SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - A Siouxlander has made history in the world of competitive bodybuilding.
Growing up in Hawarden, Iowa, Austin Bultman always had a passion for the gym and bodybuilding. In 2016, he went to Big Iron Gym in Sioux City hoping to get into better shape and get diet help, he ended up getting more than he bargained for.
“I grew up, you know, dreaming about being like these guys. As a kid, I read every magazine,” said Bultman. “But when you’re in Iowa, you don’t have that information at your fingertips. So luckily, I just bumped into the right guy at the right time.”
That guy that Bultman ran into was Shawn Frankl, owner of Big Iron Gym in Sioux City. Who said he’d help him take that next step in his training, under one condition.
“I said I’d be willing to help him as long as he would commit to doing a bodybuilding show,” said Frankl. “He took up the challenge and said, ‘Okay, I’ll be willing to give it a shot.’”
That agreement was made 8 years ago, and in 2024, the now 41-year-old Bultman has been working to take his bodybuilding to the national level. Since then, he’s been training nonstop; that’s not only physical training, but it also meant hours spent in front of the mirror, ironing out every last detail of his routine ahead of the largest amateur bodybuilding competitions in the United States.
And all of the training paid off, Bultman went into the National Physique Committee’s USA championships in Anaheim, California and finished as the competition’s overall champion. He also became the first Iowan to win the title of Mr. USA.
