From Military to PRCA Bullfighting: Colt Steggell

A PRCA bullfighter isn’t there to look fearless, he’s there to be trustworthy when everything goes wrong in a split second. We talk with Colt Steggell about what bullfighting really is: reading cattle, attacking the bull’s line at the right moment, and taking responsibility for a rider’s safe exit. If you’ve ever wondered how rodeo athletes protect each other while still competing, his answer lands hard and clear. 

Colt breaks down the realities people never see on camera: broken ribs, cracked sternums, and how a bullfighting vest helps but doesn’t save you from bad decisions. He also walks us through the PRCA pro card process step by step, from getting NFR level signatures, to paying for evaluations, to fighting pro rodeos on a permit while you’re still being scored. Failing twice nearly crushed him until blunt feedback forced a reset: be more aggressive, and stop doing it like you’re not having fun. 

Then the conversation turns to the topic he most wants in the open: veteran suicide and mental health. Colt shares losing a fellow soldier, surviving two suicide attempts, and why dissociation and depression can hit even if you never deployed. We also talk about community-driven support through WarriorsnRodeo and Operation VetNow, and how brotherhood can be a real lifeline, not a slogan. 

If this hit home, share it with a friend, subscribe for more real stories from the rodeo and military worlds, and leave a review so more people who need these conversations can find them. What part of Colt’s story stayed with you?

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Shoutout to:

Colton Steggell

The Steggell Family 

Rodeo Community

Jace Angus 

Riley Riddle 

Operation VetNow

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For 15% Off 

Raising Awareness:

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Mental Health 

Transcript

Welcome And Meeting Colton Stegel

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Cool, how are you, man?

SPEAKER_02 0:30

Good. How are you doing, man?

SPEAKER_00 0:32

Doing all right, doing all right. It's an honor to have you on, believe it or not. I've been wanting to have you on since July 2023. Can you believe that?

SPEAKER_03 0:41

It does not seem like it's been that long. It's been a long time.

SPEAKER_00 0:45

I know, man. And I'm hit, I'm hitting my fifth year doing this. I mean, it's been a while and been been dealing with some things, but just knowing that it's been almost three years trying to get you on, you know, says a lot that you're on. So it's an honor. And yeah, you're on, you're a bullfighter. You're not just a bullfighter, you are a PRCA bullfighter.

SPEAKER_03 1:10

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

And then a veteran, which holds true to your heart.

SPEAKER_03 1:16

Yes, sir. It was one of the best and worst times of my life, and there's definitely days that I miss it, and days that I'm looking back and glad to be out, but I'm sure you get that too.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

Yeah, yeah. So let me ask you this what what makes you miss it?

SPEAKER_03 1:34

I miss the camaraderie and just how basically how close you get to how many people are in the military. Like you can be best friends with someone, and then the next day they're gone to a different state, different country, something. But then it's also you get to meet so many different people that aren't from your same background. Like one of my best friends was Antonio Nicosia, who's from Philly, and I'm from Utah, and I'm like, I never thought that I'd become best friends with someone that grew up in Philadelphia.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

Yeah, I gotcha. I gotcha. But it was almost like the rodeo world too. The camaraderie is high, the brotherhood is high. I feel when I'm in it, you know. Like I don't I don't fight, I don't participate, I just you know put athletes on blast. And I feel welcomed. Sometimes I don't, but then I feel like that's just all in my mind, you know. And then you know, they take me in and the camaraderie is high, just like the military. I think that's what brings me into the whole rodeo world. But but yeah, what are your thoughts on that? Do you feel like the rodeo world? I mean, you see some people, I mean, you can fight people or fight bulls alongside people who are southeast, northwest, Texas, Oklahoma, right?

SPEAKER_03 2:57

Oh, yeah, it's been it's been fantastic getting to travel the country. I've been everywhere from Alaska to Florida to New York and California. Like it's it's been fantastic meeting people everywhere. I've been fighting bulls everywhere. It's and the way that it just brings everyone in, you're right, it is like the military because it is the only sport in the world where the people that you're competing against will actively risk their lives to protect you as you're competing against them. Because, like, just for bull riding in instance, if someone gets knocked out in the dirt, the people that haven't even gotten on their bull yet will jump out of the bleach or out of the chutes and come try and get you back into the chutes where you're safe. So they're risking their own life when they haven't even gotten a chance

Rodeo Brotherhood Compared To Military

SPEAKER_03 3:48

to compete yet to protect you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:50

Yeah. Yeah. So why do you why do you fight bulls? Why do you rodeo, man?

SPEAKER_03 3:58

I rodeo pretty much because of that camaraderie. It's the closest thing that I've found to the military, but also it is an absolute brotherhood. It is you'll meet some of the best people you've ever met that come from different backgrounds through rodeo as well. And then it's also for me, it's the aspect of knowing that every time I step foot in that arena, that those guys that are strapping themselves to the bulls are trusting me with their lives to be able to protect them. My whole job is to take that bull away from them, to take the hit so that they don't have to just to make sure that those bull riders get out of the arena safely, even if it means that I don't.

SPEAKER_00 4:44

Okay.

Why He Bullfights And Adrenaline

SPEAKER_00 4:46

Were you born and raised in the rodeo world, or you just pick it up?

