Some people grow up in the cowboy life. Others spend years figuring out how to find their way into it. For Skyler Golden, it wasn’t a straight road, but it was always the destination.
Skyler was born in Tucson, Arizona, where ranching and the western way of life were part of the landscape. But like a lot of people drawn to the lifestyle, he didn’t grow up directly in it. His path would take a few turns before it led him to the saddle.
After graduating high school, Skyler joined the U.S. Army, serving four years. Like many veterans, when his service ended he found himself facing the same question a lot of people do: What now?
At the time, cowboying wasn’t the answer yet. Instead, he went into business starting a series of health-focused restaurants. It was a completely different world from the ranch life he lives today, but it was where he was putting his energy and building his future.
Then 2021 changed everything.
When the COVID shutdowns hit, Skyler’s restaurants were forced to close. Years of work came to a sudden halt, leaving him at a crossroads. Instead of trying to rebuild the same path, he took a risk. With the money he had left, he bought four horses.
“I knew it could’ve been a stupid decision,” Skyler says. “But I also knew I’d figure it out along the way.”
So he did. He started small, offering guided trail rides through the Arizona desert, riding through washes and open country with guests who wanted to experience the land from horseback. What began as a leap of faith turned into two years of building a small outfitting business. Before long, those rides evolved into overnight packing trips, where Skyler would guide people deeper into the desert and backcountry, sleeping under the stars and living the kind of life he had always imagined.
It was during those early years of figuring things out that he came to rely on gear that could hold up when conditions turned. On one trip into Arizona’s White Mountains, he picked up an Outback Low Rider Duster from Boot Barn, something that, as he puts it, “looked like it came straight out of Tombstone.”
That trip turned into days of relentless rain, from the moment they arrived until the day they left. “It kept me dry the whole time,” he says. “And it lasted me for years.”
For someone who was spending more and more time outside, that mattered. But even as his outfitting business grew, something was still pulling at him.
“I always wanted to be a cowboy,” he says. “I just didn’t know where to start.”
Finding a Way In
Like a lot of people who weren’t born into ranching, the hardest part wasn’t wanting the life, it was figuring out how to break into it. Skyler started where many aspiring cowboys do: Ranch World Ads, scanning listings and considering applying. But there was always one line in the postings that stopped him cold. No wannabes.
Without a background in ranching, it was intimidating. But eventually he found an opportunity that felt like a foothold. A small outfit in Arizona running about 60–80 head of cattle also operated a horse boarding facility, and Skyler took a chance and applied. That was his foot in the door.
While he built confidence working there, he continued running his trail and packing trips on the side. Then one day, a chance meeting at a general store changed things for him. Skyler struck up a conversation with a cow boss. Before they parted ways, Skyler asked for his number, putting himself out there in a way that took some nerve.
Nearly a year later, he called. That call led to an opportunity on a ranch in New Mexico. Skyler showed up ready to learn. Not long after he arrived, he was told he’d be stepping into a position left by someone moving on. Luckily, he was able to learn from a seasoned cowboy who helped show him the ropes.
“That year changed everything,” Skyler says. “It gave me the confidence to know I could do this.”
Today, that confidence has carried him across the West. Over the past five years, he’s worked cattle across Oregon, Wyoming, and Arizona, building experience the same way most cowboys do. One long day in the saddle at a time. Now Skyler is based in Montana, leasing a ranch and day-ranching throughout the area while continuing to build a future in the life he chased.
He calls it building his own legacy.
Where It All Started
Long before he bought those first horses, Skyler found a connection to horses in an unexpected way. As a child, he survived a severe burn injury that left 30% of his body burned. During his recovery, he attended a burn survivors camp in Prescott, Arizona, where horseback riding was part of the program. From the ages of 6 to 17, he returned every year eager to ride. Every year, he rode, and those rides left a mark.
“I knew back then that I wanted to do something with horses,” he says.
Years later, that early connection would quietly guide him back to the life he now lives.
A Life That Looks Different Up Close
From the outside, ranch life can look romantic, wide open country, horses, sunsets over the hills. But Skyler is quick to point out that most people only see about one percent of what the job really is.
“People think it’s horseback riding and sunsets,” he says. “But it’s doctoring cows, flies, long days in the saddle, and getting the job done whether it’s raining, snowing, or blowing.”
The animals rely on you, no matter the conditions. Right now, as winter breaks into spring, the work revolves around feeding cattle and keeping water running. Soon enough, calving season will arrive. Long days and longer nights making sure newborn calves and their mothers are safe.
Then comes branding season, one of the most communal traditions in ranching. Neighboring outfits gather to help one another work cattle, share meals, and keep the rhythm of ranch life moving forward.
After that, cattle will be moved to new country, and the long season of riding really begins. During the busiest stretches, Skyler can spend months sleeping outside in his bedroll, moving with the work. For him, it’s exactly where he wants to be.
Brotherhood and Hard Lessons
Skyler says his time in the military prepared him for more than he realized at the time.
“When I first signed up, I had a moment where I thought, what did I get myself into?” he says.
But that experience taught him something that translated directly into cowboy life: brotherhood, structure, and responsibility.
“There are a lot of parallels,” he says. “Seeing what needs to be done and just doing it.”
That same mindset helped him push through one of the hardest parts of becoming a cowboy: starting without a background in the life. Without mentors early on, Skyler often felt like he was hitting dead ends.
“There were times I felt like I didn’t belong,” he says.
Eventually, he found the people who were willing to show him the ropes, and that made all the difference. Even today, he says the cowboys he rides with are still his biggest inspiration.
“They’re incredible at what they do,” he says. “Sometimes they’ll let me rope, and I’m still learning every year. I look up to those guys.”
Most of them, he adds, will never be on social media.
“They’re the real deal, the unseen side of cowboying.”
Sharing the Life
Ironically, while Skyler spends much of his life away from cell service, he’s also built a large following online. Under the handle @getwesternn, he shares pieces of cowboy life with more than 523k followers, offering a fun and light glimpse into the reality of ranch work most people never see.
It started almost by accident. During 2020, while his restaurants were struggling, Skyler posted a video of himself breaking a horse in the water and riding out across the land. The video went viral. Today, that platform helps support the life Skyler is building.
Five years ago, Skyler was just beginning to figure out if cowboying was even possible. Today, he’s living the life he once dreamed about. But he’s not done building.
In the next few years, he hopes to purchase his own ranch and continue growing Get Western Coffee Co., a small-batch coffee brand built around the same western lifestyle he shares with his audience. His goal is simple: build something real.
A brand that reflects the work, the grit, and the authenticity of the West.
Advice for the Next Generation
For anyone who dreams about stepping into the cowboy life (especially those who didn’t grow up in it) Skyler has one piece of advice:
“Don’t quit. This lifestyle weeds out the people who don’t want it,” he says. “You’re going to get discouraged. You’re going to feel embarrassed. But embarrassment is an under-explored emotion.”
The only way through it is to keep showing up.
“Just keep learning,” he says. “Go try. Do it again. And keep doing it until you can.”
Because if Skyler’s story proves anything, it’s that sometimes the long way around is the one that gets you exactly where you were meant to be.