He's the internet's favorite cowboy, a social media star, and a cook quite like no other — but for all his culinary successes, Cowboy Kent Rollins has faced a great deal of adversity over the years.
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00:00He's the internet's favorite cowboy, a social media star, and a cook quite like no other.
00:06But for all his culinary successes, cowboy Kent Rollins has faced a great deal of adversity
00:11over the years.
00:13The youngest of four
00:14Kent Rollins and his family lived on a ranch along the banks of southwest Oklahoma's Red
00:18River, where his father owned about 250 cows.
00:23Rollins started participating in cattle drives at the age of eight, which was hard work for
00:27someone that young.
00:28In a guest blog post for Guideposts, he recalled his first cattle drive, writing,
00:33"...there were times I wanted to quit, not that I ever let on.
00:36The next morning, my entire body was sore.
00:39Still, I stood a little taller that day, even if it made my muscles ache more."
00:44Helping his father with the cow and calf operation remained a key part of Rollins' life all the
00:49way through his teenage years.
00:50After finishing school, he secured his first cooking job.
00:54He subsequently spent four years learning how to cook food in extreme weather conditions
00:58and high altitudes in order to feed hunters in New Mexico.
01:01However, his first stint as a cowboy cook was cut short as his aging father grew ill,
01:07giving Rollins no choice but to return home.
01:10Suddenly working 20-hour days to keep the ranch afloat, his cooking career ground to
01:14a halt.
01:16Rollins has often discussed his close relationship with his father, who he has described as his
01:21hero.
01:22He impressed true cowboy values upon Rollins, such as always tipping his hat, watching his
01:26language in the presence of women, and holding his head up high if he did not win a rodeo,
01:31both in a literal and metaphorical sense.
01:34Most importantly, he taught Rollins the importance of hard work and perseverance, both of which
01:39are values that shine through his work today.
01:41And remember, cowboys and beef, gotta have them both.
01:45Sadly, Rollins' time with his father was to be cut short.
01:48After he moved home to take over more responsibilities on the ranch, his father passed away.
01:54He had been diagnosed with cancer and, according to Rollins, fought a very long battle.
01:59Rollins used writing as an outlet for his grief, a hobby he still keeps up to this day
02:03with his blog.
02:04He also realized that staying at home on the ranch was more important than ever.
02:08Rollins told The Oklahoman,
02:09"...I believe we learn something from everything in our lives, but I wasn't sure what I would
02:14learn from my dad dying.
02:15I learned I needed to be at home."
02:18The aftermath of any loss is always tough to bear.
02:21For cowboy Kent Rollins, the fact that he had to keep his family's ranch afloat in the
02:25wake of his father's death only worsened his grief.
02:28To keep things ticking, he took on a new job as a road grader for the county highway department.
02:33It wasn't what he wanted, but it was a cushy government job that paid the bills and came
02:37with a retirement pension, which isn't exactly easy to come by as a cowboy.
02:42Unsurprisingly, Rollins wasn't happy about this life.
02:45He wrote on Guideposts,
02:46"...I missed cowboy culture, the joy I got from cooking, but how could I give up the
02:50security of a government job to chase after a dream?"
02:54It didn't help that cattle drives were becoming increasingly uncommon, causing Rollins to
02:58fear that he'd simply been born at the wrong time to make this dream into reality.
03:03Ultimately, it was his mother who convinced him to get back to cowboy life.
03:07After opening up about his internal struggles, Rollins quoted his mother as saying,
03:11"...You need to do what makes you happy.
03:13We'll trust God with the rest.
03:15He'll see us through with the ranch."
03:17Cowboy Kent Rollins didn't just lose his father, but his beloved mother, too.
03:21In 2013, Joy Rollins sadly passed away.
03:25Just like his father, Kent Rollins credits his mother with teaching him a number of important
03:29life lessons.
03:30When the cold weather and early mornings seemed too daunting as a child, his mother invited
03:35him to stay home and help her with the baking and cooking, providing the first spark in
03:39his foodie journey.
