Latest / The On Purpose Podcast / Ep. 349 - Kody Lostroh
Transcript
- speaker-0: You are listening to the On Purpose Podcast. There's a moment in every man's life, especially for veterans, first responders, and men called to lead when the uniform comes off, but the mission doesn't end. Too many try to navigate that transition alone without structure, accountability, or brotherhood. That's why I'm proud to partner with Missions Purpose, a community built for men who refuse to drift. Inside the school platform, You get live calls, challenges, frameworks, and disciplined brotherhood that pushes you to rebuild purpose, direction, and daily structure. If you're ready for the next chapter of your mission, click the link in the show notes to join us inside the Missions Purpose Community on School. You were never meant to walk this road alone. What's up everybody? Welcome to this week's edition of the On Purpose podcast where I'm joined by somebody I've been chasing for a while to get on the show. So I'm super excited to have in here, Cody Lowstra, a PBR World Champion, longtime top 10 rider, now head coach in the PBR team series. Cody built a career in one of the most dangerous sports on earth and earning the world title, looking at Eurebuckles, 10 straight rules finals appearances. But I'm not great, right? I love world champions. love talking to people who reached the pinnacle of their sport, their endeavors. But what really got me wanting to chase Cody down is reinventing his life and not staying where he was. You were talking about some turmoil he faced and some adversity, but he's recreated himself and his family. He's taken those world championship traits and characteristics and applied them to other aspects of life. I'm like, man, we can learn from this guy, even though I don't want to bull ride, like I don't want my wife freaking out there, I'm trying to bull ride. But I do want some of that bull rider mentality and I want some of that grit that he brings. So Cody, welcome to the On Purpose Podcast. It's an honor to have you here. speaker-1: Well, thanks a bunch. appreciate it. We've been trying to get this going for a while, so it's good to finally get it going. speaker-0: Well, I just admire you, man. I want to tell you, first off, thanks for what you're doing. Thanks for living life the way you are, raising your daughters to be courageous and challenging the status quo in life and just not accepting what people think they're supposed to do. And for you to be able to share things that you're passionate about, to educate others on it, and to give back to making people around you better. I want thank you for that. speaker-1: Well, I appreciate that. That's, guess, kind of what this life is about, right? Trying to leave this place better than it was when we were here. speaker-0: Yeah, think I agree. think that's what is. I don't know that a lot of people in the world understand that anymore. It seems like we're so worried about taking for ourselves that we forget that there's satisfaction in giving back and raising that next generation. I love watching you guys on social media between you and Candice and the family. I love. I just love the message you guys share and that is adventure, courage, facing challenges, not letting fear hold you back. And I'm excited to dive into that with you today. speaker-1: Absolutely looking forward to it. speaker-0: Alright, but before we do, I got a warm up for you, Cody. Like, we can't just jump on the big bull. We got a warm up. You got to warm me up with a calf or something. I got to get my legs under me. So, are you ready for your warm up questions? speaker-1: ⁓ I suppose. Let's have them. speaker-0: Alright, what if something you've learned about yourself lately? speaker-1: ⁓ something I've learned about myself lately is the challenges I guess that we face ⁓ throughout life, they, I guess you don't necessarily get, they don't get easier, you just get better at handling them. And I guess that's something I've been kind of on that mode for a while now is it's like, they feel easier, but in reality we got better at handling them. And that like, When we embrace those challenges and lean into them and attack them versus trying to avoid them, ⁓ we get so much more out of it. And I guess that's what I've been learning here lately for, if you call lately, it'd be like the last year or so is, is just searching out those hard things and, finding where my weaknesses are because we've all got them and there's no point in avoiding them. Attack them. speaker-0: No, I love that. I just felt like you were giving me a bull riding coach lesson right there. Bull riders, can't just try to avoid the bull, they gotta lean in and feel it. speaker-1: Exactly. Yeah. And that's, that's how we grow. Right. It's just, I guess that realization that, ⁓ our society, United States for sure, ⁓ tends to focus on, on comfort, safety, live in a soft life for the most part. And there's no growth in that. If anything, it's harmful. ⁓ and so Yeah, that's, that's, that's where I've been lately is, like, Hey, let's harden up, you know, as a family, as a society and, do those hard things because that's where the growth comes from search and safety and comfort all the time is not where it's at. Right. speaker-0: No, I love it. That's a great message. All right, what's a small habit or ritual that you've been doing to energize yourself lately? speaker-1: Well, again, you call it lately, but ⁓ it's a small habit I do every single day and been doing it for 20 years. And that's as soon as I get up, as soon as my feet hit the floor, I do either a max set of pushups or air squats or something like right away just to get a win when everybody else is struggling to wake up. I'm struggling to wake up too, but if I do that right away, you know, it's like making myself do something that, that, ⁓ will benefit me mentally and physically. I'm a big, big fan of like the minute your feet hit the floor, get a win for the day. ⁓ speaker-0: love it. love it. Starting the day with a win. That's good. All Who's someone in your life that's been influencing your thinking or inspiring you to challenge yourself a little bit? speaker-1: Whew, that's a tough one, man. I've had a lot of really, really influential people in my life and you know, former ⁓ bull rider of 1992 PRCA world champion Cody Custer, he's always challenged me a lot, just not only in my bull riding life, but also my spiritual life, family life. ⁓ You know, and it's one of those things like you don't realize how influential somebody is in your life until you kind of look back on it and it's like, wow, like. That really made it, made an impact in the moment. We kind of don't notice that stuff. ⁓ but yeah, Cody Custer has been a, been a great influence on me. And he's got a cool name too. I mean, all the cool guys have that one. speaker-0: some. So we got to the cops. That's the cool part in there. speaker-1: No, I think the first part is the coolest part. speaker-0: Yeah, bull riders seem to always have pretty cool names. You know what I It's just kind of much for being a bull rider. speaker-1: Yeah. Yeah. The best one ever is my buddy, Chase Outlaw. And the name fits him to a T two. mean, he would be an interesting to have on here to that guy. You could make a movie about his life and and sell billions of dollars worth of tickets. speaker-0: There you go. One more question for you, Cody. When you think about the season of life you're in right now, how would you describe that? What word or phrase would you use to describe