After a shoulder injury, Ted Stovin makes an unsuspecting comeback
Many people search years to find a career that would satisfy their passions for life. The iconic “dream job” is elusive for many, but at just 23, Ted Stovin has forged his own dream job out of thin air.
After growing up with rodeo for most of his life, Ted Stovin found his natural path as a bull rider, but after obtaining a shoulder injury early on in his career, Stovin happened upon a new calling.
When he was just 20, Stovin attended a workshop in Florida to build his own website. Not quite sure what it was going to be, he called it Everything Cowboy.
“It was really just a niche to be filled,” he said. “I went to a bull riding, and at that time, I was recovering from a shoulder surgery. I filmed it all on my phone and put those videos on my website and people started watching.”
Fast forward three years and Stovin works for his business following the rodeo season almost full-time. He has covered many events on the rodeo trail, and by the fall, he is busy covering the finals.
The Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton and the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas are extremely busy because they attract the best of the best competitors, and there’s a need for all results to be posted instantly for online viewers.
Ted Stovin’s story. Produced by Kelsey Simpson
Spending more time on the road than at his home in Calgary comes naturally for Stovin as travel has always been a part of the rodeo lifestyle. However, Stovin admits this has also changed his personal relationships.
He spends most of the week preparing for the event, and during the competition, he is busy running video cameras and updating social media.
Lucky for him, Stovin says he likes to be kept busy. Late nights on the laptop are usual for him and he regularly has a phone or computer close by. He has also come a long way since videotaping the rides on his phone. Stovin now hires people to attend events or record them so he can work on other projects or promote events.
Stovin credits his parents for his go-getting attitude. “I knew early on that I never wanted to work for someone,” he said. “I wanted to be my own boss. Both my parents worked for themselves and that really made me who I am.”
One of the highlights of his career came a few months ago when Stovin had the opportunity to ride a bull at the Calgary Stampede named after his website in front of Prime Minister, Steven Harper.
This was his third attempt to ride the bull named Everything Cowboy, but that didn’t discourage him and Stovin went on to make the full eight seconds.
Stovin said, “If that was the last bull I ever rode, it would be a great way to end my career.”
Everything Cowboy has more than 18,000 followers on Facebook, and that continues to grow as Stovin becomes more experienced with promoting and writing about rodeo.
In the future, Stovin sees expansion as a big priority. With plans to spend his winter in Australia, Stovin hopes to tap into the Australian side of rodeo and see what opportunities lie there for promotion and media.
Stovin says, “It all kind of just happened. I didn’t really put much thought into it and I still am just going with what I think works.”
Basically, it is easy to sum up Stovin’s ambition: “I love rodeo and I want to make it better.”