Miles & Mountains
Join Nick, a social worker and coach by day, as he unravels the inspiring stories of athletes and the public, uncovering the motivations behind their actions, from conquering mountains to participating in ultra-endurance races and competing in rodeos. Get ready for heartwarming tales of community support, acts of kindness, and the revelation that everyone has a deeper story to tell. Whether it's running, climbing, or participating in rodeos, these stories will inspire and uplift. #Running, #Climbing, #EverydayAthletes, #Rodeo
Miles & Mountains
The Bullfighter's Odyssey: The Evolution of Tucker Lane
We catch up with Tucker again as he navigates through life's changes, from a college graduate to a substitute teacher in Missouri. Tucker's journey has evolved beyond the bullfighting arena to encompass leadership roles and shed light on the responsibilities and challenges that come along the way. You don't want to miss this update.
Tucker Lane
Instagram:
@tuckerlane13
https://instagram.com/tuckerlane13?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Shoutout to:
Tucker Lane
#LiveLikeLandon
Trevor Wells
Koby Ruff
Chance Moorman
Weston Rutkowski
BFO and UBF
PRCA
Lane Frost Brand
Tucker Lane. How are you, man? I'm all right. How are you? I'm doing okay. Man, windstorm going on right now, so hopefully internet stays afloat. It should be good, pretty much, have good service, but you never know, with these windstorms in eastern Washington. So last time you were here, it was well. Your episode was published. Get this man, 29th 2022. Episode 84. I just published 197 and I'm sitting on. I think you might be 202 around there. You probably will be. I'll probably, you know, get this out tonight or tomorrow or whatnot, but 202, episode 84,. You finished school. I mean lots of change for you since our last discussion, correct?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's been. Yeah, a lot's gone on and a lot, quite a few changes. Not even living in the same state anymore, so yeah, where are you?
Speaker 1:Are you living in Texas now, or?
Speaker 2:No, I'm living back in Missouri. I was going to school there in Texas and now I'm back up and just outside of Kansas City.
Speaker 1:Okay. How's everything going.
Speaker 2:You know it's peaceful. You know getting to be at home hanging out with family, spending some time with them. You know I haven't really gotten a whole lot of that the last few years with being at school and traveling with the rodeo gig, so I've gotten to enjoy the time that I've had here and still been able to hit the road and make enough money to keep it going.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, okay. So you're living the college lifestyle, the roommate lifestyle, just living it up, traveling here, there and in between, pretty much Okay. You sound more settled too, maybe because last time you know you weren't playing video games. Now it's like okay, yeah, you're set, settled down, a bit working. You know substitute teaching, that kind of thing. You're dabbling in protection.
Speaker 2:Now I just there's been a lot going on. I've really I know it's only been a year since I was last on, but I've had to do a lot of growing up in the past year, you know, with everything that's been going on. The last year that I was at college, I was kind of nominated as the team captain so I had to be responsible for a lot of guys and gals, even though I wasn't really competing on the rodeo team like everybody else, I was just a bullfighter. So although I didn't make all the team rodeos, I still had this like I don't know extra responsibility of making sure everybody got along and everybody was going to, making sure everyone was going to practice and doing everything that they were supposed to do, and so you know, there was a lot of maturity to come with that.
Speaker 2:And then coming home and not being at school anymore, not getting, you know, not having all of my expenses paid for and making sure that I've got enough, you know I'm making enough to pay all the bills and whatnot. So you know just things of that sort. It's crazy, right? Yeah?
Speaker 1:It kind of sucks. It does man. Yeah, how old are you again? I just turned 24 on the 14th 24 and you've been in man, you've been freestyling for over five years now.
Speaker 2:Yep, I would have been. It was a. It was May of 18 when I started, so so you're pretty much a veteran man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we, we've kind of had conversations about that, some of the different events talking about how it's been. It's been different when I was the kid who showed up. You know, me and chance Mormon are both both just kids when we first showed up on tour and and you know, and we, I mean we fought good and we hung with the guys, but everyone knew that we were the young kids. And I've seen guys come into the locker room now who look at me and chance the same way that that I still look at guys like Toby and and Weston and and you know, yeah, those guys.