it? speaker-1: Ooh, that's a tough question. The phase of life I'm in right now, I guess I would call it, I would call it a learning phase mainly because of my daughters, right? Like I've, I've never been a parent to teenage daughters before and they're pre teens, like they're just getting into it. So this every day, every week, it seems like every month that we experience a whole new set of circumstances and, ⁓ Yeah, that's the best way I can describe it is learning, trying to do my best and not screw them up along the way. speaker-0: ⁓ dude, yeah, I've been down that road twice now, so I, it's a challenge for sure, but I think you guys are doing a great job raising them with that tough mindset and that awareness that they are capable. And, you know, for me as a parent, think that's the ultimate goal is we want our kids to leave the nest and realize they're capable, whatever they choose to work hard at and put themselves in position to achieve. that, Kinda ties back to what you said before, don't sit in a lot of weight and take in a little urge or anything, cause it doesn't. speaker-1: Exactly, exactly. Yeah. And that's what I, what we really want to instill in them is, is having that mindset, you know, that like, like thinks outside the box that thinks big and thinks, ⁓ like this hasn't been accomplished yet just because I haven't tried it. I haven't figured out a way to do it. It's not cause it can't be done. Right. ⁓ and so hopefully, hopefully when, when we're all said and done parenting, they, they have really got a hold of that. Cause I think it's a game changer when people get that attitude. in that perception. speaker-0: Absolutely, and that's one of the biggest things we've been leaving with, right, is that confidence and that belief that they are capable. speaker-1: Absolutely. Yeah. And, ⁓ yeah, there's nothing, nothing better for, for believing in themselves than some one-on-one, ⁓ contact sports too. You know, that's how, how we got to know each other was through the jujitsu gym and, and my girls used to do that. And now they're wrestling and rodeo and everything. And not that, ⁓ team sports aren't bad at all, but I really do enjoy the one-on-one where, you know, win or lose. It's your fault. And so you figure out how to get better. And you accept, you know, the good and the bad because it's all on you. Yeah. speaker-0: I love it. Let's start with that, Cody. This mindset that you have now, did you have that as a young person? Is that kind of what led you to bull riding? Talk me through that journey of discovering yourself and what you were capable of. speaker-1: Yeah, you bet. think it's, it's, kind of have a unique story in regards to the bull riding stuff because I, um, I didn't grow up in it at all. Um, my, my parents were split when I was very young. Um, my mom remarried and that side of the family, um, had a, had a farm. raised, you know, hay and horses and cattle and everything. And I worked out there from the time I was 11 till I was 18. Maybe I was 10, I don't know, I was pretty young, but that's what I did through my whole childhood, was work on the farm. So I was around livestock and horses and all that stuff. I knew how to ride horses, but I wasn't involved in the rodeo scene, right? And actually I had a tape of Cheyenne Frontier Days from the year that Lane Frost got killed there. And so Lane Frost was a former world champion bull rider. They had the movie Eight Seconds about him and he was kind of a famous... famous bull rider, really good guy. And I'd watched that movie over and over and over and was just fascinated with the bull riding part. And so my mom actually signed me up to ride a steer at our county fair when I was seven. And I think he had to be eight. think we, we, we lied about my age to get me in and I had no idea what I was doing. I had no equipment, no, no idea other than, yep, I'm going to ride a steer today. And so showed up, borrowed equipment. put me on. Funnest thing I ever did, but I was really scared and I, and I, and I was not any good at all for a long time. so anyhow, what drew me into it, guess, was just maybe something. I mean, the only thing I could really attribute it to is like God's plan, what he put in, in my heart and what I desired to do was, was that was super attractive to me. And, and now looking back on it, you know, that was the plan, right? Like God gave me a passion and an ability to do certain things. And it wasn't just for me, it was to make a difference in the world. And that's what I was viewed it as, ⁓ was, you know, I feel like everybody, myself included, perform better, live more up to their potential when they have a purpose bigger than themselves. And, and initially riding bulls was just about, you it's fun and it was all the way through my career. But when I finally realized it's about something bigger than myself and being able to positively impact people's lives through bull riding and really make a difference, hopefully ⁓ do my part anyways to make a difference, that's when things became pretty clear about what I was doing, why I was doing it. And then it became like a lot easier to put aside injuries. ⁓ fear, doubt, all the things that people deal with, even bull riders, and really live like a purpose-driven life. All the circumstances in life, I guess, led up to me just being involved in bull riding and still am I. I can't get away from it, you know. speaker-0: Tell me back to that first ride when you weren't very good and you get off of it. did, what, cause a lot of times we'll do something not very good and like, okay, I'm not going to try that again. We won't give ourselves the time or work through the process of getting good at it. So what was it about it that said, okay, I'm not good now, but I believe I can get good. Was it something your parents said? Something you just felt inside? speaker-1: Well, really, really just being a kid and enjoying it, even though I wasn't good at it, like it's really exciting. it's all the, it's all the emotions, right? It's exciting. It's scary and fun. And, ⁓ that's, that's, guess what, what really attracted me to it is, is I like being close to the edge. Even now I like, I feel most alive when I'm closest to danger and death. And that's a weird thing for some people to comprehend, but, I. I just, I was just riding and then I fell off and, and it wasn't like a rank ⁓ animal, right? It's a steer probably running off. I don't remember exactly how it bucked, but, ⁓ it was like just so exhilarating. There was nothing like it. And so I wanted to do it again and again and again. And like I said, I was really bad. I was really bad at it. speaker-0: I think that's the story for so many people that reach the pinnacle of their sport is they start out and not very good because, I don't know what you say, sometimes I see the people that are really good right away don't develop the passion for it because it comes easy to them. speaker-1: I would agree 100%, especially like now in the coaching realm, I kind of can break everybody down into three groups. You've got the guys that are very talented and they have a high work ethic and those are your superstars, right? Like they're easy to coach, they're gonna make it no matter what. You could step out of their lives entirely, they're still gonna make it. Then you've got the guys with not much talent and a lot of work ethic. And they're going to succeed if they stick with it. Right. And then you've got the guys that have a lot of talent and low work ethic. And those, those guys initially will start