Riggin Smith

Full episode transcript, auto-generated from the audio and lightly formatted (verbatim, not edited).

Purple in the [singing and music] hide. I'm probably describing that terribly because it sounds like I'm disrespectful or like I don't respect the past or something, but I don't know. I'm just doing my thing and just trying to poof forward, but like sometimes I'll have opportunities and go play stuff and people are like, "Are you like freaking out?" And I'm like, "No, I just I think I think part of not maybe uh getting too obsessed with it and just having other things going on.

" Definitely. It like helps my mind not. No, 100%. I've always told people about even when we get offered rodeos and stuff like if we're going to go to there and they're going to be a certain way towards us.

Some if it ain't fun, we ain't going. We're going because we want to have fun and we enjoy what we do. And if hell if you had to go get psyched out every 10 minutes when you're about to play a show, how fun would that be? That wouldn't be very much fun.

[laughter] So, no, not at all. Why would you do it? I mean, there's some things that I was handling doing that opening thing. I was like I was doing pretty well with it and uh you get in the alleyway there.

Yeah. [laughter] And the lights go out and they just have a stand in there behind the stage, you know. Definitely. And the lights go out and the anthem goes and then they're praying and you're just get on the stage, bro.

In [laughter] in a pressure cooker. No, I get that. And like I said, there's stuff I get nervous about too, I guess, for the most part. I mean, you got you draw someone really good.

The other night, Statler, right? We drew him and I'm like, "Shit, hope it goes like it's supposed to." I cuz you know how it can go. I mean, and they're animals.

Anything can go bad. Yeah. And sure enough, had his day and Satler won the round and nervous for no reason. But, no, not true.

[laughter] I mean, there's a reason to be nervous. Definitely. I mean, I just there's anything that could go wrong and that's what sucks about it, I guess. But yeah, I want How do you But you're like secondhand nerves in a way.

In a way. I mean, I would feel awful if my horse didn't buck under him. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Like that would that would I wouldn't love that. It's actually more difficult in ways because there's just nothing you can really do. I mean, sure, there's some things, but Yeah, 100%.

No, like I can see I can see it from that standpoint, but like when you're flanking horses and stuff or say a horse has a hard time getting out, like he's like stalling or something, dude, you got to like be on it to get him out. They all got their little nicks and tricks on how to get them out or what how much flank to give them and stuff. And that's the part I guess to get nervous about or if a horse is acting up in there cuz it's first time to ve or second time to Vegas. That's a hard arena to buck in because all the lights, cameras, booms, pyro, music's loud and so horses are it's hard on horses here to have a good day, I guess.

So if you're nervous, I mean they're nervous. I don't tell them I'm nervous. I just keep that [expletive] locked in. Yeah.

[laughter] But like what's the way that you try to like maybe squash some of the nerves or make everybody feel comfortable? Hopefully watch the one before it. Cheer loud for them so they think I'm having a good time. So maybe he's having a good time.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know.

I used to get nervous for motocross though a little bit. Like but it was good nervous. So was it based on just uh wanting to get it done? It it was the being antsy.

Like I was way more antsy than uh nervous I would say I guess like when you're staring at the gate and there's 42 guys on the outside of you and you're like okay I'm going first that the butterflies you get the butterflies for that for sure. Yeah. When did you really get a feel like you got a knack for that? Were you just tooling around on some dirt bikes and stuff and then wanted to race or so?

Yeah. My dad raced dirt bikes for a little while too and uh so I always had them. Uh I don't know if you remember Troy Lurwell. He did the uh truck and trailer.

He'd jump it. He was a rodeo clown. Uh-uh. So he used to pull his truck and trailer out in the middle of the arena and he had a ramp off the back of it and the skit was a guy was coming to do it and he was like, "We're paying him a thousand bucks."

He's like, "Oh, I'll do it. I'll do it." And then he spins it around in the arena. What a great bit.

Yeah. Acts like he don't know how to ride and then jumps the truck and trailer in the middle of the arena. People are just like, "Yeah." And so he raced pro motocross before he was a rodeo clown.

And so we were always really good friends with him. So he came down, built me some little jumps on my pit bikes and I'd play and then uh Scotty Drenin, he was a bearback riding director. His kid really raced. I mean Loretta Linds every year which is biggest amateur national in the world and he comes over.

I started playing around with him and I raced my first race when I was 10 and then I went to Loretta when I was 14. So how much did you ride really before you started racing? Um I'd say I probably rode six years just playing around. My very first race I didn't plan to race.

I went to watch that kid and I was He was like, "Hey, I brought an extra bike, dude. Just enter the beginner class and get in." I was like, "Oh, like right now." He's like, "Yeah."

Got in, won the race. What? 65s or what? Uh, 85s.

Oh, damn. Yeah. Got in and then I rode 85s for like two years and went straight to 250s. So, you didn't even race 65s or nothing?

No, I had one. I rode it at the house, but never raced 65s or nothing. That's kind of rare, especially to do as well as I think you did. Yeah.

Especially with those kids. Like I we have a training facility at the house, one of the biggest ones in Texas. I mean I have probably 30 kids that live there year round. Never leave the house ride every day.

And there's from 50s all the way to 450s. It's pretty wild and they're interesting to be around the ranch for sure. [laughter] Yeah. What a what a great combination.

It's pretty cool though. Like if we're say I'm bucking horses for guys, I mean every single one of them they all load up on their pit bikes, run over up to the arena, they're yelling, cheering at all at them and everything. All the rodeo guys want to go do is go play on dirt bikes in the back. So it's perfect.

Yeah, it fits. I feel like it's the two most physically demanding sports on earth and they both get to collide there. So that's pretty cool. Uh I'm curious if people even realize how physically demanding motocross really is.

I think it's freaking dude. I'm tell it's the toughest thing ever. Like it's the hardest thing to get in shape for ever. You go like I could go play I played both ways in football.