03:40Living 14 miles outside of town, feeding the family wasn't always easy and usually
03:45called for some degree of improvisation, which Rollins later spoke about with Cookery by
03:49the Book.
03:50"...My mother taught me, this may call for this in a recipe, but there's something that
03:56can take its place and you've already got it."
03:58Years later, when he competed in Chopped!
04:00Grillmasters, Rollins' wife suggested that his mother's improvisational ability was part
04:05of what helped him get so far on the show.
04:07He quoted her as saying,
04:09"...You learn to improvise and get by with stuff you didn't even know what was."
04:13Rollins has often described his mother as the best cook he has ever known, highlighting
04:17her meatballs with gravy and mashed potatoes as her standout dish.
04:21Years after his mother's passing, her legacy lives on through Rollins' cooking, with the
04:25Cowboy Cook even telling Oklahoma Farm and Ranch that he's adopted her motto,
04:29"...Cook what you love and love what you cook."
04:33Rollins wasn't the only one working the ranch in his childhood.
04:36His siblings were Randy and Dale, both brothers, as well as Randy's twin, Cindy.
04:41Cindy was born in 1950 with cerebral palsy, an incurable condition that primarily impacts
04:46movement and coordination.
04:49According to Rollins, the family supported Cindy by adopting a typewriter so she could
04:52compile a collection of her own recipes.
04:55"...An uncle of ours fixed her a cover that went on the keyboard and my sister could type
05:01with her thumb."
05:03Later in her life, Cindy went to live with Randy and his wife in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
05:08There she became an active participant at the Cherokee Elder Care Center, which she
05:12visited on a daily basis.
05:13Sadly, Rollins experienced yet another loss in February 2020, when, right on the cusp
05:18of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cindy passed away at the age of 69.
05:24When Cowboy Kent Rollins uploaded his Thanksgiving episode on YouTube in November 2022, he wrapped
05:30up by making one small request.
05:32I have a procedure the Monday after Thanksgiving and I'd just ask y'all to pray about it."
05:36A few days later, a post on his Facebook page confirmed that he had undergone a cardiac
05:40procedure and was currently in recovery.
05:43A week later, Rollins was back up on his feet and on the screen.
05:47Before delving into his go-to recipe for charro beans, he revealed that he had suffered atrial
05:52fibrillation, a heart condition characterized by an abnormally fast and irregular heartbeat
05:58for the past 30 years.
06:00In order to come off his medication, his doctors had recommended he undergo a cardiac
06:04ablation, which involves using radiofrequency energy, or cryoablation, to make small scars
06:10on the heart to correct the rhythm.
06:12While he was still under strict orders to, in his words, not lift anything that weighed
06:16over Schnauzer weight, Rollins confirmed that he was healing well.
06:20He is the great physician and the great healer and I thank you for making a petition on my
06:25behalf to him."
06:26He then revealed one of the biggest downsides to his procedure, the punishment of only being
06:30able to eat turkey bacon, rather than regular bacon, for breakfast.
06:35Another tragedy struck cowboy Kent Rollins in 2024.
06:39In a video posted to his YouTube channel in June, Rollins casually mentioned that he and
06:43his wife had lost their house in the vicious wildfires that had recently swept through
06:48Riodoso, New Mexico.
06:50Spurred on by a combination of high winds and dry weather, the fires caused thousands
06:54to flee their homes and destroyed at least 1,400 properties.
06:58Fortunately, nobody was home when the fire reached Rollins' home, but the cook confirmed
07:02in a blog post that the house was a total loss.
07:05The fire reportedly burned so hot that it even managed to melt glass in an oven designed
07:10to withstand extreme temperatures.
07:12Miraculously, some of his beloved cast-iron cookware survived, which Rollins recovered
07:17by digging through the ashes.
