Rocker Steiner is honoring his family’s rodeo legacy while putting a new spin on the cowboy style.
When he’s not on the back of a horse, third-generation rodeo star Rocker Steiner is on the road. The bareback rider shot to the top of the rodeo scene at 18 and has been dominating the rodeo circuit from his camper van ever since.
The rodeo star shares the full story of where his family began and shares the triumphs and hardships of life as a 20-year-old rodeo star.
Cowboys & Indians: Your family has quite a legacy in the rodeo world. Where did that all begin?
Rocker Steiner: My great granddad Buck Steiner put on rodeos back when it was Wild West shows where they’re riding buffalo. It was almost more of a circus. Then, my granddad Tommy Steiner really took it to a next level. He made it more of a production for more spectating. My granddad started riding calves and stuff whenever he was a little kid. So, he was always around rodeo. Whenever he was 15, he wrote a note to his dad saying he was leaving. Him and his buddies bought a $60 car and headed off to Vegas. You think about it, a 15-year-old kid leaving home is a big move. It worked out for him. He made the finals in bull riding when he was 18 years old and went back when he was 21 and won the world. After that, he retired and took on the rodeo business. His dad wasn’t really wanting to put on rodeos anymore, so he handed it over to my granddad. He took on the legacy of putting on rodeos. Whenever he got out of rodeo, they sold the company.
My dad was just playing football. He never really thought he was going to be in rodeo. Me and dad kind of have the same situation. He thought he was going to be a football player, but his grades weren’t good enough to go to a big school, so he didn’t know what he was going to do. Him and his buddy started team roping and messing around with it. He started bulldogging and took it as serious as possible, just like I did with bareback riding. He made the finals a couple years later in 2005. That’s when our story begins. Our family has a big story.
C&I: When did the rodeo bug bite you?
Steiner: I was just a kid that was a wakeboarder. I didn’t really have any interest in rodeo. Never did. I knew my granddad and dad were world champions. I thought it was cool, but I never thought it was going to be something I wanted to be a part of. Then, some stuff happened with wakeboarding, and I just kind of fell out of love with it. I found a new love, and it was probably the greatest decision I ever made.
C&I: How did you discover bareback riding was your cup of tea?
Steiner: I’ve never been on a bull. I’ve never been on a calf. I’ve never been on a steer. I’ve never been on a saddle bronc. It was interesting. Most bareback riders always start off riding bulls or broncs. I started out doing what I knew I was going to do. People ask me why I didn’t ride bulls or bulldog, and I always tell them that I wasn’t big enough to bulldog and my grandmother wouldn’t let me ride bulls. So, it’s either between bareback horses or broncs. Something about the bareback ride is more appealing to me.
C&I: You’re on the road quite a bit working your way through the rodeo circuit. Life on the road must be pretty busy.
Steiner: I leave right after we get done talking. Me and my buddies are throwing all our stuff in our truck, and we’re gone for four months. Those four months, we’ll be going to two rodeos a day or so. If you don’t love it, it’s going to show. You have to find every bit of love you have for this sport. If you don’t, you’re going to crumble like a cookie. Last year, I went to 56 rodeos, which is not that much. My first year, I went to 46. So last year, I bet I probably got on 85, 90 horses. If you add the seconds up, that’s a lot of time spent on the back of a horse. But it gets hard out there. There’s never really a stopping point for rodeo.
C&I: You’ve become quite the style icon. How has that been for you?
Steiner: I like it. I’ve always just worn what I want to wear. I want people to wear what they want to wear. You got to stop worrying what people think. People like what I wear, and people hate it. But it’s not about that. It’s about what you want to do. If you want to wear something a little scandalous, then do it. I would say I dress like if Mötley Crüe and George Strait had a baby.
Follow Rocker Steiner on Instagram @rocker_steiner and check him out in our 2024 fall fashion look book.
ON ROCKER: Rank 45 t-shirt and jeans, bootbarn.com; Barstow Western denim shirt in marble black, levi.com; Custom jewelry, rideranksilver.com; Turquoise cuff, hippiecowgirlcouture.com; Custom belt, carmenallen.com; Antique wooly chaps, westerntradingpost.com; Black felt hat, David Yurman jewelry, belt buckle, and boots (Rocker’s own).
Interview conducted by Chad Isham
PHOTOGRAPHY: Sara Forrest