Speaker 2:So One thing I told, one thing I was talking about at the last BFO and I was that you know it was so cool to. I used to come out of the arena and look to guys like Weston or Ross or Toby and and kind of look for guidance on what I could have done better, could have done wrong, and and now Not only do I get to have those conversations to those guys, but you know Weston's come out of the arena and had the same conversation with me and it's been kind of a nice, nice, nice thing to think it that I've, that I've paid my dues enough in the business to where people you know other guys see me as a, as a guy, not just a kid.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, I see you as a guy, a grown man doing grown man stuff. I mean there's not too many people that kid you know float like a butterfly. You know around a damn bowl as good as you guys, so especially you. I mean five years in you. I mean you've been in it for Young, you know, and you're still in it. So I mean you haven't really Lost any moves or anything, maybe just age. But, dude, it seems like you know you're, you matured and and got a great head on your shoulders, not saying you didn't back when we last talked. But, dude, you sound like a total different person, man.
Speaker 2:I Hope that's a good thing.
Speaker 1:No, it is man, it is yeah. So the biggest thing, though, that I noticed that you don't really talk about is the protection. We all know you're your BA at freestyle man. You've been freestyling for a while, but you you told me, or you mentioned, that you do have your PRCA card and and protection. What's the big difference in that?
Speaker 2:well, you know, for me, like when it comes to the actual job, I don't think there's much of a difference between the protection of the freestyle. You know, at the end of the day, fightin bulls is just fighting bulls. The moves the same. You're taking a bull and you're putting them where you want them. You know, when I, when I got into this, it was because I wanted to work protection. You know, that is where my passions at and I hope that there comes a day that I can Hang up my freestyle cleats and just have enough rodeos to sustain a living. You know, that's that's the goal.
Speaker 2:Freestyle is been incredible to me. It has, you know, given me everything, including my PRCA card. I wouldn't have it without the accomplishments I've been freestyle. And you know, to any young bullfighters I highly recommend going in an entering because that's how you get people to know who you are.
Speaker 2:But at the same time, the physical and the emotional light or the mental toll that it takes is it's tough. You know, going out there and and convincing yourself that you are the baddest man on the planet isn't exactly an easy thing to do. And then to double on top of it, you know, getting hooked and getting injured or or whatever, and then happen to to come back from it. You know, there was actually just just earlier this year I took a hooken from a white bull that I Mean put me in a place mentally I had never been and it was the first time that I ever. I mean, I really believed that I was going to die.
Speaker 2:I and you know that's a scary thing to think about. And then I had to fight the same bull again in August, you know, just six months after, after he did that to me and that was something that you know like you don't know that you can do it until you're putting a spot to do it. Now I was able to do it and I got by him without getting hooked the second time, but it wasn't wasn't a process I enjoyed. Looking back on it. I'm so glad I did it because obviously the growth and the accomplishment of it is Something that I can I cannot compete with, but it wasn't easy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you don't mind me asking, what did the bull end up doing to you, man?
Speaker 2:Well, honestly, the injuries weren't weren't terrible. I had I tore the lining in between my ribs and I got hooked. I basically had the giant hematoma on my thigh, and so, like they weren't, the injuries weren't bad, but he had me pinned up against the the shotgun shoot when he was hooking me, and so I was just kind of pinned up against the wall between him, and that's kind of when that that fear set in. But then my hematoma got infected and so I had to have it cut open and and packed with gauze and and everything else. So, you know, though, they weren't bad, it was kind of a six weeks of of recovery.
Speaker 2:And then, just you know, I went back and I watched the video and like there was just something about that bull that he was cutting off corners, and like I didn't know that there was a way I could get by him and talk to some other guys about it, and they were like, yeah, you can, but you got to do it this way. And then other guys would be like, I don't know if you can, but here's how I would do it. And so it, basically, when I, when I realized I had him again, I just kind of had to. Basically, I just kind of nut it up and was like you know, if he's going to hit me, so be it.