07:19Some were found to be in good enough condition that he was able to restore several pieces
07:23with the aid of a lead-testing kit, right-angle grinder, sander, and grapeseed oil.
07:28He even shared a YouTube tutorial for others to do the same, should they ever find themselves
07:32in a similar situation.
07:34June 2024 was a tough month for cowboy Kent Rollins.
07:38Not only did he lose his home in New Mexico, but he also lost his best friend.
07:43Taking to YouTube with a video titled, Saying Goodbye to My Best Friend, Rollins revealed
07:47that his beloved pet beagle, Bonehead, had sadly died.
07:51Looking back on their time together, Rollins revealed that Bonehead first came into his
07:55life when he and his wife, Shannon, were in Wichita Falls and two beagles started chasing
08:00their car.
08:01The pair took the dogs into their home, with Rollins quickly naming his soon-to-be best
08:04friend and giving him the nickname of the Beag.
08:07Over the years, Bonehead also became known as the YouTube channel's official taste tester.
08:12He was one of them dogs that just brought you happiness.
08:16To commemorate his loss, pal, Rollins encouraged subscribers to donate to the Humane Society
08:21of Lincoln County, which supports other rescue dogs and rescued multiple pets during the
08:25Rio Dos Sofires.
08:27Alternatively, fans could purchase a t-shirt featuring Bonehead on the design to donate
08:31to the same charity.
08:33Rollins later revealed that both efforts combined raised an impressive $53,000 for the animal
08:38rescue group, providing a silver lining to an otherwise tragic event in his life.
08:43The Beag is up there in heaven giving y'all a tail wag because he's so proud of it.
08:47When cowboy Kent Rollins isn't out on the open plains or whipping up biscuits, he also
08:51finds time to make sporadic television appearances.
08:55One of his most memorable appearances was on the Food Network's Chopped.
08:59Like all contestants, Rollins competed against three other chefs for the chance to win $10,000.
09:04While he didn't quite make the cut on his first two attempts, he was brought back for
09:08the show's Redeemed or Rechopped episode in 2013.
09:12Things started off well for the cowboy cook, who made it all the way through to the dessert
09:16stage.
09:17It was during this round that tragedy struck.
09:20Rollins was making bread pudding when he accidentally cut himself and bled into the dessert.
09:24As a result, Rollins was automatically eliminated due to the fact that the judges couldn't sample
09:28his bake.
09:29Instead, it was chef Zoe Feigenbaum who took the crown.
09:33Despite the fact that her baked Alaska was so poorly received that Judge Mark Murphy
09:37said it may have been better if she hadn't served anything.
09:41Cowboy Kent Rollins may have seemed like the perfect candidate for Netflix's barbecue showdown.
09:46The reality series sees contestants compete in a barbecue cook-off for the honor of being
09:50named the barbecue champion, and winning a cool $50,000 in the process.
09:55That's why fans were excited to hear that Rollins would compete in the show's third
09:58season in 2024.
10:01But sadly, Rollins' time on the show was brief, as he was eliminated in the fourth
10:05episode, placing seventh.
10:07In the eyes of some viewers, this was no accident.
10:10Many accused Netflix of giving Rollins unfair criticism and a severe lack of screen time.
10:15As one frustrated viewer wrote on Reddit,
10:17They did Kent Rollins so damn dirty with both the judging and the editing.
10:21He's an entertaining character and that was clearly tampered down and hidden as much as
10:25possible.
10:26A real sore point for viewers was inconsistent judging, with Rollins criticized for his liberal
10:31use of sauce, while the next contestant received praise for the exact same thing.
10:36There was also the fact that he was seemingly given the poorest ingredients, such as duck
10:40wings and fish, and the fact that he was eliminated for seasoning said fish too well.
10:45As one Redditor said,
10:47Someone had it out for Cowboy Kent.
10:49The whole season seemed scripted.
10:51While Rollins himself hasn't commented on his loss, it's safe to say that his fans have
10:55been pretty angry on his behalf.