The Australian hard-man spends three months each year catching some of the estimated tens of thousands of wild bulls in the hinterblocks in the Kimberley area of Western Australia.
Mr O'Loughlin and partner, Katherina Wachholz, who is also handy with cattle, are in Dunedin for today's Outram rodeo, where Mr O'Loughlin will compete in steer wrestling.
The pair are spending a month on the South Island rodeo circuit after a busy season catching wild cattle for Mr O'Loughlin's contract business.
Last year, the couple captured about 800 bulls, which were sold live to the Indonesian beef market.
But it was a dangerous business and there was an art to catching a wild bull weighing between 250kg and 900kg, he said.
The animals were first rounded up by helicopter into a clearing.
A bull was caught in two ways: Grabbed by the tail and rolled while it was unbalanced as it turned its head to attack, or more commonly, chased by bull catchers in a ute until it tired, and was then rolled, held down with a specially designed bull-bar on the ute and its legs tied and horns tipped.
The bulls were not harmed in the process, as they would not be accepted by buyers if they were bruised or had hair missing.
It was a high-pressure job which required speed, agility and physical strength and fitness, and continual mental acuity.
Mr O'Loughlin, who described himself as an "adrenaline junkie", said he loved his work.
"It's man against beast.
"It's quite a cool thing."
