Zachary Naegele is a 24-year-old from Greensburg, Louisiana. But his story doesn't start with championships or near-death experiences. It starts with a rough upbringing and a church that changed everything.

At 15 years old, Zachary walked onto the property of Cross Brand Cowboy Church in Loranger, Louisiana—a church where ministry happens through bull riding.

That place bucked him out of his old life and thrust him onto the back of a 2,000-pound bull.

"This place, this church, all my friends and family. Louisiana is home."

The church does ministry through bull riding. After the bulls, riders come inside to learn about God.

Bull riding isn't just physically demanding—it's expensive. Zachary has traveled to 42 states chasing his dream.

Zachary had driven 11 hours to compete in Palmetto, Florida. He'd been riding bulls for nearly a decade, was close to earning his PBR card, and had just won the Shelby County Invitational two weeks earlier.

That night, he drew a bull he knew. He was excited since that specific bull could win him the round. But in a split second, everything changed.

During the 20-minute ambulance ride:

• He felt himself losing breath, going in and out of consciousness
• He lost so much blood that his vision went completely black
• All he could do was listen to the EMT telling him to keep breathing
• Right before reaching the hospital, he felt himself taking his last breath and blacked out

"They couldn't feel a pulse in my neck or arm anymore but could feel one in my foot so they kept trying. I lost so much blood, I thought I wasn't going to make it."

After his condition stabilized, Zachary underwent emergency surgery to have his carotid artery removed and tied off to re grow and the nerves in his neck reattached.

But Zachary didn't just survive. He decided to come back stronger.

15 Hours After Surgery

Zachary checked himself out of the ICU and drove straight home to Louisiana—with a drain tube still in his neck.

The Next 12 Weeks

Recovery was brutal:

• Had to chew with his head turned sideways
• Had to swallow multiple times with the help of a drink or food would get stuck
• Dealt with constant pain and the mental battle
• Nerve damage that made his appearance and the right side of his face, togue, lips, and his throats esophagus without feeling and disfigured
• Completely afraid and avoiding mirror reflections of himself while simultaneously thinking he might be stuck looking like that for the rest of his life

May 30, 2025: Back Where It All Began

Just over 3 months after nearly dying, Zachary got back on a bull—at Cross Brand Cowboy Church. The same place where his journey began at 15. The place that saved him.

Zachary knows what it's like to face impossible odds. To hear the doubters. To literally fight for your life.

But he also knows what it's like to get back up.

That's exactly what LTD is about.

In 2026, we're launching a mobile app where you can join sport-specific teams, compete for prizes, attend adventure meetups, and win all-expenses-paid trips. and you can learn all about that in our road map page!

We're building a community of winners who've faced setbacks, trials, critics, or even health issues and yet still refuses to quit. If your life is easy, then you're truly not living up to your greatest potential God has for you by not doing enough with it and staying in your comfort zone!

Because when we cut out the fluff and begin to tell each other the harsh truth, the ugly side of things, the part you keep avoiding and making excuses for. That's the side fear likes to disguise itself in and YOU have to destroy that poor pitiful me mindset but once YOU do then there's nothing YOU can't accomplish.

"If I was blessed enough to survive, and despite it all come back to ride again, before I was supposed to even think about getting on again—you can overcome whatever you're facing too."

"LTD is for everyone who's been told they can't. Who's faced impossible odds. For everyone who refuses to quit."

"Prove them all wrong. But during the process be damn sure to have proved yourself right."

- Zachary Naegele, Founder of LTD