Paulo Crimber’s Real-Life American Dream
By: Andrew Ginagola
On Tuesday, June 27, 2023, Paulo Crimber, alongside his wife Maria, experienced one of their greatest days.
Early in the morning, they stood in a government office in Plano, Texas, among 800 others, raised their right hands, and recited the U.S. Oath of Allegiance.
Then they sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Paulo and Maria Crimber were now American citizens.
“Man, it feels like a dream come true,” Crimber said. “This country has welcomed us and gave us so many opportunities. God took care of every moment.”
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Crimber, who first set foot in America 25 years ago, grew up in Olímpia, SP, a small town in Brazil five hours outside São Paulo. There were always horses and cattle around, and he’d watch American Westerns, awestruck at the strong, honorable cowboys.
When he was 7, Crimber attended a bull riding event, setting him on a path towards Plano on Tuesday.
“I saw a bull rider, and I was just dreaming and imagining myself doing that,” he said.
The young boy would milk cows and ride calves in the pasture. At 14, he competed in an amateur rodeo. By 16, he was winning professional events.
At 18, he won the first round at the storied Barretos event, qualifying for the PBR World Finals. He was – and still is – the youngest Brazilian ever to appear at the sport’s marquee event.
In a PBR career where he’d ride more than half his bulls, going 283-for-554 (51%) and winning five events, Crimber would qualify for World Finals nine additional times.
While fellow Brazilian Adriano Moraes had come to the U.S. to win the PBR’s first World Championship four years earlier, Crimber left his home country for more than championship riches and glory.
“I grew up loving the cowboys and the whole Western culture in America,” he said.
In his profession and beyond, he appreciated how those working the hardest seemed to be rewarded the most.
“I feel like an American at heart, even before the citizenship,” Crimber said. “It’s really the land of opportunity. There are so many opportunities here if you work hard and respect the law and your community and the country. I love to be part of this nation.”
For three years following that first World Finals appearance, Crimber would split time between the U.S. and Brazil. In 2001, while injured and recovering in Brazil, he met Maria.
Patient and kind, yet also tough and determined, Maria understood the hard-to-fathom mindset of a bull rider.
She left everything in Brazil behind to come to the U.S. for Paulo to live his dream. She remains his rock, his everything.
The couple settled near Fort Worth and now have two children, John and Helena.
In 2004, Crimber, with a broken hand, finished third at the PBR World Finals and then won the NFR in Las Vegas. He was able to buy a home in Decatur, Texas, setting down roots and impacting the sport in ways he’d never imagined.
Today, nearly 50 Brazilian bull riders live in the Decatur area. Crimber estimates approximately 40 have stayed at his house at one time or another.
It’s common to hear of cookouts, soccer matches, and practice bull ridings at the ranches of Silvano Alves, Jose Vitor Leme, Kaique Pacheco – six gold buckles among them.
“These guys appreciate being here to make a better life for their families,” Crimber said. “We are a family here when we are so far away from our families in Brazil.”
Now 43, Crimber has become an avuncular figure, helping dozens of Brazilian riders coming through Texas. They stay in his house, rent-free. They get help with their travel and rodeo entry fees. Crimber shuttles them to surgery and rehab. He translates and teaches them English.
When Amadeu Campos Silva was killed in a freak bull riding accident in Fresno, California, in the summer of 2021, Crimber made all arrangements for his body to be transferred. He picked the coffin for the 22-year-old and delivered his burial clothes.
In moments of tragedy or triumph, Maria does for the wives what Paulo has been doing for the cowboys, her service, love, and friendship coming from her heart just the same.
“We are a community. We help each other out,” Crimber said. “We feel good about it, glad to have the guys here. Everyone is humble. They come from simple families trying to have a better life. PBR gives us the chance to dream big and be part of something special – the chance to dream for a better life in a great country.”
Crimber’s full-time bull riding career ended prematurely at 28 after he broke his C1 vertebra twice in one season.
He had been world No. 1 early in 2008 and would sit for five months after the first time he landed on his head.
Crimber returned to action in Orlando, and his first out was disastrous. He ended up underneath a bull called Rough Neck, again breaking his C1 along with his collarbone and sternum.
Doctors took bone off his hip to fuse the C1 and C2 vertebrae. He slept in a recliner for six months.
“My career ended short,” he reflected. “I am happy with everything. You always want to do what you love, but God found another path. It took me a while to see that.”
He transitioned into cowboy daywork to feed the family. Then PBR CEO Sean Gleason huddled with Director of Livestock Cody Lambert and SVP Competition Jay Daugherty to give him a shot at judging. Crimber progressed so fast that he judged at the World Finals in 2010.
The following season, he decided to ride again – not to prove anything to himself or doctors who may say riding bulls with a fused spine isn’t exactly the world’s best idea. It was for his son John.
“He’s so passionate about bull riding,” Crimber said. “I wanted him to see me ride.”
John Crimber took it all in and is now a phenom – an amateur Sydney Crosby of sorts for the sport of bull riding. All eyes are on him heading toward the 2024 PBR Teams Draft.
John turns 18 on August 11. Paulo has his calendar marked for the next day, when his son will be competing at his first PBR Challenger Series event at La Bahia Fairgrounds in Goliad, Texas.
Among the many hats he’s worn, Crimber has also served as PBR’s official translator and was Chute Boss during the 2023 Unleash The Beast season.
And now, PBR Teams provides one more opportunity as he shares coaching duties with Colby Yates for the Arizona Ridge Riders, a talent-stacked team with legitimate hopes for the 2023 Teams Championship.
Compared to when Crimber rode, learning on his own, the team format gives the riders many more resources.
“The Teams idea is genius – the best one I’ve ever heard in the sport,” he said. “It’s going to take PBR far. It’s the future, and I’m so glad to have my son have this when he turns professional.”
Until then, Crimber says, “I feel like we’re going to bring the (Teams) trophy home this year to Arizona.”
And so, the unique ride in professional bull riding for a proud American citizen continues in a very special talent-rich enclave in Texas as he guides the next generation of riders, including a son who may grow to be one of the sport’s biggest stars.
Along with his rock Maria, Crimber credits the sport in a faraway dreamed-about land for his many blessings, John and Helena chief among them.
“This is the place we always wanted to live,” he said. “We love this country. PBR and Sean gave me and Maria so much and gave so much to so many guys. I owe my life and all this to PBR. I really mean that.”
Andrew Giangola is the author of Love & Try: Stories of Gratitude and Grit in Professional Bull Riding, available on PBRShop.com, with proceeds benefitting injured bull riders.
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