On another man, the Texas persona might seem a bit much — the aw-shucks, ma’am, almost-apologetic twang, huge Cattleman hat perched over perpetually squinty eyes, deep resonant voice— but on Boulder Creek resident Kevin Foster, the image looks as natural as the Lone Star flag fluttering under a late-afternoon sun.
Foster, 49, a San Lorenzo Valley denizen for the past 20 years, managed to turn a troubled youth into an adulthood in which anything is possible.
“I just believe in chasing dreams,” says Foster, who grew up in the foothills near Los Gatos and San Jose. “I try to surround myself with good-hearted people, and folks who inspire others to be better than they were yesterday.
Foster, who’s a dead ringer for Sam Elliott, the actor who played “The Stranger” in The Big Lebowski, first began riding ponies in the hills of Los Gatos while spending summers with his family in Colorado and Texas. His great, great, great uncle was Charles Goodnight, a rancher and cattleman sometimes known as the father of the Texas Panhandle.
Goodnight is also recognized as the inventor of the chuck wagon and the Goodnight Loving Cattle trail from Texas to Wyoming.
From riding ponies and horses and growing up around livestock, Foster soon transitioned to conquering bucking bulls. For the uninitiated, a bucking bull is usually a Brahma crossed with another breed, weighing 1,500 pounds or more, selected for their tendency to “leap, plunge and spin” when ridden.
And this is where Foster’s passion to help people began its course.
Instead of riding the bulls, he chose bullfighting to protect those brave souls who were tossed off and hit the ground under thundering hooves.
Dressed in colorful garb, Foster primary job as a bullfighter is to protect a fallen rider by distracting the bull and providing an alternative target for the animal. He exposes himself to great danger to protect the cowboy. He wears bright, loose-fitting clothes that are designed to tear away, with protective gear fitted underneath.
Rodeo clowns require speed, agility, and the ability to anticipate a bull’s next move. Working closely with very large, very powerful animals, rodeo clowns are often injured seriously, and, sometimes, fatally.
“You can’t fight bulls and not get hooked,” says Foster, in what could be the understatement of the year, adding that he has broken his share of ribs.
Foster currently divides his time between his general contracting business, Federal Emergency Management Administration trainer and rodeo clown work, which includes teaching youngsters how to practice the craft in special rodeo schools.
His work can be seen on YouTube, where he appears briefly in a Coors Light Beer advertisement called “Whatever Your Mountain.” And in The New York Times documentary “The Bull Rider.”
Closer to home, two years ago Foster formed the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) in Boulder Creek. The effort has trained more than 100 volunteers to help out police, firefighters and paramedics in the San Lorenzo Valley during disasters.
“CERT teams are highly trained members of the community who are available to assist first responders,” says Foster, who is also an ordained minister.
“It’s training for the community that can help save someone’s life.”
Foster’s Facebook page, Boulder Creek Neighbors, has gained all-star status in the San Lorenzo Valley, with more than 3,000 vetted members where his guidelines are strictly being helpful, positive, and neighborly.
Foster wears his good deeds well, and offers the cowboy-style philosophy. “Tomorrow is never promised, so live each day like it could be your last,” says the part-time pyrotechnic expert. “The more good you put out into the world the more you get back. Wake up each day and be a blessing every chance you get.”
