Mechanical bulls become hot new celeb thing

By Olivia Barker
USA Today

Pop culture is grabbing the bull by the horns.

Christina Phillips of North Richland, Texas, rides one of those mechanical bulls that are enjoying renewed popularity. Associated Press

Ever-maverick Madonna gyrates atop a black-and-white computerized cowhide during her "Drowned World Tour." The five members of 'N SYNC are doing their best Bud (John Travolta's "Cowboy" character) atop five neon-eyed bulls in stadiums nationwide. Cynthia Nixon straddled one on "Sex and the City." The "Big Brother 2" crew mounted them as part of a competition.

All this arena and small-screen exposure has sent the mechanical-bull market charging. Manufacturers and vendors report wild interest from bars, clubs, county fairs and even high-school gym teachers across the United States and as far as South Korea.

Levi's has been sniffing around for bulls to use in a commercial. "Vogue" recently inquired about harnessing a hydraulic Holstein for a fashion shoot. For $4 a saddle, rhinestone- and Chloe-clad cowboys are queuing up to tame the bull at the Saddle Ranch Chop House on L.A.'s Sunset Strip. (There's a contest Monday nights.)

Four and a half years ago, Bill Beaty thought he could build a better bull "with the help of the Lord." Now his Cheyenne, Okla., company, Rockin' B Bucking Machines, has "just exploded," says his son Casey. "We're going to have to expand."

Three months ago, Rockin' B custom-created Madonna's $16,000 fiberglass bull, Jesus (named by her entourage for the plastic "Jesus"-emblazoned fish that Rockin' B plunks onto every rump). Sales have just about doubled since last year, and now they've got orders backed up through mid-December.

This summer, country duo Brooks & Dunn are renting one of Rockin' B's 1,000-pound bovine machines for concertgoers to climb aboard offstage. "One rider, he got up there and got his tooth knocked out," Casey Beaty reports. "He was an old bull rider, so I guess he didn't care." Beaty hopes to hawk the bull on eBay after the tour.

Sherwood Cryer of Deer Park, Texas, owns perhaps the most famous nuts-and-bolts bull of them all: the beast Travolta rode. (Someone offered Cryer $50,000 for the icon, but he's not returning their calls.) Cryer's business, El Toro, built the legendary bull, and after a 15-year hibernation, orders are rushing out again. He sold a herd to 'N Sync. An Argentine company is rustling El Toro bulls into their beer joints.

Cryer, the man behind Gilley's, the bar-turned-star of "Cowboy," hasn't quite figured out the reason behind the bulls' resurgence, though he suspects it might have something to do with "that girl in New York. What's her name?"

Madonna.

Cheryl Huberman, who runs a party-supply business in Indianapolis, used to get calls once a month inquiring about her mechanical bulls. Now she's fielding one a day. "All of a sudden it started going through the roof," says Huberman, who owns PartyZone Entertainment.

Bored with being near-gored? Her made-in-England bulls are actually 3-in-1 rides: The steer bodies can be swapped for shimmying surfboards or snowboards. Still, "they're not going to go hog-wild on you."