Fitness Training
Cowboy grit meets fitness competition at Red Bull Rancher Strong debut
Cowboys, fitness athletes, and real-life ranchers go head-to-head in Fort Worth at the first-ever Red Bull Rancher Strong. The competitor lineup is stacked and the course is intense.
Part of this story
The inaugural Red Bull Rancher Strong, a never-before-seen fitness showdown where ranch life collides with elite competition. Held at Fort Worth’s iconic Cowtown Coliseum on Saturday, June 7, the global debut event will feature 60+ athletes—from working cowboys to CrossFit stars—facing off in a head-to-head battle of grit, strength, and true rancher resilience.
Lance Pekus—better known as the “Cowboy Ninja” from American Ninja Warrior—helped design the course. It features eight original obstacles inspired by real-life ranch tasks, reimagined with high-intensity challenges like tire tosses, hay bale climbs, and bull sled hauls. With every round timed and every move counting, one man and one woman will be crowned the first-ever Red Bull Rancher Strong champions.
Among the 60+ competitors are more than 20 athletes from across Texas, reinforcing the Lone Star State’s claim as the birthplace of cowboy toughness. From viral rodeo content creators to elite obstacle course racers and even a former Love Island cast member, this roster brings serious horsepower.
01
Course breakdown
Course Map
© Red Bull
- Escape the Barn: No easy way out! Descend from the barn’s heights using hanging monkey bars—swing, drop, and don’t look down!
- Load the feed: It’s time to earn your keep—heave hefty feed sacks and hustle them into the waiting trailer. Grip, lift, go!
- Stockyard Scramble: Chaos in the corral! Leap the wire gate, toss a heavy tire back over, hurdle fences, hurl a second tire, and vault the final gate. Pure strength, all the way!
- Tree Stumpede: The floor is lava, y’all! Balance and agility are your best friends as you tiptoe across a gauntlet of tree stumps. One misstep, and you're toast.
- Hay Bale Hustle: Charge the haystack like a true farm beast! Scale a towering wall of hay bales and conquer the other side with grit and speed.
- Grandpa’s Trailer: Time to do the heavy lifting! Unhook Grandpa’s trailer, push it with power to station #2, and unload it like a pro.
- Rope the bull: Cowboy mode: ON. Mount a stationary horse and haul a weighted bull sled across the line. Strength and grit required!
- Barn & Finish – Buzzer Beater: Climb the ladder back to the barn balcony, slap the buzzer, and stop the clock with style. Victory smells like hay and sweat!
02
Men's category
Red Bull Rancher Strong stockyard scramble
© Chad Wadsworth/The Red Bulletin
- Dr. Todd Bourgeois: Known to fans as the Cajun Cowboy, Todd is a doctor, physical therapist and professor who has competed on American Ninja Warrior nine times after having been raised as a youth on a ranch in Southwest Texas.
- Jay Woods: Former college football player for Duke and the University of Michigan, turned hay and cattle farmer now based in Alabama, who gained national attention as one of the four bachelors on FOX’s hit reality show "Farmer Wants a Wife"
- Grant McMullen: Country lifestyle content creator (240K+ on Tik-Tok), husband and father who founded Dusty Barbell Apparel Co., a popular working clothing brand that blends rural grit with modern fitness culture
- Doug Champion: Former pro bareback rider, strength coach, and founder of Champion Living Fitness - a training platform built for rodeo athletes and working cowboys.
- Nick Kuelbs: Texas-born entrepreneur and ranch-raised competitor who co-founded Latin Gin and was named a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree. He still rides and trains daily, channeling his ranch roots into business and competition.
- Grant McCartney: A.K.A the Island Ninja, Grant's an 8-time American Ninja Warrior competitor, flight attendant, and Guinness World Record holder known for his energy, athleticism and inspiring message of resilience.
- Aydon Holley: Texas-born content creator known for viral flips, pranks and comedy sketches on TikTok, where he has over 11 million followers worldwide.
