Iron Man Bull Rider with Shane Proctor

The Adrenaline Zone

Professional bull rider Shane Proctor joins Sandy and Sandra on the podcast today to discuss both the dangers and thrill of his exciting sport. Often referred to as the "most dangerous 8 seconds in sports," bull riding requires riders to stay on the bull for at least 8 seconds while holding onto a rope and with one hand free. In this episode, Proctor, who hails from Grand Coulee, Washington, shares his journey into the sport, and discusses the injuries he has sustained and the challenges he faces as a bull rider.

He begins by talking about how he got his start in the sport at a young age, traveling with his father to rodeos and learning to ride bulls and rope calves. Shane then reviews some of the injuries he has sustained and how he has persevered through the pain to continue competing, and provides an overview of the sport including details regarding the bulls involved, techniques and equipment involved, and how the judging works. He also goes on to highlight the importance of mental preparation and staying focused in the face of danger, the thrill of the sport, and the rush of adrenaline he experiences when he's in the arena. Shane finishes up this fascinating conversation by sharing details about the different types of trick riding acts that his wife, Haley, performs, and offering his perspective on both the future of the sport and the resurgence of interest in the Western lifestyle.

The Finer Details of this Episode:

• Shane’s journey into the world of professional bull riding
• The injuries he has sustained
• Staying focused in the face of danger
• The thrill of the sport and the rush of adrenaline involved
• Bull personalities and how they are bred
• Aggressive vs. more laid back bulls
• The process of selecting which bull to ride
• The techniques and gear used in the sport
• Mental preparation and visualization
• The different types of trick riding acts that his wife performs
• Resurgent interest in the Western lifestyle

Quotes:

"I actually had six broken ribs, and then I had the laceration on my lung and had a hole in the lung. And after a five-day hospital stay, I was able to get out and we're getting to feeling better."

"You’ve got to make a living and got to kind of push the limits when the end of your season is coming up."

"Mental toughness is probably one of the biggest things in bull riding, more so than any other sport."

"The future of bull riding is going to be technology. It's going to be making it safer for the cowboys and the bulls."

"We all support each other and we all want each other to do well. It's a unique camaraderie that we have."

"Their job is to get you on the ground. Their job is to do what nature intends for them to do."

"I want to be the best in the world, and I want to be remembered as the best in the world."

"It's important to give back to your community, to your rodeo committees, to your rodeo producers."

"It is a rhythm. And you can pick up, like I was talking earlier, about the leads of the bulls. You can pick up which way they step and which way they feel, and you can actually feel which way they're going to turn by the way their feet are planted."

"Mandatory, we all wear a vest. And it's not a bulletproof vest or anything like that. It's a hard shell, and then there's padding around it."

"There's no straps, she's not tied on. She moves around, she turns around backwards, and she weaves these fire torches."

"She stands up in the hippodrome straps, carrying an American flag with pyro. And she actually won a world title championship in that, I think, about eight years ago."

"It's a business decision for me. The less I get hurt, the more I can ride, the more money I can make."

Links:

The Adrenaline Zone Homepage

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The Adrenaline Zone on Twitter

The Adrenaline Zone on TikTok

Shane's PBR Profile