SPEAKER_03 4:51

I was kind of born and raised into it. So my father, he was a bull rider, and then he was a bullfighter as well. And then my little brother is a PRCA bull rider, and actually went to college for bull riding down in Texas. And so it's kind of been a family thing. I stepped away from it when I was younger to play football and kind of always missed it. I ended up playing a just kind of being practice squad up at the University of Utah for a year, and then I dropped out of college and joined the military. And while I was in, I had some buddies that wanted to go to the practice pens there in North Carolina. So when we were there, they didn't have a bullfighter. That guy got pretty pretty hurt from there not being anyone out there with him. And so I started stepping out in front of the arena. I was like, hey, like I've been around this my whole life, I'll I'll step around and see what I can do. And I fell in love with it after that. Like, it's the biggest adrenaline rush that you'll ever find. And like jumping out of planes, being shot at, like, it's nothing compares to when you're face down with that 2,000-pound animal coming straight at you that could kill you on accident, let alone when they're trying to get you.

SPEAKER_00 6:09

I believe it, man. And you're the first one that actually said adrenaline rush. A lot of people are like, you know, there's something about it, but you just right off the bat just said adrenaline rush, okay? So you're you're you're adrenaline junkie kind of thing in a good way. In a good way.

SPEAKER_03 6:23

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

So it was a love at first sight, just the adrenaline that is, and then and come head to head with a bull.

SPEAKER_03 6:31

Yeah, it was the first time I stepped around one and like I shot, I was dumb, and I was just sitting there with like one of those flags that they used to herd like sheep, thinking that that was gonna help. And I got the bull's attention with that flag, and he came after me. And that was the first time I ever really had a really mean bull come after me. And after that, when I finally got away from him, it was it was love at first sight. I was like, all right, like that was amazing. I want to get right back to it and actually learn how to do this.

SPEAKER_00 7:05

Yeah. And then uh when uh top or your sergeant came around, found out what you're doing.

Injuries And What Vests Really Do

SPEAKER_00 7:12

Did they agree or disagree?

SPEAKER_03 7:14

Oh, they definitely disagreed. So the first time they found out about it was while I was stationed up in Alaska, and we were doing live fire exercises up on the mountains and pulled on gas mask, everything, went running up the mountain and passed out because I wasn't able to breathe. And then Sergeant woke me up, had me run back down the mountain with my gas mask, and passed out and tumbled down the mountain on the way down. When he got up to me, he was like, Stegel, what is wrong with you? And I just lifted up my shirt and showed him that I had I ended up being four broken ribs, and you could see all the bruising and everything. And he won't asked me what I was doing. I was like, Well, this weekend I was out at a rodeo playing bullfighter.

SPEAKER_00 8:01

Well, what did he say? What did he say? What was his response?

SPEAKER_03 8:04

He told me that I was a dumbass.

SPEAKER_00 8:07

Yeah. Did you not have protection, or did you did they give you protection or no?

SPEAKER_03 8:12

No, so as a bullfighter, we have we've got this little vest that it's about maybe an eighth of an inch to a quarter inch of plastic with about a quarter inch of padding, and that's all we get, and it's just to try and disperse the power behind the hits.

SPEAKER_00 8:30

Yeah, yeah. So you you did wear that and still broke four minutes.

SPEAKER_03 8:34

Oh yeah, I've I've broken two of those vests in half from getting hit by bulls. Like I got I got pinned between the corner post on a fence and a bull with one of them, and it broke that vest in half, broke a total of six ribs and cracked my sternum. Uh, and then the year after that, I actually broke another vest from just getting hit, I got flung up in the air from one of the bulls, came back down on the bull's head again as he was popping his head up and broke that vest and broke a couple more ribs.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

Yeah, all right, all right. How much are those vests?

SPEAKER_03 9:21

If you get what I was wearing at those times, they're cheaper ones and they're about 250 to 300, and then you can get uh the upgraded version of those, and they're about 300 to 350, and then you can get a personalized one like I have now, which can run you anywhere from 400 to 600.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

So personalized as it is, dude. Yeah, is it thicker? Is it thicker, or is it just fitted to your body?

SPEAKER_03 9:53

It is so it's called a Jones Pro Gear vest. Okay, yeah, they have different sizes that you can order. And the two that I broke were TK specialties, which they're still really good vests, and there's still a lot of really high-name people that wear them after I I was just I was dumb enough to wear them after they shouldn't have been kept wearing. So that's the reason I kept breaking them. But with these Jones Pro Gear ones, I like them more because they don't go so far down on my back, and I can pick out different sizes. Like if I want my front plate to be a large and my back plate to be an extra large, and I want my two side plates to be mediums, yeah, I can customize them like that to fit exactly how I want them, or I just run everything a large with the medium straps because I like mine a little bit tighter.

Eight Years In The Arena

SPEAKER_00 10:50

Okay. Okay. How long in total have you been uh fighting bulls?

SPEAKER_03 11:00

Eight years now.

SPEAKER_00 11:01

Eight years, okay. Not not too easy, not too easy years. I mean, I I pay attention to you guys a lot, man, and you guys go through the ringer. So eight years, okay, and then you've been you've been pro for a year and a half, year.

SPEAKER_03 11:19

Yeah, I got my pro card last year in I think June or July, so right around a year now.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

So take us down to how you get a pro card. How why is it so difficult for athletes like yourself to get a pro card? Because it is difficult. I mean, a lot of people think outside looking in, a lot of people think, oh man, you just fight bulls, you know. You they can put anybody on the street. Like, believe it or not, people think that, you know. So, can't can you take it down to like why is it so difficult to get a pro card?

