could say, feared bull for a long time. There was only one other guy that I knew that really got along with him all right.

But that was the first time I drew him. And up until that point, his track record was pretty dominant. He wiped out a lot of bullfighters but those are the kind of bulls that i always craved to draw because those are the moments that kind of separate you from from the rest of the field and it's kind of either a ride or die type thing you know you kind of see what you're made of so that was a pretty sentimental night really for me i ended up going 94 and a half points, setting a world record in the BFO. I couldn't have scripted it any better.

It was just a blessed night. I got to draw one of the bulls that I've wanted to in a long time, just to go toe-to-toe with him. Thankfully, we stayed on the feet and won that battle. That was the highest score ever in recorded history for that event? Yeah, in the bullfighters' only world, yeah. That was still hold the world record there. So that's pretty cool.

If they beat it, I'll be happy for them. But until then, I'll just keep watching. What if you get drilled out there? Where's the guys to help you? Are there other bullfighters waiting to jump in? Yeah, so on the freestyle side of things, yes, there is. A lot of formats are set up in pins of three. Say there's a 15-man bullfight, so there's going to be five pins of three.

That'd be me competing against two other guys in that round. And the high score out of that round would advance to the short round. So you'll have at least those two other guys on the fence. It's kind of spotting you, if not one or two other guys. So the guys you're competing against are also protecting you. Oh, yeah. And that just goes back to the camaraderie part of the sport. You know, if you get down, you know, you could easily have guys on the fence

and say, no, I want him down because I want to try to win. Right. But that's never the case. Those guys, I mean, are second to none. You know, they're going to jump off and get that animal off me or me off them just so they can go ahead and finish a solid bullfight. So that's what I like about the sport of rodeo and the Western lifestyle is just everybody's pulling for everybody. We all want to be successful, but at the end of the day,

there can only be one winner, but we always like to try to pull for each other. Hey, I see a movie here, like a days of thunder type movie like two guys who are friends and one of the guys accuses the other guy of not jumping off the fence to help them and gotta have a couple girls in the mix and i see it yeah yeah exactly um your dad did this as a kid did that scare you and you had your first injury at five, right? It's funny. I had Sage Bergner on here the other day. And I'm like, how long have you been lifting weights?

And she's like 25 years. And I'm like, how old are you? And she's like 30, you know, and her dad's Mike Bergner. So obviously, you know, she's been lifting weights since she's four or five. And you have the same story going. Yeah. So I grew up into the rodeo world. My dad fought bulls, and my mom was

involved in rodeo as well. And my parents were divorced at a young age. But, you know, kind of a long story short on some of that is there was just something about the bullfight that I was always drawn to. And, you know, I started going with dad a lot in the summers and experiencing that. Then I ended up moving in with dad uh the start of my freshman year in high school and uh my first big injury uh was when I was in when I was 15 and I can honestly say up until that point um because I started fighting bulls when I was about 12 um which is way younger than probably 99 percent of the the guys who fight bulls there's only a couple other guys that I know that have started around that age.

But it really opened my eyes to what the sport cannon could do to me. And it really put me in shock. The first time in my life, I remember what experience and what fear is and nerves. And trying to overcome that, was tough for me. And it was through my faith in God and being able to go to a radio Bible camp where I've really just transitioned my whole life mentally and physically and started understanding the purpose and a way of life and which allowed me to overcome those hurdles that were kind of bestowed upon

me at a young age. And I'm just kind of took and run from that. You know, it's, it's, you know, everybody's going to face adversity in their life, but it's, it's believing that, uh, through those trials and tribulations, that there's something better on the other side, if you're just not willing to give up. I want to get to that Bible camp. I want to go back to, uh, there's so many holes to fill in here. There's a story about you were four or five years old. You were injured. You broke your arm and the doctor had to reset your arm. Oh yeah. That was, uh, so that was, I was a little older than that. Um,

I can't remember. It's been a good minute ago now, but I was still living with mom and I was actually steer riding at the time. And what is that? Like, it's on a horse that's not mean? I mean, a cow that's not mean? Well, yeah, it's basically a cut bull. But that's what starting out in junior ranks is. Instead of just getting on a bull when you're a kid, you're getting on sheep,

and then you can get on calves, and then you can get on steers. So you kind of work your way up the total pull. But, yeah, I was steer riding at our hometown rodeo, and I ended up breaking my arm. get on steers so you kind of work your way up the the total pull but uh yeah i uh it was for steer riding at our hometown rodeo and i ended up breaking my arm and uh so at five years old you were on already on a horse but it just it just had its balls trimmed that's supposed to be like some sort of like make you feel better it was more like a uh a steer is a cut bull. So, yeah, it would be – he can't breathe anymore, I guess you could say. But he could still toss you around.

Oh, yeah. I mean, you know, like I said, they're – you know, go out there and jump, kick, cross the pin. But, yeah, just had to come off and land it. I broke my right arm, both arms in my right arm. And mom could tell you the story better than than I can since it's been so long ago but I guess when they had to move my arm around and set it back in or whatever they had to do that I said something along the lines of you know cowboys got to be tough you know and I was kind of raised you know that, that way. I had, you know, between my mom and my dad and my stepdad and that, we were all raised to be tough, you know, raised to have self-discipline

and raised to work hard for what you want to achieve in life. And I've never been much of a guy to really be weighted on. And so, yeah, that was, I guess, one of my first big injuries in the rodeo world was when I broke my arm as a kid. Do you have siblings? and uh so yeah that was i guess one of my first big injuries in the rodeo world was when i broke my arm as a kid do you have siblings yeah i got two two older brothers one four years older and then one nine years older do they do they mess around with this stuff uh my middle brother jesse he did for a while um he he rode a little bit for for a little bit through his younger years,

but they both kind of grew out of it. They both enjoy the sport of rodeo, but they kind of chose different paths in life. And like I said, this is just something that I can honestly say, I feel like God has put my life from the beginning, just through when I moved over to Dad's and got hurt and was trying to get over that adversity of that wreck. It was through the Royal Revival Camp where I ended up coming over that, but that's where I found my faith in God and really changed my life and my mindset and

seeing the purpose that was been there from the start. So just truly, God's truly moved and opened doors in my life for the betterment of 20-something years in the rodeo world. And it's just, yeah, I mean, I could sit here all day and talk about how good it is, even in the tough days. But the family that I've accumulated in the rodeo world, you know, I spend a lot of time on the road. I spend the better part of 10 and a half, 11 months on the road. I'll get a week here and there at the house.

So I don't get to see my mom and my brothers in that a lot. But you accumulate what you call rodeo family, and you see them countless times throughout the year. And there's a lot of guys like that, that I truly consider, you know, one of the things keeping us from being a hundred percent family is blood. But then my mom and brothers,

we got to know them a lot. So it's just, the whole family has grown, you know, across the board. So it's, it's just a pretty phenomenal lifestyle. Are you, do you have a, are you married no sir do you have a girlfriend uh not not as of right now no sir

is that is that something that you pursue oh yeah for sure you know it's it's highs and lows and i guess my mentality on it's a little different than a lot of people there's people across the board that just date to date or or uh um you know aren't very faithful and that's something that I've always prided myself on pretty big is you know I not that everybody that I've dated I'm trying to tell myself that's how I'm going to marry but I've always had intentions of being right and being with the person for a long time. And, um, I said that we've, we've been in and out of some throughout the years, but, uh, there's, there's going to be one that'll put up with me for, for the time being. We just haven't found her yet. Yeah. That's interesting. I never thought of that. Yeah. I guess I never thought of that. I never thought to date to marriage, but I guess,

I guess a lot of people do. I've had a lot of friends who are great guys and they'll start dating a girl and they'll play the story out in their head. Like, Oh, I can't see myself with this girl forever. So they either break up or they sabotage the relationship. But I guess I always just dated for pleasure, you know, like, yeah, I guess like eating, like girls are pretty, they smell good. They're fun to hold. Like, yeah.

