Meet the Maker
About the Name:
At a college rodeo practice, John and his traveling partner, Justin, were talking about the great Burch bucking horse, Lunatic Fringe, and all of the offspring he had. These horses are usually rider favorites that buck hard and are fun to ride. Named after their sire, beginning with “Lunatic”, these horses have names like Lunatic High, Lunatic Bait, Lunatic Party, etc. While John and Justin were talking about this bloodline of bucking horses, Justin said, “Why don’t you call your business Lunatic Leather?!” John loved it and the name stuck.
Now after 4 years, Lunatic Leather has become a business that has fostered rodeo relationships for John. Being a rodeo cowboy himself, his experiences in the rodeo arena allows him to design custom work that is valuable to the rodeo community.
About the Artist:
After spending most of his childhood in North Carolina, John decided to venture out at the early age of 14. He moved to Colorado, where he went to high school and spent his breaks working at local ranches. One of these ranches had a leather shop, where John first started building things at age 16.
After moving north to attend the University of Wyoming, John worked in a saddle shop for four years before starting Lunatic Leather in 2019. He started riding saddle broncs in college and balanced his life between school, rodeo, and the leather shop. He graduated in 2020 with a Mechanical Engineering degree but wanted to keep his rodeo dreams alive. Building his own schedule around rodeos, he works in the leather shop full time when at home and spends as much time as he can on the rodeo trail.
