From Reality Show Villain to Rodeo Visionary
Tyler Kijac is a study in contradiction. To the millions who watched him win Ultimate Cowboy Showdown, he is the polarizing reality TV star who went from villain to hero. To Hollywood executives, he is the authentic Western consultant who built the rodeo sets for the blockbuster Twisters.
But on Y’all Street, Tyler Kijac is recognized as the founder of TK Pro Rodeo, a rapidly scaling production company that is disrupting the legacy-driven world of stock contracting. He proves that you don’t need a multi-generational ranch to conquer the Western industry—you just need the audacity to say “yes” and the grit to figure it out later.
“I told them that I could build an arena anywhere, and they held my feet to the fire and said, ‘OK, do it.'”
-Tyler Kijac
An Unconventional Rise
Kijac’s path was anything but linear. Raised in Michigan—dairy country, not cowboy country—he wasn’t born into a rodeo dynasty. The loss of his family farm during his college years was a pivotal moment of hardship that stripped away his safety net, forcing him to rely solely on his hustle.
Kijac cut his teeth in the arena, first as a collegiate athlete on a full-ride scholarship in Wyoming, and later in the PBR (Professional Bull Riders). However, the transition to the pros was a brutal wake-up call, marked by severe injuries—including a broken neck and a collapsed lung—and the financial reality that riding bulls often costs more than it pays. Realizing that the longevity of an athlete is short but the lifespan of a business is indefinite, Kijac pivoted from being the talent to hiring the talent.
Building TK Pro Rodeo
Today, Kijac is the force behind TK Pro Rodeo, a company that has grown from backyard goat ropings to producing over 60 PRCA and IPRA sanctioned rodeo performances a year across the United States. His business model is a masterclass in lean scaling: he started by sub-contracting livestock and equipment before he could afford his own, effectively bootstrapping a capital-intensive industry.
Production Excellence & Growth Playbook
Hollywood Consulting: Kijac was the lead consultant and stock contractor for the rodeo scenes in the 2024 film Twisters, demonstrating his ability to manage logistics at a multi-million-dollar scale.
Production Excellence: Kijac rebranded from “TK Rodeo” to “TK Pro Rodeo” before he even had his PRCA card, operating on the philosophy that you dress for the job you want.
The “Stadium Tour” Strategy: Moving away from stagnant county fair circuits, Kijac is targeting high-volume venues and baseball stadiums to bring rodeo to untapped urban markets.