You know, like for sure yeah just um but now but but your job's crazy i i just it's um 10 to 12 i mean and you're in your 30s that's when you grinded i spent 10 to 12 uh 10 to 11 months on the road in my 30s but at some point i guess um yeah do you have a lot of girls courting you are you are you a uh a popular are you a good catch uh i don't know i i i think i'm a pretty good guy um and yeah i mean you know you know you get the random messages or calls or uh ones that come up to you or whatever but like I said at the end of the day I'm not I've never been big into that part of it all like I said I've I've lived that life in college and that not that I'm happy about it by no means but I've changed my ways and changed my

life and they're just bigger bigger picture of life for me inside and outside of the arena and at the end of the day you know there's there's a way to go about things there's a way not to go about things so i'm just trying to trying to do what i feel is right when i i had do you know who sarah sigman's daughter is she's a crossfitter from iceland yeah i had her i had her on the show a couple weeks ago and i was like so what's up um do you want a boyfriend she She goes, yeah. And I go, are you going to get one? She goes, well, I just don't have any – I don't – there's not a guy out there. And I'm paraphrasing.

I apologize, Sarah, if I'm not getting it right. But basically, there's not a guy out there who can handle the lack of attention I would give him because basically she's focused on her gig, right? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And I'm guessing like – I mean you do a – I mean I don't want to be melodramatic, but you're in kind of a life or death, maybe even worse profession. It could be worse than dying for you. Like something could happen that makes it so – is that the way kind of it is for you too at 35 on the road 10 or 11 months like it's just it's going to be such a special fit because your focus is so elsewhere yeah yeah there's yeah no um i i 100 understand what she's talking about and and there's it takes somebody that

experiences life in a sense like that of being that busy and being that focused to understand it a little bit. The few that aren't necessarily tied into life like that, that do understand it, I mean, they're like unicorns. They're pretty special. And some of my best friends have found something like that. But the thing for me is, yes, we are busy. Yes, I'm very self-driven and very focused. And I've learned through the years and God's really revealed through different relationships and stuff. For me, it's not that any of those relationships were a waste because I don't think they were.

were a waste because I don't think they were, but he revealed certain things through them or through me where I can get better or where I need that peace in my life. And so, yes, I understand what she says for sure, but there's also been a balance for me where, like I was talking to a buddy last night about working out and the dedication that you have to have to consistently train and work out to a high elite level is very mentally. And you've got to have some mental toughness to withstand it. And I said, you know, there's guys that I've heard that said, man, well, I drove 15 hours today. I didn't have time to work out. Well, my first question to them is what what did you do with the other nine? And, you know, well, I slept.

Okay, well, why didn't you sleep for eight hours and work out one hour? And that's the mentality that I've had. So going back to on the relationship side of things, I feel where God has showed me where I can get better and I've gotten a lot better is finding that balance too is okay I've got 24 hours a day to chase my goals and my dreams but I've also got to find time for that other significant other in my life to where I can support their goals and their dreams as well I got to show that enough care whether it's physically or whether it's verbally,

that I'm there for them as well, even though I'm that dedicated and focused on my part. So if I'm getting seven hours of sleep, I may only get six, six or five and a half now because I'm going to dedicate, you know, that other time of making a point to be in there for them or watching them or or watching them or or supporting them any way possible so there's got to be a little give and take um i don't want to be a selfish person and just be so centered about myself and my goals um because yes that would take a very very very uh special person for that person to just sit there and basically be your cheerleader and hug you when you can and or whatever so there's a balance there I think that I've really started to see

and I've grown in areas so uh it's it makes it for more work but I think at the end of the day um when it's the right one it's so worth it yeah do you call your parents every day um not every day i talk to my mom a lot i talk to dad a little bit um you know he's still uh doing a bit of rodeoing and traveling as well but uh i stay in touch with with my mom quite a bit um my brother's a little bit one both of them work uh long tireless hours so um i kind of wait in a sense sometimes for them to call me but yeah definitely try to stay in contact with my family and nowadays you know with all the different social media and all the rodeos on tv and events on tv or live streaming they get to watch a lot of it so they're in the know before i even get a call them after the performance so

So they're in the know before I even get a call them after the performance. So that's kind of nice about it too, to where they can stay up to date with everything. And I know that I'm not trying to hide anything from them or anything. I think you're going to transcend the sport. I don't know if anyone's ever done that in rodeo. I can't think of anyone. Yeah. I think you're going to transcend the sport and it's going to be so great for

everyone around you i mean it's good the whole sport's going to benefit from it it's just once again it's weird that it's it's weird that it's a bullfighter i mean not not anymore i mean if you would ask 10 years ago it would have been weird it's a bullfighter i guess it's not weird and now i mean all anyone has to do is watch your footage and see what you're doing it's all i mean you really have i mean i've only been watching i've been watching kind of obsessively for like 40 days but i don't even watch the writers weird i mean maybe that's because i was gonna have you on the show but man what you guys are doing is nuts yeah i think the art behind it is is really starting to get exposed a little bit more for the good um and it is humbling it It's neat to see that people appreciate us outside the Bull Riders

and that there's a fan base and people really applaud for us. And like I said, I've never been a guy to be the guy that needs to pat it on the back or be in the spotlight. I don't know. That's just something that God never put in me. But I definitely want to use the platform that he's given me to shine my light and, you know, be the best version of me that I possibly can be. And at the end of the day, I want to be an influencer.

You know, I want to show every kid out there that, you know, the only person that's going to keep you from doing something is yourself. And through my testimony in my childhood, it's not that I just, I never got anything given to me. You know, I had a lot of hard things to climb over as a kid and, you know, I was broke and, you know, basically left home on a small dollar and, you know, slowly worked my way and just had a never say never kind of attitude and, and just strive for perfection and, you

know, each and every day work hard. And, you know, I remember when I was a kid and thinking about working the regular national finals, you know, I just thought it was just kind of another world and another portal. And just looking back now, I'm like, Holy cow. And I've literally lived every little childhood dream that I could think of. And now, now it's in my, my position where how can I give back and how can I show other kids that can change the trajectory of their life into a more positive way or allow them to see that they can chase their dreams.

Just know that their dreams sometimes are faster than they are, but that shouldn't make you shy away from the sword and that's where i've really drawn to the sport across it too is uh is the the work capacity and the self-discipline and the the willingness to get better you know when you're talking about ben and frazier and froning and and uh cole and uh no these, I mean, they live it every day. And I just like, man, it just inspires me to be so much better. You know, just really digging into Froning and Frazier. You know, their work ethic is just out of this world. You know, the people don't realize how good you have to be just to make the CrossFit Games.

Oh, it's the hardest thing ever i wouldn't suggest anyone do it you could be the worst athlete at the crossfit games and you're still the fittest person in the world you know it's crazy to fathom that and there's you know and and in my line of work like they they label me as kind of a gym junkie or a CrossFit junkie or whatever, but obviously it's what I've seen to benefit me and my profession more than anything. And I do love it. I've got a passion for it. But, you know, I've done the Open a couple times

and everybody's like, oh, man, did you make the games? I'm like, guys, yes, I'm in shape. And I feel like I'm a really good athlete. I said, but for one, I'm not training for that sport specifically for some of the weight and the RX weight that is needed for those events. I said, but for two, like, there's some of these guys I can't even hold a candlestick to. Now, will I try? Oh, absolutely.

You know, I've got that hard-headedness about me to where i'll i'll black out like matt frazier would say you know if somebody's blacking out today you know that'd be me laying on the floor but these guys literally trained for the sport of fitness for years it's not like they just jumped in a gym and made the crossfit games like there's athletes that have trained for years and years and years and never made it through regionals. And it's just, it just goes to show what kind of people they are. And that's where I'm inspired by him to just work, wake up and work hard daily. Are you friends with Rich?

No, I've never met Rich. I can't believe that you guys, you guys will, you guys will hit it off so quickly. You guys, it's almost like talking to the same person. Yeah, I'd love to meet Rich. I think he's a phenomenal guy. The man that he is outside of the competition ring, I think, is what I love more about him is just his faith and his belief and how he lives life.

But the competitor that he is as well is just golly that that guy's just i mean he's uh you know some people say he's a freak or or whatever but no i just think man he's just used every uh ability that god's given him and into the fullest and he's a good guy you know i follow him quite a bit but i say i've never met him i've never met a lot of those athletes, really. I've been in contact with Cole Sager a little bit through some friends, and then out of the blue, Castro and I, I guess, kind of become social media buddies. You sent him a hat.