The PRCA Pro Card Gauntlet

SPEAKER_03 11:51

So it is difficult to get a pro card, first off, because you have to have three signatures proving that you are even good enough to get evaluated. And those three signatures have to come from three NFR people, which is the National Finals Rodeo. And they are the best of the best out of all of the bullfighters across the world. The top three bullfighters every year get chosen by the top 15 bull riders to go fight the NFR. So you have to have one NFR bull rider and two NFR bullfighters sign for you and say that, hey, yeah, this guy is good enough that I vouch for him. Then after you get, even getting in contact with those guys is hard because they have so many people trying to talk to them and ask questions or anything that then trying to get them to come out and watch your rodeos is almost impossible because they want to see you in person after you fight before they sign for you. And then so after you get those three signatures, then you pay five, I think it was like 500 bucks to the PRCA for them to send someone out to evaluate you. And you have to give them a list of five rodeos that that person or those people, because they could send multiple, or they could just send one. So you give them a list of five rodeos that they have people come out and evaluate you and give you a score sheet. And the people that come to evaluate you are or they either are or were some of the best that ever did. Like my my evaluator was Jerry Jones, which is the one that, or Gary Jones is the one that made the bullfighting vest that I now wear. But he was also an NFR bullfighter and everything back in the day. So they don't just like random people come evaluate you, like they are some of the top people in the world that come to evaluate you and give you a score. Then after you get that evaluation, if you pass, which my first two attempts, I failed. I didn't get I didn't pass my first two attempts, so luckily my third time was the charm when I did pass.

SPEAKER_01 14:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:14

But then once you pass, then you have to buy your permit, and that's like 300 bucks, and that lets you start fighting pro rodeos if if you get hired. But it's kind of a cutthroat world trying to get pro rodeos as well, because there's so many good people that have their cards that it's it's tough getting rodeos, but you have to fight five of those pro rodeos on your permit. And at each of those five pro rodeos, you get evaluated again. So you're getting evaluated by the stock contractor, the announcer, and it they send a total of I think three evaluations to each of those pro rodeos. So you get evaluated for those as well, and you have to pass every single one of those before you get your actual card, and then you can buy your card if you pass all of those. So it's a it's a long, lengthy process to try and get your actual pro card.

SPEAKER_00 15:17

Yeah. Yeah.

Failing Twice Then Rebuilding Confidence

SPEAKER_00 15:19

When when you when you did it, let's say the the first two times you didn't pass, how how did it make you feel, man? Did you feel less of than a person? Do you feel like you you did you give up? Did you feel like you should have? Or did it get you hungry, man? Did you did you want more? Did you like, you know, I'm gonna show these guys that you know that they they denied, you know, denied me, I'm gonna show them.

SPEAKER_03 15:42

I mean, what so the first time I applied was right when I moved back to the states from Alaska. So right when I got out of the military, and that first time I kind of knew that I wasn't going to get I wasn't going to pass because I was just kind of trying to figure out what I needed to improve on. And luckily, like they gave me Gary Jones' number because he's on that evaluating me the first time as well. And I was able to call him up and be like, hey, like I'm just moved back from Alaska, like I applied and I know I failed, but like what can I work on? What did you see? Because that was the main goal of me applying this first time, and he lifted everything out. I I love Gary because he is very blunt, like he tells you straight how it is, and he does not beat around the bush. But yeah, that's that was that first time I kind of knew I wasn't going to pass, and I just wanted to know what I needed to work on.

SPEAKER_01 16:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:42

And then the second time I had gone to a couple different schools, like I went to Cody Webster's school, I went to Frank Newsome, I went to I went and talked to those and went to schools with like the best people. And I felt like I was ready my second time. And when I failed, it did, it was like a gut punch. Like I was like, all right, like what do I need to work on? Like what is there? And I called Gary up again and he told me like, hey man, like you aren't aggressive enough. Like you are doing good getting like once you have the bull and everything, but you aren't aggressive enough getting to the bull and making sure that that bull is coming with you. Like, we have to attack their head and make sure that we're the only thing that bull sees. That way it doesn't see the guy on the ground. And then he also told me that it it looked like I wasn't having fun. And that is him telling me that it looked like I wasn't having fun is what really struck home to me, because I was like, yeah, like at that point in time, I was kind of like I was a little bit more scared of the bulls, and I was because I had just broken a couple ribs, like I was I was breaking bones every year. And yeah, then that was so it was it was a little rough, like yeah, that that hit home, it was a gut punch, and once he told me that it wasn't I wasn't having fun, I was like, okay, like so. I went back to my house and I sat around for a couple days and was trying to figure out why I bullfight. And it I realized like it's because I enjoy it, like it is fun to me. It's fun being there with the guys, it's fun getting to know everyone, getting to see all these places that I've gotten to see. Like, I need to go back to having fun, and I need to have enjoy what I'm doing and not just treat it as a job again. And so then I took a year and a half, two years before I applied for my third time, I went to like three or four more schools. I went and I just was making sure that I had fun. Like I felt in control of the bulls. I felt like me being in control and being as close as I can to where I keep a two can in my right pocket when I'm fighting bulls, and I keep it there because when I feel a bull's horn hit that two can and I hear that sound of it ringing, it's that to me that's fun. Like I can feel how close they are, I can see everything. Like I went back to having fun, just being like, hey, like I'm playing a game of like centimeters right here. It is fun.

SPEAKER_01 19:20

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_03 19:22

And then after that, like it was for my third time. I went out and look, I was even fighting with one of my best friends at that point. Like, him and I were just out there having a ball, and we were making fun of each other, we were pointing at each other as we were grabbing a bull's ear, saying, Hey, I got my hand on, now it's your turn. Like it's that third time I felt a lot more in control. I was having a lot more fun, and I genuinely enjoyed doing it again. And I am looking back at it now, I am thankful that he did fail me that second time because it made me really sit back and look at myself as to why I was doing it.