better than everybody else, but end up at the bottom of the pack. ⁓ there's, there's just something to be said for, putting in the work. And I think it's mandatory, right? Like that's what gives you the drive and the passion to succeed is because you weren't good at it. You know what it's like to suck and you don't want to. Stay stuck there forever. speaker-0: As a coach, which of those three groups are you drawn to working with the most? speaker-1: Well, as a coach, obviously you want, you want the guy with a, with a lot of talent and a lot of work ethic, but those are pretty rare, really rare. And so I will take a guy with a lot of work ethic and low talent level any day of the week, because that guy is going to do what it takes to get better. And I guess maybe I'm, I'm pretty attracted to that side of things. Cause that was me. Right. Like I had no talent. had the only thing that got me to where I was at was stubbornness to not. quit. And I still use that in everything I do. Like when I get in a tough bind, that's my revert to that. Like, all right, just get stubborn. Don't quit and figure it out. ⁓ it's surprising how much you can get done by being stubborn. My parents always used to say how stubborn I was and it drove them crazy, but I'm glad I am. speaker-0: Yeah, you just gotta remember that was your teenage girls, my friend. Cause I shoulda got some stubbornness as well. speaker-1: Yeah. Yeah. That's they definitely inherited that as well. speaker-0: That's so good. Yeah, somebody coaches a lot as well. I'm totally with you, right? Like the super talented that work hard. I don't know much of a difference I make with them, right? Cause they're going to kind of get there because they're doing it. Well, I know I make a difference as the person is not super talented, but needs me to help them match talent, skills, and knowledge with their work ethic. And that's when you find that joy. That's like almost perfect combination. speaker-1: Exactly. And that's where a lot of your, you know, world champions and superstars, the greats that people see and they're like, ⁓ my gosh, he was just blessed and he's a freak and all these different things they can use to describe them. But the fact is we all put our pants on the same way and we can all accomplish the same things. You know what one man can do. Another man can do, and it might take you a little longer, a little more work, but you can still get it done. speaker-0: just wondered, cause you ended up being a world champion dude. Like the thing about that, like when I say that, like I've never made it to being the best in the world at anything I've done. Like I always have dreams and I work hard, but I've never made it there. When you became a world champion, Walsh, the best in the world, can you look back to something that young Cody did that allowed you to reach that? speaker-1: I can't, I couldn't pinpoint one exact moment other than I can attribute a lot of it to stubbornness and refusal to quit. ⁓ Probably the closest I could get though, there's two moments I can really point to that are similar to that. One is when I was young, I told you I was terrible for a long, long time. And I'd show up and everybody else would beat me. And one day my buddy's dad told me, ⁓ Just joking around. told me, know, Cody, I don't think I've ever seen you ride one, like meaning stay on. And I remember it pissed me off. I was like, fine, I'll show you. And he jokes. said that he said after that day, I never saw you fall off. But that did that one comment there, you know, kind of, kind of gave me a little more fire. ⁓ and then. second piece, which is way more influential and it didn't happen when I was young. It actually happened like in the midst of my professional career. Um, and it's a bit of a story. If you got a minute, I'll get into it. All right. It's a, so in Oh, in 2008, I had a chance to win, win the world title. I came into the finals second or third, um, and needed to have good finals to win it. Well, then when I got in the finals, I was worried about. All these things I couldn't control, right? was, you know, you know, what bull do I have? What score do I need? What do my competitors have? You know, how's this going to pan out? was trying to, trying to see the finish line before I actually got there. I was trying to see the finish line without running the race. And so, I didn't have the funnest or the greatest finals. did. Okay. Won some money, but it wasn't fun. Like it was super stressful. I didn't enjoy it. It was just, you know, sports is supposed to be fun. It's not always fun. was supposed to be. anyways, after that finals, went on a, I went on an Elka in New Mexico and it was big, big steep mountains, lots of snow. And one of the areas we had to go to, we were having to hike up and over top of this great big steep mountain. And, ⁓ you know, your lungs are on fire. Your legs are on fire. ⁓ eventually you start feeling sorry for yourself wanting to quit and I realized, you you look at the top of that mountain and it's like, I will never get there. just, it doesn't feel like I can do it. So I removed that, right? Removed looking at top of the mountain and I just pick a tree and I'd get to that tree. And then I'd pick a rock beyond that. And I'd get to that rock and breaking it up into these short manageable goals. And I started to realize like my legs still burned, my lungs still burned, but my mind was getting stronger each and every time I reached one of those little goals. And before you know it, the rest of it didn't matter. I was just like, all right, crush that goal, crush that goal, crush that goal. And I was at the top. And I remember I was sitting at the top waiting for the other guys to get there. And I'd smoked them to the top at that point. It wasn't cause I was in better shape. was cause my mind was operating better. And I was sitting there just thinking about life, I guess. And it was almost like a, an epiphany. was like, man, I can use this approach to. to riding bulls as well. And it made sense to me that at the finals I was just at, I was focused so much on the top of the mountain and trying to get there that ⁓ I wasn't focusing on the process to get there. And I realized that the only thing I can control period is attitude, effort and preparation. That's it. And so anything beyond that is a distraction and it doesn't need any of my time ⁓ mentally or physically. And so leaving there, I just really kind of stewed on that mentally and, and realized that I can break down my goal, right? To win a world title into reverse engineering. I'm going to figure out this is the main goal. And then here are the steps it takes to get there. And I wanted to break it down into the smallest step possible. And, and that literally came down to attitude, effort, preparation, and then riding each bull, just like that's the only one in the world. The only one in the My entire universe that matters right now, every single jump, I just needed to win that jump and, putting that into practice, ⁓ was, I mean, an absolute game changer because then everything became so fun and, and, and so, ⁓ you know, just kind of always in that flow state because you're accomplishing these little goals. Just reach out and grab them. Boom. One jump, one jump, one more jump, one more jump. And then next thing you know, the buzzer blows, it's time to get off. you're like, ⁓ crap, that went fast. And the year actually kind of went by that way as well. and, ⁓ and there's more to it as far as some different struggles, like struggles aren't