Yeah. And he rocks that hat at the ranch. He'll be like, he's bragging to me. He's like, yeah, Dusty Tuckness gave this to me. I'm like, all right, settle down there, buddy. Yeah, yeah, I need to get him a new one. He's probably worn that one out, but yeah. Yeah, I think he actually did.

He wore it like every day for a year. He was so proud of that hat. Yeah. Yeah, that's awesome. Did you reach out to him? No, actually, it was just after 19.5 and I believe it was a workout right up my alley. I think it was 40 bar muscle-ups, 80 calorie row and 120 wall balls or something for time. That's my jam right there because i said it's not

necessarily overly heavy weight it's a lot of body weight it's just grinding like hit the ground go and i put up a pretty decent time and i got an email or a message from dave castro and i was like nah this is this is spam and uh so i opened it read it i'm like golly this is pretty detailed you know he's like hey i don't know who to this day still said something to him about me but about being a good bullfighter and whatnot this and that he's like hey great time on 19.5 so i kind of clicked on his profile and i'm like son of a gun this is him and just And just, hey, appreciate it. Thanks. You know, love the sport of fitness, you know, keep, keep rocking or whatever. Long story short, just kind of become buddies and keep in touch. And I've been trying to get him to come out some rodeos when he's not busy.

And I told him that I'd come out to the ranch and he could make me be a test dummy. And then I was actually going to go to uh since the covid year of the games um they had limited staff so he they didn't really need any help but last year him and jmac emailed me like hey we got some stuff for you got a spot for if you want it and i was like what's the dates and it was over one of my biggest rodeos in the summer and i was like ah dang it i can't make it but man if there's every year i can make it i'm i'm heading to madison so hopefully he's a huge fan of yours he sent me your account and he's like dude this guy you have to see go research

this guy you have to see his shit and i started looking i'm like holy cow it's nuts yeah i'm kind of him too i'm just like he calls it how it is you. Yeah, I'm kind of him too. I'm just like, he calls it how it is. You know, he's not really kind of sugar-coated, and I like guys like that. Yep. I mean, he's the guy who comes from life and death situations, right? Yeah. It's like, yeah, everything's matter of fact.

Going back to when you only have nine hours in the day do you or eight hours or seven hours or five hours do you have a go-to workout that's like oh shit i need to be asleep in 30 minutes what should i do and you're in your hotel room um it just depends it it really depends on uh where i'm at uh what performance is that night. But, yes, on long overnight drives, I get to the room. I'll do some type of bodyweight circuit, you know, whether it's a chipper format or some type of triplet, or I might just get on a treadmill or bike and go for 20 or 30 minutes, you know, just enough to get loosened up, get the blood pumping,

maybe do some intervals. And it really is. So you go to the hotel gym, you won't just in your room, do a hundred burpees or air squats and pushups. Like I said, it just depends on how I feel. Like if I, if I feel like a man, I want to get out and run, you know, I may run, but you know, if I'm like, you know what, I'm going to do 150 burpees for time, you know, and you know, eight minutes, nine minutes into that, you know, then'm going to do 150 burpees for time you know and uh you know eight minutes

nine minutes into that you know then you're like okay now i can shower go to bed or you know it just it really depends there's not necessarily a go-to workout for me um if i were to say any kind of go-tos uh movements that i would do a lot would be you know burpees push-ups sit-ups and double unders would be kind of my you know you can kind of do them anywhere with anything and even if you don't have a jump rope you can modify your your double unders uh in a in a way to make it make it more like a double under so those would be my go-to movements i've learned to not love burpees over the years but i've learned that i i can actually do them and i do a lot of them um of them in a pretty good fashion.

Do you roll with the jump rope everywhere you go? Yeah. Yeah. So basically the few things that I take is I'll take some leg bands and a jump rope and then I might throw my hand grips in because pretty much everywhere I go, there's very few places that I go that don't actually have a box at them anymore. But most of the places that I go, you know, whether I'm there for a month or four or five days, I'll just go to their box. And whether if I'm tied into programming, I'll just keep doing that. Or if I'm just, hey, what are you guys doing? I'm here for a week. You know, I may just jump into their programming for a week. And there's the only things that I really scale, uh, from is anything like, uh, overhead, um, you know, like overhead squats or just straight arm overhead stuff. Just

for one, my shoulder, um, is, uh, I had surgery on it a few years back, and the mobility in it is not quite as good as my right. And I haven't really tried to work for it, but I haven't needed to train for that. So I try to stick away from some of that stuff, from aggravating my shoulder, and just focus more on sports-specific stuff for me. Because right now I'm not trying to train for the games or the masters or whatever it'd be whether that comes down the line somewhere down my path will be a different story but right now I want to just train more for sport and yes there's heavier lift days and there's heavier days where it's not so sports specific but definitely really try to tie in you know two to three days a week of more sports specific stuff but when you're looking at functional movements

there's so many days that tie into you know just your everyday movements but movements that i do in that arena so that's why i like the crossfit world so much and i've and i heard you tell a story about gassing out once in the ring and once you guess that once in the ring you never want to let that happen again and i watch a lot of ufc and a lot of boxing and it made me think of that i can't think of anything more terrifying than gassing out while you're in a ring with a bull that sounds like an absolute fucking nightmare yeah like uh so but i'll take that back that would have been in 2006. One of my first big freestyle bullfights I got invited to down in Oklahoma. It was a two-day event. My first time there.

I got through the second night in good shape. I think I was 89.5 points. Won my round. The next night, I drew a two-count. They call it the E-pin, which E is for eliminator. I drew a bull they call White Mee. I mean, just a big red and white bull, big horns, like pretty intimidating. His track record is usually he wins and the bullfighter loses.

There's been very few guys to ever get around him. And I remember drawing him and I was excited. You know, there's some nerves but there I was pretty excited um and I called for this bull and I mean like long story short of it I just remember just running and just you know cutting left cutting right like you know he never got me hooked down or anything but I remember I was making it around and then my legs gave out right in front of him and it's thankfully that that he me live, more or less. He just went on by me and didn't hook me or run me over or anything.

And I finished the match and everything, and I just remember walking out of the ring that night. I never again will that happen. I never again want that to happen. That's on me, and I should never let that happen. I think that's where it really started clicking for me. You were 20 then. That was a 20-year-old Dusty.

Yeah, I was a little younger than that. I think I was 18 or 19. But, yeah. And part of that was, you know, adrenaline. And that obviously, you know, getting really hyped up and kind of making my legs lose. But it just hit me at a young age that, you know, really hyped up and kind of making my legs loose but it just hit me at a young age that you know that's on me and and that that that there's not there's no reason for that and I just from that point on I really just I didn't know what a lot of fitness was

and even I'll back up a little bit before that um just maybe just before that was, you know, I went from high school to college and, you know, I was in high school about 165, 170. And my first year, you know, I put on the old freshman 15 or whatever. I jumped to 198 and I was like, what am I doing with my life? And so. How tall are you? About 5'10", 5'11". Okay. And it was just, it wasn't muscle by no means either.

You know, if you got a muscle frame of 190, you're doing fine at 5'10". But I didn't know. I was like, man, I can't do this. So I didn't know anything about nutrition or really about fitness. So I just, I remember I'd get on the treadmill for an hour, hour and a half and just run. And then I basically eat nothing but crackers and drink Gatorade and over the years started to develop learning more about fitness learn more about nutrition and then that happened in the arena in Ada Oklahoma I told myself never happened that that's never going to happen again that's on

me and then slowly started talking to other guys that fought bulls for a long time what they do what was their training regimen and then slowly started looking at the more fitness side of things and nutrition and uh so i did a lot of different things um anything from insanities to p90x's to just going to the gym and i remember maybe it's in 2010-ish, I had a buddy. I remember him say something about CrossFit and that it was an intense workout. He loved it, but I was sore. I was like, it kind of intrigued me. A few years go by, and I'd hear a little bit about it.

Then I would say that I kind of partook in some CrossFit workouts, no classes or anything. I would say that I kind of partook in some CrossFit workouts, no classes or anything. And then it would have been the year of. This episode is brought to you by Disney's Young Woman in the Sea, now streaming on Disney+. I've decided to swim the English Channel. A woman? I believe she'll die in that water.

