Josh Peek jumped his last steer in January at a buddy’s house. Before that it was Houston, March 2018. “I slowed down and decided to quit in September of 2017 – I couldn’t be away from my wife and kids anymore and I knew there was more on the horizon as far as making a living for my family,” said the 39-year-old father of three. The 7x NFR qualifier ended his career on a high note, winning the All Around at the 2017 RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo.
“If I penciled it out, rodeo opened up the doors to everything I’m doing now and the platform for how I do business, but at the end of the day, I can maximize my time better doing something other than rodeo.” He spent eight months a year on the road and missed his family. “My mom and dad raised me as a family man and I know my life has always been God, family, work; no matter what that work was.” Josh is married to Kori and they have nine year old twins, Emry Autumn and Keagan Cole (born June 18, 2009); and a son, Jagger Devlin (born Sept. 20, 2016).
During his rodeo career, he took his family with him as often as possible. “There’s good and bad in raising kids on the road – the western industry is one of the best ways to raise kids and instill values. On the other hand, they can’t live your dream in a back seat of a pickup. You’ve got to juggle that.” Once Emry and Keagan started school, the traveling was minimized.
“There’s so much ebb and flow in rodeo– you can have the best horse and the calf you draw is not good enough to win on. The day you’re up in slack it can rain while others have a dry run-there’s just a ton of variables,” he said. His son, Jagger, was born September 20, 2016, and due to some heart and stomach issues, stayed in the NICU for a month. “I didn’t go much – I stayed home for a week and flew to a few rodeos. With the many things going on I ended up missing the finals by $74. At the end of 2017 I was in a spot to reflect and I realized I didn’t want to be away from home anymore.”
Josh had a very successful rodeo career, competing since he was nine. He started in the AQHA, National Little Britches, high school level; winning World Championships all along the way. “I was able to have an unbelievable career, I feel like I achieved everything that God had planned for me in rodeo. I needed to put more time into my relationship with the Lord, being a husband and a father, and when my kids started school, I needed to be there for my kids; homework, soccer games, birthdays. At the end of the day, God gave me the ability to be one of the best cowboys to ever ride and compete.”
Thanks to his degree in Business with an emphasis in entrepreneurship, Josh bought a hoof trimming business early in his rodeo career, building his business to supplement his rodeo expenses. He found a couple great calf horses, Nitro and Cody, started traveling with Kyle Hughes, and his rodeo career started to take off. He found sponsors along the way that he created a partnership with.
“I was still trimming dairy cattle feet and owned the business until 2014, but I started training people into that business in 2008.” Then he started a sponsorship partnership with Stallion Oil Field Services and Toyota. In 2014 Josh met and started working with Danny Ford, Owner of Boulder Energy. He sold the trimming business that winter and went on with Danny doing sales and operations. “Danny took me under his wing, mentoring me, allowing me to be involved in budget meetings, legal battles, and bidding million-dollar jobs. I learned and watched about everything in the sales, marketing, productions, and the whole nine yards,” said Josh, who stayed there for two years. “I always had my sponsorships set up as business partnerships. I would take a position in the company for a base salary with a structured sponsorship/bonus program. I worked that position on top of rodeo every year.”
Josh always looked at life after rodeo – which he admits could have hindered his rodeo career. “It was always my goal to build my own company. I was striving for the Gold Buckle but building a platform for my future was my goal after rodeo. Now, looking back, my focus could’ve been on that instead of solely winning a Gold Buckle. Everything along my path had inspiration that made me the person I am today, doing what I’m doing so I have no regrets.”
“God had me in the right place, good and bad, losing money to having money to now understanding what it takes to attain success and have something that I can leave for my kids. At the end of the day, I strive to instill work ethic and values in my kids so they can be successful in life because of their mindset.
After taking the job as an insurance adjuster in 2017, and running more than 500 insurance claims last year, he decided to explore steel buildings with his old college roommate, Brandon Falk. “I went and built three or four Metal Buildings and started learning about them – I sell under Premo Steel Buildings Umbrella. I enjoy building and putting a structure up. It was so rewarding to see the faces of those people that had been dreaming of that building for years – and we are giving that to them.”
He took a district sales position for Premo Steel and since then he started a construction company (J&B Construction) on the side to erect the buildings he was selling. “We specialize in construction projects from remodels to metal buildings and roofs on residential and commercial projects in the state of Colorado and abroad.”
One thing that Josh learned through rodeo is the necessity of building a good team. “I’ve got guys that have been mentors of mine, from my dad to BASICS with Bill Roth. They have allowed me to have the ability to call and bounce things off in business and understand how to handle any situation and be prepared.” Scheduling 75 to 100 rodeos a year and running two rigs down the road helped Josh with organizing crews and scheduling on the construction sites.
“We strive to provide a better customer service and exceed our competition. We are the only steel building company that offers onsite inventory of our product – we physically drive or fly, take inventory and we stay alongside that client until that project is done.”
Josh has always been willing to learn. “To be successful you have to be willing to learn and work with people and provide a quality product with customer satisfaction. Then the client will be happier that they came to me and my partners rather than any other person or company.”
Josh has not left the rodeo world behind, and still provides several roping clinics across the nation. “I offer a clinic for whatever somebody wants,” he said. “Strive to be the best you can be and let God guide your path.”
