CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Professional bull rider Marcus Mast is bringing his championship mindset back to South Texas as the 2026 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour finals arrive at the Hilliard Center this weekend. The Indiana cowboy, who captured the 2025 Velocity Tour Championship, will compete for back-to-back titles when the action kicks off Friday, May 1, and continues Saturday, May 2, with both performances starting at 7 p.m.
Mast's journey to the top of professional bull riding has been anything but conventional. Growing up on an Amish farm in the Midwest, his love for the sport was sparked by early exposure to livestock. After more than a decade of grinding on the professional circuit, trying to make it to and stay on the elite Unleash The Beast tour, Mast finally qualified for the World Finals in 2020.
The turning point came in 2022 when Mast joined the Kansas City Outlaws for the inaugural PBR Teams season. Taking advice from Coach J.W. Hart to heart, he transformed his body by losing 23 pounds, becoming a leaner, more focused competitor. The transformation paid dividends as Mast led his team in qualified rides with a 51.6% success rate (16-for-31), becoming the Outlaws' go-to rider and finishing third in the Teams league MVP race despite being ranked No. 131 at the end of the 2022 Unleash The Beast season.
However, Mast's path to championship glory has been marked by adversity. In June 2023, while competing outside the PBR during the offseason, he sustained a gruesome injury when a bull stepped on his throat, tearing it open. After an incredible comeback for the 2023 PBR Teams season, disaster struck again in Austin, Texas, when Mast broke his back after a buckoff while riding for the Outlaws.
The resilient cowboy's perspective on injuries reflects the mental toughness required at the highest levels of bull riding. "You know, minor injuries happen in this sport. We all know it can happen anytime we get on the back of a bull. Breaking a back is one of the worst ones you can do, but it's part of it," Mast explained. "We know it can happen any time. And it's something that we train our minds to compartmentalize. Once we're ready to do our job, that's something that we've trained our minds to put in the back of our heads. And that's in the past, and it's in the past for a reason. There's a reason the rearview mirror is as small as it is."
Undeterred by his setbacks, Mast returned healthy for the 2024 PBR Teams season and went on to capture the 2025 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Championship, cementing his status as one of the sport's most determined competitors.
Now, the defending champion returns to Corpus Christi with his sights set on repeating as Velocity Tour champion. The weekend promises to deliver more than just world-class bull riding, with country music star Carly Pearce performing Friday night and comedian Larry the Cable Guy taking the stage after Saturday's competition.
For Mast, who has overcome career-threatening injuries and transformed himself from a struggling rider to a champion, this weekend represents another opportunity to prove that determination and resilience can triumph over any obstacle – qualities that have defined his remarkable journey from an Amish farm in Indiana to the pinnacle of professional bull riding.
For more information on the 2026 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour or to purchase tickets, click here: https://www.pbr.com/tours/velocity-tour/2026/corpus-christi-tx/
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today!