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But I started, I went to my first one just a couple times just to experience it. Like an affiliate. When you say first one, you mean an affiliate? Yeah. Yeah, affiliate gym. And then probably, it's been three years ago now, probably

or going on four, but the start of the year, I started seeing, obviously get more into crossfit watching it um watch them compete and and then the start of the year we was in odessa texas and i just started seeing a lot of gyms pop up everywhere and so i looked and looked up across the gym in odessa and i was like man there's no reason for me to be intimidated like I like to work hard I'm gonna go see what I'm made of and then just instantly I just realized what the CrossFit community was about and from that rodeo I started going you know I soon as I got to the

next rodeo I look up another affiliate and then another affiliate now everywhere I go you know I've been there for going on four years. So I've accumulated, you know, friendships of that community. And, you know, they've kind of become, some of them become more fans of rodeo. And then it was two years into it when I was like, you know what, I want to dive into learning the sport of fitness a little better. And I want to become into learning the sport of fitness a little better and I want to become a level one trainer. And so then I went to a course down in Texas and got my level one coaching and it's, I haven't really got to go and run any classes at a whole lot of gyms. I'll help out here and

there just with my crazy schedule. But I just, like I said, the functional training and just how our body's designed to move anyways, I think it's what it's all about, and I really enjoy it. Who are your seminar staff? Do you remember? Jeremy was one guy. He's down in, I think he's down in New Braunfels, Texas now. And then I can't remember the other, Zach maybe? And I can't remember the girl. Zach, maybe. And I can't remember the girl.

Was it Zach Pine? Shaved head? No, no. He wasn't shaved head. No. But Jeremy and Zach, and then I can't remember the girl. Zach Forrest? Was the little guy old games athlete?

Maybe. Former Navy SEAL? Yeah, okay. Could be. Yeah, short, stocky. Yeah, good squat. Incredible air squat. Like one you never forget yeah it could

be him for sure yeah yeah that's cool and you liked it oh yeah absolutely i loved it not like i was training for actually the nfr that year during that time so i was in pretty good shape at the point and so like granted you know you go through your nine foundational movements and really try to find your the flaws and correct them and everything and then each day you know you kind of do a little workout but it was just good it was fun um and and really enjoyed the course and like i said and once i got got my test back and seeing that I passed, it was even, even pretty, a lot. No, and not so much for, for coaching so many athletes, but even for me, understanding the sport, understanding nutrition, understanding, you know, functionality of the body and everything. So, uh, like I said, I, I, I really enjoy, uh,

the fitness side of things and it's definitely going to be something that I'll be a part of even when I'm done with my bullfighting career. In my last, you know, from, I don't know when it was, maybe let's say 2016 to 2000, I don't know, 18, 19. When I was running the media department over at CrossFit Inc, Greg Glassman at that point had fully embraced the fact that the level one was the operating manual for the human being. Like that was it.

Like this is what to eat and this is how to move. I didn't invent any of this. This was part and parcel with your DNA. This was invented by God. I just put words to it, and here it is. And, man, like I cannot emphasize – you know, I used to talk about this on my show all the time. I've given it a little bit of a break in the last couple of months. But if you if you're a human being and you haven't taken the L1, you're really fucking I think you're fucking up. And especially if you're a parent. I mean, it's like it's like so it's the you days to make yourself a better person. And then the culture that those people share, you think, Oh, I can do it online or I can just learn about it. But there's something those seminar staffs share in the culture of

cheering other people on. It's like what you said about the bull rider sitting on the fence. They want to beat you, but they're also going to be the first one to jump down and help you. If something goes awry and they share that with you there but they're also going to be the first one to jump down and help you if something goes awry. Oh, and they share that with you there. It's a trip. That is, you know,

it's too, you know, I almost wish it was like three or four days, you know? Yeah. Oh, I got to know Jerry. I still keep in touch with Jeremy,

um, a bit. And if I was closer to him, I'd go to his gym. But, uh, um, yeah,

the camaraderie of it, you know, just, there's so many different backgrounds of athletes uh or not even so much athletes just kind of your normal uh you know nine to five work person that just enjoys you know getting up and and moving but there's a lot of truth i think to that and the level one is you know it is a good uh manual to just living and it's not like it's it is a good manual to just living. And it's not like it's,

you see a lot of diet plans. You see a lot of different workout programs now, and it seems like you need a scientific, a scientific formula to figure it out. Or it's this, this, and this where it's pretty cut and dry. You know,

like you said, you know, you know, your, your proteins, your vegetables, you know, nuts,

seeds, fruits, some starch, like it's not hard to say okay no sugars little starch some fruits and seeds proteins and veggies you know and then functional movements nine foundational movements like here is how the body moves you know how many times do you squat a day everybody sits up and down in a chair you know how many times do you lift something over your head you know how many times do you uh pick something off the ground take you pick something off the ground it's just like these are just common moves that we do every day and the other thing that i i really enjoy about the crossfit world which in fitness in general yes you see

people of all ages but just what i've seen it due to so many elderly people yeah i'm barely being able to step up onto a bumper plate to actually jumping up onto a 45 pound bumper plate even though it's only three inches but that's that's a big accomplishment at an old age and and and just the understanding of the functionality of your body the old saying saying is if you don't use it, you'll lose it. Yeah, in a sense you do. You lose your muscle, you lose your bone mass and strength. And it's good to be aware of that stuff, you know, being able to be mobile and be moving in full range of motions too, none of your half-rep stuff.

You know, that's one thing that I used to think that I could do a thousand pushups until I started actually doing them. You know, so. Right. Um, for, for those of you tuning in late,

Dusty is the most decorated bullfighter in the history of the sport. Um, more importantly, the world, I think outside of bullfighting has begun to embrace him and he's kind of changed the, not kind of, he has changed the spectacle of bullfighting has begun to embrace him and he's kind of changed the, not kind of, he has changed the spectacle of bullfighting. Um, maybe it's just, he's in the right time and the right place. Maybe it's God's work, but, uh, from what the little bit, three

days of obsessing on bull riding that bullfighting that I've been watching, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact of how he moves, how he carries himself and the person he is. When you're when you moved in with your dad, your freshman year, was that hard? Did your parents like give you a decision? Like, why did you move out with your of your mom's house? Man, so my parents were still and that was always kind of a they divorced when I was three. And that was there was always the thought, like, maybe I should move in with my dad.

I never did. But it was always like kind of a weird thing that tugged at me yeah so for me uh the the biggest deciding factor i'd say because i love both my parents for sure but was just when i'd go dad in the summer to rodeo and then i'd come back home for nine months you know to go to school and i was big into sports as well so you so that was part of my life as well. I just loved rodeo. I really enjoyed what it was. I believe this is where God's called me to be is 100% because it was a decision I made myself, and it was something I had to more or less ask my mom, you know, so one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make in my life turned out to be

the best decision because when I made that phone call, it was so hard for me to make and ask your mom if I could move in with my dad and just coming from and trying to understand from a mother's love and her side of things, it was, you know, even though it wasn't what I was meaning, but, you know, as a mother's love, it's like, man, my son doesn't want to be with me anymore. And, but it allowed me to go to that rodeo Bible camp, you know, especially after that injury that I sustained.