going to go away, but the mindset you bring into it determines how you handle those struggles. So, ⁓ yeah, we can get into more of that later, but for your question, those two moments being told that they'd never seen me ride one and then. Realizing what I can actually control and what I can't control, those are the two biggest things that really influence my career. speaker-0: That's so that you I that's ⁓ I'm just ponder I'm I Enjoy that because and a rule so much seems like it's out of our control The basis of going back to what do I control right now is so fundamental, seems so easy, but yet so hard to actually do at times. speaker-1: You're 100 % right. And I feel like it's a perishable skill too if we don't keep up on it. And I learned that out later in my career because I had brainwashed myself into making my mind work exactly how I wanted it. And later on, I'd get hurt and I'd almost use it as a vacation, right? I'd slack off on some of my mental stuff and then realize, oh gosh, I've got a problem now. I'm looking at the finish line again instead of looking at what I can control. But yeah, it's huge. It's, it's in it. And it goes to every aspect of our life, whether we're dealing with traffic or, ⁓ financial struggles or, ⁓ you know, emotional teenagers, it's, it's, it's what can I control? ⁓ it narrows down your focus pretty, pretty darn good. speaker-0: So talk me through that then so your career, you weren't having fun, but you're at a place where everybody thinks you've made it, right? And you realize like, wait a second, I'm being honest with you, I didn't get to where I need to get to. And I find that fascinating too, right? Because a lot of times we'll get a little bit of success, even though know in turn our goal is much bigger, but okay, that's good enough, I'm comfortable here. but you challenge yourself to reach that next level. So talk to me about what was the difference you found between being good and being great. speaker-1: Good and great. ⁓ the difference between those two is, literally like you said, it's what are you going to settle for? You could be good. Right. And in everybody's eyes, ⁓ you're amazing. Right. Like you, you made it yada yada, but the bottom line is good. We'll always get in the way of great. If we stop it good, ⁓ we've, we've settled for less than what we're capable of less than what we were created for. And I believe each and every one of us were created for great things. It's not, it's gonna look different in everybody's lives, but it's just because I was a bull rider and had a public stage doesn't mean the guy, you know, working a nine to five, doing whatever he's doing can't be great at what he does, whether it's there or in his family life or in the way he helps others, mentors, you know, kids or others that need help. ⁓ And when we can put our, put it past ourselves, know, make the cause greater than ourselves. It becomes less about us and more about like, all right, like, yeah, I'm good, but I'm created for great. So let's keep going. And, and for me personally, I'd a good bull, like the year I won the world title, I wrote like 65 % of my bulls or something, which is, pretty, is really good by, by today's standards. ⁓ A lot of world champions these days are 40, 50%. And I'm not saying I was any better. And as a matter of fact, the bulls were probably easier back then because the breeding programs, you know, they get better and better bulls every year. But the fact is I 100 % believed that I could ride every single one of them. And it wasn't just like lip service. I believed that. if I, and if I fell off one, I fixed it and was determined to not let that happen again. And beyond that, it wasn't just about. getting a score, was about doing it perfect. So even if I got a score and I didn't dominate like I felt like I should have, I'm like, all I need to work on that. And I say that because I realized that was something, a personality trait that I have. And not everybody may have that. But I think that attitude can be developed and cultivated by just being aware of your thoughts and how you're thinking. And when you make make it, quote unquote, make it, and you're good, think about like realistically, how much better can I be? And I think most people will find in their own mind, they know they can still be better than just good. speaker-0: Yeah. Yeah, I'm just sitting with that for a second, right? in my head I'm thinking... If you are surrounded by people that just accept good, it's easy for you to accept good. speaker-1: You're 100 % right. speaker-0: that outlier, you're like, no, I'm going to be great. Sometimes it means you got to some of them good people slide back a little bit. It's not their fault. It's nothing negative. But I think sometimes we, we almost have a guilt about wanting to be great and moving past where a lot of other people are already comfortable. Not meaning we're not grateful for what we've been, but man, I know I got more in the tank here. speaker-1: Yeah. Yeah. And there's a lot of times in life you kind of, you know, that's, that's the crossroads, right? You can hang out where you're at and, stay where you're at. And, know, I've got a whole nother story about that. Like even with choices I had to make when I was a teenager on cutting, cutting different things and different people out of my lives that weren't, they were holding me back. and it was due to some of my own choices as well, but But yeah, you know, the people you hang around, you can show me your friends and I can give you a pretty good idea of who you are and how you act and what your values are. Um, so if you're hanging out with losers, not calling everybody a loser, but if you're hanging out with losers, you're probably a loser. If you're out with mediocre folks, you're probably mediocre. And that doesn't mean like those are bad people, but you gotta decide, you know, is can I rise up staying where I'm at? Or do I need to separate myself and rise up and then when I'm more mature, more capable, maybe I can come help bring these people up with me. ⁓ I don't know. That's an interesting topic though for sure. It's complicated a little bit too. speaker-0: Yeah. think it's ultra important, going back to what we talked about earlier, raising our kids and getting them to understand the value of who they surround themselves with. And it's, they move to an age where they get to pick more of that and they kind of start getting out of mom and dad's control, like creating the values within them so they're picking the right people so that we don't have to intervene. But we can sit back and go, hey, that's a good choice. That person right there, that's a good choice. I'm proud of you for making that one. speaker-1: For sure he is. For sure. And how proud of you or how proud of them are you when, they do make that right choice? It's like, ⁓ it's, it's, it's like the best thing when you're like, you're, you're just so excited for where they're headed in life. And you know, they're going to make dumb choices too, but seeing them make the right choices on that, on their friend group and, how they, how they go about that is amazing. speaker-0: Anyways, and one of things I love is, at least I try to share with my kids, is the dumb choice is you're make great campfire stories someday. They're gonna cause some pain now. But at some point in life, we'll probably be able to tell a story, be like, oh, that was a dumb decision. But oftentimes, I don't think we do a good enough job as parents telling our kids when we recognize they made a good