- Thomas van Tonder: Official Red Bull athlete, South African OCR athlete, multi-time national champion and Guinness World Record holder for the fastest 50-meter rope climb. He’s also a 17-time Warrior Black Ops Elite winner and top-10 OCR World Championship finisher.
- Jalen Noble: Content creator (1M+ on IG) and former Love Island USA cast member known for lifestyle, fitness and fashion content, based nearby in Austin.
- Ben Kretchman: Rancher and content creator known for viral TikToks that showcase cowboy life in Colorado and South Dakota, while also having founded K-Hoss Hat Co.
- Bryan Coll: Team USA beach wrestler, competitive Skijor athlete, and rodeo bullfighter who’s no stranger to grit. A former college wrestler now training in Olympic styles, he blends freestyle skiing, unconventional workouts, and a lifetime of manual labor - from ranch work to construction. Bryan rides and skis in Skijor competitions, performs in rodeo circuits across the U.S,. and holds multiple champion belt buckles to show for it.
03
Women's category
Red Bull Rancher Strong rope the bull
© Chad Wadsworth/The Red Bulletin
- Maggi Thorne: 8-time American Ninja Warrior competitor, motivational speaker, and mother of three who became renowned for inspiring individuals to "Never Give Up" through her athletic achievements and empowering messages.
- Yarizett Breunig: Known as "Ninja Yari," Yarizett is a five-time American Ninja Warrior competitor, biochemist and mother who transformed personal adversity into a mission to inspire resilience through movement.
- Tee Jackson: A.K.A. "Onesie Ninja", Tee is a physical therapist and American Ninja Warrior athlete who’s passionate about making fitness fun and functional.
- Stephanie Vincent: Owner of Vincent Farms outside of Houston, where she runs a successful dairy and protein business. Before becoming a rancher and mom, she competed in CrossFit in Phoenix, ultimately shifting her focus to raising a family and building a hands-on agricultural operation.
- Shea Fisher-Durfey: Popular Australian country singer and former rodeo champion with six No. 1 hits, who’s now based in Texas, where she juggles music, ranch life, and entrepreneurship.
- Michelle Warnky Buurma: 11-time American Ninja Warrior competitor, motivational speaker, and co-owner of Movement Lab Ohio, where she trains others in ninja and obstacle course fitness.
- Jeri D’Aurelio: U.S. Army JAG Corps lawyer and veteran American Ninja Warrior competitor who reached the Las Vegas Finals. Based in Colorado Springs, she now balances a demanding legal career with elite athletic pursuits.
- Barclay Stockett: Known as "Sparkly Ninja", Barclay is an 8-time American Ninja Warrior competitor and former gymnast known for conquering tough obstacles as the shortest athlete to ever clear the Warped Wall and Jumping Spider.
- Shelby Horton: Professional rodeo athlete and real-life rancher dedicated to showing that fitness benefits all ages. She blends gym workouts with ranch life to build resilience and push her limits.
- Tiana Webberley: Known as "Sweet T", Tiana is a professional stuntwoman and 8-time American Ninja Warrior competitor, who holds a degree in kinesiology and has appeared in films like Baywatch and Zombieland: Double Tap.
- Vera Papisova: Russian-American journalist and the first wellness editor at Teen Vogue, known for her pioneering work on mental health, sexual assault awareness, and body positivity having created the #NotYourFault campaign and the “Guys Read” video series.
04
Meet your hosts
Hosting duties will be shared by Noah Ohlsen, Red Bull athlete and 11-time CrossFit Games medalist, and Amanda Nigg, founder of Farm Fit Training and a popular voice in rural fitness.
05
Watch Red Bull Rancher Strong 2025 Recap
26 min
Red Bull Rancher Strong 2025 Recap
Red Bull Rancher Strong is all about bringing the energy and resilience of the ranch lifestyle to life.
Part of this story