Team Ambassador
Fueled by H&I Nutrition
Cody Mauch
NPC Heavy Weight Bodybuilder Competitor
ILL-EGO Culture Brands Ambassador (Metroflex/H&I/Alpha Kitchen)
My name is Cody Mauch; I am from Wahpeton, North Dakota now living in Fargo with my wife, Kate Mauch. I first began my bodybuilding journey when I was 17 years old. This massive English teacher that moved from Alaska was also a Freshman football coach and would monitor the weight room when we were in there. We got to talking and quickly became friends as I looked up to him. I had no idea what I was doing when I first started lifting weights, and I think he felt sorry for me, so he took me under his wing, and I was officially his workout partner and was addicted ever since.
I quickly began to put size and strength on right away, but at that time all I cared about was trying to lift heavier than he did (rookie mistake). So when we started working out at our local gym in town, we noticed a poster on the wall for a bodybuilding show that was coming up in March. The bet was on. I bet him a steak dinner that I would place higher than he did in the show. I placed 2nd in the Teen’s division, and he placed 3rd in Light Heavyweight Men’s open division (He still owes me).
We both then competed the following year at the same show where I placed 1st in the Teen’s division and 5th place in Men’s Middleweight Division. I was officially addicted to Bodybuilding now. The following year, I decided to take a year off because I was deploying to Kosovo for a one-year deployment with an Air Defense Artillery Regiment out of Fargo.
While I was in Kosovo, I was still putting more and more size and strength on. At that time, I got up to 246lbs and decided to enter into a bench press competition where anyone on base could enter. I won with a bench of 415 lbs at 20 years old. When I got back from Kosovo, I competed again at the Upper Midwest in 2011 and placed 5th in the Men’s open Heavyweight Division.
In 2013, I was deployed to Washington D.C for an Air Defense Artillery mission for one year.
While training at the local Golds Gym there, I met a guy named Rob Kreider.
He was about 5’5″ and a massive individual. Come to find out he was a bodybuilding coach and at that time I had no idea bodybuilding coaches existed, so we exchanged information and came up with a timeline to compete again.
When I got back from D.C., I started training for the Upper Midwest competition in 2015. I placed 4th in Men’s Light Heavyweight Division. Rob and I quickly became close friends, and he guided me into the offseason that year where I quickly put on more size. I started my next prep in the fall of 2015 for the Upper Midwest and the Gopher State Classic in Spring 2016. I took 1st place in Men’s Open Heavyweight and lost in the overall by one point at the Upper. I won 1st place in my division at the Gopher and lost in the overall by two points. I then took a break from competing and focused more on building up my weak points. After a 2nd deployment to Washington D.C., Rob and I had our eyes on a National competition in Las Vegas where if I got 1st in my weight class I would become Pro. I had to qualify for Nationals at a tournament in Wisconsin (Brew City) where I placed 1st in the Super Heavyweight Division. Competing at a National competition was an eye-opening experience for me, and the competition was fierce. I placed 7th at Nationals that year (2018), and that was the last time I competed. My next competition will again be in Las Vegas at Nationals in 2020. I am now focusing on building up my weak points so I can be a serious contender at Nationals.