Being a Black Bull Rider in a Majority White Sport

let's just try to frame it up here it is rodeo houston it's the biggest radio in the world [Music] [Applause] it's indescribable production wise you have cameras all in your face you don't get paid just to perform you have to win this bull's just about as wild as this man's rhyming he's got a lot of speed you don't have much room to play with and you don't have any time to think [Applause] that's a tough tough cowboy bull riders die all the time unfortunately i try to carry myself the best but i know how quickly things can go left just because it's the most dangerous sport in the world [Music] we're in the south man we're in texas you know some people like you they sit there and smile in your face but when you're out there kicking a son ass they really don't want to see that and a man that has put his life on the line numerous times has anyone ever tried to make you feel like this isn't a sport for you [Music] i mean anytime you're different or you stand out you got that x on your back you know [Applause] hey you ready to get slammed son it's a new concept pretty much for an african-american to be at the level that i'm at so you don't know how people are going to react to it it's not a racist thing it's just life is the nba racist for there not being more white people black people have been in this sport for a long time some of the original cowboys were black i'm gonna fit in whether you like it or not i'm gonna be here this man versus beast nobody knows what could happen you know the outcome could be the ultimate sacrifice let me say the ultimate sacrifice death [Music] whoa whoa we're here outside of houston texas to meet neil holmes of the top 100 ranked professional bull riders in the world he's the only african american and he's actually getting ready to retire this weekend at his hometown rodeo which would leave no black representation at the top levels of the sport we're going to rock this horse here just like a bull we're going to put a bull rope around him we'll control him like that other than that he'll be free as we are so we're going to hang out with him as he's getting ready for this rodeo find out what his experience has been like as a minority in the space and why he's decided to hang it up you know this just kind of gets you mentally prepared you know and it just kind of puts you in the mode to get ready to ride [Music] neal what's going on man lee nice to finally meet you buddy yeah for sure likewise what's your name man come on man craig ladies nice to meet you craig how do you guys uh know each other bull riding buddies man oh both of you yeah right yeah and so this is what are you getting ready for this weekend this weekend man this weekend is rodeo houston unfortunately you know it's kind of bittersweet but rodeo houston will be my last rodeo after 15 years of competing in bull riding yeah so we definitely want to go out with a bang so we're just here kind of pre-gaming making sure we got everything we need and we're ready for friday is this the practice gear right here or is this no this is game time oh look at that this is game time you know you hold on with your hand like this and if you can stay there for eight seconds you'll win a bunch of money this is when i put my cape on what got you in the bull riding the bull riders was like it was always the the best event you know everybody would get excited and all the girls love the bull riders so like me hey man i've been riding horses i can do this i'm gonna try to ride bulls in when was the moment that you like fell in love with it the first time i ever did it the first time you got on the first time i've ever got on a bull i mean it's that addictive thinking about being a minority in a sport right that is majority white do you feel like you had to fight a little bit harder for your spot or fight hard to keep it you know you definitely have to fight a little harder and that's when it just comes down to like that person that individual that's that edge that can't be taught [Music] i mean has it ever sunk in when you're sitting in the locker room or you're getting ready to like climb into the chute you take a look around you don't see anyone else that looks like you does that really like does that affect you check this out check it out check this out you're in a stadium you're in the stadium i mean there might be 20 30 000 people in there you're standing on the back of the bucket shoots and you got a good view of everything that's going on and you're looking around just to find somebody to look like you why because that's just familiar you know that's just us as humans and that's not to pull the race card i mean it's the fact the audience that we're attending is you know 90 caucasian but this is where my job places me you know this is what i got to do to feed my family so it's not like i'm walking in there and and most of those people are fans at the same time i think that hinders a lot of other african-american cowboys because they can't handle that situation or they're afraid of that situation me i feel like i was just versatile and well-rounded enough that it didn't matter you know who i was riding in front of i just want to ride bulls and if you appreciate bull ride you're gonna like it the history of the black cowboy in america has deep roots dating back to before the civil war when slaves became ranch hands in place of the white men called to fight for the confederacy and while about one-fourth of the cowboys in the american west were black that history has largely been whitewashed in popular culture professional rodeos were established in the 1930s and in those early years