And it not only changed my bullfighting, but on the bigger picture, it changed my life when I gave my life to God. And it opened up things in my mind that I never thought were possible, what I'm capable of doing. And then obviously through high school and through college, I'm not going to lie, I lived the college life to a certain extent those years. But then through those hardships in college, God put the right people in my life and some of the best friends that are still my best friends today. And as I

started rodeo and started pursuing rodeo as a full-time career, I really just seen God opening doors in my life. But it wasn't, I tell people a lot when I'm telling my full testimonies, one of the hardest things I ever knew how to do in my life turned into the best thing. Because years later, the stepdad that helped raise me and my brothers for the majority of our life and mom, they ended up getting a divorce too. And we never saw it coming. There's no rhyme or reason to it. And it affected and hurt us all and i didn't really have the words for mom other than i just kept telling her that i'm praying and

trusting god's plan through it all and that he's got a plan through it and i remember giving her a book that year just after uh they uh divorced that like i said, Mom, I don't know why I'm doing this or what. I just felt like to give you this. And, you know, days after that, I remember her calling me and telling me that, man, you know, son, I'm reading my life in this book. What was the book? It was called It Was Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. That's the title of it jesus calling yeah yeah it's basically daily devotional um and uh through that my mom uh uh received

jesus into her life and and changed some things in her life and then they've got so before then your mom wasn't a church-going woman she wasn't a believer for sure, but there's a difference between a believer and a doer. It's just like in rodeo or CrossFit, you could like it, but it's a whole different game once you actually start living it. So yeah, she changed her ways in her life, and her and her friends, you know, they've all changed and they've been doing Bible studies and, you know, they've got their kind of their regimen that they're going about now. So as I look back on my life over the 15, 16 years, you know, God had a plan through it all that I never even got to see at the start of it. But I just realized that that phone call being one of the hardest things I had to do in my life turned into being one of the best things. Not only did I change my life, but it changed my mom's life as well and trickled down

into my family. So if anybody's listening, there's always a bigger picture than what we can see then, you know, we don't need to get so narrow minded and focus on, on some of the things that seem big, but don't make them any bigger than they are and just truly trust in the process maximize your time and and see it through because on the other side of of the the rapids there's clear water um but where did your dad live and where did your mom live what states did they live in the same state uh so my mom lives in idaho still lives in idaho and that's where i was born and raised and then my dad he lives in wyoming uh like cody wyoming um in the northwest uh corner so you're at your dad's house you're 15 years old and you're like shit i want to stay with my dad

because i want to pursue this rodeo thing and basically you call her and it just turns into a cry fest i'm guessing you're crying she's crying uh no it wasn't like that really it was kind of something throughout the summer. I kind of started hinting to dad like, Hey, maybe I can live with you. And honestly, you know, I kind of thought, you know, I'd be a young kid and my dad would call and, you know, make it all work out and I wouldn't even have to talk. But you know, dad, he made me make the call and we got off the phone and our mom,

mom said that, you know, we're going to talk it over and think about it for a bit. And, uh, they called back and, uh, you know,

she said that she was going to respect my decision and, and, uh, and, you know, she's okay with it. And like I said, it wasn't no big sobby,

crazy sob session or nothing like that, but it was just, it was tough for me. You know, it was because it was, you know, you love your mom, you, you, you got a relationship there, but there was just something there that I guess in a sense, if I look back on it, I feel that maybe I was pretty obedient, not just for the passion that I had for rodeo, but just seeing where God's led me through it all and into my family and so on and so forth. So, but, uh, yeah,

it's crazy just looking back on it, but dang, dang, I actually did that. And this is what's come from it. So, um, do you know this term equanimity equanimity no it it means the quality of being calm and even-tempered composure evenness of mind or temper calmness or firmness especially under conditions adapted to excite great emotion a state of resistance to elation depression anger etc like just like you know yeah it's a it's it's you out there with the bulls. Yeah, that's a good description. Yeah, it is. It's something you had to deal with at 15.

You had to figure out how to find that, you know. How come you didn't find Jesus the first time you went to Bible camp? And how does someone, can you tell me what happened the second time that made it different? Well, actually, that was my first time to the camp. Oh, I thought I heard that you went once before just because you wanted to go bull riding. No, it was the same school. So basically the biggest reason why I was led more or less to go, I mean, obviously God had a plan through it, but it was a rodeo Bible camp.

And, you know, it was a rodeo Bible camp. It was after my wreck that I got into when I was 15. I was like, you know what? This camp plus home, I definitely want to go there and try to get my bullfighting right, get it back figured out, get over this fear that I have. It was through those three days that I realized that I was going to something more than just a rodeo camp. It was a spirit-led, driven Bible camp that just allowed me to fight bulls. It was all in one same camp, but my intentions of going in was just to get better in bullfighting.

But when I left there, I realized it was a bigger picture that, and why I was there. Was it a flash when you say you realized it? Was it like a one second, like, oh shit, aha. No, it wasn't. It was, you know, at the Bible camp, you know, with three days, I mean, obviously, you know, you're up in the mornings, they do a little church serve. Not much, more like a little Bible study. And then you have breakfast and then you go to the arena and then you go to your designated area whether you're trying to learn how to ride bulls or ride horses or whatever it is and and then you break and come back for

lunch and then you kind of have another little you know somebody speak or share a little word and you know that first day and a half it was kind of like, okay, cool, that's neat. But I was just so focused on fighting bulls. Obviously, nerves and everything's kind of high because I'm still trying to overcome this fear factor. The impactful night, there's one of my pastors that I still consider one of my best friends, Tim Steuen. He brought the heat, I can say. He preached that night, and it was just something that you can't even explain. It's a feeling that just overcome that whole camp, that whole tent that we were in, and I just, my heart was touched by God, and just confessed, and asked, and received him into my life, and it was just instantly, like,

just confessed and asked and received them into my life. And it was just instantly like I just started seeing changes in my life. You know, one of the biggest changes that I realized in my life is, and a lot of my friends in that don't believe any of these stories. They know me to be just a pretty, I guess, a pretty decent human being. But I used to cuss like a sailor. And I had a bad mouth on me and it was like a transition overnight that just snapped out of me and the only explanation I can have for that is a change from God because it

takes time to develop in or out of things you know unless it's just supernatural like that that was just one thing thing that kind of left me that quick. And then it just, there's just so many different things that I've seen him move in my life and in my mom's life and in my other family and friends' lives. And there's just a bigger picture to life than a lot of people think. And did it cause you to, so that one you're saying kind of came naturally. I was going to ask you, what kind of things did you change? like maybe you stole a pack of gum every time you went into this one store and you stopped doing that maybe you stopped saying the f word but you're saying the swearing

thing just came naturally like you weren't even like okay like i need to watch my mouth no like you said it was crazy i it's been so long now i can't really remember my thought process on it, but I just remember like a week into it or maybe 10 days or something like that. And I was just like, wait a minute, something's different. And, uh, and it just kind of dawned on me, like, Holy cow. Like that was just really taken away from me. Um, you know, and it wasn't nothing that I like woke up the next day and I was like, okay, I'm going to start working on this. I don't know, Brown County, I don't know, you know, it was just something that used to be there. And it took me a few days to realize that. And,

and like, and then the mental side of it, which any there's, you know, life is just mental. Got a big mental game to it anyways. And it's just how you can diagnose and process it is different and the word tells us that we were made to be more than conquerors and that he's got a jeremiah 29 11 he says that he's got a plan for hope and a future for us you know to prosper us not let's fail so once you start understanding the purpose and and that that you a purpose-driven life you can really control your mental thinking. The fear factor is not of God, it's of the devil. When you can control that, like right now, I'm battling an injury from the finals.

I'm not going to lie, there's going to be tough days. I've already had days that I'm just ready for the next day. But through this, I know God's going to do something through it, whether it's for my benefit or somebody else's. But it's up to me to be able to walk through this adversity and see what's on the other side, because there's been so many times that God's already prevailed through the negativity in my life, and I've seen the good on the other side that I'm almost getting excited in my life now when things don't go quite right or something goes bad

because I know God's got something in store for me on the other side. So this is just this minor bump, and I think even in your healing process in your body, it's so mental. If you've got a negative mindset when you're battling injuries or battling whatever it is, it's going to be a lot harder to get over it or a lot harder to heal. But I think if you can have a positive and a sharp mind through it all and continue to work hard every day, I'm in the process of starting to get back in the gym for my upper body, and I'm so excited about it. It's just been such a big part of my life is fitness, so I'm excited about that.

I'm excited for the movement that I'm getting back in my foot, the bending that I'm getting in my knee, but just little victories, just the domino effect, I guess is what I call it. Yeah, I can't wait until I'm back and both feet in the ground in the arena and fight bulls and go into the next rodeo, you know, 24-7. But right now I'm excited about my little victories, about being able to lift my leg up and put it on the chair without supporting it, to being able to straighten my leg out and stuff like that. So you've got to stair-step your goals and look at the little victories

each and every day because that's going to keep you motivated. Is that camp that you went to still around? Yeah, yeah. what's it called it's uh gosh they becoming champions rodeo camp in matisse wyoming becoming champions um speaking of god's plan how is it that um people's how is it that the dude's hand gets uh stuck in the rope when he's on the bull? That shit looks horrible. Speaking of swearing, the guy's on the bull. He's off the bull, but his hand's still on the back. And you're, I see you like reaching up there, like fiddling around as the bull's going crazy.

