HOUSTON — Meet one of the longest-running performers in RodeoHouston history.
Right in the middle of the modern-day Wild West, one man has stood the test of time, all with his unmistakable laugh and a signature smile.
"Your face is your identity," said RodeoHouston clown Leon Coffee.
For five decades, Coffee has been entertaining fans and both protecting and impacting the lives of others. And while you'll often find him in a barrel, this cowboy knows the Rodeo because he's lived it himself.
"I'm going a cowboy on my whole life," he said. "I went to the high school finals in bull riding and bareback riding. It's been a lot."
For the last 50 years, Coffee has had a seat unlike any other to the sports evolution.
"There's so many really, really talented young contestants in every event," he said.
But it's hardly all fun and games.
"You've got 1,800 pounds of master beef running at you, going 40 miles an hour," he said.
The perceived danger has handed Coffey some very real consequences.
"I've had 143 different breaks and a lot of them two or three times," Coffee said. "The whole right side of my face is all plastic and wire. They had to rebuild all that."
But Coffee is still standing tall.
"I learned from school hard knocks," he said. "They hit you one way, you get up and go back the other way if you can get up."
Every night in front of packed houses, he continues to bring the energy, carrying with him the most important piece of advice there is.
"You better make the right move," he said.
It's a career where he's certainly made a lot of those.
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