segregation was prevalent in the sport and even after they were integrated only one black bull rider has ever become world champion in the top rodeo associations that disparity in representation still lingers over the sport today and whether or not it's keeping black riders out of the sport is still up for debate [Music] we're in some tiny town in the middle of nowhere or outside of dallas at like an open rodeo with the 2 000 cash prize it rained all day so it is muddy as out here but that hasn't stopped anyone from climbing on the back of these bulls [Applause] we're going to talk with some of the people in the crowd and hear their perspectives on if race can really be a barrier to entry in the sport [Music] how important do you think like representation is in getting people involved in the sport oh it's extremely extremely important there's so many kids that just you know they see it but they don't even have a clue you know how to how to get started even tried to start doing it nobody just wakes up one day and says i'm going to go ride a bull [Music] you have to kind of have somebody you know that introduces you well you know somebody needs to be a driving force behind them say hey man you can do this all you got to do is man up and get on from my perspective there's nothing that could hold you back beside yourself in this portable ride it's not about the color of the cowboy it's about the size of his heart so you don't think that racism plays a role in the way that black bull riders participate in the sport no not once once they make a bull rider and become a bull rider it doesn't matter what color you are these guys i guarantee you if you're black white asian whatever they'll welcome you if you want to get on is one place i know in my heart we're all a family and we love it and we love each other and we don't see anything past success and getting on that bull but i feel like everyone might not be as open-minded or as accepting as you might be that's awful yeah sorry i don't know what else to say but that's sad yeah i personally haven't seen it but i'm sure there is because there's something everywhere i can't see why anyone would see it that way honestly i really can and that may be because i'm not coming from a black person's perspective i've been on the backbone of being treated differently because i was white if somebody didn't make it and they said it was because i was black they're lying to you and they're making excuses i love the cowboy culture i love the whole aspect of it but as a black cowboy traveling you know i've ran across my first year of racism and then two i mean tell me about that we're in the south man we're in texas you know and i've been in situations where i'm at a bar and me and my friends where they're just having a good time and it was an altercation because i was a with a cowboy hat on you know what was it like growing up out here well i know you grew up not in houston growing up made me you know guys like me and you tough and you know i think growing up did that for me you know i grew up you're not in the city you're just right out the city but hell your crime rate you have there is even bigger you know and i can remember as a kid like my mom would tell me like hey if you're driving through here just keep driving don't even stop and get gas just keep going black people used to hang from trees in these same areas with all that going on i've learned to channel everything out and focus on what's in front of me just worry about the things you can control if you can't control it don't worry about it [Music] just like around where you grew up at is this where your home is now this is where my homies grew up at and uh this is kind of where we all started it right you know so this is a barrel bowl where neil and craig and a bunch of their homies got started and this is also still years later part of neil's preparation for for rodeos some of my colleagues if i was in their role if i had to live their life there's no way i'm not a world champion right it's hands down do you feel like coming out of neighborhoods like this one where you're face to face with poverty every day you kind of got to fight to make it out of here that helped give you that fearlessness that you needed as a bull rider most definitely you don't have an option so you got to make something happen some guys have the talent rod bull is better than me rob was better than craig rob is better than your world champion right now that talent is in here i've seen it but for whatever reason brother was as i've said before the lack of financial resources just the knowledge of knowing how to do it or the knowledge of knowing that it can even be done how important is it as a young black bull rider coming up to see someone like you at the levels of the sport that you've reached i think it's necessary it's damn near mandatory you know like i was able to see it because my best friend was craig jackson and he was the one to do it before me i'm done craig's done so you know we just hope we pass the torch and leave it in good hands but who's next man a little young kid i don't i don't really know kid man but he's from round away and um he's been riding everything man ezekiel mitchell i don't know much about him i just know he rides bulls good hey you ready to get slammed sir [Music] we're at a practice bull riding ring outside of houston texas to meet up with ezekiel mitchell zeke is a 20 year old bull rider who neal was actually hoping would replace him as the only african-american at the top of the pbr the thing is while zeke wrote as a pro last year no one has seen him on the circuit at all this season so we're going to talk