Grit & Grace: Osman Alvarez & The Bear in the Bag

Grit & Grace Journal: The Bear in the Bag and the Refusal of "What If"

Lee Kemp

Every Moment Is A Choice Studio

     The hardest hits in this sport don’t always happen in the dirt, and the heaviest weight a rider carries isn't always the 2,000-pound animal in the chute. Sometimes, the heaviest weight is a five-year-old’s stuffed animal riding shotgun in a gear bag.

    There is a deeply ingrained culture in the western world that demands silent stoicism. We are taught to cowboy up, to hide our exhaustion, and to measure our strength by our ability to suffer without complaining. But as we’ve discussed in this journal before, that specific brand of silence is costing us lives.

    True grit requires a different kind of strength entirely. It takes a massive amount of mental fortitude to walk into an arena where you don’t speak the language, where you don’t know a single soul, and where the bulls are built to break you.

    Osman Alvarez knows exactly what that isolation feels like, and it is exactly why he is the focus of this week's journal.

    Currently pulling his rope across the country in the Bull Riders Canada series, and carrying the distinction of being the only Nicaraguan bull rider to make it to the PBR, Osman didn't just cross borders; he crossed into a completely different caliber of the sport. When he first arrived in North America, he was the ultimate outsider stepping into one of the tightest-knit brotherhoods on earth.

    "The hardest situation for me has always been leaving my daughters back home and being away from them," Osman reflects. "When I came here, I didn't know anyone. I just came with some cash in my pocket and searched for a few rodeos, and just went from there. Luckily, I met people, got a job, and kept pushing. But not knowing anyone and facing the challenge of a different country was really hard. I was the new guy from somewhere else. I even remember at my first rodeo, no one wanted to pull my rope. The bullfighters had to help me."

The Bear in the Bag

    The isolation of being the new guy in a different country pales in comparison to the quiet, crushing weight of missing your family. Behind the adrenaline, the buckles, and the stadium lights is a father fighting to provide. And tucked away in his riding bag—traveling through Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, the USA, and now Canada—is a small Pooh Bear.

    A core philosophy of Every Moment Is A Choice Studio is that it is okay to be soft in a tough sport. That philosophy isn't just a tagline; it is a survival mechanism. It is the ability to hold onto your humanity in an environment that constantly tries to knock it out of you. Osman is the living embodiment of that.

    "My daughter was five years old the first time I headed to the USA to ride bulls," he says. "She gave it to me and said, ‘Here Dad, my backpack, so it takes care of you.’ My heart broke in pieces, knowing I could die riding bulls, and my little baby is giving me her little Pooh bear to take care of me. It was hard for me, but hey, I do anything for them. I have them in that bear with me fighting every time I ride. They are my strength. I’ve been hurt, broken bones, and been alone with broken pockets, not knowing what to do the next day or how I’m even going to make it. But I know I’ve got them waiting for me and depending on me. So even when I can't get up, I will do it for them."

Wrecks and the Brotherhood

    Making it to the Canadian circuit required a massive physical adjustment. The traditional bulls Osman grew up riding in Nicaragua were mean, but the modern stock in the North American arenas are a different breed of rank. He had to adjust his style, practice harder, and completely rebuild his physical conditioning just to be able to cover them.

    But the hardest wrecks don't always happen on the clock. Two years ago, a collision with a deer near Rocky Mountain House resulted in a burned-out vehicle and the complete loss of all his riding gear. In a sport that tests your breaking point daily, it is the moments outside the arena that often determine if a rider packs it in.

    It takes a village to keep us alive, and the western brotherhood stepped in. Fellow rider Clark Shopa took him in, giving him a place to stay and proving that the community out here looks after its own when the chips are down. With Chad Newfield as his traveling partner, Osman found his footing in Innisfail and Olds and got back to the BRC series.

The Chills and the Refusal of "What If"

    When you sit behind the chutes and watch these athletes prepare, you are watching a silent mental war. You have to conquer your own mind before you can even think about conquering the animal. When asked how he maintains his focus through the injuries, the empty pockets, and the sheer distance from his girls, his answer serves as a blueprint for anyone standing on the edge of quitting.

    "I focus on something I saw once in a book: The challenge starts when you get out of your comfort zone. I already made it to Canada. I am not in Nicaragua sitting around watching the sport channel, looking at rodeos on TV—I am competing in them. I dare many riders to get out of their countries, pack just a riding bag, and make it the way I've done it. That is my mental strength. I don't care what happens when I call the gate. Just making it here is a real challenge for me, so I can do anything because I already made it this far."

    Now, when the announcer calls his name over the loudspeakers, the chills hit him. He isn't just riding for himself; he is representing a small village in Nicaragua on the big screens of Canada. His dream now is simple: to bring his daughters up here and take them to the dirt in Rimbey, Alberta, to show them exactly where their dad made his stand.

    We lose too many men to silence in this world. We lose them to the exhaustion of trying to be invincible. But if you want to know what real, unfiltered grit looks like, look at the guy carrying his daughter’s stuffed bear into the fire.

    "I will tell all the young generations something that has helped me a lot," Osman says. "Do not stay with the 'What if.' Just do it. If you fail, keep trying. Because when the time passes, you won't have regrets. Keep on going till the end of your days."

#Bullriderscanada #PBR #Winniethepooh #PoohBear #OsmanAlvarez #BullRider #Everymomentisachoice #EMIACStudio