So I go play all them games. Never I mean it never bothered me. Not one bit. Go ride a dirt bike.

Like when you're racing 10 minutes on a dirt bike is hard. Then when you go to national is 20 minutes like me in the best shape of my life without riding can't ride a dirt bike 100%. I mean I maybe 5 10 minutes at well going at that at that going at that pace. Yeah, race pace for sure.

What's the most physically demanding part of it? Um so the part of it that I guess guys don't see is all the chatter bumps and stuff going down through there. So like that is just beating on you the whole time and your arms will pump up like the size of a football and you can't hold on anymore. And that's the hardest part of it and it's pretty important.

Yeah, you kind of need you kind of need to hold on there. Yeah, I've had some uh pretty crazy crashes because of arm pump though. So, did you have to mentally tell yourself not to squeeze too tight or whatever? Yeah, you have to you try you try to wiggle your fingers a little bit the whole time and breathe.

you start holding your breath is the problem because you'll see a guy you're like I got to just get a little closer and a little closer and you start just tightening up and don't get no air and then your arms are shot then and once you get it's hard to get it to go away in the middle of a race. I mean every now and then maybe the guy in front of you crash and it gives you a really deep breath but other than that no so I guess I never knew it was most of it was based off breathing. Breathing. Breathing is everything in it.

Yeah. breathing and squeezing with your legs. A lot of squeezing with your legs. I mean, after you ride for two or three days, dude, you don't have no skin on the inside of your knees and stuff if you're really riding.

And it's all about your legs. And that's how you don't crash, also. Yeah. Do you know the Masterpools?

Oh, yeah. Ty. Yeah. They're out like just south of Decatur.

Yep. I haven't met Ty, but we had Jake on the podcast. Yeah. Like Lance, Lance and Ty are they're homies.

They're best friends. My photographer girl and Ty are really good friends. Oh, okay. Yep.

Yeah, they seem like good people. They got a facility down there. Their facility is badass. It's awesome.

I think they had, if I remember correctly, I think they had like a cattle ranch out in I don't know. I wouldn't know. Utah or something, wasn't it? Or Nevada.

Yeah. Yeah. They had like a big cattle ranch out there or something like that. I didn't know that.

Interesting characters though. Yeah, they're every time I've met them, they're super cool. Like I don't really I can't really speak on any because I don't really know I don't know them that well to talk about it I guess. Yeah.

I'll tell them you said they were douchebags. That's fine. Yeah. [laughter] They can drive to the house.

They need to we talk about it. We [laughter] can talk about it. Yeah. East Texas, huh?

Man, what a different place. Yeah. There's nothing there's nothing where I got one red light, one whole one and a subway. [laughter] Yeah.

Land prices are so much cheaper. Yeah. They're not where I'm at. Oh, I wouldn't say not just so much cheaper.

You don't think so? No. No. I mean, it a little bit, but not a lot.

It's still It's right now it's almost 12,000 acres where I live. Yeah, but where I'm at, you're 20 something. Yeah. Yeah.

I don't know. Freaking wild. Land's crazy right now. I want to buy a place in Oklahoma so bad.

That's where we're all going. I know. Just trying to move over there. And we all used to [expletive] on Oklahoma.

I know. No. I'm trying to We're trying to buy a place there. [laughter] Where at?

We don't know yet. We just want to go look around and find us. I want to buy something bigger so we can run cattle out there and stuff, too. Yeah.

Yeah. Um I just went and uh had like a songwriting thing out in Medicine Park. Medicine Park. It's like north of Lton.

North Len. Okay. But there's a lake out there and there's like little It's like the Witchaw Mountains right there. I get behind some lake.

Dude, it's a little hidden gem. You should check it out, dude. I look I love the lake. Like I think I put I think 120 hours on my boat since 4th of July.

What kind of boat do y'all got? Uh, Tiger, of course. [laughter] So, you wakeboard or what? Uh, more surf than wakeboarding now cuz used to I'd wakeboard and I could flip.

That was like all I could do. And now surfing, dude. I It's beer drinking event. Yeah.

Wake Dude, wakeboarding was I got super into wakeboarding in high school and it hurts. Oh, dude. It damn near every time I went. Like, you're going to get your bell rung.

Yeah. After I KO'ed, dude, I was I was over that. Yeah. I was sick of throwing up at the lake.

Yeah. Yeah. I'd rather just drink and surf. You might cut your shin on [laughter] the surfboard at most.

At most. You could drink a beer while you're surfing. Yeah. Yeah.

We had a uh dude, we had a freaking uh Malibu uh it was like when it first uh like this Malibu VLX, they had just come out with the automated ballast systems. So it's like the lake that we were on, you weren't allowed to have ballasts out there, but normally everybody was running like fat sacks and stuff and so you just couldn't do it. Like if you got pulled over by like the game warden or anything. I think it's crazy they tell you can't do that anyways.

I see people get mad about it all the time. Yeah. I don't know why they A lot of the fishermen don't like it either, but I'm also like, dude, well, you also sit in the nicest parts of the water and think that you own Yeah. Like right in the middle.

Yeah. Like [laughter] and it's just and then you think you own everything around you. Come on, bro. Dude, I know.

It wears me out. I don't know why they get so bad. If I was fishing, I wouldn't be fishing in the middle anyways. You're bad fisherman.

Yeah. This isn't my fault. Yeah. Go fish over there.

Yeah. So, it was the first one where you could uh while you were driving, you could uh empty the ballast. So, whenever we'd getoop, you know, you just start emptying it. Yep.

And then by the time they got over there and checked it out, it's like, I don't know, it's gone. Check them. Like, they're empty. You know, they'd get super frustrated.

What was the What was the water coming out of the side? Yes. You know, we had to just drain the water out of it. We got a hole in it.

