Rob Smets

Robert Edward "Rob" Smets (born September 11, 1959, Palo Alto, California), known professionally as The Kamikaze Kid, is an American former professional rodeo bullfighter.
Biography.
Smets was born in Palo Alto, California to Bill and Ebe Smets. As a child, he lived in Thailand, Singapore, Puerto Rico, and Australia. After returning to the United States as a teenager, he lived in San Martin, California and attended Palma High School in Salinas. He entered high school rodeos starting in his sophomore year.
In 2012, Rob Smets starred in Jägermeister's "A Stronger Bond" television and digital campaign.
Career.
While bull riding as a teenager, Smets taunted some of the bullfighters for not protecting riders well enough after the riders fell. They challenged him to try being a bullfighter himself, which he did. He made a name for himself early on, distracting bulls after riders had fallen, so the riders could leave the ring safely. During the 20 years of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo World Bullfighting Championship from 1981–2000, Smets was a top-6 finisher 17 times. He also won the championship 5 times, a record. He is an 8-time Professional Bull Riders (PBR) World Finals Bullfighter (1994-1995, 2000-2005). At the 2001 PBR World Finals, Smets no longer wore his traditional rodeo clown outfit and began wearing a sport jersey and shorts that featured his sponsors’ logos. This was the blueprint for future PBR bullfighter outfits as in 2003, all bullfighters in the organization would stop wearing traditional rodeo clown outfits and make-up and trade them for sport jerseys and shorts with corporate sponsor logos. In subsequent years, many bullfighters in other organizations would also adopt the sport jersey and shorts look, but keep their make-up. In 2006, Smets was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. He was also inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in April 2010. Also, he was the inaugural recipient of the : Jim Shoulders Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. In 2017, Smets was inducted into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame in the Bull Fighters category. 
Smets was also a stock contractor, although he only owned one bull. But that one bull was a highly ranked PBR bucking bull, #80 Jeremiah. The bull's full name is Jeremiah 33:3 for the bible verse. Jeremiah was active from 2013 to 2017 and began bucking on the elite Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) circuit in 2014. In 2015, Jeremiah was chosen as a world champion bull contender at the 2015 PBR BFTS World Finals.
Injuries.
During his bullfighting career, Smets was injured many times, including suffering a broken neck three times, in 1992, 1996, and 2006. Although these injuries often paralyze people who suffer them, Smets' main problem from them is limited motion in his neck. He retired from bullfighting in 2006, after breaking his neck for the third time. Smets has also been gored by a bull's horn and has broken a leg.
Personal.
Smets and his wife, Carla, married in 1993, and they have four daughters, Corey, Dylan, Josie, and Sammy. They live on a ranch in Merkel, Texas. Rob Smets is a Christian who evangelizes on his public Facebook page and on the public Facebook page he created for his bucking bull, Jeremiah 33:3.