SPEAKER_00 20:06

Okay, all right,

Passing The Card And Celebrating Hard

SPEAKER_00 20:08

all right. Take me down to when you got approved. And were you ecstatic? I mean, how how was it? How was the the mentality? I mean, you celebrate, what? I mean, take take me down.

SPEAKER_03 20:22

Oh, I was insanely happy. I got the email while I was at work, and this was when I was still working construction, and I was laying pipe, I was down like I remember that day specifically because we just broke a water line, and I had been in the mud all day. It was cold, it was just a random cold day in the middle of June. I don't know if it was just because I was sunburnt that I was cold or what was going on, but I was cold and had broken a six-inch water line that was just throwing water everywhere as in the mud. So it was just it was just a bad day, and then I get home and that email, and I was ecstatic. It made it made that day one of the best days of my life. Getting to Do you remember the day? I don't remember the actual date. I know that I was laying pipe there in Salt Lake City at the new water treatment facility. But yeah, I don't remember the exact day.

SPEAKER_00 21:21

Okay. So do you celebrate beers on you or what? Or whatever you do on you.

SPEAKER_03 21:28

So the first thing I did was I actually called my mom and told her, hey, I finally got it. And what's she said? And then she was ecstatic too because she knew that how much I've been trying for it, and the amount of money and time and everything that I've been putting into it. And it's all starting to pay off now. And it was a great time. I called her, and then I called my dad, and he's always been in a good influence on me, and it's just been it was a great time. And then after that, I went and called my buddies and met up with some of them for. Some beers and got a little too drunk that night to show up to work at five in the morning the next morning was still a little drunk.

SPEAKER_00 22:07

Yeah, but it was worth it, right? Hard work pays off, hard work pays off. So, all right. I said before we've been talking since 2023. You know, you veteran status, both of us, but you you you wear it and you you're you're you're proud of it. I'm not saying I'm not proud of it, but you when we connected, you mentioned veteran and how you want to talk about veterans and your you know not just your status, but 22. Not much so much 22, but suicides. But nowadays everybody says 22 a day. I I believe it's more than 22. I always thought it was more than 22, but that stuck out you know more than you fighting bulls, and you said that you would like to put that on the spotlight.

Veteran Suicide And Surviving Two Attempts

SPEAKER_00 22:53

So suicide, veteran suicide. Can can you elaborate why you would like to talk more about it or talk on that topic? I mean, I know that, but it's man, it's like a lot of people will be like, man, it's like somber. You know, a lot people who lived it, like myself and you, we don't we talk about it, but only amongst our boys, you know what I mean, or our fellow veterans to an extent. Only like maybe if we have a few beers, we talk about it, but don't really talk about it. So I would like to talk about it with you, if that's okay, and uh if you don't mind, and and why you would like to talk about veteran suicide.

SPEAKER_03 23:36

So the reason I want to talk about it is so much is uh so while I was in, I had one of the best people I've ever met. His name was Sergeant Mohea. He killed himself while we were in. And then also while I was in, I attempted to kill myself twice. And the first time I didn't really know what was going on and just just was just depressed and down. And the best thing I can say is yeah, I was depressed, I didn't want to be here anymore. And then the second time uh my depression got so bad that I just started uh like I would lose track of time. I think I think it's called dis disassociating.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:20

Where there would be days that I wouldn't remember, hours, like I would just it just felt like my body was just on autopilot and I just wouldn't remember anything. And then I actually got a phone call while I was driving, and it kind of woke me up out of one of those episodes, and coming to find out I was heading towards the center pillar on a bridge, going about 120 in my truck when that phone call happened. And so I thank God every day that that I got that phone call. But besides those instances, I've got a lot of friends that have dealt with the same thing with the depression with us having our friends kill themselves. Like it's not fun. My uh my fiance even had one of her best friends kill himself, and she was the one that found him. And while she was it's a it's a rough spot that I think that we need to address more openly. That way we can get help. Like this amount of stress and stuff that we have to go through in the military, it there's nothing that equates to it. Like, even if you haven't been deployed, like I'd never got deployed, my fiance never got deployed, I know a lot of people that never got deployed, and I understand that the people that got deployed, like they have it rough, like you're one of the ones that got deployed, like it hits you guys home, like it's hits you like a freight train. But then even those of us that didn't get deployed, we still had to go through so much stress. But because we didn't get deployed, we feel like we aren't we aren't at that same level and we can't ask for the help that you guys can. And I feel like that needs to be addressed because it shouldn't be to where we feel like that. It should be to where like, hey, we we are all one group, we are all one brotherhood. Like, let's try and help each other out.

Warriors And Rodeo Plus Operation VetNow

SPEAKER_03 26:18

So well through my bullfighting, I've actually gotten to join up with two organizations, Warriors and Rodeo and Operation Vet now. That both of these organizations, like they don't pay me any money, they don't do anything besides just help people. And the reason I wear them on my jerseys and try to get them as much light as possible is because they are working actively 24-7 with people all around the world to try and get veterans help to get anyone help really and to draw them into more of a brotherhood. So Warriors and Rodeo is EMS, firefighters, police, every military, and they try and pull everyone from those backgrounds into rodeo to try and get to have everyone feel the brotherhood of rodeo and get back to having those people in that close-knit group. And then Operation VetNow is trying to get veterans from all over the world from all different backgrounds just into sports in general.