Speaker 1:Let's do it. What did you score on the second go around?
Speaker 2:I was. I was only 75 points I couldn't get him to. I couldn't get him to hook up and stay involved in the style that I was doing. But I got to use the barrel a little bit and and got four or five good moves on him. But just to get by without getting hooked was a huge accomplishment.
Speaker 1:So yeah, well, good man. I mean, I could only imagine man, something like that, so big you know, do a job on you. Then you got to go back in the ring against him. I mean it's not like a human, it's an animal man, and it's just like, oh my God, let's, let's, let's go against it. It's a small guy, a grown man, small guy, right, compared to 2,500 pound bowl, good Lord, nope, nope, no, all right. When did you get your card?
Speaker 2:So I guess I got my permit last year it's when I got to proof my permit and so I worked four or five rodeos for Corden McCoy and then after that they sent in my evaluation list and then I got to proof my card, probably just three months ago.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, so rarely. Okay, rarely now, man, all right, so how's it been I?
Speaker 2:mean it's been good, like I only have pro rodeos with Corden McCoy. But you know Corden takes really good care of me. He's got the. He has the best bucking bulls in the world, so it's not a super hard job to have His bulls, just buck everybody off and then go to the out gate. So it's pretty easy work. But it's pretty nice to go to Vegas every year and go to the convention and get to call yourself a professional with some of the best in the world. You know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, you were a professional when you first started, man.
Speaker 2:Looking back, I'm not so sure.
Speaker 1:Oh, I'll say otherwise, but I got you. I got you, man. Well, congrats dude, congrats man. And not a lot of people do UBF and BFO at the same time, but you do it right.
Speaker 2:Well, I haven't been. I you know how it is. It's with anything else. I don't want to go into specifics, but politics and people in charge of hurt feelings and everything else like that. So you know, you just got to. You got to go wherever you can make the most money and and right now you know they've, they've got a place for me at the BFO finals. So that's where I'm going to be, you know. Ok, so BFO.
Speaker 1:BFO chances still killing it. Weston still killing it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, west, right now, the BFO world standings. There's two rookies Lakin Woodbury, and yeah, he's bad. What's the other? What's the other rookies name? Who's? Who's just absolutely killing it. His name escapes me at the moment. But the two guys who had never heard of you know, show up and win huge events at the BFO. There they both got to go to the five to 50. And then you know Tyler Manziel. He's fresh off last year's world title. So you know those four guys are really tough. Plus, col Bates got a big win in Fort Worth. So you know it's top five, top six guys. There at BFO it's going to be close race and the final is going to be exciting to watch.
Speaker 1:So yeah, yeah, and with the difference, and you, you know dabbling here and there, you've been dabbling in the the gym too, something that was unheard of last time we talked.
Speaker 2:Right, I still wouldn't say that I'm very good at it. But no, I went and I went and hired Weston as a trainer. You know him, he's the most fit guy in our sport and he is a certified trainer. So I hired him when we were in college to program for me and I was only able to do a month with him because, like getting out of college, I wasn't sure what the budget was going to be, with all the, all of the bills that I was going to receive and everything else like that. But you know, once you have someone program for you, once you kind of learn how to get your own workout routine going and everything else like that. So I do plan to use him again in the future, but after I'm making a little bit more money.
Speaker 1:Yeah, did you notice the difference once? You started the routine and everything.
Speaker 2:Well, not only that, but like I didn't really like, like I would work out hard but I wouldn't work out targeted. And you know, and I didn't really realize the difference between, like just working out and training. And whenever you know, whenever you hire someone to program for you, then you're training and everything's targeted with a purpose. And Weston did a good job of basing it all around you know bullfighting and was doing different things to change up workouts, that it was still targeting the muscles I needed, but it was also keeping me on working on my balance and my core strength and things of that nature so yeah, what was the one thing that you found out, you know, when you first started with Weston.