[laughter] So, my I think it was my freshman year of college. Uh I was taking our boat to go get it winterized and there's this intersection in Paradise, Texas. Has one stoplight in this place. And uh I freaking blow this red light right through the intersection and uh I get t-boned in the intersection [laughter] and I go I go uh I go off in the bar ditch run over like a transformer boat comes off and it was dude it was like a 24 foot VLX Malibu wake [laughter] setter so sick and I loved that boat dude and uh it comes off the trailer in the middle of the intersection catches on fire.

[laughter] That's awesome, dude. Burnt to the ground right before my eyes. You have you have insurance though, huh? Yeah.

They didn't get another one, though. So, actually, the reason I got mine is my I had another Tiger. We were in Nashville putting the rodeo on and uh my buddy sends me a video cuz their lake house is right beside ours and he sends me a video. My boat's in the water sinking.

No, I mean about halfway under. They didn't put drain plug or what? Dude, I had the drain plug out. I was letting it drain.

It was on the cradle. I should have put it back in, I guess. So, he just dumped it. Did he Did he Yeah, he started lifting it up and letting it letting it try to drain out, but it was smoked and then it beat the dock all around it.

But then I ended up with a new boat. How? Insurance paid for it because somebody sank it with no drain plug or I guess it weather weather. Yeah.

I don't know about the drain plug was in it. We It was in the boat just might have be plugged in. Yeah. To be totally honest, we used to We used to I mean, horrible idea, but we would fill up the uh BGE.

Oh, yeah. Just every now and then, just a little bit. I mean, we would just basically sink it and then we'd fill up the ballast, too, and put fat sacks in it and we'd get a couple couple tubs at the uh some big old gals at the Alips. We'd get them to set them in the back.

Then you're good to go. Yeah. 100%. And I mean some massive [laughter] there.

Hey, big old big old gals. [laughter] Hey dude, makes it makes the wave good. It's worth it, I guess. Yeah, there was a kid I grew up with in high school that was nasty.

Like he was working on like going pro and he was in some competitions and stuff and we Dude, it would be so big. I wasn't like I wasn't very good. Like I could like do a tantrum and some different stuff like that. Yeah.

See, I wasn't even that good. I could jump the weight. I could flip the wake. Well, what do you mean flip the wake?

Like I could back flip the wake. Oh, okay. And that was the extent of my wakeboarding. Go toesside.

Uh, no. Ah, yeah. That's when it gets real sketchy. See, I never done none of that.

I was out on that. Once I once I rung my bell just flipping, I was like, I'm a surf guy. Yeah, [laughter] no question. I think, dude, is Rocker a pretty good wakeboarder?

He won some championships and stuff. Really? Oh, he's like really good. Oh, yeah.

He can do the whole deal, dude. Everybody's just so talented. It's insane. I know.

That's wild. And that was rocker's other sport, I guess. Wakeboarding. He didn't really play any other sports.

Just wakeboarded. And then now I was number one in the bear crowd. Dude, a lot of those sports I'm surprised that you like race motocross when you did cuz um I'm a little older than you and when I was growing up, dude. Skateboarding, motocross, all that was in.

Yeah. And then it's kind of gone away. It's going down. It has been going down.

But I think it's cuz they did it to a sense of they're trying to make it like such a professional athlete sport. Like back in the day they're sponsored by Kursite Mars. Guys smoking a cigarette on the line before they win. It was entertaining to watch.

I mean guys could crash into each other. we called it arena crash for a like a reason. Now dude, anything they do wrong, I mean they're throwing they might as well be throwing flags on play because it ain't going to work for them. It kind of happened with skateboarding and BMX and stuff too.

It like got a little too like corporate. Yeah. And when it does that they ruined it. So it'll come back.

Maybe. We'll see. I think it will. I hope so.

Dude, we used to race Arena Cross. They loved us cuz like Supercross, they're so strict. Arena Cross, dude, they didn't care. We got in fights behind the starting gate everywhere we went.

Dude, I mean everywhere. If the whole if me, Dad, Cody, Lance, all of us went together, we were fighting someone there no matter what. And then they tried to kick us out the first time, but then they said it sold tickets because they had it all on video [laughter] behind the deal. So they were mad about it and then they go, "Well, but I mean, you know, they loved it.

The people loved it." So when we flew into the next race, they come and video us getting off the plane and everything. Then we were like in then we had to just fight one person. They loved us.

[laughter] That was fun. A lot of fun. Yeah. Supercross is crazy.

So is arena cross. that. Yeah, Arena Cross is crazy. Just even going by like a whoop section or something, just standing next to them.

Yeah, they're way big. Way bigger than it looks from like just head high just triangles. [laughter] How does somebody I don't know, dude. I when I raced pro for a year and a half and then once I had to go race supercross, I didn't I didn't have very much fun with it.

It's scary. Really? It's scary. Yeah.

Even the guys like Lance who was paid by Monster forever, rode for Kawasaki, all that. Even he shows up and looks at he's like, "This is scary. " And he does it anyways, but he's like, "This sucks. It's scary."

Why do they make it so big and just Why do they make it like that? I don't know, dude. I think they make it where it ain't even who's got the biggest nuts here. Let's see it.

They have the same thing as Bull Riders. It's just like that switch, dude. Yeah. And I don't I don't get it.

But like I said, I'd still ride bulls for I'd ride bearback horses for sure. Yeah, definitely. Did you get on any bulls or anything? No, I rode like many bulls and steers and stuff when I was little just cuz I thought I was going to be a bull rider and then I decided I was not going to be a bull rider.

[laughter] Yeah. No, I wanted to rodeo so bad when I was little, but my dad was like, "Hey, you don't need to do none of that. just go play your sports. If you want to rodeo after, we'll rode after.

Would you say it's more common for kids in like your situation to get pressured into needing to rodeo? Yeah. No, I think it's I would say it's more common somebody in my exact situation, I feel like they would have just rodeoed. Yeah.

Which I get it because I kind of wanted to also. And then I'm glad I didn't now to be honest. Really? I love rodeo, dude.

