CARL DOUGLAS JNR — REMEMBER THE NAME
Carl Douglas Jnr is just 11 years old, a young bull rider from Kowanyama in Far North Queensland who is already making his mark well beyond home.
In 2025, Carl travelled halfway around the world to compete at the World Finals in Utah, where he finished third in the finals and seventh in the world — an extraordinary achievement for a young rider still at the beginning of his journey.
I photographed Carl competing in the PBR Juniors, where young riders get one ride and one chance. Carl made his count, staying aboard beyond the full eight seconds.
But what interested me was more than those eight seconds. It was the young bloke before and after the ride — the concentration, the calm, his family around him and the confidence of someone who looks completely at home in this world.
Carl is the son of Beatrice Lawrence and Carl Douglas Snr, who generously gave me the opportunity to spend some time photographing their son and documenting this part of his story.
Nobody knows where the journey will take him, but watching Carl ride, it was hard not to feel that I might have been photographing a future world champion in the making.