SPEAKER_01 27:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:25

We have people that are racing cars, that are drifting cars, that are doing shooting competitions and archery competitions, to we have Connor Matthews and Liz that are professional MMA. Or Liz Liz Carmucci is another one that's professional MMA that's part of that group. And it's just trying to show everyone like, hey, like, we don't need to be by ourselves. We can be active, we can be inside these groups, inside any sport that we need to be. That way we can help each other. And it's so I want I wanted to bring up the suicide part of it because I've gone through it, I've attempted it, and I wanted to just try and tell people like, hey, I've got first hand experience, like it's horrible. Like, we need we need to try and put an end to it. We need to do everything we can to reach out to people. Like if you're feeling down, reach out, and if you're not feeling down, still reach out to your friends because you never know which one of them isn't. Like we try and act like we're the big manly men and that we don't need to act. And that is one of the biggest misconceptions I've ever seen, because when I was feeling that way, I didn't reach out because I thought that like, hey, I'm a manly man, I don't need to reach out.

SPEAKER_00 28:45

And it or you're the only one.

SPEAKER_03 28:47

Yeah, or like no one else knows how I'm feeling because it's just me. Like, I'm just to me, I honestly kept telling myself that I was a pussy for feeling that way. And when I finally reached out and got help, it was they told me like, hey, like, no, it's you're not a pussy, you're actually strong for reaching out because it shows that you are strong enough to ask for help.

SPEAKER_01 29:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:13

So to me, it's I just wanted to re tell people like, hey, if you ever need anything, don't be afraid to reach out. Like, even if even if I don't know you and you're just listening to this podcast, like, my name is Colton Stegel, like reach out and I will do anything I can to try and help you.

SPEAKER_00 29:29

Okay, I appreciate you, man. I appreciate you stating that. When when you reached out and and you said that you know you are strong, you know, to that you were reaching out, were you still in the service?

SPEAKER_03 29:41

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 29:42

Man, man, that is that okay. You were still on the service. When when I was at the time when you reached out, you know, this was before 22, this is like you know, 22 a day, you you you would be cast aside, you'd be a castaway, you'd be put into some some brigade that you don't want to be in and end up getting secondary trauma on top of your primary trauma, right? And I'm I'm so thankful to hear your story, what you said, that you know they encourage you to speak out because before they if they find a flaw, dude, they cast you aside and you're just a number, man. And man, I am so thankful and blessed to hear that they actually turned around, I mean, and changed their ways. That that is awesome to hear. Yeah, man, that that blew me away, man. I I I appreciate you telling me your story. Didn't know that you uh you know had issues and tried to, you know, do your thing and yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:54

It's all good. I'd I'd joke about it now. I'd make locked jokes about it now. So like I'm I'm all good and I I kind of found God through it because it just the pure timing of that phone call that if I didn't get that phone call and it was I still have that same ringer on my phone today just to remind me of it. That it was just the the ducks quacking and it reminded me, and for some reason that hit me in my head, and I was like, why in the hell is there a duck in my truck? And that is what made me like wake up out of that and notice what I was doing, and but it was it kind of made me feel God because it never I never yeah, I was never close to God before that. Like I had been baptized and everything, and I never really believed in it, but then after that happened, I was like, okay, like there has to be a reason that that happened. There has to be a reason that I'm still here because of that, especially with all the dumb stuff that I've done throughout my life. Like I got my parachute didn't open twice while I was in, I got blown up while I was in. I was in a coma, like, and then I rolled four wheelers and been told by doctors that I should be dead from blood loss, like multiple times over. And that was the time that finally like struck home to me, like they there has to be a reason that I'm still here. And so I after that set out searching for that reason and ended up becoming a lot more into bullfighting because I was like, if I can be saved, then I feel like my job is to save others, whether it is in the arena through talking to people or something else, like my job has to be to try and save others just how I was saved.

SPEAKER_00 32:43

Yeah, well, I appreciate the honesty, man. I really do. And I uh man, I'm I'm so glad that the military or you know armed services have changed their ways on treating people who are seeking for help, seeking help, you know, because before there was a reason why, you know, one one day, one day, you know, you're into formation, someone's there, morning formation, they're not there, and then come to find out, you know, they had the the the coroner at their, you know, you hear from top or from the Toon Sergeant or you know, squad leader saying, Hey, the coroner's at the house, you did this. You're like, oh my goodness, seriously, and and then you know, the you do you you see you see people do it in front of you, you hear people do it right in front of you. A couple porta potties away, you know what I mean? So yeah, it yeah, it's it's deep, man. A lot of people think it it's it's it doesn't happen, it does happen. And yeah, man, I appreciate you bringing this up, man. And I'm glad and thankful to to know that they they changed their ways, man. So that's awesome that you got the help. I'm I'm thankful that other service members are able to get the help when they need it. And if if those people who are listening, if you need to reach out, feel free to reach out. You can reach out to me, you can reach out to anybody. I mean, call 911, call call every service number that you think and know of. You know, Google goes a long way, but you know, people do care. It's not just a fad, it's you know, people are out there to talk to you. So, man, thank you for this conversation, man.

SPEAKER_01 34:30

No problem.