Are you trying to release the dude's hand? Can you explain that whole thing to me? That part of the sport seems the most insane when the guy's his hand is strapped to the top yeah uh so that's called a uh a hang up so basically they roll over uh their hand and it kind of pushes up against the block of the rope um and uh and if i had a rope i could show you what the block is but but basically it's a hard, uh, piece of leather that's, that's stopping their hand. And when they roll over, it kind of just keeps their hands shut. So sometimes you're in and out, it's pretty quick, but you're kind of anticipating and reading the situation at hand.

Um, um, you ever ride one of those bikes with clip-ons where your feet clip in? Yeah. Yeah. Is it, is it like that? And you come to a stoplight and you forgetons where your feet clip in? Yeah. Is it like that? You come to a stoplight and you forget to take your feet out and you fall over? I mean, when I see that happen, I'm like, how does that happen in rodeo? Is that the worst thing that can happen to you? Yeah, no.

Like I said, there's sometimes, yes, it's a very, very hairy situation. But there's other times that it's pretty quick and easy. I'd say some of the worst situations are is when they get bucked off and their spur of their boot kind of runs through the tail of their rope um and then they're getting drug around they're usually underneath them and then that's when it's tough because that rope's still tied onto the bull but now they're underneath the animal bellied up usually those situations are the tough ones because that's when you're more exposed and that's when those feet have a better chance of stepping on yeah that'd be the block block of the

rope right there so um but sometimes like i said hang up sometimes they're pretty gnarly and pretty wild and then other times you know you're in and out it's you don't even really notice them at times it just all depends on the situation and and uh what that bull allows you to do and what what he allows you not to do and i see you up there like fooling around like trying is that am i seeing that correctly like you have your hand up there and you're trying to like get the guy's hand free as the bull's bucking around yeah so that's our main yeah so what we do is so you see the loose part of the tail, the rope, which we call the tail, you want to pull against the side the guys off.

So if he's off on the right side, you want to be on the opposite side of the bull rider. For one, you're not tripping over him. But for two, you can pull it get against the direction of that bull rider and that should free and pop his hand loose is the objective there a lot of times you'll see us sometimes get underneath his arm with one of our arms to help secure and lock us in there and then we go to pulling that tail and once that once that hand's released he pops off we step out you know kind of staying low so you don't you kind of stay clear of them feet and then you're still at work you know kind of staying low so you don't uh you kind of stay clear of them feet and then you're you're still at work you know that bull may turn back and want to want to hook somebody

or he might just buck on and be gone but you just gotta once your feet hit the ground you're just being uh ready to uh react in whatever situation um you can't push those bulls right sorry i know that's probably a stupid question uh like you anywhere because like i said they're they're big big critters yeah so you can't like charge them or bump them or push them there's none of that no not really like i said the biggest thing for animals is you know they're colorblind so they go off react or movement a lot and so the the looser clothing um that you know you see us putting our hands on the bull um getting that bull head up so they go to touch and feel too so a lot of times you see us put our hands on thanks bug yeah on their face i see you do that a lot guide them with your hands on his head yeah yeah so like when you put that pressure on their face. I see you do that a lot. Guide them with your hands on his head. Yeah. So when you put that pressure on their head, they feel that. So they're initially going to come up with their head. And so when they come up with their head, now their eyes are up. They're more focused on you to where they're going to more or less have a better chance of going with where you want to take them instead of going after that bull rider so um a lot of times we're you when you see us

putting our hands on them it's getting their head up getting their eyes on us there's a in that 2013 promo video there's a white bull charging right at you and you're charging right at it and at the last minute you jump over him yeah um how do you do that for the first time? Like when the – and I'm assuming you can't force that. I'm assuming you want to do that for the crowd, but you can't force that. You just kind of have to hope it happens. I mean, it just – it seems nuts. Yeah, so a lot of times when you see us jumping a bull is going back to one of them freestyle competitions.

That's another way to impress your judges, gain points, and showcase your athleticism as well. And there's other times, obviously, I've jumped bulls for no rhyme or reason or no benefit of it other than just to do it and, you know, thrill the crowd. Do you remember the first time you did it how did you remember the first time you jumped over one yeah i remember the very first time i jumped on it was uh in cody wyoming and uh it was a the bull was a white bull a brand number was 111 and i just remember he was a mean bull and and that was uh I just had it on my mind I was jumping that night and took off and uh after I after he bucked the guy off and he wheeled around that arena I took off after him and when he saw me and ran at me I just jumped and everything went really good the first time not not all the time it works but when it works it's

it's good for both me and the fans. Yeah. I've seen you jump them. And then while you're in midair, they, they kind of like hit you with their ass and you fly another couple of feet, even higher. It looks crazy. Oh yeah. Yeah. There's been times when they clip your feet or you don't get your legs up, you know, enough

or, you know, you don't jump far enough and yeah, there's times it works and times it doesn't, but, uh, that's, that's all part about risking it for sure. Your junior year, you won the high jump and the triple jump in high school. Yeah. Did you train hard for that? How did you become such a great jumper? Yeah. Can you dunk?

Yeah, I could. Going back to my freshman year, I remember I didn't have great jumper. Yeah. Can you dunk? Can you dunk? Yeah, I could. And going back to my freshman year, I remember I didn't have much of a vertical. I could barely, more or less barely touch the net, and I hated it. Man, I wanted to jump. I wanted to dunk. I wanted to have a big vertical. Back then, I don't know if you remember them, but they were called the jump shoes. I do remember those yeah so i i got online and i

ordered a pair and and i got on the jump shoe program for whatever it was you know it's eight weeks 12 week program or whatever it was and i did it and lo and behold through the program it put about 10 11 inches on my vertical and you know from that point i could jump and i could dunk and and uh you know i was i went out for track a couple years but i wasn't big on the running um i was more big on the jumping event so i did long triple and and high and high jump was my favorite um the highest height that jumped was uh six two and then high school you know i was five nine so i thought that was a pretty good feat for me um you do that with like the fosbury flop is that that high jump like you know, I was 5'9". So I thought that was a pretty good feat for me. You do that with, like, the Fosbury flop?

Is that high jump? Like, you go on your back? Yeah, yeah, go back, yeah. So, but yeah, that was my, I guess, favorite event. And then, obviously, long and triple, you know, I enjoyed as well. But I just, I loved to jump at a young age. And it kind of rolled into some benefits in my bullfighting career as well. And then you did a backflip over that bull. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I always give my buddy Andy Burrell credit for it. In 2004, I was at another camp, and we was watching video, and I saw him do it. I believe he was probably one of the first guys to ever do it in American freestyle bullfighting and I just remember sitting there watching it that day and I was like man if he can do it I think I can do it and I just mentality had on it and I tried it over Little Bull a few years after that just to see what I could do and then then from there, I started doing it a little bit more and did a little bit more. And it all kind of worked out for me for the best. There was only a couple that didn't work out too good, but it's a risky move. It's pretty ballsy. I'll just say that,

but it was cool to do it a couple of times in my career for sure. I like the way you said, if he could could do it you think you could do it all kidding aside that's how i ended up with kids my wife was like oh if that couple can do it we can do it and now i have three kids yeah um you use the term um contractors so there's there's an interview you're having and you're basically talking about about what the contractors want you to do with the bulls. Can you explain that to me? Are all those bulls out there owned by different people? What's going on out there? Yeah. So the contractor is a guy who owns the livestock that's produced at the rodeo. So all the horses, the bulls. okay at the rodeo so all the horses the bulls um and so there's certain contractors that that like certain things you know certain yeah certain contractors like you to kind of maybe turn their

bull back or fight their bull a little bit or you know certain contractors you know could care less to have a bullfighter in the arena uh for the most part but you just kind of got to learn what do you mean why wouldn't they want you in there like they don't want you even interacting with their bull at all. They think it makes the bull less mean or something. No, it just, you know, different personalities, you know, a lot of times, you know, they think, you know, we try to showcase and fight the bull too much or they don't want to cripple their animal in that. But at the end of the day, you know,

