0:00

Hey, everybody, a quick heads up. This

0:02

episode deals with some unexpected

0:04

loss, so listen at your own discretion.

0:09

I have these long wringler baggy pants that are

0:11

about five times to be some

0:14

old red suspenders. I've got different colored

0:16

socks and converse tennis shoes

0:18

with wide around. My eyes and my mouth and

0:21

the rest of my face is painted red kind

0:23

of. It's an old school traditional look.

0:25

Welcome back to on the Job. I'm

0:28

Averrey Thompson, and this week we're

0:30

making a call over to Petrolia, Texas,

0:33

a little town up there on the banks of the Red

0:35

River, to speak with Brandon Dunn,

0:37

who has, at least in my opinion,

0:40

one of the more fascinating jobs on the

0:42

planet.

0:43

I'm Brandon Dunn. I'm a professional

0:45

rodeo clown and barrel man.

0:47

That's right, partners. This year episode

0:49

we're talking with a rodeo clown. Yeeha.

0:54

Now, I bet that there are probably a few of you

0:57

out there going what in blabbering tarnation

0:59

as a rodeo clown or heck,

1:02

maybe you're surprised to hear that rodeos still

1:04

exist, to which I'm here to tell

1:06

you all that rodeos are alive and bucking.

1:09

It is a huge business, and I

1:11

think the popularity of rodeo

1:14

is growing more so now than it has ever

1:16

before it So I don't think rodeo

1:19

is going anywhere anytime soon.

1:21

And that's not a biased opinion. There there

1:23

are more than six hundred rodeos put on

1:25

across the USA and countless

1:27

more amateur events, and according

1:29

to some sources, bull riding is

1:31

now America's fastest grown sport,

1:34

which means that people like Brandon Dunn

1:36

can make a full time career as a rodeo

1:38

clown. Which if that doesn't make

1:40

you proud to be an American, well I

1:43

don't know what will. At

1:46

most rodeos, Brandon has a designated

1:49

time slot in which he gets to come out

1:51

there at the center of the rodeo ring and perform

1:53

his feature act.

1:54

It's kind of a spoof of the old top Gun movie.

1:57

Got an old airplane? That is

1:59

that Actually the cockpit of it is an old World War

2:02

two airplane, but it's built on

2:04

a corvet body, And

2:06

so I'll fly that thing in there and crash land

2:08

that right in the middle of the arena and tell everybody

2:10

I'm trying out to be Tom Cruise in the

2:12

new Top Gun movie, and it brings a lot

2:15

of laughs. Kids really enjoy it.

2:17

But most rodeo clowns also have a job

2:19

to do during the actual bull and bronco riding

2:22

events, and Brandon is certainly no exception,

2:25

which is why he also calls himself a

2:27

barrel man, which strangely enough,

2:29

is exactly what it sounds like. Brandon

2:32

will climb into a barrel which has holes

2:34

in the top and bottom for his head and feet

2:37

to protrude from, and then he'll

2:39

get in the ring and wait for the bull

2:41

and his rider to come shooting out of the gates.

2:43

A lot of them times in bulls of buck, three or four or

2:45

five steps out of the buck and shoot the

2:48

bull rider bucks off. It's too far to get

2:50

to the fence for them to be safe,

2:52

and so I can bring that barrel in there to them

2:55

and distract the bull, and the bull hit me in the

2:57

barrel instead of the bull rider. In the bull riding

2:59

instance.

3:00

What's it feel like to have a bull

3:02

hit the barrel?

3:03

It does get intense. Sometimes that bull

3:05

will end over end that barrel and you come

3:07

out of that barrel and you don't know which ends

3:10

up, and it's quite surprising.

3:12

And with there being two holes in that barrel,

3:15

if a barrel man's not careful or

3:17

just downright unlucky, sometimes

3:19

a bull can even get his head or horns

3:21

in there.

3:22

I had a bull to get his head in the barrel with me before,

3:26

and man, it looked like watching

3:28

the video, I think, how did I even survive

3:30

that? And a matter of fact, the bull bloodied

3:32

his nose when he stuck

3:34

his head in there, and the blood of that bull's

3:37

nose was all over the barrel. Well, everybody thought

3:39

that was my blood inside and

3:42

they were trying to roll me out of the arena.

3:44

So the moral of the story, folks, is, don't

3:46

let that makeup fool you. These

3:48

rodeo clowns are a tough bunch of ombreis.

3:51

And in case you haven't been to a rodeo lately,

3:54

let me remind you that we're not talking about some

3:56

little dairy cows here. These

3:59

rodeo bulls are supreme athletes

4:01

who have been carefully bred to be very

4:03

big and ferociously mean. So

4:06

from the very moment these bulls are born, there's

4:09

no question what they're going to be doing. These

4:12

bulls are destined for the rodeo. But

4:15

then it turns out that

4:17

you could also say the same thing about Brandon.

4:21

My mom was a professional bell racer, my

4:23

dad was a steer wrestler. But I think I

4:25

got the passion of love to rodeo clowner

4:28

now for my uncle, which was Rex Done.