Speaker 1:So the one thing that you found out? That you lacked or needed to work out or, you know, you didn't work out at all.
Speaker 2:Well I'm, um, how do I? I would say this I would say that I was in better shape than I thought I was, but I also didn't realize how good of shape I needed to be in, if that makes sense. Got you Like I expected the workouts to be way harder than they were, but that doesn't mean that they weren't hard. Like I was still out of shape to where I needed to be, but like when I got to the point that I was like, okay, I need to hire a trainer, I thought that I was like bad out of shape. Yeah, so you know, like that's the silver lining, I guess.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about your brand. Has that launched? Yet you got a clean, clean cut logo.
Speaker 2:Well, so I've got a nice logo and I've got, you know, I've sold a couple of T-shirts in the past and it's something I want to do, but it's very difficult to run that while also trying to run just the bullfight and business Gotcha. So you know, I've kind of walked, I've thought about it a lot and threw it up several times. My big goal is I'm hoping to build a social media brand big enough that I can partner with someone like Lane Frost brand and then have them you know them do something along those lines. Like I don't think I think a Tucker Lane series shirt hat that was still a Lane Frost hat would be something really cool. But I want to make sure that you know, whenever I ask them to do something like that, I've got a big enough following. It's worth it for them, gotcha.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, I was going to say. I mean, you already have Lane Frost sponsoring you correct.
Speaker 2:Yeah, We've been. I've been sponsored by them since 2020.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I mean, that says a lot.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, they're super supportive and there's a 100% like. They believe in me and you know, if I asked him to do it, I 100% think that he would. But I want, you know, I've only got probably 8,000 followers on Instagram and I would like to be around 10 to 15 before I did something like that because I want it to. You know, I don't want it to just be a bother on them, I want it to work.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. Who says it's not going to work though, man? Well, for real, yes, following is different, man. The more I get involved, the more you know with social media. Social media is just a number, man. I know a lot of people go off on that. Give it a shot, man. Give it a shot.
Speaker 2:Well, and, like I said, it may be something that I do in the future. It's just I will say, this year there was a couple of events that I missed, like Swaynsboro, georgia, an event that I've won in the past, and I was kind of surprised by different events like that, how many people reached out and were upset. I wasn't there, and so that's that's kind of a nice feeling to have. So you know, who knows, we'll see.
Speaker 1:I've noticed the back of your jersey 110 live like landing. Could you please explain that? What's the meaning behind that?
Speaker 2:So I high school rode over the kid named Landon Smith. He was a bull rider at the same time that I was and so we became friends or both riding bulls. And then when I first started fighting bulls, I worked high school rodeos in Missouri and so you know he would go to all their high school rodeos and ride bulls and I would go and I would be a bullfighter, we would go fishing and different things of that sort and just a super nice all around guy to be around and everything else like that. Well, my senior year he was driving his brother to school and was killed in a car wreck and his back number in high school was 110 and then he passed away on January 10th. So they created that the live like landing Memorial Scholarship Fund and and basically just created that back number as kind of a memorial brand.
Speaker 2:And he meant, oh, just what he stood for meant a lot to me. Like I don't want to come on and say that we were best friends or like, or overplay how you know our, our friendship now that he's gone, but what he stood for and how he was to the people around him meant a lot to me and so that's something you know, when I put that on my back and on my jersey, it's not just to To him, in a memory of him, but in memory of what he stood for, in the way that he acted, and I want to go out and be that kind of example to those people.
Speaker 1:I got you man. Yeah, you don't have to explain that man and I know.
Speaker 2:I, I love it. I wish you know, I wish that it was something I could actually put out there more like I. The his parents have been my biggest fans Since I started doing this. You know I'm super close to them. I work his memorial bull riding every year with Eli Sharkey.
Speaker 2:You know I have it, it isn't. It isn't something I don't like. I love talking about it. I wish that. You know I want, I Hope that that back number is something that I come to be known for, but not because of my talent, because of my attitude and because I'm just a nice guy the same way that he was. Yeah, I got you.
