About Us - The Facts
Our History
In 1985 Robin Whincup started a rental company hiring out Bouncy Castles for children and adults. As the company grew he invested in a Gillies Bull from the USA. The Bull made good money as there wasn't many Bulls in the UK in the 1980's; the main drawback however was it took 6 men to take it out and two hours to set up & break down, it was not designed to be moved and was extremely heavy.
In 1989 whist attending the annual IAAPA exhibition Robin came across a Kodak Photo booth that was themed as a giant wave with a freestanding surf board in the centre. Being of an innovative nature Robin on his return to the UK designed a mechanical surf board "The Surf Machine". This was a lightweight portable hydraulic surf machine; his only intention was to use it for his own rental company with no intentions of getting into manufacturing, within a short period a spin motor was added so it could be used a Rodeo Bull; the Multi Ride was born.
This innovative product solved Robin's biggest headache which was the portability of the Rodeo Bull; now he was able to send a bull or surf machine out with two operators in a small van or trailer, set it up in 10 minutes and fit it into the smallest of venues; this totally transformed the mechanical bull from a curiosity into a multi purpose profit making piece of leisure equipment. .
This is where the Galaxy / Rodeo Bull Company story begins, in England in 1989.
In January 1990 whilst providing the bull & surf as entertainment at a trade show in London Robin met several potential customers who wanted to buy the Multi Ride; very quickly orders for the product were placed and the machine went into production.
As the product evolved new ride attachments were developed and the motion base was upgraded from hydraulic to all electric. The most infamous ride which was invented in 1993 was the Ride of Your Life (the sexy man & woman ride / Erotic Rodeo) this took the LIW show in Birmingham England by storm and was a huge success. Many other rides soon followed some were specifically designed for individual clients others for large blue chip companies; two of the most successful products are the drinks bottle & can, the company has made promotional bottles & cans for many beer & drinks companies.
In 1993 automatic pre-set programs and LED clocks were added to the control console and flashing eyes in the bull body in 1999 the automatic stop switch was added, and in 2007 the Soft Foam Safety head was invented the company can now boast 34 ride attachments that are available to use with the motion base.
The Rodeo Bull Company has totally re-invented the mechanical bull making it the safest of its genre in the market. Over the last 20 years we have sold over 3000 machines to 45 countries; on average our mechanical bulls are ridden by 150,000 people every week worldwide! Or to put it another way we have had more than 25 million riders on our rodeo bulls over the last 20 years!! That is some test!?
Some other companies may claim to be the leaders in the manufacture of the mechanical bull but 'leaders' do not copy other companies products as our competitors below have; just give them a call and ask them how they came up with the idea of their product and when did they first do it?
Ask them where they got the designs for their bulls, consoles & other ride attachments? We developed our Ride Off (two bulls from one controller) and Wipeout (two surf's from one controller) in 2007 at present know one has copied us but we guess someone will try eventually. You may think it doesn't matter but as most things in life you only get what you pay for.
If you want the best quality product at the most competitive price, that is backed up with a two year warranty, and will last you for years to come then there really is only one choice. Here is a timeline showing the history of our machine and the other companies that have used ours as 'inspiration' shall we say
With American becoming the number one market for mechanical bulls we decided to open a factory in 2008 in Florida. All American machines are now made in the USA with American parts, by Americans. We still continue to manufacture for the rest of the world from our factory in Harrogate, England.
There have been plenty of rumours surrounding our company, but I can confirm that everything is made in our factory in England with the exception of American machines. Nothing is made in China or India. We are a family company that has built its reputation of quality, customer service and innovation. Our Bulls are built to last, we send them to all four corners of the globe, we cannot afford for them to break down, so we make sure they don't. This year (2009) has seen us sell our three thousandth Bull.
2010 is our 20th year in business, we intend to be here for another 20
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us
Robin & Mike
Galaxy America, Unit 2, 7431 Sawyer Circle, Port Charlotte, Florida 33981, United States
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