MEMPHIS- “I’m here to ride bulls and eat BBQ,” said Keith Hall.

Keith Hall is one of 40 professional bull riders in town to ride some of the strongest, meanest bucking bulls in the country in the PBR Bluff City Classic.

“You’re talking about animals that weigh 14 hundred to 18 hundred pounds that can jump four feet in the air,” said Hall.

Keith has been grabbing the bull by the horns since he was 15 years old, making his PBR debut in 2015.

“It might help if you’re not all the way there mentally,” jokingly said Hall. ” I think after a while you kind of just hold onto the zone. You have to love it. I mean growing up, guys love football. Guys love basketball. Well, cowboys, love bull riding,” added Hall.

He says it takes months if not years to calm the nerves, before experiencing ‘the most dangerous eight seconds in sports’.

” Bull riding is one of those sports where you’re not just worried about winning or losing, there’s living and dying,” said Hall. ” Coming through the hallways and you’re in the locker room. Just know that you came here for business and to work. If you’re not thinking, you’re not winning, you know, that’s pretty much how it goes”.

After finishing in second place two years ago, a win in the Bluff City could make Hall a household name in professional bull riding.

“To be in a venue like Memphis, in this stadium whenever you make a good ride when you hit the ground. The crowds love it and they go insane. Being able to know that you’ve won in Memphis with the best classic bulls in the world, that just solidifies that you deserve to be on tour just because you can ride the buckers.”