PBR bull rider/ninja warrior competes at Germain Arena

Venn Johns might have the coolest job description on the planet: Bull rider, American ninja warrior.

If that doesn’t impress you, how about this: He’s also a black belt in karate and Brazilian jiu jitsu, a former U.S. gymnastics team member and a professional MMA fighter.

But right now, Johns is focused on bull riding  — still his biggest and deepest love. That’s what brings him to Germain Arena this weekend, when he competes against other bull riders in the PBR Pro Touring Division.

Nothing beats the challenge and adrenaline rush of man versus beast, Johns says.

“It’s a fine line of balance and physics and fear and making your body do what it doesn’t want to naturally do,” Johns says. “That test you put yourself through every time you get on a bull is the most extreme feeling in life that I’ve ever had.

“I’ve sky dived, SCUBA dived, cliff jumped, bungee jumped. I’ve flown a plane. I’ve done barrel rolls, done eight G's. I’ve done a lot of things. And riding bulls is just the ultimate for me.”

Still, Johns is 43 years old and knows he can’t ride bulls forever. That’s why he’s building a bull riding/ninja gym at home in Bixby, Oklahoma. The gym will be stocked with everything from “American Ninja Warrior”-style obstacles to mechanical bulls for practicing his bull-riding skills.

More: Cape Coral teacher moves on to 'American Ninja Warrior' finals

Johns plans to train and return to “American Ninja Warrior” next season. He competed on the show’s July 17 episode and didn’t move on. But he’s working hard to make sure he does better next time.

Eventually, though, he says he’ll be training a younger generation of bull riders and ninja warriors, instead.

“I’m a little bit older,” he says. “I’m the oldest PBR rider, anyways. Everybody knows that you can’t ride bulls your entire life, but I’ve been fortunate enough and healthy enough to maintain this lifestyle for as long as I have.

“But I, too, realize I can’t do this forever. So having a ninja/bull riding gym is an OK next step for me.”

Johns was 25 years old when he first got on a bull. A friend at his karate gym was into bull riding, he says.

“I said, ‘What do I have to do to get into that? That sounds like fun!'" he recalls. "So he took me out and put me on four bulls, and I rode ‘em all.

"And that’s how it started. That’s all I wanted to do from that point forward, every weekend.”

For years, Johns says, he had a hard time pinpointing why he loves bull riding so much. Now he has an answer ready whenever people ask.

“It’s not just that it’s man versus beast and me conquering the beast,” he says. “I mean, that’s totally what I am. I’m a conqueror. I want to conquer everything, whether it’s a bull or a ninja course or a jiu jitsu gym. Whatever it is, I wanna conquer it.”

But there’s more to it than that, he says. There’s the physics and physiology of bull riding. There’s the adrenaline rush, the chaos, the split-second decision making.

“It’s an uncontrollable, controlled environment,” Johns says.

He also likes the challenge of making his body do what it doesn’t want to do. When a bull’s head rears up and threatens to hit you in the face with its horns, your natural instinct is to pull away. But a bull rider has to clamp down and keep on riding.

“You have to be able to be strong in weird positions and be able to move in those weird positions,” Johns says. “And that’s a very odd thing: Having core strength and being able to hang onto something and control your body at the same time.”

Some of those skills transferred to his time on “American Ninja Warrior." But there’s one HUGE difference between the two sports —  and Johns has the scars to prove it.

 “If you fall in the obstacle course, you fall in the water and that’s it,” he says. “You just get up and get out.

“But if you fall in bull riding, you’re not done yet. You have to save your life and get to the fence and get up. So there’s a little bit of life and death difference.”

Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells (News-Press) (Facebook), @charlesrunnells (Twitter), @crunnells1 (Instagram)

If you go

What: PBR Pro Touring Division

When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Where: Germain Arena, 11000 Everblades Parkway, Estero

Tickets: $15- $77 (plus $15 for parking)

Info: 948-7825 or germainarena.com