Max Muscle’s Malone wins masters class, falls short of Pro Tour
card
GILROY – When local bodybuilder Geff Malone, owner of the Max Muscle store in Gilroy, sets his mind to something – there’s no stopping him.
With a Pro Tour card in mind, the 37-year-old opened his second season of competitive body building April 13 at the Northern California Amateur Naturals inside the Lincoln High School auditorium in San Francisco – taking first in the junior masters class for ages 35-39, first in the overall masters, and second in the all-around men’s open.
“My goal is to definitely win a pro card,” said Malone, who needed a first-place performance in the men’s open to achieve his ultimate goal. “I went in a little heavier this time. I could have been a little leaner, but the judges were telling me to go in a little heavier.”
Malone went in six pounds heavier than he’s ever been – but the overall men’s champion still outweighed him by 50 pounds. Only the top finisher earns a Pro Tour card per show – leaving Malone short-handed for the time being.
“If I was a little sharper and a little leaner, the head judge said I could have won,” said Malone, on Wednesday in his Gilroy-based nutrition center. “To obtain a pro card, you have to win the overall open and beat everyone in the show. It’s an extremely difficult task. They only give one pro card per show. It’s tougher to win that than any other class.”
There were 15 participants in Malone’s most recent competition.
The Gilroyan bodybuilder – who opened Max Muscle on April 15, 2000 – is determined to move up from the amateur to the professional level. Malone works out three times a day for about an hour per session at Gilroy Health & Fitness as well as a gym in Santa Cruz.
“My goal is to try to go in as heavy as last show, but at a lower body fat percentage,” said Malone, whose next competition will be July 19 in either San Francisco or Sacramento. “Once I become a pro, everybody I’m competing with is a pro as well. The higher the level the tougher it gets.”
Although this is only his sophomore season of bodybuilding, Malone said he has been training for 17 years.
In Malone’s first bodybuilding endeavor, he finished 11th out of the 12-man field – driving him to work harder than ever before.
“That really gave me motivation to do better,” Malone said. “I’m the type of guy if I do something, I really need to win.”
After going into heavy training for a six-month period, Malone won his age class in his very next show.
“Supplements and nutrition are key,” said Malone, whose Max Muscle store has a full supply of supplements and workout apparel. “(The store’s purpose) is to design nutrition plans and finding out the individual’s goals and helping them obtain that weight loss or muscle gain.”
