Express Services Presents: The Tears and Tenacity of A Clown

Brandon Dunn was born into rodeo royalty. And for twenty years he fulfilled his destiny -- until a tragic car accident ended his career. Or nearly ended it. Brandon tells his story of loss and rehabilitation, and welcomes us into the fascinating world of rodeo clowning. To see Brandon in action, check-out his page here. (http://www.roblittle.com/)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey listeners.
The following is a bite sized version of an episode
of On the Job, a podcast from Express Employment Professionals
that shares the experiences of everyday Americans finding their life's work.
These clips can be humorous and heartwarming, sometimes both at

(00:26):
the same time, and they're always insightful.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
Enjoy. I have these long wringler baggy pants that are
about five times to be some old red suspenders. I've
got different colored socks and Converse tennis shoes with wide
around My eyes and my mouth and the rest of
my face is painted red kind of. It's the old
school traditional look.

Speaker 3 (00:49):
Welcome back to On the Job. I'm AVERYE. Thompson, and
this week we're making a call over to Petrolia, Texas,
a little town up there on the banks of the
Red River. Speak with Brandon Dunn, who has, at least,
in my opinion, one of the more fascinating jobs on
the planet.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
I'm Brandon Dunn. I'm a professional rodeo clown in barrel Man.

Speaker 3 (01:11):
That's right, Partners. This year episode, we're talking with a
rodeo clown. Yeha. Now, I bet that there are probably
a few of you out there going what in blabber
in tarnation as a rodeo clown or heck, maybe you're
surprised to hear that rodeos still exist, to which I'm
here to tell you all that rodeos are alive and bucking.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
It is a huge business, and I think the popularity
of rodeo is growing more so now than it has
ever before it So I don't think rodeo is going
anywhere anytime soon.

Speaker 3 (01:45):
And that's not a biased opinion. There there are more
than six hundred rodeos put on across the USA and
countless more amateur events, and according to some sources, bull
riding is now America's fastest growing sport, which means that
people like Brandon Dunn can make a full time career
as a rodeo clown, which if that doesn't make you
proud to be an American, well, I don't know what will.

(02:10):
Most rodeo clowns also have a job to do during
the actual bull and bronco riding events, and Brandon is
certainly no exception. Brandon will climb into a barrel which
has holes in the top and bottom for his head
and feet to protrude from and then he'll get in
the ring and wait for the bull and his rider
to come shooting out of the gates.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
A lot of them times in bulls of buck. Three
or four or five steps out of the buck and
shoot the bull rider bucks off. It's too far to
get to the fence for them to be safe, and
so I can bring that barrel in there to him
and distract the bull, and the bull hit me in
the barrel instead of the bull rider in the bull
riding instance.

Speaker 3 (02:48):
Brandon Dunn traveled the country as a rodeo clown and
bullfighter for seventeen years, entertaining audiences with his comedy act
and then stepping in the ring with some of the
world's fiercest bulls. But then, in April of two thousand
and three, Brandon and his family were involved in a
horrific car accident. The head on collision with a drunk

(03:09):
driver killed Brandon's seven year old daughter and left Brandon crippled.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
There was four of us in that vehicle, and we
were all in separate hospitals. Didn't get to see each other.
I didn't get to go to my daughter's funeral. I mean,
it busted me up from head to toe. He took
my rodeo career, and to be truthful, probably the first
six years of it, I just pouted. I was in
a deep depression. You know, my whole life had been
completely turned upside down.

Speaker 3 (03:35):
In this time of darkness, Brandon turned away from rodeo
life completely. In the absence of rodeo, Brandon hungered down
at home and focused his energy on the family cattle ranch.
But even though Brandon had turned his back on rodeo,
Rodeo wasn't about to let him go that easily, because
the passion Brandon once had for rodeo was beginning to

(03:58):
show itself in the next generation of so a few
years after doctors narrowly managed to put Brandon Dunn back
together again, he was back out in the rodeo ring.

Speaker 2 (04:10):
God's kind of brought it all back full circle, and
it was because of Brindle. Here we are in life
is good.

Speaker 3 (04:16):
How does it feel to have your son following in
your clown truth?

Speaker 2 (04:20):
There's times out there that I couldn't be more proud.
But there's times that, man, I just want to stick
my head in the barrel and not see what's happening.

Speaker 3 (04:27):
But of course This is a done we're talking about,
and Brandon's son is the next generation and a long
lineage of people born and bred for the rodeo ring.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
I never dreamed, even when I was fighting bull that
I would be able to share the arena with my
son the way that I do now. And we had
lots of highlights, especially when he's in the bullfights and
I'm in the barrel. Every time we get out of it,
we give each other one great big hug. That's probably
the highlight of my whole career.

Speaker 3 (04:55):
For on the job, I'm Avery Thompson. I'll see you
down that dusty trail.

Speaker 4 (05:01):
A strong work ethic takes pride in a job well done.
This is the kind of person you need. Express Employment
professionals can help because in good times or bad, we
understand how critical it is to manage your business for
today with the right workforce. We offer hiring solutions to
fit changing demands. Express knows Jobs. Get to know Express.

(05:25):
Go to expresspros dot com to find a location near you.