4:30

He would do clown acts and five bulls, and I

4:32

think that's where my passion and the love for clowning

4:35

was born.

4:36

So rodeo clowning is

4:38

in your blood, It's in your heritage, you

4:41

know.

4:41

Ever since I could remember, that's all I've ever

4:43

wanted to do. I mean from the time that I

4:45

can very first remember if I would have

4:47

a set of old baggies that my mom might

4:50

cut up for me, try to put on her old lipstick

4:52

or something to paint my face up with, and I would

4:54

go outside and we had an

4:57

old blue healer dog that would chase you around,

4:59

and I let that dog takes me around, pretending he

5:01

was a bull. That's

5:03

the only thing I can ever remember really

5:05

wanting to be was a rodeo clown.

5:10

No matter where you are in this big country of

5:12

ours, there's a good chance you can

5:14

find a rodeo nearby. Even those

5:16

city slickers up in New York piland to

5:19

Madison Square Garden for three days every

5:21

January to watch riders and clowns

5:23

perform their craft at its highest level, Which

5:26

means that the life of a rodeo man is

5:29

very much a life on the road.

5:31

I have to pretty much drive everywhere, and of

5:33

course in the state of Texas, Oklahoma got

5:36

rodeos in Idaho and Montana, so

5:38

we just kind of travel all across the United

5:40

States.

5:41

Do you like that aspect of it

5:43

or does it travel get tiring?

5:46

It gets tiring, But I think I've got enough

5:48

gypsy blood in me. And like I say, rodeo

5:51

is a way of life, not only the competition

5:53

parts of it, but the knights on the road,

5:55

the time's away from home. I mean, you certainly miss

5:58

your family. So I've got a

6:00

wife that's very, very supportive, and she grew

6:02

up in the rodeo industry as well, so she very

6:04

well understands the nature of this business.

6:06

But there's times that you'll leave the house

6:09

and it may be a month or two before you get

6:11

back home.

6:13

So that's how it went for Brandon. From

6:15

one rodeo to the next, with lots

6:17

of lonely miles in between. But

6:20

there were miles that he accepted because

6:22

he knew that when he got there, whether

6:24

it was a big stadium in Houston or

6:27

rinky dink little corral in Idaho, that

6:29

he had a job to do.

6:31

When I'm in the arena, I forget everybody

6:33

everything else in the outside. That's kind of my

6:36

sanctuary, and I know for two

6:38

hours, people have paid good money

6:40

to come and be entertained at a rodeo, and

6:43

that is my primary focus. To make sure

6:45

that those people that they can forget about

6:47

their troubles and they can leave and say, you know, we have

6:49

been well entertained outside

6:53

of that arena. I'm truly I'm not

6:55

a people person. I'm just trying to kind of keep to

6:57

myself, and a lot of people that don't

6:59

know me or know what I do, they don't really

7:01

understand. Said, how can you be a clown? Because

7:03

outside of the arena, you're so serious and you're so

7:06

withdrawn from people. But when I get

7:08

in that arena, you gotta lay all that back. No matter

7:10

what's going on, you just got to drop it there. When you

7:12

walk in that arena and entertain the crowd.

7:15

Do you think putting on your

7:17

outfit, putting on the makeup allows

7:19

you to become this other person?

7:22

Most definitely. I would compare it

7:24

to be like a method actor or something like

7:26

that. You know, you get into that character, and

7:28

this character has become, for lack

7:30

of a better word, kind of my alter ego.

7:33

When I walk in there, I mean, it's kind of the Chris Gains

7:35

of Garth Brooks. When I walk in there, I'm

7:38

still Brandon, but I just take on

7:40

this whole new character and a whole new light in

7:43

the arena.

7:44

And for seventeen years, Brandon lived

7:46

that life, weekend after weekend,

7:49

full after ball, seventeen

7:52

years of showmanship, seventeen

7:54

years of doing what he loved, and

7:58

then it all came to a

8:00

tragic halt. We'll

8:03

be right back.

8:05

A strong work ethic takes

8:07

pride in a job well done. This

8:09

is the kind of person you need. Express

8:12

Employment professionals can help because

8:14

in good times or bad, we understand

8:17

how critical it is to manage your business

8:19

for today with the right workforce.

8:22

We offer hiring solutions to fit changing

8:25

demands. Express knows

8:27

Jobs. Get to know Express, go

8:29

to expresspros dot com to find

8:31

a location near you.

8:35

We're back speaking with Brandon Dunn, who

8:37

for seventeen years traveled the country as

8:39

a rodeo clown and bullfighter, entertaining

8:42

audiences with this comedy act and

8:44

then stepping in the ring with some of the world's

8:46

fiercest bulls.

8:48

What are you thinking about right before they

8:50

open the gate?

8:51

There's really not a whole lot of thank of course, I don't think you

8:53

really think to be if you're going to be a rodeo clown or

8:55

bullfighter anyway, I think half your brain has kind

8:58

of been removed the

9:00

choice, career choice that you're going to be in.

9:02

But at this point in the game, there's not a whole

9:04

lot of thinking. It's just more reaction. You

9:07

know what your job is. It's just time to go get

9:09

your job done.