I love the rodeo business. All my best friends all ride here. I mean, but I uh for my personal situation, I needed to go play other sports. And now I just being a stock contractor is way easier.

I get I get a check. I'm like Tyler Halverson, dude. I get a check every rodeo. Stock contractor gets a check every [laughter] like I said, I wish I'd have done it in a way, but having everything we have, winning state championships and baseball and stuff, I would I'm happy I played sports.

Yeah. It make you super well-rounded. Yeah, definitely. [clears throat] Yeah, that's cool.

Do you do you sense that is there a lack of respect because you didn't? Um, no, I don't think so. Just because me being around all the guys that like since they started like obviously I said Sonia moved in when he first started getting on horses. Jacob's Crawley's world champion.

He came and got on his first few horses at the ranch too. Like I've always been around those guys and flanking horses for them and everything getting them ready to come to the finals. So I think that helps for the respect aspect of it. Yeah.

At least at least for the respect of knowing the horses. I at least this dude I mean he has seen a million buck and horses buck in his life already. So I think that part helps a little bit. You're pretty tight with your dad.

Yeah, that's my That's my boy. Really? Like through and through 100%. It's one of my best friends in the whole world.

That's pretty cool. Like 100%. It always been that way or have you guys had your Oh, obviously we have our moments, dude. Like we've when I was racing when I was little one time he came and like kicked my bike off the stand and stuff and told me he's like, "Dude, if you're going to do that, like you shouldn't even race."

What'd you do? I got second. [laughter] Hey, but hey, but he was right. My next race right after that cuz like when you race you do two motos.

So the second one, dude, I won by like 30 seconds. So in a way he was right [laughter] that I could go faster. We've I've gotten drugged off the field by my ear and stuff before because from Maldin while I was pitching it. Was he the coach?

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. It was real good. Little like little league or what?

Oh yeah, little league. Yeah, we won state in little league too with him coaching though. God dang, dude. Y'all had some players out there, dude.

It was crazy having being at that little of a school and having like I think we had 12 kids off my baseball team go play D1 baseball. No kidding. From a 3A high school. Yeah.

Anybody go pro? Um there's still a kid playing in college right now. Okay. So, I mean, he has a chance.

But where's he at? Uh Sam Houston. Yeah. Yep.

That's pretty sick. You know, he's pretty salty. Yeah. But no, I didn't want to go play baseball.

I didn't want to go to college. Wasn't for me. So, you just did you jump right in basically working with your dad? Mhm.

Yeah. Once I graduated, I went We have a fiber optic company, too. I do a lot of directional drilling when we're not rodeoing, but then mostly rodeo most of the year. You gota be able to buy bucking horses somehow.

Yeah. No kidding. Rodeo don't pay for that. So it's so it's pretty rare for uh people to do it full-time.

I guess that's the only source of their income or is that you can do it um you can do it, but you have to sub a lot. So like I probably go to maybe six rodeos for other people all year, but guys that really rodeo for a living as a stock contractor, you got to take this set of horses to this guy's rodeo. explain that to me when you say go to six rodeos for other guys. So, um, for example, TJ Corkco, Anchor K, they, uh, TJ comes down and lives with me at the house basically for a month of the year because I have four or five rodeos right at the beginning of the year.

So, I pay him per horse at my rodeos too. So that way I can make the horses better instead of me having to use, say, I get to use my best 20 and his best 20 instead of me using my best 20 and then 20 others and making that 40th horse go against the first horse and then it's uneven for the contestants. So if I bring him in, then I got 40 of the best and then I can make it more even for everybody while they're there. Okay?

That gives everybody then it's just a riding contest and a drawing cont. You don't want your rodeo to be a drawing contest. Otherwise, you ain't getting nobody come. So, you want to make it where everybody has a shot to win.

Sure. That seems like a no-brainer. Why isn't it always like that? Because you have to pay those guys to come down and do it.

And that's why guys don't do it as much. But you got it's worth it, dude. It you're never contestant unless as long as you give a little effort. And like I said, you do got to spend the money, but it is worth it.

Makes your rodeo way better. Yeah. Well, it's been going good out here so far. Yeah, we're off to a good start.

Yeah, we it get it can get better. It's going to get better, but it we're off to a good start. Yeah. I mean, I guess it can always get better.

Definitely. One year, I think by round seven, we had five buckles or something like that. Yeah, it was pretty good year. What year was that?

Uh two years ago. Yeah, we had three horse buckles and two bull buckles by like the seventh. Holy [laughter] cow, dude. Do you remember who all they were?

Uh I know Damo won on uh on Cancun Moon. I know that we had rocker on uh risky business. I don't remember the third one and the bull riding I think stats one night. Kai the other night.

Pretty good. Pretty good. That drew good that year. [laughter] Oh yeah.

Sorry. What were we about to say? Uh oh. It's not What sucks here is dude everybody's so good.

like that everybody really is good. It's kind of like uh say baseball for example, the team that wins like the World Series is the hot team. It ain't the best team that wins. Whatever team got hot that right time of year, that's same thing here.

It's every single one of those guys is good and can win on any given night, but there is those four or five that are in the hot seat right now. Sure. And so you know who you want to draw just because they're like hot right now. I can totally see especially out here, man.

It's like, yeah, the days just are connected. There's no time. I can see how if you get hot, you could just be in a freaking wind tunnel. Yeah, you're tunnel vision locked in for I can also see [laughter] when you're on the other side.

Holy cow. There might not be a more lonely place. I know, dude. Sp the spiral sucks.

And I can't imagine if you are I mean, you got to do autograph signings and all your sponsorship stuff. And if it's not going well, I hate that for them. I'm not going to lie to you. I hate that for them.

Or like you see, I don't know. I mean, you see the maybe like when it starts, you got a bunch of people coming, showing up, wanting to see you, and then if you're not performing well, you like, [laughter] you know what I mean? No, I feel like they come anyways. Yeah.