I'm a professional at what I do. This is what I've done for a living and professionally since 2006. So I've got a pretty good grasp on what I, what I can and what I can't do and how to've done for a living and professionally since 2006. So I've got a pretty good grasp on what I, what I can and what I can't do and how to help the bull out as well, too. So, but yeah, there's, you know, certain, certain contractors too, this, you know, you just kind of got to know, know your guys, know your groups in a sense, which like I said, the, the fundamentals and the foundation of each and every situation are pretty much the same. But like I said,

you know, on the guys that sometimes they do want you to not only save the guy, but go ahead and go run out there and make a couple of rounds at the bowl before he leaves the arena, just to kind of the entertainment factor for the crowd. And depending on the rodeo as well, it just depends on where you're at. So you just got to,

got to know where you're at and what you're doing and uh you know be ready to do whatever why is the bull um doing that bucking around and why do they stop do they gas out but why do they even start in the first place they just don't want to do it on their back no well yeah in a sense but they're bred they're bred for this you know they're they're born above program, both the horses and bulls, so it's no different than, you know, you know, like going back to the Mexican fighting bull, you know, the Spaniard blood of the fighting bulls, you know, those bulls are naturally mean, you know, that was just what they're bred for is to fight, and, you know, the bucking bull is no different, you know, these animal athletes, you know, they're some of the most gentle giants out there some of them are you know you can go

in the pen and scratch them and you know lay on them and you know they you know they they get taken care of you know just as good as if not better than anybody you know they they've got some of the best feed in the world um you know, best housing in the world. You know, some of these animals are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, you know. So if you've got something invested, you know, over $100,000 in, you're not just going to throw it to the wind. You're going to take care of it. And so these contractors, you know, these are their pride and joy. You know, they eat and they get warm and they get taken care of before they ever go back in the house and cook their own breakfast.

So that's one thing that a lot of people don't know in the sport of how well these animal athletes are treated. Do the guys all ride the same bull? Like, how do they choose the winner is it just luck of the draw you may get like the hardest bull that's there and the and the guy who wins might get the easiest bull that's there or am i just splicing hairs is that just cry baby talk no so it's a random draw so i mean yeah sometimes you draw the better bull sometimes you draw the weaker bull you know or the weaker weaker horse so that's part of the game. You know, that's part of the atmosphere of rodeo is, you know,

you will definitely want to go and pay your fees and you want to pay to play to win, but sometimes, you know, it's out of your, your reach, but you know, when in the judging event, you know, as long as you're, you there mark you higher than your animal, then you did all you could do. Now, if you're getting marked lower than your animal, then, you know, that's on you a little bit. What does that mean, marked lower than your animal? What do you mean? So going back to the judging system, you know, there's two judges, one to 25 for the rider, one to 25 for the animal on how well they did.

So, you know, if your bull is marked at 22 and you're marked at 20, well, you know, you left some points on the table. So you can't really be mad at anybody other than yourself. Now, if they marked the bull at 18 and marked you at 22 and a half, then you absolutely did everything you possibly could. You know, so sometimes it's the luck of the draw. You know, you hear that saying a lot. But you got to capitalize when you do get the right ones too. And you got to be consistent that, you know, get qualified rides and scores as well. So as a judge, the bull goes, they open that pen, the bull comes running out there and the bull does a performance. And then the guy on his back does a performance.

And I judge, I give points to both of them on a 1 to 25 scale? Yeah. Each time yeah one oh shit yeah judging 1 to 25 on the bull and 1 to 25 on the rider and the same with the other jazz so possible of 50 points per uh rider and animal with a total of 100 points so yeah yeah that's it's it's a has anyone ever given a 50, there's been guys that have been given 50s, whether it's the bull or whether it's the rider. So there's one of the most historic rides ever in the PBR. Last year at the PBR World Finals, Jose Vito Lame was, I believe he was 98 and three quarters,

which is phenomenal. It was just a historic ride. It was pretty awesome to watch yeah i ended up on that guy that um on that guy's instagram did you and you saw that ride live yeah yeah and could you tell right away as you watch it as an expert are you like wow this is yeah when you when you place the bull like jose or the bull like wupal and jose vito like jose he is man that guy is i mean he works hard he he's he's earned everything that he's achieved like he's just he he's he's kind of a leave his own really i mean that guy is so mentally and physically sound it's

just it's amazing and awesome to watch and uh uh animals like that as well as athletes like that perform so so they open the pen and the guy has the guy's trying to stay on there for how long eight seconds eight seconds and then when he hears a sound he knows he made the eight seconds and then he dismounts or does he ever just ride it until the bull gets tired or that's not awesome no you kind of you know over time you kind of get a mental clock in your mind but you know obviously you'll hear the the buzzer ring um and then you know you find yourself a good place to dismount and you try to get in get out there in good shape and then uh but no yeah you don't guys just don't stay on until they can't stay on anymore and and then and then i noticed that after a while

the bull kind of chills out is that because he gassed out and then i'm always surprised at how they run back into the pen i'm like if i was that bull i would just stay out there and just like fuck shit up yeah no like i said you know that they're they're bred for it you know this is what they do and you know a lot of times that you know when that bull riders off their back they know that you know work's done and sometimes they'll take a little victory lap and then know a lot of times that you know when that bull rider's off their back they know that you know work's done and sometimes they'll take a little victory lap and then but a lot of times they like going back to the back pin you know because that's where the feed and water is and that's where they can chill and relax and you know kind of lay up for the the remainder part of the day so you know they're they're cool they're cool animals you know they all got their own

personalities but they're they're they're neat animals why why didn't you become a bull rider and why did you become a bull fighter like doesn't it seem like the rider would be it would have been the way to go uh yeah i mean it depends on who you ask you know i think the biggest thing for me was you know seeing what dad did at a young age fight bulls and i rode bulls a little bit but it just never intrigued me as much as as being out in front of them and being that kind of line of defense for, for another person. And, and this, the unselfishness that it kind of proclaims is just, I don't know. It was just something, like I said,

going back to where God's called me to be all along, I truly feel. And, you know, I look back and i shoot this i won't trade it for anything um can we look at your ride where you got injured do you care does that bother you uh which one from this last year yeah the one that just happened like a couple okay and we because i watched it a bunch of times and i can't figure out what happened could you tell us what happened yeah so basically um one break hold on one second i'm gonna um i'm going to bring it up here on the screen will i got it thanks dude by the way you've been killing it okay here we is i think this is it, right? Yeah, yeah, it sure is.

And this guy's riding injured already. He has broken ribs, right? Yeah, right. He's already got some broken ribs. So, you know, he's not going to, you know, once he hits the ground, he's going to be pretty slow moving. And this is really just the deal where he landed, and I just tried to get him positioned between him and the bull.

When I did, I talked about the game of inches when that bull came around and went to swipe at me and hook me. His leg came down on my leg. His weight overpowered my leg and just broke my leg. That was something that you don't like to be a part of or see, but it goes back to you got to take the good days and the bad days with this job, and that was one of the bad days. So that's you right there getting on the left side with the black hat on. Yeah.

And I don't see the bull ever touch you. To me what it looks like is that that guy was on your leg. The rider was on your leg. No, no, that bull's front left foot stepped right on the side of my leg. And did you know right away it was broken? Yeah, yeah, no, I felt it and heard it. And when I looked down and my leg was kind of flopped over there, I knew I just needed to just inch back a couple steps

and wait for the sports medicine team, Jeff's sports medicine team to come out and give me a hand. And the writer knows, too. He comes over and checks on you, Braden. Yeah, at this point, Braden, he sees it. John Harrison, who's in the barrel, he sees it. And then, obviously, the other two bullfighters sees it. John Harrison, who's in the barrel, he sees it. And then obviously the other two bullfighters realize it, but their biggest job right then is make sure to get that bull out of the arena.