choice. so that they hear both sides, right? Like, mom and dad just aren't always looking for what I mess up. And this is the same for our corporate world listeners and our team leaders. You know, people need to know when you recognize they did well. More so than when they mess up, because they're already going to recognize that a lot of times. speaker-1: Exactly. Exactly. That's a challenge about raising kids, right? Cause it seems like we are, we're, we're, we're quick to correct and slow to praise. ⁓ and there's, I don't know, I guess there's a little dichotomy to that on, on, are we, are we teaching them to just search for praise or are we teaching them to actually make the right choices? but, yeah, that's, ⁓ this whole raising kids stuff is, ⁓ I wish it came with a manual. speaker-0: Yeah, well, ⁓ could, but as soon as you read it, it'd be outdated, because the would change. speaker-1: Yeah, yeah, true. You know, I think the big thing that, that we really try to do and I try to do as well as, ⁓ is like, I'll share with my kids times I screwed up, right? I don't want them to think that I was perfect. And that's, that's my whole philosophy behind coaching too. It's like, look, I didn't get it right. Every time I went through all this crap, ⁓ trial and error to learn how to do it right. And I want to help you shorten your learning curve. ⁓ So I like to tell my kids about like when I screwed up and when I did this and what the results were. So it's not like they have to learn it on their own. They kind of have an idea what's happened when you make certain choices. ⁓ So both sides of the coin, right? Like, hey, look, mom and dad aren't perfect. Here's where we screwed up. ⁓ But here is where you've made some really good choices that I wish I'd have made and I'm proud of speaker-0: Yeah, no, that's such a powerful statement. Let's shift to the tumor that you had to face and the decisions came with that and then how that played into your identity shift from being a writer to what can I give back now that I'm maybe not in the arena the way I wanted to be. speaker-1: Yeah, that's a, that's a really crazy, story. Um, so yeah, one, won a world title in 2009 and then kind of dealt with injuries every year that would keep me out for a significant amount of time. No, every year after that until, um, 20, let's see, 2014 was my last finals. And in the spring of 2015 or say January, 2015, um, I had a, terrible migraine one day and I've never had migraines even with all the head injuries I've had never had an issue with headaches. ⁓ And it was wild man like just pain unbelievable pain and I was seeing or they call them an aura like light rings around all the all over and I was like man that's weird and so I should I need to back up just a hair. So this tumor thing some, a of people don't know, I knew I had it for like 10 years. I could feel it as a carotid body tumor wrapped around my carotid artery in my neck on the right side of my neck. And I could feel it and it kind of bugged me a little bit, like just not knowing what it was, right? But it, but it wasn't like physically bothering me. So anyhow, I had that tumor and, or sorry, I had that migraine. And then at that time, that tumor, ⁓ felt like it was getting bigger. And so I went in and had a biopsy on it and, ⁓ they said, well, it's, I don't remember the word, whatever non-cancerous is, is it benign? Yeah, they said it's benign. So, ⁓ if it's not bothering you, don't worry about it. That was, that was the only statement I needed to hear. I'm like, okay, I'll never think about it again. ⁓ and then ironically, about two, three months later, I was, I was, I wrote it a speaker-0: Sign ya. speaker-1: at an event in Oklahoma, I think. We got back in to drive home and ⁓ I felt awful, like felt like I was wasted, drunk. And I, I, I pulled over at a gas station and I told my buddy, hey, you got to drive. I'm going to get some coffee. And I was like stumbling around, crashing into things in the gas station. Couldn't, couldn't hardly see, couldn't, couldn't speak very well, slurring my speech. ⁓ And so I, like, We made it home and I, and I basically slept for like a week. I'd sleep for like 23 hours, get up, eat, go to the bathroom, go back to bed. And finally, Candace, my wife, she's like, Cody, you got to go to hospital. I'm not, I'm not letting you just continue this. And so I went and they thought I had a stroke and, then they determined it wasn't a stroke and they thought it was concussion related, yada yada. Anyhow. this takes like almost two years. of testing and all this different stuff and waiting months and months to see specialists. And, and finally, I, I had an appointment to see, to see a specialist that I waited for, for several months. And I mean, as clear as day, like, you know, I don't know everybody's beliefs on, on, on, you know, God and what they believe in and religion and all that stuff. But I know that like, I believe in God and he doesn't speak to me like audibly often. Some people seem like they hear it really, really common. I don't. It's more of a quiet type thing. But I'm telling you, as clear as I've ever heard God in my entire life, he said, the problem's not in your head, it's in your neck. And I was just like, I don't know what I was doing that day. I was zoned out. I was doing nothing. I was so excited. I was like, that's it. And I called the doctor and I was like, hey, you gotta stop testing my head, test my neck. And I'm thinking it's like a spinal cord deal, right? Like that's where my mind went. And so she's like, okay, well, she's a little, ⁓ skeptical, but she finally to appease me, she's like, all right, we'll do some stuff on your neck. So they did some different scan and they found the tumor and she's like, ⁓ here's the problem. This tumor is wrapped around your carotid artery, choking down blood supply to your brain on that side. And it's also on nerves, pressing on nerves that go to your eyes and your tongue, which would explain why my. vision in my speech was so messed up. So anyhow, yeah, they took it out and pretty good these days, but it did affect my vision. Like when things move real fast or I'm bouncing around, everything goes blurry and I can't see. Everything's just a mess. So when that comes to riding bulls, that changes stuff, right? Like if you can't see the bull, ⁓ it's very difficult to stay on. big part of your balance is being able to see. that, I mean, pretty much ended my career. It's like I could, and I did ride a little bit after that, and I probably still could to this day, but I'm not capable of riding the best, right? And that's what makes me alive, is pushing the envelope. And so just to go kind of be able to ride some easy bulls isn't something I wanted to do. I wanted to be competitive. And so that ended my career. And to be quite honest with you, I was in a really bad spot mentally. ⁓ you know, when you've, you've dedicated your whole life to something, that's all you've ever known. And then granted, it was a two year process to find out what was going on, but basically in an instant it was gone. And, and, ⁓ I don't know. It's I've been more. free, I guess, talking about it, but that's hard for me to admit as a bull rider because you're always trying to be tough. Right. Like that seems like that's just the solution to everything. If you're having a hard time, get tougher. And, and I couldn't beat this feeling, right? Like I was, I was, didn't, I mean, I guess I was suicidal. Like I didn't, I didn't care if I was around anymore. Yeah. And so I knew that