9:12

But then, in April of two thousand and

9:14

three, Brandon and his family

9:16

were involved in a horrific car accident.

9:20

The head on collision with a drunk driver killed

9:22

Brandon's seven year old daughter and

9:24

left Brandon crippled.

9:26

There was four of us in that vehicle, and we were all

9:29

in separate hospitals. Didn't get to see each other I

9:31

didn't get to go to my daughter's funeral. I

9:33

mean, it busted me up from head to toe. It

9:35

took my Rodeo career, and to be truthful,

9:38

probably the first six years of it, I

9:40

just pouted. I was in a deep depression. You

9:43

know, my whole life had been completely turned

9:45

upside down.

9:47

In this time of darkness, Brandon

9:49

turned away from Rodeo life completely.

9:53

I kind of cut myself off from even my

9:55

good friends that were Rodeo on I just kind

9:57

of, like I said, I just pouted, stayed

10:00

to myself. I tried to change my whole

10:02

lifestyle because Rodeo was such a deep

10:05

part of who I was and had

10:07

such a huge influence on me that

10:09

I just completely just cut myself off from

10:11

that world.

10:13

In the absence of Rodeo, Brandon hungered

10:15

down at home and focused his energy

10:17

on the family cattle ranch. He

10:19

deepened his connection with his family and

10:22

his faith in God. He

10:24

started up a little church that he became a pastor

10:26

of. But even though Brandon had

10:28

turned his back on Rodeo, Rodeo

10:31

wasn't about to let him go that easily because

10:34

the passion Brandon once had for Rodeo

10:37

was beginning to show itself in the next generation

10:39

of duns.

10:40

I guess he was about twelve years old or so. He

10:43

kept telling me. He said, Dad, I really want

10:45

to fight bulls. I really want to fight bulls. And the

10:47

little rascal, I said, the son, if you want to do this,

10:49

you're going to have to put out some efforts. Showed me

10:51

that you want to get in shape. Of course, he's twelve years old,

10:54

but the kids started coming home when he started running,

10:56

and he started doing push ups and set ups

10:58

every night, and I thought, well, now dad's got to put up

11:00

or shut up. So I bought

11:03

him a little little bitty miniature zebu

11:05

bull. I thought, well, this man, he was mean, little rascal,

11:08

and I thought, this little sucker, he's going to eat Brindle's

11:10

lunch up, and that'll be that. We'll

11:13

be through with this.

11:15

But instead, Brandon's son fell

11:17

in love with that little bull, and his

11:19

interest in rodeoing only grew.

11:22

And as Brandon watched his son Brendle's

11:25

passion for rodeo blossom, his

11:27

old love for the sport re emerged.

11:29

So I thought, well, the only way that I know to

11:32

goud this deal is maybe get me a

11:34

barrel and see if I can go back to

11:36

just being inside the barrel and doing my clown

11:38

ax and stuff.

11:39

So a few years after Doctors narrowly

11:41

managed to put Brandon Dunn back together

11:44

again, he was back out in the rodeo

11:46

ring.

11:46

And sure enough it took off.

11:49

The first probably three or four years of

11:51

Brindle's rodeo career, we

11:53

were working rodeos, me and him,

11:56

and so I really never had intentions

11:58

of coming back to the level of the game

12:01

that I'm at right now. But God's

12:03

kind of brought it all back full circle, and it

12:05

was because of Brindle. Here we are in life

12:07

is good.

12:08

How does it feel to have your son following

12:11

in your clown truth?

12:13

You know, I've always told Brindle from an early

12:15

age. I said, son, you don't have to do this because

12:18

I do this. And honestly, there's times out

12:20

there that I couldn't be more proud. But there's time

12:22

said, man, I just want to stick my head in the barrel and

12:24

not see what's happening. I told him, I said, son,

12:26

if you ever want to go play Tidley Winks, let's

12:28

just go play Tiddley Winks. So we'll be the tidy wing champion.

12:31

It'll be a whole lot easier on your dad.

12:33

But of course this is a done we're talking

12:35

about, and Brandon's son is the

12:37

next generation and a long lineage

12:40

of people born and bred for the rodeo

12:42

ring.

12:42

I never dreamed, even when I was fighting bulls,

12:45

that I would be able to share the arena with

12:47

my son the way that I do now. And

12:49

we have lots of highlights, especially when he's

12:51

in the bullfights and I'm in the barrel. He

12:54

brings that bull to the barrel and it's just a total

12:56

conversation while that barrel is getting mucked

12:58

out by that bull. Brindle's per checkting that barrel

13:00

and we'll talk and we'll laugh inside

13:03

that thing, and from the outside, I'm

13:05

sure people in the stands think, you know, one of us is

13:07

fixing to get killed. Brental's got total

13:09

control over the situation. I feel

13:11

just completely safe in his hands when

13:13

I'm in that barrel, and every time we get out of it, we

13:16

give each other one great big hug. That's probably the

13:18

highlight of my whole career.

13:23

For on the job. I'm Avery Thompson.

13:26

I'll see you down that dusty trail.