But but no, you're right though. I would I would hate to fall off the night before or some of the wild stuff that people say. Oh, I know. like talking to Kade, people will stand in line, wait to just walk up there and just go, you're on my fantasy team and screwed me [laughter] [expletive] like just say and he'll just go he just went okay I'm sorry [laughter] you want you want to take a picture or something and they'll be like they'll be like no I just was going to tell you that.

He's like all right well I'm going to go y'all can send this to Bruno. He was on my fantasy team too. I need him to do better also. Hey, [laughter] should text him right now.

We should FaceTime him. I'll FaceTime and say, "Dude, I'm just letting you know you're live. You got to do better." [laughter] He's a trip, dude.

He is fun. He's one He's one of the guys I promise he didn't get out here and change anything. He's done all year. He kept it the same for sure.

And he'll get hot, too. That dude's one of the best in the world. Like truly one of the best in the world. Yeah, they all are.

Your drink's behind you back there. Lost that one. I saw you fingering for it. Yeah, I was looking for it.

They put enough straws in there. What all you got going on? Got a lime, some vodka, some soda. [laughter] This uh podcast is brought to you by vodka.

And soda. And soda. [laughter] Has that always been your drink? No, dude.

Just here. I can't I can't like I got to lay off some of the other stuff. Like I like Pendleton Coke. Oh.

Oh. Okay. [laughter] I like I like Pendleton and Coke, but you can't I can't drink 100 Cokes a day. I can drink 100 sodas a day.

[laughter] Dude, [laughter] that just got me laugh so hard. Cuz it's not about it's not about the whiskey. It's about the mixture, dude. I'm telling you.

I mean, I can't drink a 100 Cokes a day. I could drink a 100 whisies a day. Just that damn Coke. Yeah, I know.

Knocks you down, dude. I get it. The beer gets me, too. That's sugar.

Like, sugar is what gets me. Yeah. Yeah. Like people drinking them like dairies and Yeah.

I love them when I'm in Mexico. Only in Mexico. That's like a Mexico style thing. Yeah.

I Dude, I love twisted tea. Me too. Especially on the lake. On ice.

Yeah, I like it too. Like on Fremont, they'll put on ice for you out of tap. They will out of the tap. On Fremont.

Swear, dude. It's good. Oh, that I might actually have to do that. You can't drink very many of them either.

Like dog [expletive] the next day. Yeah, I drank like three Red Bulls the other night. That's what I was telling you. I woke up with a freaking Red Bull hangover.

Yeah, I'd be better off drinking like a whole fifth of alcohol than drinking three Red Bulls. There a little bit of truth to it. [laughter] Really? I heard somebody the other, you know how like you uh somebody says something that you never heard before and then after that you just hear it all the time.

Yeah. Uh fridge sig. Fridge. A fridge sig.

Is it diet coke? Oh, I did not know that. [laughter] Somebody I heard somebody call it a fridge sig the other day. I thought it was the funniest the funniest thing.

And then like for the last two weeks I'm like everybody I'm going to say that today when I get to the locker room. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Give [laughter] me a little fridge sig over there. Give daddy a fridge sig if you could. And then the last two weeks, everybody I've talked to, they're like, "Hey, got you a little fridge sig there, huh?" I'm like, "Okay, who's messing with me right now?"

[laughter] Never heard it in my life. I like I'm in on it. Be my new saying. Yeah.

So, uh, how many rodeos y'all put on every year? So, I think it's right at uh 21 different places. Yeah. It's almost every other weekend like for the most part like in the summer we do Cheyenne and Ogden.

They're over the top of each other. So like my dad and Levi, they'll go to Cheyenne do it and then me and Cody kid will go to Ogden and do it. And then we also have Mosquite that's at home going on. So we hire someone to go do it.

That's Yeah, we got a bunch of rodeos all at the same time there. And you got the fiber optic deal. [snorts] Yeah, that deal I don't we don't really cross our guys for that. I mean, I go do it sometimes and Levi goes just to we'll go knock make some money that those couple weeks while we're home, but for the most part, we keep those businesses separately.

We don't hire the same guys. Yeah. How did that deal start? So, my dad's dad did was a splasher, like splashing cable and doing all that stuff.

And then my dad started doing it a little bit and like, hey, this makes money, so let's do that. And then we started buying some drilling rigs and now it's a full-blown deal. But that So your grandpa started it technically? Technically, but my dad bought all of it and did he separated away from him and started the company just so because my dad my dad's not a partner guy.

He don't want no partners really on anything. Ah, having a couple of them it getting all screwed up. He just he doesn't want any partners now. [laughter] Their fault or his fault?

Their fault. That's right. Always. That's right.

[laughter] Yeah. Yeah. So, you are going non-stop no matter what. Yep.

And you had a kid. Oh, yeah. Knew his name's Trail. Trail.

Yep. Trail Ledger Smith. Come on. He might rode you.

Maybe [laughter] he's probably going to have to I don't just don't know if he has the right connections or anything. Yeah, I know. He's going to have to find some friends. He's going to have to find some friends.

[laughter] It's either that or a movie star or both. Nowadays, you just be both. Yeah, you might be better off doing that. Being a movie star.

Yeah. N turn into a weirdo. Yeah. They don't want to like live in Austin and stuff.

Huh. Yeah. I'm not into it. Yeah.

No. It's so funny. Uh right before CO [clears throat] going down to Austin, I guess this would have been before Yellowstone. Uh like I remember playing in a bar downtown and out back.

It was basically every time I went to Austin, somebody tried to start something with me like Sweet Hat or what? Cowboys in town, you know. Got I got you after this one. I got a good story for you.

Where were you at here? I was here. Westgate or in Vegas? No, I technically an hour from here.

I went skiing the other morning because they got like 44 inches of snow last week. Well, obviously I came to Las Vegas. I didn't really come to go skiing. So, I went skiing like this.