SPEAKER_00 34:32

I didn't I didn't think it would hit me this hard, man. But yeah, yeah, well, yeah, appreciate it. So but war what is it, Warriors Warriors and Rodeo Rodeo. Warriors and Rodeo. I tried to get a hold of them back then, and you know, I'm still I still follow them, but man, that though those those athletes there, I know just the name of you, Jace Angus, Riley Ridd Riddle, Hank the Yank. I don't know if you know Hank the Yank, uh, but but still I've had Riley on a couple times. Jace, I've had on Hank the Yank. He's gonna come back, I think, in August or September, whenever his rodeo uh world you know dims down before the NFR. But uh Ben Walton, been wanting to get him on, but he, you know, he's he he's low profile, but still doing his duty, you know, uh in the rodeo world. But man, that's a lot of people close knit uh warriors in rodeo, close knit and dude, it's camaraderie, dude. You can just hit up and be like, hey man, good job, you know, like thanks, thanks. Oh, I listened to this one episode, you know, and it's vice versa. It's pretty cool, man. It's it's it's cool what the rodeo world does, you know, and the culture.

SPEAKER_03 35:47

It's great. I'm gonna just keep going on about rodeo and about how it brings the brotherhood in because there's a lot of people that you would have never thought that were veterans or anything in the rodeo world, and but it is I like to say that the only two places that we still praise the Lord and sing the national anthem are rodeo and hockey, pretty much.

unknown 36:14

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:15

And it is it's a great time when you're sitting back there just messing around with everyone, and everyone for the most part, everyone in rodeo can take a joke, and it's fun. Like we joke around all the time, we mess with each other all the time, we play pranks on each other. It's it's honestly like just one big family. Yeah. Jace Angus and I were actually hanging out in Vegas a couple months ago after a rodeo, and I was playing a prank on him and tried to get this really rather large woman to go hit up hit on him because I was telling her he thought that she was the most beautiful thing in the world.

SPEAKER_00 36:55

That's funny. How did that go?

SPEAKER_03 36:57

Jace just stared me down as she left him.

SPEAKER_00 37:04

Oh, that's funny. See, small world, man. Small world. All right, couple couple questions, and we'll be on our way, if that's okay.

Music Books Snacks And Daily Fuel

SPEAKER_02 37:14

Sounds good.

SPEAKER_00 37:15

All right, man. No, no, no BS here, okay? I take it serious. Music, all right? Music world. Number one song on your playlist right now. Don't joke fully.

SPEAKER_03 37:26

Honestly, it is, and it's gonna surprise probably a lot of people. It is from his name is Broken Vows. And it is it's called uh Blood on the Promise by Broken Vows. Okay, it is kind of more like a it starts off a little soft and then turns into kind of like Screamo music almost.

SPEAKER_00 37:57

Okay, I'll check it out. What's uh the band that you're into right now? Just any band.

SPEAKER_03 38:05

It'll be an old school one and it's gonna be Bring Me the Horizon.

SPEAKER_00 38:10

Okay, did you hear listening to their new stuff? Their new stuff look list sounds just like the old stuff, man. I'm like, oh yeah, I'm into it, dude.

SPEAKER_03 38:17

It was I finally was able to go to the their last concert I went to was in 2013 at Warp Tour, and then I was finally able to go to another one of their concerts last year, and it was with them motionless and white and the plot and you, and that was an amazing concert.

SPEAKER_00 38:34

Oh yeah, plot and you is hard too. They just don't get the they don't get the uh advertisement like they do, like the other two do. So no, okay, all right. So you're a metal head, that's good. But the new Bring Me Uh Verizon is like is the oldest, yeah. It's old school, it's back. I'm I'm so thankful, man, because I they they got soft. I was like, not good. I stopped listening to them, but then I found out that they uh came out with this new one and it's harder than hard. I was like, Yes, I'm good. Okay. Do you read a book? Do you read?

SPEAKER_03 39:09

Yes, I do. And uh the book I'm reading right now is actually an older book, too, and it's uh part of the Ranger's Apprentice series from John Flanagan.

SPEAKER_00 39:21

Okay, what's the one book that changed your life?

SPEAKER_03 39:26

It'd probably be called uh Unfuck Your Brain.

SPEAKER_00 39:30

Okay, oh, yep, yep. That's a good book, man. Yep, I gotcha. Yeah, those are very good books. All right, your go-to snack on the road.

SPEAKER_03 39:44

You can't ever go wrong with like Reese's pieces and like a Mountain Dew or a Red Bull. But if I'm trying to stay awake for a long period of time, yeah, I mix a Red Bull with an orange juice, and then I'll sip and drink on that while I'm just eating uh salt and pepper potato chips.

SPEAKER_00 40:07

Salt and potato? Okay. Alright. How's that spilt? How's that?

SPEAKER_03 40:12

Spilt milk is by far.

SPEAKER_00 40:15

I know you're sponsored.

SPEAKER_03 40:17

Yeah, but so the only reason I end up getting sponsored from them is because of how many I drink.

SPEAKER_00 40:24

Oh, yeah. How many? Yeah, how many do you drink, man?

SPEAKER_03 40:27

I drink at least one a day for my breakfast, and then like if I'm just wanting like a quick like little burst of energy or something before the gym, I'll actually drink one of those before I go to the gym too, rather than pre-workout. Because they give you all the protein, they give you 20 grams of protein with the same amount of caffeine as in like an espresso shop, and they're only 90 calories. So, like one, I'm kind of a heavier dude, so I'm trying to lose weight. So to me, that's a great thing.

SPEAKER_00 40:59

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 41:00

But those spilt milk drinks, like they are by far like they are my go-to breakfast every morning.

SPEAKER_00 41:07

Okay, all right. And your favorite flavor?

SPEAKER_03 41:11

The peanut butter one. Peanut butter chocolate tastes like the Reese's pieces.