wasn't me. wasn't, it wasn't good, right? It wasn't good for, for myself, my family, for my purpose in life. ⁓ and, kind of had to really, really bear down and get serious about like, you know, what's important now, the acronym W I N what's important now. And so, so that became something. It was like, all right, well, I know my family. is, and God is most important thing right now, but I still needed something that I, that I'd been missing, which was like I said, something doing something really challenging. It's all on you. You're kind of close to the edge. And that's actually when I got into, ⁓ to, to my, my hound dogs and hunting with those. And so that kind of gave me a new task, something that I was going to have to learn and get good at and be terrible and then get better and really focus on being stubborn and not quitting. ⁓ And then the coaching thing came along when they started the PBR team series. that was, once again, God's purpose. I didn't go out looking for that job. I had to almost put bull riding behind me for a while because mentally I couldn't think about it. I couldn't watch it, couldn't be around it. ⁓ So when that opportunity came about, and then here you know I am five years later. ⁓ coaching these bull riders and it's awesome. It's like that now I'm able to give back there and help my family, know, in their sports and my kids. ⁓ you know, like I said, it's when things are happening in the moment, it's hard to understand why. But when you look back in time and see how everything lined up, was like there was a purpose, there was a plan. And I'm just happy to, you know, to have gotten past that, that difficult point life on the transition between riding bulls and not riding bulls. That's something most people. that I've been there and done that have never told me is it's really hard when you don't get to do it anymore. speaker-0: Yeah, I'll share with you, that a lot of men suffer through that when they walk away from, you know, for a lot of them it's their career, right? Walking away from law enforcement and then like, oh my God, now suddenly I don't have a status, I don't have a purpose, walking away from the military, bull riding apparently, you know what mean? A lot of things because our identity is so wrapped in what we're doing and so was such a pursuit. So what was that like when they reached out to you to come back to coaching to say, okay, I'm willing to be back in this world even if I'm just going to be different verse just, you know, cause I think a lot of times when we, when we turn that page, we just like, look, I'm not even going back. Cause I'm not ready to face all the feelings that come with it, but you, you accepted that. So what was that process like for you? speaker-1: Well, the process getting into coaching, guess was, ⁓ I was excited about it for whatever reason it was like the timing was right. ⁓ you know, I, I was ready to be back in that atmosphere and, it's scary too, right? Like I've done lots of schools coached young kids on how to learn, but now how do you coach the professionals? You know, how do you coach the best of the best? So that's ⁓ you know, just a whole nother challenge. I think maybe that was the most exciting thing for me is, is the challenge of, of something new. ⁓ I always kind of lived on, on adventure and uncertainty. So, so being able to jump into something new of like, all right, yep, I'm not sure how we're going to do it, but we're going to get it figured out and we're going to do the best we can. You know, that, that was really cool. And I'm, I'm glad for the opportunity to, to have stepped into that role. ⁓ just like riding bulls now, now the focus for me is, is having a positive impact on these guys. It's not only, you know, to make them better bull riders and, win championships and win events, but, but to become better men, better husbands, better fathers, like all this stuff, everything that I learned in the arena translates to my personal life. And, we can have that mindset in anything. It doesn't have to be bull riding. doesn't have to be law enforcement, military, or any sports. Like it's, We can tie it all together because how you do one thing is how you do everything. And so I think it's important that we always keep that perspective in mind. speaker-0: What's it been like for you seeing the next generation of bull rider and what have you learned from them? speaker-1: Well, the next generation of bull riders is, is a good and bad. ⁓ and I'm sure every generation before me has felt the same way. It's like, God, what, have we come to? You know, ⁓ there is some really talented young guys that, you know, like I said, I see what they're doing now. I don't see where they started. I've watched some of them start, but It's, makes you excited for the future of the sport because they are just hungry. They want it, everything about it. The reason they're so good is because they love what they do and they love putting in the work. ⁓ they're all about winning, which is, which is great. But if you love the process, you're going to win way more than somebody that hates the process. And that's where these guys are at. ⁓ They've, I guess, taught me a little bit about just that youthful fire that sometimes we lose as we experience life and we've done this and been there and done that. That's refreshing to see when it's like they're ready to just take the world by the way of those and enjoy it. On the flip side of that, there's not many of them anymore. A lot of young guys. In general in the United States, you know, like I'd mentioned previously, like we're kind of in this country focused on comfort and safety. And those two things don't mix with bull riding. Like you're going to be uncomfortable and you're going to be unsafe. ⁓ And that sounds crazy to some people, but the fact is you're a whole lot more alive when you're uncomfortable and unsafe. When it's basically, you know, Jordan Peterson talked about raising kids to do dangerous things. ⁓ in a careful way or something along those lines. And I really feel like that's that's beneficial. So anyhow, we don't have many young guys coming up wanting to ride bulls. And a lot of the ones that are trying need to embrace that attitude of, you know, being uncomfortable, being being taken risks, controlled risks and just living life to be the best version of yourself, not just to be good or or. whatever their reason is for doing what they do. I would just like to see more young guys with that attitude. And here where I live, unfortunately, the bull riding scene has kind of died off. Like in Northern Colorado, used to be kind of a hot spot and there's just no young guys that have come up wanting to do it. speaker-0: Yeah, well, I there's just not, I can't imagine there's instant gratification and bull riding, right? Cause I don't, I've always been around, I've some friends that rode bulls and they had similar story. The first time they get bucked off really quick and everything, you know, it was a process and we're such a world where we want everything right now. Like I just want to be good now. I only want to do things I'm really good at right now. I want to make money now. I want to be this now. Yeah, we haven't. I think that's one thing we can do as elder statesmen, I guess, if we would, is teach people to slow down and just enjoy the process of getting good. speaker-1: Yeah. Yeah. The process is, where it's at. And I, I tell my young bull riders all the time. This is like, I've accomplished so much in the bull riding world. none of that stuff