Courtesy Josh Peek of Pueblo, Colo., is the reigning San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo all-around champion.

Like most superstar athletes, Josh Peek is more than an athlete. He's a businessman. Peek, a 28-year-old rodeo cowboy from Pueblo, Colo., is not only the reigning San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo all-around champion, but such success has led to sponsorship deals with brands like Toyota and Stallion Oil. Peek, who looks to defend his title at this year's San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, which runs Jan. 31-Feb. 17 at AT&T Center, talked about the perks of rodeo stardom — and a few other things — in a chat with 210SA.

You probably didn't get into rodeo for the money, but it's got to be a nice little bonus.
Yeah, it's been pretty awesome. Obviously, the money is a part of it, in that it keeps you going. But the biggest reasons I do this are just the passion and to win a world title ..... Most of the cowboys are so talented, they could play any other sport, and some have. If we were smart, maybe we would have played football or baseball and be making millions right now.

Your family was involved in the rodeo, so was it a foregone conclusion that you would choose this career path?
It was, and it wasn't. I wasn't really big into rodeo until my sophomore year of high school ..... It was kind of a fun thing to do, but I got into high school and I couldn't play basketball anymore due to epilepsy. The freshman year, I made the varsity team, but I had a kind of seizure and that took me out of basketball. Rodeo kind of picked up, because I can do it without that much stress ..... The long hours (of balancing basketball and school) caused me to not do very well (health-wise).

You seem to be doing well these days.
I've been able to be seizure-free since I got my driver's license at 17. It was tough, but at the same time, I just never really thought about it that much. I was too young to know I had all that going on.

Does life on the road get to be a grind after awhile?
It's tough, and it's fun. I'm going 310 days a year, but I like being on the road, traveling and seeing the sights. But I'm not a huge road person either. I'm a very homey person, and I like being home, so I struggle with it sometimes. I don't mind going out for a week or two, but I like to come back home in between (rodeos) ..... I kind of get used to being out there, because it's a job and my passion and I love it, so (the road) is just part of it.

Speaking of life on the road, aren't you guys sort of treated as rock stars in some circles?
I've been on both ends of it, had the fun and everything. A lot of girls come around the rodeo, and there are a lot of places to go party in the evenings. It's a lot of fun to be able to do that, but I've learned through my successes and failures that if a guy stays out there doing all that stuff and doesn't get sleep and take care of himself, he's not able to compete at the level he should. I've done both, and I've had success, but I've also had a lot of failure due to being out. I've watched a lot of those guys that went out drinking two or three nights in a row, and they didn't do well.

As a religious man, I'm sure it's tough with temptation around every corner on the road.
It's really tough, because there are always temptations. There's always a friend that wants to go out and do this or that. There are always temptations, but I've never been a guy that went for temptations ..... I've never had trouble ’cause I've learned that temptation will get you in more trouble than anything. I'm not saying I don't fall short, because I have before.

What's the worst injury you ever sustained?
I broke my right ring finger two years ago, and it took three or four months to get healed up. A steer stepped on it in the practice pen, and it broke clean in half. I had to have pins put in.
 
CLINT HALE | 210SA