SPEAKER_00 41:15

Okay, next next question. I haven't asked this that much lately, but I have to ask you, because you are a bullfighter. Do you eat peanut butter jelly sandwiches?

SPEAKER_03 41:24

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 41:25

Okay, how do you how do you build one? Like, do how how would you build it? Do you more on the peanut butter, more on the jelly?

SPEAKER_03 41:33

What I put a bunch of both. Like, if it's not leaking out of the sandwich as I'm eating it, there wasn't enough.

SPEAKER_00 41:43

Are you a jam guy? Preserves, what?

SPEAKER_03 41:46

I am a strawberry jam.

unknown 41:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 41:49

All right. So what do you say 70 to 30 peanut butter or what?

SPEAKER_03 41:56

I would go 50-50, but on the normal side, like a normal jar of like strawberries or strawberry jam that's like that big, yeah. Probably a quarter of it goes on the sandwich. And same with the peanut butter. Like I use a ton of it.

SPEAKER_00 42:16

All right. So basically 70-70. We're just going full over 100%, dude.

SPEAKER_03 42:21

Oh, yeah, 100%. All right. Like, I use chips and scoop up whatever falls on the plate.

SPEAKER_00 42:27

Okay. All right. Do you have an off-season?

Off Season Travel Work And Rest

SPEAKER_03 42:31

No, not really. So technically, the off-season is like September to April, because there's not that many rodeos. But there is like the Texas swing, and in the warmer states, there's always rodeos going on. Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Georgia. Like, there's always rodeos going on, so you can always go find something. Just like last November, I was fighting in Las Vegas. And then in December, I was fighting. In January, I was just going to practice pens. And then February started going to rodeos again.

SPEAKER_00 43:16

Okay. So you travel all off season to work.

SPEAKER_03 43:21

Yes. So I uh I was lucky enough that I got a four-day a week job. So Friday through Sunday, I'm traveling to different rodeos, and then if there's rodeos during the week, I just take time off.

SPEAKER_00 43:35

Okay. All right. So you do have a regular day job, okay. All right. What's your number one thing you like to do on your day off? Or when you have time off?

SPEAKER_03 43:48

When I have time off, I like to go shooting or up in the mountains. Or recently it's just been probably the past couple of months has just been sitting around and 'Cause everything's so busy that it's just been it's been nice to just relax for a day or two.

SPEAKER_00 44:05

I gotcha. Like today.

SPEAKER_03 44:07

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 44:08

Thankful that you're on then.

SPEAKER_03 44:10

Oh yeah, I've got today off and I actually ended up having a rodeo cancel this weekend, so I've got the whole weekend, so I finally get to go take my fiancee on another date tomorrow. So I'm happy about that.

SPEAKER_00 44:24

Where are you going or is that at a surprise?

SPEAKER_03 44:26

I'm going to end up taking her to one of my favorite restaurants in Salt Lake, actually.

SPEAKER_00 44:33

Okay. All right. Nice. Okay. Well, have fun. Hopefully I didn't spoil it. It's all good.

Favorite Rodeos And Future Fatherhood

SPEAKER_00 44:41

Favorite rodeo to fight, not because it's just the rodeo, but through scenery. Because I know you're you're living in that God's country and you travel to and for. I mean, you go everywhere in that area, God's country, Montana, Wyoming, and Dakota's and stuff like that. What's your favorite rodeo to fight in?

SPEAKER_03 45:00

My favorite rodeo to fight in would be Kodiak, Alaska.

SPEAKER_01 45:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 45:06

It is it is an absolute small town rodeo. Like their bucking shoots are inside of a barn, and there's only two of them. And but it is the epitome of a small town rodeo where like everything closes down for the rodeo. But it is. You can be sitting there warming up to fight bulls or get on bulls or horses or anything, and you look over, and there's a grizzly bear catching a salmon out of the river.

SPEAKER_00 45:38

Yeah, that's crazy. Do you go there every year?

SPEAKER_03 45:43

When I was up in Alaska, I went there every year. I haven't been back in about two years, but I definitely would like to go back. It's right now it's just a money thing trying to get back up there.

SPEAKER_00 45:54

Okay. I gotcha. I gotcha.

Up And Coming Bullfighter To Watch

SPEAKER_00 45:56

Any up-and-coming athletes that you I mean you don't miss. So I mean you you you see them, you're like, man, this guy is this guy's gonna be good, or this guy is good, he's gonna just get better. Any uh upcoming athletes that you know you pay attention to?

SPEAKER_03 46:12

A real brand new up-and-coming athlete is actually a guy that I've been working with a bunch and training, and his name is Sam Banks. And he's he's a 19-year-old that I think by the time he is 22 is going to have his pro card and be making waves in the pro circuit.

SPEAKER_01 46:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 46:35

He is he is heads like I probably wasn't even good as as good as him two years ago. He is he is making waves, and I think the second he starts getting a little bit more of a name for himself, because this is only his second year ever fighting, that once he gets a little bit of a name for himself, so that way he can start getting some of those pro signatures for his card, I think he's gonna be a shoe-in. So I'm gonna I would say within the next four years, he'll have his card, and I'd say within the next eight, he will be like a name, brand name, such as like Koy Kraut. Like he will be he's gonna be someone.

SPEAKER_00 47:21

Alright. What what sets uh him aside from you and all the others that you've you've worked with alongside of what sets him apart?

SPEAKER_03 47:32

What sets him apart is mainly just how willing to listen and learn he is.