And then once that bull is clear out of the arena, then they obviously come over and check on me. Not a lot anybody can do with that situation other than just keep the faith, keep believing and praying. And then the Justice Sports Medicine Program, which is a sports medicine team that travels around the majority of our big rodeos you know there are dr dr kane freeman's on hand they come out and assist me out of the arena and uh you know we we got it fixed up now and uh it's we're going on day 17 18 and it's starting to feel feel pretty dang good so we're just a little more uh a few more weeks no weight bearing stuff and then we can start getting

back into some weight bearing stuff and and get more active and get back to the arena before too long um so so are you in there's a still frame here are you doing everything perfect here i mean he hasn't even hit the ground completely and you're already getting in between him and the bull yeah yeah that's our objective right there is you know there's three guys working there so it's the three-man rotation there's kind of a triangle form you know you've got one guy on the bottom nathan hart one guy kind of just to my left which which is Cody Webster, and then myself is wedged in between the bull and the bull rider. And ideally, you know, that's perfect setup, in my opinion. You got one guy between the gap,

and you got two other guys on both other angles waiting to work. And Greg got bull back away from me and Bradaden and uh keep everybody sound and and ultimately it worked out good you know braden did get touched and like i said my leg and the bull's leg just um it was kind of a you know just freak deal is how they landed or how it uh got on my leg and and the angle of my leg and how that bull really reached up and tried hooking and pawing at me. It was one of them days. It was just not the best day, but, you know, you got to take those days with the good days as well.

Well, you guys are basically – your chest is basically on his head and his back, on his neck, huh? Yeah, yeah. I just – when it gave and that it just i mean i just obviously just collapsed to the ground and once i looked down and seen my leg was flopping i i knew i didn't need to stand up at all and cause any more damage so i just pinched out of there and kind of sat there waited for for help to come and braden must have heard it break too because you can see he looks back here. Yeah.

No, it was pretty loud. There was a lot of people that heard it. It sounded like a shotgun, but. Whew. Whew, whew, whew. And so you'll just heal right up and just get right back in? Yeah. Yeah.

So I went to surgery the next morning. They put a rod and some screws in my leg. And they had me in a soft cast for a couple weeks. And then the 24th, Christmas Eve, I went and seen Dr. Taney Freeman. And they went and took the staples out and put me in a walking boot right now, which I'm not supposed to walk in it. But I can put up to 10 pounds of weight on it more or less basically let my foot be on the ground um i can start doing uh upper body stuff core to upper body workouts

um you know basically i'll focus a lot on just uh mobility and stability i'm not gonna really try to get into anything too crazy. I can slowly start riding a bike with no tension on it. So there's been many goals and many victories for sure, especially in the short time. And yeah, we're just getting like that bone hill. And then, you know, each and every day, we're really trying to work on getting the range of motion back in my ankle and my knee because there's still some swelling in both the knee joint and the ankle joint. So it's kind of a patient process now, you know, allowing that bone to heal. But once it definitely starts healing and hardening up, we can definitely start progressing in our rehab.

And like I said, get back to fighting shape and get back to being an adrenal. So it'll be good, and it'll be sooner than later. So we're looking forward to the challenge. Is this lady, is this the lady running out? Is that the doctor? Who's that? Do you see this lady running out? Is that the doctor running out?

Watch, there's a lady runs out with a white, I think it's a lady, with a white cap, that lady running at you with a cowboy hat and a mask. Oh, yeah, no, that's one of the Justin Sports Medicine team members. So I'm not sure who that is. I mean, it might be one of the guys or one of the girls. I'm not sure who it is. I can't tell. But, yeah, they basically stand ringside, just like with any other professional sport,

waiting to assist an athlete. And once the ring is clear from harm, they can go ahead and come in and start working. And that's what they did. They've been so awesome to so many rodeo athletes and giving back and helping us get, get back into the arena in the best shape possible. So we're, uh, we're two weeks, almost three weeks into this recovery and, uh, the comeback's going to be good.

When do you get to, um, go back? Do they give you a date? Uh, not, not, not really yet. You know, like I said, we're still pretty early in the game. Um, I've heard a lot of, you know, anything from, you know, three months to six months. Like I said, we're still pretty early in the game. I've heard a lot of anything from three months to six months. I truly feel it's going to be on the shorter side of that. I feel that I've come quite a ways already. Talking to my trainers and doctors and that, everything looks really good. It all depends on just how it heals. I'm believing in a good speedy healing through it all.

We're just going to keep working on it each and every day and getting that range of motion back and that strength back. You'll see us back in the arena before long for sure. What's it mean when you say um uh pounding the arena that term uh pounding the arena get back into the arena i guess it's not a derogatory term i thought i heard you use it in a derogatory way i thought you said well it's not like i was just out there pounding the arena no i heard it one of your interviews and i go i wonder what that means uh i don't know i don't know okay um you did something that um which i found interesting that a lot of great people do as a young boy you you snuck away to fight bulls illegally

right right i don't know if i'd say illegally but, I would sneak away when I was young and go to what they call practice pins where they buck out bulls and guys get on and practice. And I started doing that at a young age in a sense where before my mom and dad really knew what I was doing. And after the fact, when they found out what I was doing, you know, I was just thankful that, you know, they shut it down on me. You know, they supported it in a certain way i guess you could say but uh dang sure uh had to uh you know work my way way through it all you know and you know kind of uh earn their trust and respect through it i guess you could say but yeah no that's kind of what, when I did sneak away and started fighting bulls that way. It's, um, it's interesting at such a young age,

you already knew what you were going to do. I mean, it's so, uh, well, it made me think of Bill Gates. I remember hearing a story about Bill Gates sneaking into a place where there was a computer. Um, there was only, you know, when he was a kid, there was very few computers, but he knew where there was a computer on campus somewhere at some college in Washington and he would sneak away to use it even though he wasn't supposed to. And I was just imagining you as this young kid. And that's why it seems like you're still so young, 35, but yet you're like, you're, you're a senior member. You're, you're a veteran. You've already broken the glass ceiling. You know, every, every day that you're alive, you break the glass ceiling in your sport. It's nuts.

It may have not even been considered a sport when you got into it, right? And now it is a sport. I think it was, but obviously it's really showcased more of, you know, what kind of athletes are actually out there that perform, you know, in rodeo because it takes a lot of time and dedication. It doesn't matter what side of the ring you're on perform you know in rodeo because it takes it takes a lot of time dedication or what doesn't matter what side of the ring you're on you know and you know and that so that trickles down to the athleticism that it takes to do it and so yes the showcasing of athletes definitely grown over the last five ten years for sure but it's always been considered a sport

there was an interview you did where a guy asks you, Hey Dusty, have you been watching the Olympics? And you said, no, not so much. I've really been focused on the CrossFit games. And I was like, that was crazy because I mean, that just made me realize what a CrossFitter you are because I mean, that's like everyone in the community, right? They're kind of like the Olympics. What? Like, why? Like if the games are on, why would I watch the Olympics?ics yeah that really resonated with me i like i like watching olympics

but i can't sit and watch all the the events because there's i mean origami i mean they're just they're nothing against some of the some of the events but there's certain events i do like you know but i don't know just the crossfit games is it just overrules for me just going back to the just some of the people that i've got to really follow over the years and you know kind of become fans of you know it's just drawing me more to that now if the olympics and the crossfit games weren't going on at the same time i'd probably maybe watch a little more olympics but right we're gonna pick or choose one of the others. It'll probably be the CrossFit Games. Oh, dude, the CrossFit Games are phenomenal. Have you been?

I haven't been yet. Like I said, it's always been over some of my rodeos. The only time that I could actually went and helped would have been the COVID year when they went to the ranch, but they had limited staff and everything, so I didn't go out there. One of these days when it actually does not cross, I'm entered for sure. I'm going out. It's mind-boggling.

The stuff you see these athletes do, it's like looking at the Grand Canyon. It really is mind-boggling. It's like you kind of can't get your head wrapped around it. You're like, really? They're doing this? Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's something I definitely want to watch and I've got another good friend that follows it pretty

good that definitely we're going to make it work one of these days. Hopefully it doesn't fall on one of our radios that we can do it, but just wait and see. Thanks for your time, man. Hour and 48 minutes. I really appreciate it.

Awesome, man. I appreciate you having me, and shoot, I hope all's good. Have a good day. Yeah, it was great meeting you. I'm glad Dave Castro turned me on to you, and I'll be in touch, and I'll be rooting for you. Thanks, man. Appreciate it.

Have a good one. See you.