Rodeo Clown

How does teasing a 1,800-pound animal sound like to you? Dangerous? Well… what if we said you have to do that while donning a silly clown costume? Still no? How about if you’d get paid $2,000 per gig?

Yep, rodeo clowns are real and they’ve really sought out individuals. That’s because their job consists of two main goals. The first is to obviously entertain the public. The second is to protect rodeo cowboys- an unsurprisingly daunting task.

Bullfighters are rodeo clowns who distract bulls in order to prevent them from injuring the riders, meaning they’re almost constantly putting themselves at risk. A barrelman rodeo clown’s job is a bit different. They hide inside barrels during performances and come out when necessary… we couldn’t imagine having to crouch for that long and them come jumping out in order to distract a raging bull.

But, when they’re not putting themselves in danger they add a comedic element to performances by performing skits in between events or by engaging the audience in the sidelines.

Keep in mind that this vocation has a 77.4% injury rate, so it’s not all fun and games. And you’ll only get around $2,000 per gig only if you’re highly reputable, meaning that you’ll start off with way less money for the amount of danger you’ll be putting yourself into.

I know what you’re thinking… How does one become a reputable rodeo clown? You’ll have to learn the basics at either clown school or rodeo bullfighting school. Then, you’re going to hand to land a few gigs at amateur rodeos until you build your reputation. It’s tough work, so, would you be up for it?