Speaker 1:I think people understand man for real and you being on here for the second go around, I mean you're a nice guy. You could definitely hey, kick rocks, you know. So, yeah, you're to me, you're a nice guy, man Period before that story. But that that's awesome, man. I thought something like that One, 10 and they all had a meeting, but I'm thankful that you were able to Explain and give the background and dude, you're, you're, you're a good guy, seriously. I mean we're pretty much done. You got two more. What protection gigs. And then the BI Foe in December, correct? Yep, so I will be. I will be in Bowie, texas.
Speaker 2:This Saturday night and then October 9th, 10th and 11th I'll be in Las Lunes, new Mexico, foreign extreme goals and then the BFO finals are December 8th and the 9th, and then also December 14th, 15th and 16th at the Resorts World in Las Vegas. But in the meantime you got your subbing. Are you gonna dabble?
Speaker 1:on teaching to eventually? Oh no, I don't want to. I don't want to be a teacher. I don't even know that. I want to be a substitute teacher.
Speaker 2:I just had to have that to get to coach. You know, wrestling is my second passion. If I, if I had never started rodeo and I would have wrestled in college, I actually had a Multiple scholarship offers to wrestle in college. It's just it wasn't one of my heart's beating what, all right, where we're gonna go?
Speaker 1:I probably would have went to Missouri Valley.
Speaker 2:It's a private school in Missouri and it's only about an hour from the house, and so I probably went there and and wrestled there at 125 pounds, but but no, and it went when I was a senior.
Speaker 2:You know I lost, I lost in the semi-finals of the state championships and you know, I went on to that third place match and I pinned that kid to take third and and like there was just a moment that just come over. That was like, you know, this is it, I'm done and and I'm okay with it. You know, put a lot of a lot of hard work, a lot of years and love, a lot of running Into what I did there and I accomplished a lot and I loved it. But you know, hopefully getting a chance to give back to to that will be something that that I really enjoy. Well, geez, when you're gonna find out, man, do you know? Yet I haven't known for sure. I reached out to my, my high school here my alma mater and they seem kind of full on assistant coaches.
Speaker 2:I did go to high school with the head coach at a school outside of Kansas City and we've kind of talked about me working with him and that seems like he's on board. So you know, hopefully I'll know soon, but as of right now it's just kind of testing the waters kind of thing.
Speaker 1:Well, tucker, I hope it works out, man, and you know me being a coach myself, not wrestling, but cross country took the day off you know to be here and just mental health day, you know. But if you have the opening at a nearby school, take it, man, because chances are your alma mater will have an opening eventually and when that opening is there, they'll grab you. Dude, trust me, it all works out, man, for sure, and definitely something I'm excited about. Yeah man dude. I swear man, you're like a mystery. You're a mystery dude.
Speaker 2:I didn't know you no no, just I just I hate to work. You know, I mean, it's pretty much that simple, I don't know how to put it. If it's not fun, I don't want to do it. You know, that's why it was so hard for me to start working out. You know, yeah, Because if it's not fun, I don't want to do it. So when it comes to a job, you know, I always said I wasn't ever going to have a real job. And so far I've meant it. You know, all I've ever done is fight bulls.
Speaker 1:Yeah, soon you'll be teaching kids, man, no matter where you're at dude. So that's awesome, coaching kids and everything. So yeah.
Speaker 2:Plus, I still have lots of opportunities to coach bullfighting too. I still teach at several schools throughout the year and radio Bible cams for kids.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I saw that man. Dude, you're an awesome guy, man. I just want you to know that. You know you're a kid to me, but you're a grown man to these kids, growing up, dude, and I want you to know. I appreciate you, appreciate your time, I appreciate what you do in and out of the ring and what you stand for, man. So, tucker, thank you so much, man.
Speaker 2:Hey, anytime pal Yep, Until next time. Sounds good, all right, yeah.