to him about what's been keeping him from riding as a pro this year [Music] this is where my career started really right there in those bucking shoots over there who's uh whose ring is this uh that man on the fence the really old cowboy looking man okay he'd be china at cowboy but he learned everything he know from me this is your ring yeah this is my son right here that's exactly that's what my mom said yesterday [Music] i first started coming out here you want to be a bull rider i'll make you a bull rider i'll kill you that's literally what you what i'd do i'd get on eight or nine bulls here at night and i got tired of getting put on my butt and eventually learned how to ride them these bulls are actually really huge to be non-professional bulls and they're all just staring they're all just looking at me like they're not why are they plotting right now all right whatever you're doing ready go go i would not do that without a helmet that was gnarly what happened that you haven't been on the circuit so far this year honestly uh finances it's really hard to do it all on your own and you can uh go out and still ride your bulls and not win a check what are the costs of being a pro bowl rider the flights and the hotels that's the things that really add up and hurt you in the long run i've spent over a thousand dollars out of my own pocket and not win a single dime back so geez that's rough yeah that's right once you learn to ride bulls like this fella right here is doing it's like riding a bicycle you'll never forget it bull riding is simple leg on each side and mine in the middle you're climbing on top of a ball what is going through your mind different person takes over me it's kind of like i start tuning everybody out everything just starts fading away it's just me and the bull i just become the person i've always wanted to be yeah the magic happens i guess go ahead get up all right are you proud of this kid what he's been able to do in the sport yeah yeah he went from uh just getting on beginner bulls being something around here getting on your ranker bulls hearing better bulls learned how to to handle the better ones then he moved one up went on where you need to go does it mean for these younger guys out here to see you keep coming back keep riding these bulls oh dude i get phone calls and hey when you're going to come back you can come help me out it just means a lot to me because this place is going to continue to thrive i mean it might be an old run down place but it means a lot of a lot to a lot of people is that why you keep coming back yeah got to give back don't forget where you come from first thing i ever won riding bulls young bull riders yeah southeast texas youth bull riding association that was the first trophy ever got ron bulls first one in 2017 zeke's professional career was put on hold in the wake of hurricane harvey which severely damaged his family home he sacrificed the funds he needed to continue on the pro tour to instead help his family rebuild my daughter is still like traumatized for but she does not as soon as it gets to raining too hard she does not want to have nothing to do with it zeke where were you at this time at school trying to get them whatever i could provide and whatever they needed to get through everything so if it was financial then i gave them that is that one of the reasons why you feel like getting back into pro riding is so important to you whenever i started riding bulls i told my mom that one day she ain't gonna have to worry about nothing we ain't gonna be broke no more early on it was a little difficult for you to watch him go ride these bulls why is that because there's a mother i was scared to ditch and there was no way i could keep him from doing it either he would sneak off with his friends he'd go with his dad his dad would have him doing it so turn 18 i left he did i'm curious what is it that you're doing to keep rising in the top ranks of pro bull riding when i get broke i borrow like 100 200 and go in a rodeo make some more money and that's pretty much how i keep it going you know you're pitching pennies already and now he wants to support then it's not that we don't support you but some things you got to put forth the effort things that are given to you are not appreciated like things you work for right now what would it take for you to get to that higher level at the pbrs get to that place that you want to be if i get enough money to go then i'm on the road and i believed full and wholeheartedly that i'd be on tour what would it take to secure those finances sponsors somebody anonymous donor i don't know somebody just helping me out just helped me not do it on my own anymore that's the hardest part what's it been like being on the road with zeke um i mean we're in a car pretty much like all week long and like on the weekends we're literally jumping from like rodeo to rodeo so i never get time to like shower or like do anything yeah so has it been difficult like knowing how bad he wants this and like seeing how hard he's like struggling for it yeah it's it's pretty tough sometimes especially when he gets super down on himself because he's not like riding good or something like this when he like want to cry and i'm like i don't know what to do you know yeah what does this sport mean to him i can honestly say everything this young man has everything it takes to be a world champion and i idolize this guy and i want to be just like him in red bulls just as good as him if not better some people don't like the fact they highlight me you know but when you go out there and shine like you do when you ride to the best of your ability i think there's