Trailblazer! Shannon Rollins on Reinventing the Cowboy Brand—and Her Real Ranch Life With Kent (EXCLUSIVE)
The 'Cast Iron Cowboy' star opens up on life, trail cooking and growing a brand with husband Kent Rollins
Shannon Rollins is ready to share her side of the story. In an exclusive interview with Woman’s World, the wife of celebrity chef Kent Rollins opens up about how she broke through the mold and became an entrepreneur all on her own. She also shares some behind-the-scenes secrets about life on the trail and what filming their lives is really like. Read on for more.
Shannon Rollins on life with cowboy chef Kent Rollins
Shannon and Kent may have a 25-year age gap between them, but that hasn’t prevented the duo from continuing to honor the Rollins brand of living life outside on the trail—something that people have loved about them for years.
“We were filming in the middle of nowhere—just a chuck wagon, some wind and a long stretch of West Texas sky. The WiFi was gone, the schedule had blown away with the dust and I remember thinking, ‘This is where we do our best work,’” Shannon shared. “Kent had done quite a bit of food TV and we were always being approached by producers and networks to have our own show, but it never felt authentic or the right fit.”
“Taking tiny bites is the way to finish the whole meal”
“I put out a YouTube video casually for some promotion, but didn’t think much about it. It gained some views, so I put out a few more,” she continued. “As those picked up, it dawned on me, ‘We could create our own content, built around our brand that was true to ourselves, without sacrificing anything. That’s when our whole business model started to change. “
With those changes came a lot of challenges, though, among them making sure that they were sticking to what their fans have come to know and love about them, especially since they have a new show, Cast Iron Cowboy.
How ‘Cast Iron Cowboy’ brings trail cooking to fans
“The biggest challenge was learning how to grow our brand without losing the authenticity that started it—cooking outdoors, under the sky, the way Kent always has,” Shannon said. “It is tricky for me to play a dual role as a camp cook while also capturing content. There is a balance on keeping those separate to some extent. When ranch cooking, I am fully immersed in that and can take some behind-the-scenes shots.”
“But when it comes to filming full episodes, that has a separate place,” she continued. “That’s what has been nice about the Cast Iron Cowboy series, is that I can step more back into the role of camp cook while production is able to capture how Kent and I work together feeding cowboys on working ranches.”
“It’s about relishing the time that you actually can disconnect and lean into that”
Another challenge is, of course, having access to things like WiFi and electricity on the trail, both of which are essential when it comes to having an online brand. But Shannon said they never worry about it because, “It’s all in the planning. If we know we are going to be out of pocket for an extended time, we just have all our content and needs planned out and scheduled ahead of time.”
“We also have a small team that understands our brand, is loyal and is the backbone of our business,” she added. “But really, it’s about relishing the time that you actually can disconnect and lean into that.”
Shannon’s top tips for women in business—and how to stay motivated
For those wanting to create their own business and have a brand, Rollins says she highly recommends it and even shared some advice.
“The beauty of building your own business is that you can design it around the life you love. Being an entrepreneur means you are leaning into your passion, so it’s less like work,” she said. “Start small, stay consistent and don’t wait until you have everything figured out. You will continually make mistakes, but progress beats perfection every time. Taking tiny bites is the way to finish the whole meal.”
“Also, keep in mind your dreams and goals will constantly change as you are building your business and it may take you into a totally different direction than you thought, but trust your gut and stay authentic,” she concluded.
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