I mean, NFR jacket, jeans, just the ski gunsel. Oh, yeah, dude. And I mean, did you freaking starch up them jeans, dude? Dude, I got called a [expletive] the whole time.

They were on me, dude. They were screaming at me. Really, dude. Dude, I was the best skier on that mountain.

Guaranteed. And I was getting yelled at. Um, did you even have a jacket? What were you No, NFR jackets.

It's all I had. Scotch Guard those jeans. Yeah, I just wore Well, I wasn't going to fall. I didn't plan on falling.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And snow.

Yeah. Jeans, belt, NFR jacket, cowboy hat, sunglasses, skiing. Let's go. Were you by yourself?

No. Me, TJ, Corkco, uh, Ashton Jones, and my little brother. He's My little brother's same thing as me. We didn't bring nothing else.

So, he wore the same thing as I did. And people were just not happy, dude. I mean, they just kept getting on. We get to the bottom of the lift, couple people like, "Oh, y you guys are here.

We can't wait to come." And they would get want pictures and then the next guy in line's like, "Faggots. I don't know why y'all were wearing all that." I'm [laughter] like, "Sorry, dude.

Like, this all I got. Can't really help it." Also, I mean, strong work dropping the [expletive] ball, dude. Yeah, he's really on it, [laughter] huh?

I mean, that's really strong work. Yeah, especially out west. It's a dicey game. That's like I figured surely I didn't feel like I look like one.

I mean, I didn't think I [laughter] didn't think I love snow skiing. Do you like you ever been I dude snowboarding? Yeah. Well, yeah.

So, basically, yes. The whole thing. I love the whole process of it. I actually like getting excited to go more than the actual process of doing it.

Oh, dude. Then like fireball shooters and stuff and just freaking ski all day. I'm all about it. On the uh Yeah, on the chairlift.

just nibbling whiskey the whole way up. I dude I love to just I'll just stop. I pack my like lunches and stuff and I just sit there and just take it all in, [laughter] have a drink halfway down. Yep.

I'm I love just looking at the trail. Maybe it's a nostalgia thing from when I was a little kid and going skiing. And I don't know why trail maps were always just fun to [laughter] look at, you know? And you would just map out your day or whatever.

Like I like to get the whole day mapped out. I'm not a planner, which this is what's so ironic. Fly by the seat of your pants. Yeah.

Just go. So, it's like one of the few things in my life that I love to just like plan it out. Yeah. And if it doesn't go according to plan, great.

But I like to see like Oh, it'd be cool to cut over here. And then you should come to the cowboy downhill. When is that? At Steamboat.

It's uh I think the January 18th or something like that. Dude, it's Are you going, dude? I won it last year. What?

What is it? So, like every deal where they go into the Oh, yeah. Dude, everybody in the PRCA. So like it's during Denver, so everybody comes over, everybody that has a PRCA card can enter this race and it's probably a hundred of us lined up at the top of this hill.

You haul ass down, jump a jump, and the first one across the line. That's one event. Then the next one to slall them. So you're racing one guy.

You go down, you're getting timed, you get to the bottom, you got to saddle a horse on your skis or snowboard. Then you got to rope the Budweiser girl and then go across the line. You got to saddle the horse with the board on. You don't have to.

You take it off, but it kind of wastes time. I s I saddle the horse with my skis on. Saddles on the ground. Yeah, it's like on the ground.

Just grab it. You don't really got to like Okay. You don't got to like cinch it up or nothing. You just throw it on the horse.

Rope Budweiser grill and go. Well, you got to get on the horse. No, you don't have to get on it. Oh, you just got to saddle it.

Just got to saddle it. Yeah. And then you keep your skis on, you keep going. Yeah.

Then you rope the Budweiser girl. Yep. Well, and you they say you rope her. You kind of just like haul ass by her and lay it over.

That's the I mean, you could rope her, but that's the way to do it. It's probably faster. Just lay it over. Get it done.

[laughter] That's January 18th. Yeah, I think so. The 18th, maybe 19th. We need to freaking I don't know where my phone's at.

I got no clue where it's at. I need to go. It is the I mean if you even if you just like drinking beer and watching people eat [expletive] Yeah, dude. Dude, there's so many good crashes and then when like it's called the stampede.

Everybody's up there hauling ass down the hill. Dude, that's the best wipe out you ever seen in your life. I mean, one guy eats it, next guy lands on them. It's phenomenal.

It's fun. So, just everybody goes over there. Everybody. It's a blast.

Cowboy Downhill. Cowboy Downhill. Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Concerts going on.

We get booked up there. Dude, the that's the Oh, hell yeah. The next week I think's the music festival the week after it, which is crazy. I've never played that.

Yeah. I can't believe I've never played that. I've only ever went there during that one time because DB was the MC, so I told him I'd come during that so we could go to concerts and stuff. Yeah.

Yeah. You know, you know him pretty well. Yeah, really well. Yeah, he's a good egg.

He is a really good dude. His dad like picked up and everything for my dad for real. Way back when. Yeah.

No kidding. Yeah. He's he him and my dad are like homies. I mean, best friends.

Yeah. His dad passed away in the arena. Yeah. Yeah.

That was a sad deal. Very sad deal. He's such a good dude, man. He really is.

I think it I think it's a It's incredible. Everything going for him. It's awesome. You talk about somebody that's got a lot going on.

Mhm. every which way. Like every which way. And he just holds it together.

He really does. And he's so creative. I know, dude. He's such like if you if you just talk to him, he's so he's really subtle, actually.

He's like really just cool, clean, calm, and collected. And then wild. Then he can just be like, I know. Then just on it.

I was I always was curious if it would it would start to drain him like cuz when you are you're a character that is the brand. Yeah. And it's like having to but then you like dude he's nailing it. He just keeps finding more [expletive] to do.