just some people that are still caught up in that old school mentality like all right like this is primarily like a white dominated sport yeah i mean i mean you get what you put into it and you've dedicated yourself i take the good with the bad and that's why you just got to ride your bush for 10 seconds so people can't say nothing some of the difficulties that zeke had spoken to me about before have you seen that have you experienced it i had no idea that it really existed until i got with him like we were at a rodeo not too long ago in like virginia or something and i was like talking to these people like the whole time we were there and at the end they do autographs that they got everybody's autographs except him like when he came they like pulled their stuff back and like i feel like he wasn't there and then they figured out that like i was with him and they wouldn't talk to me anymore wow like they acted like i wasn't even there how did that make you feel i mean nothing really i can do about it i mean we both tied so shouldn't one flip so you pick yeah it don't really bother me too much no more because i kind of block everybody else out i'm there for one purpose one go and that's to ride my bulls so and it's kind of funny and like you'll be signing autographs and stuff and they're like there's a such thing as a black cowboy and you're like you're looking at him after the rodeo i wanted to chat with zeke and his friends and get their thoughts on whether or not young black writers are getting the same opportunities to break into the pros for life i do feel like there's some people that look at us differently yeah some people are still right yeah wait hold on zeke what are you saying right now no i'm just saying to some people evil and they still believe in racism that's pretty much all it is that my viewpoint on this the whole sport is like it's like some people are still raising some people are still caught in their way you feel like people treat you differently than not necessarily not people on a majority but there are some people there that are probably shy of god off they're not strong enough to take it i've been to rodeos where they were throwing popcorn and other stuff with people and calling them word and all kinds of stuff trying to tell them they don't belong at the bull riding that doesn't make a difference i've seen some stuff like that dude and it's wild i have a cousin that was in the same position as me when he was a kid he wanted to be a cowboy want to be a cowboy there's nobody we can look up to really and say hey i want to be like that guy i mean there's people we can read about in the books but there's nobody we can actually see why shouldn't he have to look like you for you to look up to it's fun i don't know it just i went to louisiana what's wrong with that is there a reason why there's not more white people there dudes are just like good at basketball [Music] but i know as a black man myself there's a lot of people that tell me they're gonna do this and that because i'm a black man i'm gonna let you to the white man even though i wrote a little better name that's the thing about the pbr people you're relaxing you're in the you're in the philosophy tour they're about to be on youtube there's people there's none like i said but there are people that simply don't want it they do not want to say are they important to the sport when it's judges and stuff like that that can screw you out of whether you get a reroute or not i mean people get screwed on re-rides or not all the time but when the simple fact is you can look up on a big screen you can turn around and see that point blank somebody got foul but you refuse to look at the screen even though you got people arguing with you on each side that's what i'm talking about i hear you i i know there's something to what you're saying there are so many people that don't give a about us i don't feel like i see it like i don't i don't see it because i'm not black i've never had somebody treat me like i was playing right so i can't like stop that this might be it's like a hard thing to kind of accept right it's a new concept pretty much for an african american to be at the level that i'm at so you don't know how people are going to react to it don't get shot with just me and elsie oh yeah [Music] it might not be because they're racist or anything but it's because it's a scary new thing people just don't know that it's okay after the rodeo with wilmer zeke wanted to show me how some communities are trying to bridge the gap and help get more black riders involved in the sport at a professional level so we're heading to an all-black heritage rodeo in humboldt texas so we're in the city of humble at the civic arena for the 15th annual heritage day festival rodeo this is an all-black rodeo and it's one of the small group of black rodeos across the southern states that keeps western culture alive in black communities [Music] african-american cowboys and cowgirls don't always get an opportunity to showcase their talents in some of the larger rodeos and some of the professional rodeos and so we are a black professional rodeo [Applause] this is insane this is like a barrel racing relay race why is it important for you guys to put on rodeos like this one when you see someone that looks like you doing something that you want to do then it gives you the courage to say hey i can do that but on the other hand if you see somebody that may be of a different nationality doing it you may think oh that looks fun but it may not ring true to you you know in the south black cowboys and cowgirls didn't really have an opportunity to do things or to go to entertainment