What does it take to turn bull riding into a modern team sport – and build a career you never could have planned?
Chad Blankenship is the President and General Manager of the Ariat Texas Rattlers, Fort Worth’s professional bull riding team and the 2023 PBR Teams Champions. In this episode of Dream Job, Chad explains how the PBR Teams league combines elite bull riding with hometown loyalty, team rivalries, athlete storytelling, and a live entertainment experience designed to keep fans on the edge of their seats.
Chad also shares the remarkable career journey that brought him to Fort Worth. His path includes advertising campaigns for Coca-Cola, a layoff from Wieden+Kennedy, working on New York City’s bid for the 2012 Olympics, seven years at ESPN, launching El Rey Network with Robert Rodriguez, and helping build the PBR Teams league.
Along the way, he left the United States to backpack through Asia, trekked to Everest Base Camp from both Tibet and Nepal, learned Thai, and worked at a resort in southern Thailand.
It’s a conversation about sports, Western culture, career pivots, failure, community, and the value of making the most of wherever life has placed you.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Meet Chad Blankenship
01:53 How PBR Teams works
04:12 Experiencing professional bull riding live
04:56 PBR vs. traditional rodeo
07:30 Creating an unforgettable live event
09:00 Fan service and sports entertainment
11:38 Commercials and pace of play
15:49 The potential of the PBR Teams league
16:39 Turning an individual sport into a team sport
20:22 The resurgence of Western culture
26:23 Chad’s unconventional career journey
27:18 Growing up in Oklahoma
28:02 Starting in advertising
30:40 Joining Wieden+Kennedy
32:54 Getting laid off
35:35 Life and work in Los Angeles
39:36 Backpacking through Asia
40:46 Trekking to Everest Base Camp
42:05 Working at a resort in Thailand
44:53 New York’s Olympic bid
47:01 The power and purpose of sports
51:13 Seven years at ESPN
53:02 Launching El Rey Network
54:17 Working with Virgin Sport
54:50 Joining PBR
56:01 Helping launch PBR Teams
57:03 Taking over the Texas Rattlers
58:28 Winning a championship
59:24 Falling in love with Fort Worth
1:02:23 Chad’s biggest life lesson
FOLLOW THE TEXAS RATTLERS
Youtube: @TexasRattlersOfficial
Official website: https://texasrattlers.com/
Rattler Days tickets: https://dickiesarena.com/event/2026-10-2-4-rattler-days/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/texasrattlersofficial/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pbrtxrattlers/
PBR: https://pbr.com/
Chad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chadblankenship
CONNECT WITH MARC ISTOOK
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Substack: https://morewithmarcistook.substack.com/
Email: info@marcistook.com
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#TexasRattlers #PBR #BullRiding
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