Taking a look into the life of PRCA Announcer Reed Flake
Every year, the town of Snowflake, Arizona celebrates its pioneer days on the 24th of July. And that celebration just wouldn’t be the same without local PRCA celebrity and professional rodeo announcer Reed Flake.
Deep Rodeo Roots
Reed’s uncle Keith was responsible for Snowflake’s pioneer day rodeo for years, and he eventually asked Keith if he’d be willing to work as the announcer. Reed says, “I think I’ve been doing it for probably 30 years. My granddad used to announce rodeos… My granddaddy did it, then my dad did it, and I used to help my dad a little bit.
Over the years, Reed’s love for rodeo announcing has only grown. “I think what I really like about announcing is the response of the crowd,” Reed says “...When you’ve got them right there in the palm of your hand you almost feel like a rock star because everybody’s just responding to what you do, to what the music does, to what the cowboys are doing… I kind of have goosebumps a little bit right now just talking about it.”
Roping, Riding, and Raising Cows and Kids
Reed hasn’t only been on the outside of the arena fence. He’s also done a lot of roping. “But,” he admits, “I think the shift for me is now to ranching. I really enjoy ranching. We’ve ranched all of our lives. My great great grandfather settled this valley that [my wife] Amy and I live in and that we’ve raised our family in.”
Reed claims his greatest joy, however, comes from his family. He says, “You know, when I think about my family I think first off about my wife and how good of a woman she is. She puts into our marriage 200%. With Amy and I raising our kids it wasn’t easy, and money was tight, [but] we made a lot of memories and we had a lot of fun.”
Cowboy YouTuber
Reed and his Uncle Keith launched their own YouTube Channel, Rodeo Video, just three years ago, and they now have over 163,000 followers. Reed says, “It seems funny now because if I don’t have a camera in my hand filming something that we’re doing it’s almost like I’m missing something.”
His channel has earned him quite a bit of fame. “There’s… hardly any place we go that somebody doesn’t recognize us and come up and talk to us. And to us, you know, we are the ones that feel like we’re blessed by being able to meet them.” Reed adds how grateful he and his family are for their followers: “That they watch, that they keep watching, and that they support what we’re doing and appreciate it.”
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