Background
Smets was born in Palo Alto, California to Bill and Ebe Smets.
Smets was born in Palo Alto, California to Bill and Ebe Smets.
After returning to the United States as a teenager, he lived in San Martin, California and attended Palma High School in Salinas.
As a child, he lived in Thailand, Singapore, Puerto Rico, and Australia. He entered high school rodeos starting in his sophomore year. In 2012, Rob Smets starred in Jagermeister"s critically acclaimed A Stronger Bond television and digital campaign created by the award-winning advertising agency Mistress.
While bull riding as a teenager, Smets taunted some of the bullfighters for not protecting riders well enough after the riders fell.
They challenged him to try being a bullfighter himself, which he did. He made a name for himself early on, distracting bulls after riders had fallen, so the riders could leave the ring safely.
During the 19 years of the Wrangler Jeans World Bullfighting Championship from 1981–2000, Smets was a top-6 finisher 17 times. Rob was inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in April 2010.
During his bullfighting career, Smets was injured many times, including suffering a broken neck three times, in 1992, 1996, and 2006.
Although these injuries often paralyze people who suffer them, Smets" main problem from them is limited motion in his neck. He retired from bullfighting in 2006, after breaking his neck for the third time. Smets has also been gored by a bull"s horn and has broken a legal
They live on a ranch in Merkel, Texas.