“He that will lose his life, the same shall save it,” is not a piece of mysticism for saints and heroes. It is a piece of everyday advice for sailors or mountaineers. …… He can only get away from death by continually stepping within an inch of it. He must not merely cling to life, for then he will be a coward, and will not escape. He must not merely wait for death, for then he will be a suicide, and will not escape. He must seek his life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water and yet drink death like wine.” GK Chesterton
I grew up outside Hutchinson, Kansas. It was my dream, like many other kids, to be a great rodeo cowboy. My cousin, Bobby Burger became the world champion bull rider in the late sixties. After many failed bronc and bull rides as a teenager, I realized that it was not going to be the profession for me. It did, however, teach me a lot about courage that came in very handy later in my career as a tour manager.
I never really lost my fascination with the sport of rodeo and have always been a fan of the late Lane Frost.
Country music legend Garth Brooks paid tribute to Frost in the video for his 1990 hit single “The Dance.” Rodeo announcer Randy Schmutz wrote the song “A Smile Like That” about him. The 1993 song “Red Rock” by the Smokin Armadillos” is about him, and he is mentioned at the end of the video for Korn’s 2007 song “Hold on”. Aaron Watson’s 2012 album, Real Good Time, included the single “July in Cheyenne”. Kings of Leon 2013 music video for Beautiful War pays homage to Lane Frost.
George Straight’s 1996 hit song “I Can Still Make Cheyenne” was written about Frost.
In August 1990, Frost was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1999, he was named to the PBR Heroes & Legends Celebration: Ring of Honor, the Cheyenne Frontier Hall of Fame, the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame in Fort Worth. In 2017, he was inducted into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame.
Frost’s parents have authorized Cowboy Bible: The Living New Testament, with a sketch of him on the cover. A documentary titled “The Challenge of the Champions: The Story of Lane Frost and Red Rock” premiered in 2008.
In 1994, the biopic based on Frost’s life, “8 seconds,” was released. Luke Perry played the role of Frost.
The medical team for the PBR league is named after Frost, as is the Lane Frost/Brent Thurman Award, given for the highest scoring ride at the PBR World Finals. The Lane Frost Health and Rehabilitation Center in Hugo is dedicated to his memory.
In 2014, on the 25th anniversary of Frost’s death, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle published as part of its coverage of Cheyenne Frontier Days an article recalling the highlights of his career and his character. His friend, Cody Lambert, is quoted: “I’m a John Wayne fan, and I don’t mean any disrespect to John Wayne, but he played the characters that Lane really was.” Sage Kimzey, the champion bull rider from Stong City, Oklahoma, said: “He’s the guy every young bull rider wants to grow up and be like.” Tuff Hedeman compared Frost’s death to that of James Dean: “gone way too soon.
After surviving an accident on the last lap of the 2015 coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, Nascar Sprint Cup Series driver Austin Dillon waved to the crowd, with a similar gesture to that of Frost. He later said it was in tribute to Frost.