really matters now at the end of a career. was the process of accomplishing those things. Right. Like every single title I won throughout my career from my, from when I was little bitty, like the first buckle I won I ever won. and the world championship buckle and everything in between felt the same exact way. You still wake up the next morning, the same person you were the day before. It does not change who you are, but the process in getting there, that does change who you are, right? Like the things you learn, the things you go through, the perseverance, learning to, to overcome, adapt. Like that's where it's at. That is, that is the most thrilling part of sports is the journey, but we don't understand that. I think a lot of times until the. Tell the Journeys. speaker-0: Yeah, yeah, we don't realize how important the journey was and the moments and the special times we had with the people around us that were just ours. speaker-1: Exactly. Exactly. You know, time spent in a vehicle, traveling, hotel rooms, goofing around, all that stuff is actually so much more, you know, part of our memory bank than, than just the title you want or the goal you accomplished. ⁓ you know, those goals, they're pretty hollow until you realize like the journey is where it's at and, becoming a better version of yourself is where it's at. speaker-0: That's why the growth is. The growth is very seldom on the night of the event. The growth is in the process of getting to the event. speaker-1: Exactly, exactly. speaker-0: Yeah, it's funny. was just having this conversation with a couple of guys from the gym this week that I'd fought with. that's literally what we were sharing is, what we miss is not actually walking into the cage and fighting that night, but you miss the 12 weeks leading up to it where, like, I depended on you to be in the gym to make you better. And you need to show up to make you better. And the bonds and the conversations were exhausted and just laying on the mat and you can't move. And... Yeah, you leave it, right? And you're like, it's weird because you can think like the world is this way because your world is that way for that moment in time. But when you walk away from it and you go to the rest of the world, you're like, wait, not everybody does this. Not everybody lives like. speaker-1: Exactly. It's like, you know, I'm sure you can relate. It's the best job you'll ever have. And you don't realize it in the moment. That's a shame. speaker-0: Yeah, yeah, I know that's such a good reflective thing. Cody, I did want to get, before we wrap up, I wanted to get your thoughts, because you've been, I love reading your content and your messaging about the wildlife management and the hunter as a conservationist in Colorado. I wanted to get your thoughts on that. Like, ⁓ what do you think people are misunderstanding about predator management and ethical hunting and how they can actually be together? speaker-1: Yeah, well, I'm glad you brought that up. That's such a, well, that's a hot topic in Colorado right now and something that's been a big part of my life, as I mentioned, you know, getting into, into the hounds and specifically, you know, I catch mountain lions with my dogs. That's what we do. ⁓ and I should preface that the, which, ⁓ we don't kill them all. hunting is, is like hunting mountain lions is like hunting deer. Like you can go look through a lot of them before you find the one you want. ⁓ and so when we do that with hounds, they're treed. We assess the line, it's a female, it's not big enough, it's not old enough, whatever the thing is, and we just let it go, just leave it in the tree, and it goes on about its life. ⁓ But in Colorado, really in, again, society in general, we've seen a big shift away from ⁓ rural communities towards urban communities. Everybody lives in the city, get their food in the grocery store, wildlife is last thing on their mind, and that's understandable, right? But where we live and what I do, we deal with wildlife a lot. And so we've seen the separation between people think, people think that, that humans and nature exists separately when that's, that's not the case at all. Right. Like humans have been part of nature for long, long time. And, and even now we are your, your little bubble may be separated from it. But the fact is your bubble where you live used to be nature and you've taken it for yourself. And that's. That's not a bad thing. It's not a good thing either. That's just a fact. so, ⁓ especially now in Colorado, we've got 6 million people here, right? And it's a great state, know, lots of wildlife and all that has come about from, you know, the North American model of wildlife conservation, which is a user pay ⁓ management system. your hunters, trappers and anglers, they all buy licenses and pay fees that go in to support the greater ⁓ you know, the greater good of the species. And so basically it amounts to you can, you can sell for, this will be a good way to describe it to people. You have ⁓ a certain number of species say it's a thousand of them. You can sell 10 % of those species to be hunted in order to, to, manage the other 90 % and make sure they're healthy and the ecosystem's healthy and the habitat is healthy. And so, ⁓ that's been the most successful wildlife management. system ever. been, it was implemented in the United States after, you know, the bad period of our history when we were hunting the buffalo to near extinction, the passenger pigeon, various other species before hunting was regulated. Now it's regulated, monitored, biologists do a really good job of that. And the license fees from hunting and fishing go to support the ecosystem. Not only that, but the Pittman Robertson Act, which is a tax that hunters imposed on themselves on all ⁓ firearms and and archery equipment goes to that wildlife and habitat conservation as well. So that's a big part of my life now ⁓ here in Colorado, because we've got a lot of folks that would like to see hunting and fishing and trapping go away. Mostly out of state groups that's funded, that's kind of almost like their own business. they get people riled up about things they don't quite understand and they donate money and they come try to take away, know, keep slicing at the apple and take away hunting here in Colorado. ⁓ It's something that's important to maintain is active wildlife management. Before we had six million people here, you could probably let it all go and nature would do its boom and bust. And nobody would know better, but the fact is we're here and so it needs to be responsibly managed and done the right way. And biologists do a great job when they're allowed to do their job. speaker-0: Yeah, that's awesome. And I love how you said that, right? Because it's both sides. It's the science of biology and studying the animals, but it's also the hunting animals to keep populations low, to keep the healthy ones out there. But we have such a world where everything is like one side or the other that nobody can actually just sit down and say, OK, what do we all bring to the table and how can we work together on this? Am I so quick to just get angry about everything? speaker-1: Definitely. I blame a lot of that on the internet anymore because it's hard. It's hard to hate face to face, right? Like when you, when you talk to somebody face to face, even if you don't agree with anything they say, most of the time you can find quite a bit of common ground. But now with the internet and social media, it's made, I said, just made it so polarizing where it's like