Kody Lostroh has never needed things to come easy. The Longmont, Colorado, native started riding at 7 or 8 years old after wearing out a videotape of Cheyenne Frontier Days until his mom finally signed him up to ride at the county fair. He admits he was not particularly good at first. In fact, one of the biggest turning points of his career came when he switched riding hands and immediately rode his first bull.

From there, stubbornness did the rest.

Lostroh developed into one of the best bull riders of his generation, earning the 2005 PBR Rookie of the Year title before reaching the pinnacle of the sport in 2009. That season, he battled through a badly injured elbow and a loaded title race featuring J.B. Mauney and Guilherme Marchi to capture the 2009 PBR World Championship. Lostroh ultimately qualified for the PBR World Finals 10 consecutive times, won 10 premier-series events and recorded 51 90-point rides across all levels of competition while earning more than $3.2 million.

Some of his favorite memories, though, came from simply finding out how much pain he could push through. In 2014, after battling injuries throughout the year and breaking his leg at the final event before the World Finals, Lostroh could have stayed home. Instead, he competed anyway, making qualified rides and proving to himself one more time that he could get through something he was not entirely sure his body would allow.

Eventually, the biggest challenge had nothing to do with a bull.

In 2015, Lostroh began experiencing severe problems with his balance, eyesight and speech. For nearly two years, doctors searched for an explanation before discovering a tumor wrapped around the carotid artery in his neck, pressing on nerves and restricting blood flow to his brain. Surgery allowed him to return to a normal life, but lingering issues with his eyesight made competing at the highest level increasingly difficult. He officially retired in 2018.

The experience changed his perspective. Lostroh has spoken openly about learning not to take normal life for granted and realizing that whatever challenge sits in front of you, somebody else has probably faced something just as difficult and found a way through it.

That outlook now shapes the way he coaches.

Lostroh joined the Oklahoma Freedom staff alongside Cord McCoy in 2022 before becoming the inaugural head coach of the New York Mavericks in 2024. In the franchise’s first season, he helped guide New York through the Ride-In Round and into the PBR Teams Championship, and the Mavericks later captured Monster Energy Team Challenge victories in New York City in both 2025 and 2026.

Apparently, retirement did not completely eliminate the injury report.

Lostroh managed to tear his biceps in a bowling accident while coaching, requiring surgery — proof that, after a career spent getting launched by bulls, sometimes the bowling alley can be just as dangerous. Even post-op, the tough-as-nails cowboy was back sitting above the bucking chutes coaching his team, because he will always show up for his guys.

His career has since been recognized with some of bull riding’s highest honors. Lostroh was inducted into the PBR Ring of Honor in 2023 and the Bull Riding Hall of Fame in 2024, joining many of the riders he grew up admiring.

Away from PBR, Lostroh remains rooted in Colorado with his family and the outdoors. He raises bucking bulls, is an avid hunter and houndsman and has become an outspoken advocate for ethical hunting and wildlife conservation, including serving as president of the United Houndsmen of Colorado.

Whether chasing a World Championship, battling injuries or coaching post-op after a bowling mishap, Lostroh has always relied on the same thing: stubbornness.

He just keeps going.