SPEAKER_00 47:37

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_03 47:38

Like, I know that when I first started, like I was so scared, I guess would be the best way to put it that I when people would tell me things to get me better, that it kind of go in one ear and out the other. But with him, like he enjoys it so much and he enjoys the atmosphere so much that he actually retains the knowledge. And he will come up, yes, he is extremely coachable.

SPEAKER_00 48:05

Yeah, and he'd come up to what? He said he'd come up to you.

SPEAKER_03 48:10

Yeah, he comes up to me or anyone else and just asks questions. He is not afraid to ask questions.

SPEAKER_00 48:20

Okay. What event, not bullfight, not bullfighting or riding, what event do you watch when you're yeah, when it's either bullfighting or riding?

SPEAKER_03 48:30

I watch saddlebronk the most because I think that when there is a good saddlebronk ride, like it is just absolutely beautiful to watch, just the timing of everything. Like it that is genuinely like the cowboy event.

SPEAKER_00 48:46

Okay. Not not bull riding.

SPEAKER_03 48:49

No, yeah. Like it is, it is saddle bronch riding, is like the original cowboy event from breaking horses that way we can go to the push cattle. Like it is, and it is just beautiful. Like, if you watch Stetson Wright or Jace Angus or any of those guys, like it is just gorgeous.

SPEAKER_00 49:11

Yeah, I gotcha. I've heard that so many times, and yeah, I gotcha, I gotcha. All right.

NFR Dreams Trust And Legacy

SPEAKER_00 49:17

Ultimate goal, man. In the business, ultimate goal.

SPEAKER_03 49:22

Ultimate goal is NFR. I want to be up there, I want to have my name and lights, and I want to have all those guys that are making it to the NFR bull riding be able to trust me enough that I am there with them. Like that is the ultimate goal. I don't think I don't think you can ever get past that to know that the best of the best trust you so much with their life that they are willing to put you out there at the same time as them when it comes down to them winning millions of dollars on the meanest, baddest bulls around. That they trust you enough to make sure that they will be safe on those bulls.

SPEAKER_00 50:06

Okay, gotcha. Do you go to the NFR?

SPEAKER_03 50:09

Yeah, I've been the past three years. It's a it's a great time to go and watch.

SPEAKER_00 50:17

I watch it from the bar or from restaurants and stuff like that. You going this year?

SPEAKER_03 50:23

I don't know if I will be there this year. I've got so I've got a daughter on the way, and she's due on December 10th. Thanks, man.

SPEAKER_00 50:32

I'm a December baby, so yeah, man. That's awesome. Congrats, man. Congrats to you and your fiance, man. Congrats on future wedding, too, man.

SPEAKER_03 50:42

I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 50:44

Well, I got I gotcha, I gotcha. Well, anytime you go to the NFR in the future, hit me up because I go every year for the first weekend just for the entertainment. That's it, man. So that's the only time, man. That's the only time I go to Vegas, dude, for the NFR in the first week. I yeah. But all

Advice For Young Rodeo Kids

SPEAKER_00 51:03

right. One thing you would like to share to the kids that are thinking about the rodeo fighting in the future, what would you say to them right now?

SPEAKER_03 51:12

For those that are I would tell them that you're going to get your bumps and bruises, and you're going to win belt buckles, and you're going to have all this fancy hardware. But the bumps and bruises will heal. The buckles are going to sit on a shelf and collect dust. The one thing you will be never be able to replace is the friendships and memories that you make with all these people. So definitely take your friends and your traveling partners and everyone. Don't take them for granted.

SPEAKER_00 51:45

Okay. Cole. Last question, man. Anything you would like to share that I left out, didn't bring up, or we didn't talk about.

SPEAKER_02 51:56

Not really.

SPEAKER_03 51:57

I think we got everything pretty much covered.

Final Words And Closing Thanks

SPEAKER_01 52:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 52:00

Last thing I would just like to say is that I hope everyone that listens to this is having a good day and they keep listening to your podcast because you're doing great things with it and you're telling stories that normal people would never get to hear.

SPEAKER_00 52:12

Well, I appreciate it, man. I thank you. Almost been five years, and I'm still going. I've been battling cancer twice in less than you know in over a year. Yeah. So I appreciate the kind words and I appreciate the listeners and uh yeah, you giving me a chance. But the doubt that you had before, not in the DMs, but before, like thinking that you know, this is your first podcast, you weren't gonna do it. I'm gonna put you on blast, man. Dude, you annihilated this episode. I just want you to know, and I'm gonna keep this in the in the episode. I'm not gonna edit this out, but I want you to know, man, the doubt that you have, dude, you don't need it, man. You you're natural at this. I hope others have you down for a podcast. I hope this opens a lot of doors for you. And and and dude, I appreciate your time, man. I I really do. And yeah, you shouldn't have any doubt.

SPEAKER_03 53:08

I appreciate that, man. It means a lot.

SPEAKER_00 53:11

The fact that you blew this out of the water and we went this far. Come on, man. Says a lot, dude. Says a lot. I think a lot of bullfighters that I've had on, they they go 20-30 minutes, dude. I think we've almost gone to an hour or so. That right there to just blow the doubt away. All right.

SPEAKER_02 53:29

Awesome. I appreciate it, man.

SPEAKER_00 53:31

All right, man. Colt, man, I really appreciate your time on your off day. It's an honor to have you on. It's been a while a while, it's been uh years in the making, but you're finally on here and you blew it out the water. Till next time.

SPEAKER_02 53:48

Sounds good, man. I appreciate it. Thank you so much.