type of things because of segregation and so the rodeo was their entertainment so it's important to keep it going because some of it has gotten lost in history um just looking at kind of what you see as far as rodeo now so when you think about representation in the sport how important are things like heritage night or heritage rodeos it is man it is the only time that some of these people get to see professional cowboys of any color of course the production is going to be on a lot smaller scale but that's where i started that's where all the guys that came before me and pay the way they started there you know if they don't start that then where do they start these smaller rodeos are the type that zeke has to compete in so we can keep making money while he's not on the pro circuit tonight's a tough pin of bulls too because they're younger bulls calves and they don't really have a set pattern or direction [Music] yet [Music] what would it mean to you to climb back on top of a bull at a pro rodeo it means a lot to me to be there because uh i want to be on a higher platform that's my goal i want to be a world champion [Music] [Applause] and so in the meantime you're going to keep riding at the college level riding at the college level the amateur that way just to build my finances up for myself so trying to get back on my feet [Applause] [Music] my rad didn't go too good i didn't necessarily draw the best bull and i could have rode a lot better but i mean it's all part of it things happen and so what's next tonight uh liberty texas mutt newman's putting on a rodeo so we're gonna try to make a little bit more money so we can keep getting down the road [Music] zeke didn't place tonight so he's going home with nothing and back in houston neil's getting ready to compete for that same winners check for the last time so we're here at nrg stadium for rodeo houston's last day of the super series and this could potentially be neil's last ride friday he bucked off early saturday he had a great ride and today we'll determine whether or not he moves on or if this is just it for him in this sport [Music] [Applause] [Music] so lay it out for me why are you retiring why am i returned i mean it's you can look in my face i wasn't born like this you know i was i was a cute kid i think but from riding bulls i mean all these scars are from you know kissing the bull by the head or you know holes in your chin you know i've had so many stitches in my face it's ridiculous houston that's one of yours that is i mean these bulls nowadays are ten times better than they were 15 years ago really and me at 32 i mean i think they still making him the same you know so i don't feel like i have to compete anymore i mean what else can i do besides win a world title you know i don't have that drive in me so that's not even an option knowing that neil's leading this sport i wouldn't say it's troubling that there aren't going to be any black athletes left at the top but i do understand how important it is to know that someone like him exists if you're someone like me did you have any second thought when you considered retiring knowing that there's no one really following behind you i thought about that quite a few times you know because everybody asks that question like who's next and you know everybody wants to know i hope we find that guy i hope ezekiel is that guy i know several guys that have the talent whatever reason got tired of traveling couldn't afford to travel anymore and the thing about it is you have to want it it comes from something real deep inside and if a guy doesn't want it it's not going to happen moving to neil holmes in houston is his last rodeo he's retiring and we asked him why i'm just old i'm 32 that's a hundred and more riding years and um i'm working with the pbr now we're doing some youth outreach and hopefully we can recruit and make some make the future of bull riding gonna give back to the sport that's given him so much so when that gate swings open for the last time what's that gonna feel like it's gonna be a sign of relief like it's over but at the same time like it's the last ride right here it's all or nothing i mean there's a lot of stakes up if i allow myself to get overwhelmed or to lose focus it can result in a buck off it can result in an injury i mean who knows death it's man versus beast it's the most dangerous sport in the world and we as bull riders that's something we've accepted [Applause] that's the driver jam boy that is the try of again right there once again at the whistle [Applause] stereotypically you know you have the white bull rider and the white cowboy whatever your dream and passion may be just because you don't look like whomever it is that normally does it don't think it's out the question there we go hey hey now putting your legs on them there you go we're all friends here then just sit down ah okay yeah yeah you're fine that's all he's gonna do that one time when we open the gate [Music]

Channel: VICE

Views: 2,857,219

Rating: 4.6258993 out of 5

Keywords: documentary, documentaries, docs, interview, culture, lifestyle, world, exclusive, independent, videos, vice.com, vice, vice magazine, vice mag, vice videos, short films, sports, RACE, discrimination, RACISM, cowboys, Bull Riding, Bulls, PBR, Minority Reports, black cowboys, ezekiel mitchell, neil holmes, black bull rider, black people, identity politics, professional atheletes, black atheletes, white atheletes, representation, extreme sport, funding, Old Town Road, Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus

Id: zqO6hA1DXLc

Length: 31min 52sec (1912 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 12 2018