Kyler Collins (’17) attended Walters State Community College immediately after graduating from TKA, and then his life began to take some fascinating turns. These days, as he prepares for the challenging certification as a financial planner, he has become widely known today as a professional rodeo clown.
Rodeo runs deep in Kyler’s veins. His father, who passed away during Kyler’s high school freshman year, was an outside linebacker for Clemson University and then earned two World Champion Bull Rider titles. Thus, Kyler grew up with a passion for rodeo.
He turned to the rodeo after working as a General Motors sales representative, and last year earned his membership in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. PRCA membership requires participation in six events, and Kyler’s résumé exceeds that by far.
Family, resilience, and the people who shaped him
Life hasn’t always come easy for Kyler, but he has succeeded in whatever he has attempted. He defines success as taking care of the people who mean the most to you, and taking care of yourself at the same time.
“Those goals lead to happiness,” he says, and today he is happy. He credits his family for his achievements.
The loss of his father has been intense. He also looked up to his grandfather, a savvy businessman in the trucking and distribution industry. Then his grandfather died in 2020, forcing him to lean even more on his mother.
“My mother has always been the rock in my life,” Kyler adds. He says she has modeled work ethic and ambition for him in her position with Asset Positioning Services, LLC. She taught Kyler the importance of having diversified income streams, which has led him toward the financial planning field.
“This place kickstarted my life.”
He also names several people connected to The King’s Academy as major influencers in his life. At the top of that list are former Head Football Coach Matt Lowe, Assistant Coach Rev. David Jeffers, and Martin Burgess (’86).
“This place kickstarted my life,” he says. “I am thankful to TKA for the opportunities given to me.”
Regarding Coach Lowe, Kyler recalls, “He made sure we understood our assignments,” adding that this is a critical leadership skill.
Facing a few thousand pounds of angry bull
Kyler minimizes the fact that he puts his life on the line every night as a rodeo clown when he distracts angry bulls weighing thousands of pounds from the riders they have just violently thrown off their backs.
Does he get scared? He says he was most scared at his first bull rider event when the bull chased him until he jumped a fence and got away.
He works rodeos throughout the country, in cities such as Lisbon, Ohio; Jacksonville, Florida; and Arthur, Illinois. In Arthur, he encountered his meanest bull to date.
Finding community and purpose on the rodeo circuit
Still, he loves the rodeo and says he enjoys meeting people and is having the most fun of his life.
“Rodeo in America is a very big family, but it is tightknit,” Kyler says.
He feels like he is making a difference. “No matter how lost I feel, I have time to sit down and listen to someone.”
He has learned some life lessons. “Don’t be afraid to be quiet and listen. Silence is golden.”
Building a future beyond the arena
With all that he has going on, his eventual goal is to be a financial planner. He has passed the Life Insurance Test, one component of the certification process, and was working on the Health Insurance part.
He is studying for the Series 65 exam, perhaps the hardest part, which covers trusts, asset review, and retirement. He spends four days a week working and studying, and travels to rodeos on weekends.
A platform for something bigger
“Rodeo has given me a purpose,” Kyler says. “I am mic’d during the entire event. I’m always ‘on.’ It is a venue where I talk about my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
He likes helping to take people’s minds off their troubles for a couple of hours.