pick a side and you're at war with the other side. When the fact is most of us have a lot in common. won a lot of the same goals. that includes, you know, me as a hunter and the anti-hunters. includes, it includes your Democrats and your Republicans. As crazy as that sounds to say these days, like, guess what? There's a little bit of fringe on the far side that are never going to see eye to eye, but most of us are somewhere in the middle and we can make this speaker-0: Yeah, I wanted to throw something more than something by you because you're the most versed person I know in this realm and let me know if you feel comfortable answering it or but recently in Northern Colorado there was a trail runner that was killed by a mount. What? They go, wow. So if Fort Collins grows, we're definitely in mountain lion territory. We've always been in mountain lion territory. What we're gonna fasten, how, what is, like, why did that happen? Or why are we more prone to that now? speaker-1: Yeah, this is a great, great question. and so obviously the front range here in Northern Colorado is full of people. It's also full of great mountains, deer, ⁓ mountain lions. You know, when you have a lot of lion food and lion habitat, you're going to end up with a lot of lions. Well, the issue is a lot of people, you know, live and recreate in those areas. And eventually those lions and predators, bears included, they do get habituated to people, right? ⁓ The hunting, like I said, even if like the lion hunting, don't actually take a whole lot of them, a lot more get treated. almost like catch and release fishing. ⁓ And so that experience, that interaction with people that will teach them to avoid people. And there's actually a study that my friend did in Washington, ⁓ four year study that they concluded without a doubt that that hazing with dogs absolutely conditions predators to stay away from people. But unfortunately in Northern Colorado here, we've got a lot of ⁓ areas where these lions aren't hunted, they're not bothered, they live next to people, they get habituated. And then they start eating pets, they start bothering people and in unfortunate circumstances like what happened in Glen Haven, they've killed people. And that is a solvable problem. But the politics of Colorado right now makes that difficult to solve. The solution is hazing. You get people on board. can preemptively ⁓ make these conflicts go away by taking an active approach instead of waiting until somebody gets killed before we go do something about it. And you know the ironic thing about that gal that got killed, some people might think, well, the lions, there was two of them. lions were starving, whatever. I actually saw the autopsy pictures from those. They had an unreal amount of fat on them, like obese. They looked like a bear going into hibernation. ⁓ It was unreal. They were not starving. They were not hurting for food. It was a classic example of being habituated to people and started to view them as prey and not ⁓ something to avoid. There's a great book about it actually called The Beast in the Garden. about Boulder and as Boulder grew and they started to get more and more lions and people left them alone. Well, next thing you know, pets are getting attacked, people are getting attacked and eventually somebody gets killed there as well. speaker-0: Yeah, that's a good term, habituation. I guess I hadn't really heard that term, I understand what it means. They just get used to us being around. They're no longer scared to run away from us. Which is their natural instinct. speaker-1: Yeah, yeah. When everything's working like it should, know, lions and predators and all wildlife really should want to stay away from people. But when they're forced to live in the same place as people, that can be expected, speaker-0: Yeah, well, I appreciate your work on that and I appreciate you sharing that those facts with us. It's, ⁓ yeah, obviously it's a terrible situation. Nobody ever wants to have that happen, but we also have to look critically at what, are we doing to allow this, right? As we continue to expand into nature, you're going to have more interactions with them. And what kind of interactions do you want to have? speaker-1: you Exactly. The unfortunately I think the majority of treat would would treat wildlife more like pets, right? Like we're always having to tell people don't feed the animals, don't feed the animals like you don't want lions coming up to your door and bears coming up to your door looking for food. That is a recipe for disaster. And on top of that, if you're feeding deer and an elk and you're going to get the predators come into them. Animals need to have a healthy fear of people. And likewise, people should have a healthy fear of predators. speaker-0: Yeah, Cody, thank you so much for joining us today. Where can our audience follow you and your journey and be part of your community? speaker-1: Yeah, so the best place to follow kind of what we do would be probably my wife's ⁓ Instagram or Facebook called In the Wild and Wonder. She's an amazing wife, amazing ⁓ mother, an amazing photographer, and she documents a lot better than I do. I've got some social media as well. I am not a social media guy. I struggle with it, but I try to use it for the good. ⁓ But as far as the bull riding thing, ⁓ the team I coach is the New York Mavericks. can find them. them on Instagram and all social media. ⁓ And then the PBR, the professional bull riders is where the events are played. We'll start our team season here in July and ⁓ enroll through October where we culminated the finals. And it's a lot of fun if people have never seen the The team stuff before, a little more, it's just a different dynamic you can get into and people really enjoy it. speaker-0: What channels are they on? Because that's on television. speaker-1: It is and I believe it's on Paramount Plus this year. ⁓ They just got a new deal with Paramount so I'm sure that's where it's at. speaker-0: ⁓ Cody, thank you so much for joining me, man. I'm glad it was worth the wait and I loved the conversation and thank you again for all the work you're doing making the world you get to touch a little better my friend. speaker-1: Well, I appreciate it. Thanks for having me on and hopefully we'll get to catch up and have a coffee one of these days. speaker-0: Hey friends, Jared Hardy here. If you've been inspired by what we talk about on the On Purpose podcast, it's time to take it to the next step. My excellence and leadership course is built for individuals, teams, and organizations ready to lead with clarity, accountability, and purpose. Whether you're running a business, leading a squad, or just leveling up personally, let's work together. You can book me for custom classes or speaking engagements and we'll build something that lasts. Visit teamhardy.net to learn more and take action today. When you're training with purpose, your fueling can't be an afterthought. That's why I use NeverSecond, the simplest, most reliable system I have found for staying energized, hydrated, and steady through their long efforts. Their C-Series carbs take the guesswork out of performance. No stomach drama, no complicated mixing, just clean, consistent fuel that actually works when the miles get long. If you want to train with more intention and recover without feeling wrecked, check out Never Second. Click the link in the show notes to get dialed in. And remember, team, life is far too short to live any other way than on purpose. We'll see you all again next week.