I know. It's awesome. Yeah. But even that part of uh cuz he's a performer basically.

Yeah. He's an entertainer. Yeah, definitely. But then he's also an incredible businessman.

100%. So it's like to be able to do that. I remember when all the shirts and stuff first came out like he was uh getting on in Coleman in the Bronx riding and uh my dad was like, "Hey, this is Dale Brisby." I was like, "What's up, dude?

How are you?" And then I was like, "Hey, you got any shirts or caps or anything?" He gave me something. He's like, "Yeah, my wife, man, she's been on me."

Don't be telling nobody I gave you this. She said, "I give all my stuff away." And then now look at every billboard in Vegas has him [laughter] on it. He was on to something.

Yeah. I don't know what it would be like to run all that, but then also be the entertainer, too. Like to turn it off and then have to just like Yeah. get it all back together, you know.

Yeah. But it's been incredible to watch him. I just I met him, I guess, like a couple years ago. Two or three years ago, I think.

Yeah, he's really cool, dude. I love him. All right, I need to figure out uh this downhill thing. Yeah.

So, do they have music at that deal? Uh, man, not really. They have the music festival the next week. It's the very next week.

Yeah. January 18th. What are we doing on freaking Dude, I'm gonna come up there. Do you Do you go back to Denver or do you stay up there for a couple days?

I don't even go to Denver at all. I just go ski. Oh, for real? Yeah.

It's sick. So, like on the on the sides, like the main drag on the sides, dude. You come down, you get a condo right there. I mean, I could put my skis in my [expletive] living room of it.

Like, just drive right to it. It's awesome. Ski in, ski out. Like, and they always say ski in, ski out.

This one's legit. I mean, ski into the living room doors. Yeah. [laughter] You get a hot tub.

Oh, yeah. Heck yeah. Um, there's nothing wrong with one grown man asking another grown man if you like the hot tub. [laughter] All right.

Also, in my defense, I did not say, "Do you like the hot tub?" You're right. You should do. Do you get a hot tub?

Yeah, I do get a hot tub. It does make it funnier, though. I wish I would have said, "Dude, my little brother like snoozed in it one time." Fell asleep.

No, dude. Just jumped. It was really cold. He just jumped in.

went into shock like passed out while we were skiing there. Swear. Cuz he was so cold. I don't know.

I guess it was just the shock of going from so cold to so hot really fast. I mean, just freaking melted him down. Passed out. Everybody was there, I guess.

Yeah, dude. I just grabbed him, yanked him out of the hot tub, dude. He could have died by himself. [laughter] No, there's a bunch of us out there.

Yeah, but dude, he hit freaking We yanked him out, gave him He woke back up and he was like, "Dude, [clears throat] what the hell?" I was like, "I have no idea what just happened [laughter] to you, man. Thank goodness he didn't die. I know.

So, what day do you get out there? Um, I think I go the 17th through the 22nd or something like that. All right. I've got a show on the 17th.

Then I'm just going to come out there. Yeah. Then just come on. I will, dude.

It's fun. I'll sleep on your floor. That's fine. Sleep on your couch.

It's like a little All these little condos are like threetory deals. Like the living room's in the middle and it's got couple rooms downstairs, couple rooms upstairs. Come on. I just invited myself.

Hey, you're good, dude. I've My place is always open to everybody. I like party. If another guy likes to hang out, [expletive] it.

If uh if you didn't have a hot tub, though, I wouldn't go. Well, I got a hot tub, so And look at that. [laughter] When a plan comes together. And I like the hot tub.

And if it wasn't ski and ski out, I'm not dealing with that. Yeah, dude. Yeah. Screw driving.

Yeah. He's [laughter] a joke. I Dude, I love being in the mountains. Me, too.

I got when we rodeo in the summer it is so freak which you know it's freaking hot where we live so getting to go and we put on a whole month of rodeos all up north so Gunnison Colorado Monav Vista Colorado Ogden then Cheyenne it's all up there get hot dude Crested but is slick yes it is a lot of fun and it's gotten real nice too now it's kind of gotten more it's still got all it's still got all them Austin people basically though but before that it was really good before that yeah it was like a little hidden gym. Yeah, I know. I almost went and played basketball at uh Western State and got Oh, really? Yeah.

Sweet. I wish I would have. WT? I love WT.

I've had a lot of fun at WT. Really? Yeah. It's definitely wouldn't stay on here, but it's fun.

Yeah. [laughter] I'll take your word for it. Yeah. Crest View gets a ton of snow.

I know. It gets cold, too. Yeah, dude. Last year in Steamboat, it was cold.

We went for the downhill. That's the coldest I've ever seen it there. It's almost miserable, but I'm not wasting my day skiing. I'm already there.

But Steamboat's gotten super popular, too. Yeah. I guess everywhere has just kind of blown up. Steamboat's got super expensive.

Yeah. It's like stupid. I mean, if you don't if you don't go buy your tickets at the right time and stuff, it's like $500 a day to ski. Yeah.

Like I'll go bet $500 on the blackjack table, but $500 a day to ski like melts me down. Yeah. I'll bet I'll bet it one hand on blackjack, but [laughter] but by God, I'm not going to. So, I was telling someone yesterday about clothes, you know, if I got to buy clothes, I'm probably not I'm just I'm probably going to wear my other [expletive] I have.

Like I'm like I said, I go bet on blackjack. I can go party at night, spend a couple hundred bucks a night while we're here, think it's all good, but I'd be damn I got to pay $30 for a t-shirt. Yeah. [laughter] Unless it's a Jared Morris t-shirt at one of his shows.

Yeah, all y'all should buy Jared Morris's merch. That's exactly right. We're uh Yeah, that's the only [snorts] time you'll do it. I don't like spending money on all that stuff either.

I don't like stuff or things really. It doesn't get me jazzed up. I do like sneakers. Skeers got like a freaking killer sneaker game.

