 A devout Catholic who lists his favorite book as the Bible and the late Pope John Paul II as a personal idol, he is also a member of the Cancão Nova missionary community in Brazil.He and his wife opened a Canção Nova mission in Texas.He chose to ride only half of the 1998 PBR season in order to participate in a religious mission in Brazil, but nonetheless finished fourteenth in that year's PBR standings, despite suffering another broken leg in the middle of the season.