Born and raised in southern New Mexico, around Las Cruces and El Paso, Texas, Thom Sloan spent most of his time on a farm. He is the spokesperson for the International Gay Rodeo Association lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

He has been involved with rodeo and the western life around it since he was a small child. He has also professionally been involved with opera, as a singer, and when asked to compare opera and rodeo, he answered, "They're both high drama performance situations."