Also, brush poppers. I do have a thing for like old school brush poppers that pop up, like vintage ones. I like I like watches really. I don't buy I've never bought an expensive watch like this.

This is Rolex. I did not buy it. Okay. But I love watches.

I got this gifted to That would have been funny if you didn't tell me that. Yeah, that's why you look now. [laughter] We just zoom in on it. I can't I can't make myself buy stuff like that.

But I like it. Those suckers probably tripled in value last 5 years. Yeah. When did you get that one?

I got When did I get this? Yeah, I got it probably eight months ago or something. One of my one of my friends, her dad gave it to me. Yeah, we got we got her hooked up with the Cowboy channel and cuz she's my photographer girl and we got her hooked up and in with everybody for the Cowboy channel and now she's working for them out here and stuff and so got a gift.

That's pretty slick. [laughter] That's a cool gift. But he owns a bunch of pawn shops. So he texted me and like, "Hey, I got this in, dude.

You should come see it." I was like, "Nice." That's sick, dude. So you don't like or you like watches, but you just don't buy them, dude.

I just can't make myself like stuff like that. I can't make myself spend that much money on that. No way. What do you think about when you see other people with them?

Are you like, "That's sick." But you just can't bring yourself to buy them, dude. Yeah. I'm like, "That's awesome."

I'm like, "That's really cool, dude. The This is one of my coolest buys. I love these." Oh, I saw those earlier.

Paisley. Dude, they're all toolled in. That's pretty nasty. I love them.

I So, a guy that picks up for us a little bit, Preston Johnson, he uh he toled all the that stuff in there for me and gave me a good deal on it. That's like my best jewelry buy or whatever you want to call it. So, he did all this, huh? Oh, yeah.

Does he Does he sell these? Yeah, he did this, too. What's his name? Preston Johnson.

BRJ. Preston Johnson. Yeah, dude. He uh does a lot of wedding rings and stuff like that.

Dude, this he made this pendant, too. I'm gonna look him up on Instagram. Yeah, he's really cool, dude. You know, cuz this is the time to do it.

Not [laughter] like not like after we get done. Yeah. Preston Johnson. How do you know him?

Uh he's pickup man. Oh, that's right. Picks up for me a lot in the summers and stuff. Yeah.

Just like that, man. There's so many artistic people. I've I've been talking to a lot of people about just like how, you know, the western lifestyle and cowboy stuff has gotten so popular and then the music and everything. It reminds me a little bit of uh like when hip-hop got nobody's probably ever made this connection, but when [laughter] when like hip-hop in the 90s and stuff got so popular and then into the 2000s, it ended up being the biggest genre.

Yeah. [clears throat] And it's like it came out of the streets and it came out of a culture that had like a lot of depth to it. Um, and then people were really interested in the like the authentic. It was all about being like real and genuine and authentic.

Definitely. And then it's like the cowboy western thing is kind of taken over in the music industry for that same reason. And people are like addicted to the real authentic thing. And there's a lot of depth to it and I think it'll last for a long time.

Uh because it's like it goes all the way into like fashion and the music and I know rodeo and ranching and farming. Like it has such depth and it's cool and I you know and it's tough though cuz hip-hop sort of got ruined because you got a bunch of people that started to just Yeah. fake it 100%. Then it ruined it.

Yep. And [laughter] it's like I hope that doesn't happen here. It'll happen. It's inevitable.

But see, like my thing is like I like uh I like people with different sounds anyways. Like you kind of got your own little You couldn't really Nobody can just damn sure set your genre, I guess. You know what I mean? I think that's Tyler Halverson.

Same way. It's like hippie cowboy m. That's dude sick as [expletive] I love Tyler. Like that's hell yeah.

Love him. We did a music video for him uh for Beer Garden Baby. We did that at Danny Reagan's house. Oh, really?

And uh that was the first time I met him there. He just I like guys that are just really chill cool. Walks up. I'm drinking a tea and he's like, "Hey, dude.

Hey, man. You got another one of those?" I'm like, "Yeah, dude. I'd love have whatever you want."

No, he's really cool, dude. I like him a lot. Yeah, I do like him when people have a bit of a different sound. Yeah.

The like super duted up like [laughter] put her there, partner. I'm kind of over that to a certain degree. Yeah. Yep.

You need to freaking I can't believe you I asked you the other night if you had heard of Paul Caw and you hadn't heard of him. And that's crazy because you actually kind of look like him too. It's good looking some [expletive] I'll tell you what. [laughter] I'll tell you what.

That was my way of telling you that you were really good looking. Oh, thanks dude. Appreciate [laughter] I'm not getting But he's from East Texas. I'm not getting in the hot tub with you now.

Yeah. Well, hey, you know, I was I was going to drop an Fbomb again. [laughter] That was going to be too a little too aggressive, I think. I still can't believe that guy just yelled that out in the wild.

Dude, he did. [laughter] It's kind of rude, dude. Your face when you just said that to me. It hurt.

I swear. Did it hurt a little bit? No, not even at all. It I was just like, "Okay."

Okay. Thanks. [laughter] You want to turn snow red? We can.

Yeah. There you go. [laughter] Welcome to Texas. Well, sick, dude.

Well, thanks for doing this, man. Dude, 100%. Probably a little out of the ordinary. We just talk about a bunch of stuff.

That's I like it. This is way more my style. Like I got I hate having to do interviews where you're like, "No, no, no. I'd rather just hang out, chat about it."

Yeah. Yeah. Well, I love what y'all are doing. Y'all have freaking badass horses and y'all are doing badass stuff.

I sure appreciate it, dude. Kickass opening the other night. Yeah. Thanks, man.

Thanks. That's the only reason I was It's the only reason I got invited because I said that. Yeah. Yeah.

[laughter] Quick plug. All right. Well, cool. Westgate.

Tonight we're gonna be partying. See y'all. Thank you. [music] [singing] Sing the [music] sweet melody.