Making a big impact on the tire scene, Maxxis National Director of Sales, Brad Williams talks about his hobby job at Maxxis in Motorsports. Automotive and Light Truck Tires is what he really does, but thank goodness he had time in his schedule to attend a rock crawl.  It changed the path of history for many drivers and event series, including WE Rock.

3:42 – second generation tire guy  

10:18 – planning for my future

12:20 – I’ll hang around as long as they’ll let me

14:15 – they’ll let you know how bad you did after

18:26 – What are you doing next weekend?

25:35 – So, he picked two drivers – one a cheerleader, one a winner

28:49 – learned how tough the tires had to be

31:01 – I didn’t have an official job in motorsports, it’s just a hobby 

34:28 – we need a 17” tire and a softer compound – don’t embarrass yourself, Brad

37:12 – cleaning out the cage to outfit the team

44:31 – this is our identity

54:35 – Pistol Pete was going to get us attention

1:05:28 – Jesse is still with us and doing great things 

We want to thank our sponsors Maxxis Tires and 4Low Magazine.

www.maxxis.com

www.4lowmagazine.com 

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Some people quietly make an impact on an industry, others do it with a big splash. We’d like to introduce you to the Quiet Man, Ben Bower, making a ripple through off-road since the 1970’s. Gold medals and chrome are his M.O., but so is listening – learn why it matters.

3:34 – there’s lots of time to think with a ShopSmith  

6:19 – making surfboards to get through the month

9:22– All-Marine volleyball team

12:23 – how the BART tube under the bay is made

17:36 – no food today, we’re buying a Honda

22:01 – Enduros fit my math/engineering background

28:02 – you’ve got to finish to win

31:05 – it’s a collective 

41:43 – I’m a welder…and then I’m not

45:20 – first date

51:46 – I want to run the dunes and the Rubicon

1:00:57 – hooked into learning the video camera

1:05:38 – independent suspension 

We want to thank our sponsors Maxxis Tires and 4Low Magazine.

www.maxxis.com

www.4lowmagazine.com 

Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

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We’re celebrating our one-year anniversary on Conversations with Big Rich with a release of the first episode of Season 2 – Episode 52 features Thomas Kingston of Spidertrax fame.

Thom Kingston, self-professed, highly competitive, problem-solver, shares all-things Spidertrax, from Birfield rings to Spider 9’s and how one led to the next. An authentic conversation with a true mover-and-shaker in the industry. 

4:31 – National Champion in rifle  

8:46 – what’s your back-up plan?

11:00– Eddie had a Samurai

13:41 – top ten in the SAE competition with an amphibious vehicle

19:39 – product #1 at Spidertrax

23:34 – why Colorado?

31:18 – how we were able to pull off Spidertrax in college, we can’t hide anymore

38:39 – It was like magic! 

45:17 – Shifted our focus from competing ourselves to building components to work with teams

49:43 – Tracy Jordan is the best

53:49 – Oroville is freshest in my mind, “I don’t understand these lines”

56:04 – the Spider 9

1:02:43 – the Rock Bug build, the whole story revealed 

1:15:33– why my hands are on the shop floor

1:20:59 – the future of Spidertrax

We want to thank our sponsors Maxxis Tires and 4Low Magazine.

www.maxxis.com

www.4lowmagazine.com 

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Big Willy Jeep builder, Burner, and flatfender enthusiast Ian Liljeblad shares life in Arizona and how one gets started building a 2:1 rig. Caution: serious fab skills are involved! From a history of learning from the best, Ian has built some cool rigs.

4:12 – early influences  

7:54 – the Impala from beginning to end

14:34– really happy I’m a Jeep guy, not a Scout guy

17:31 –met these guys in Phoenix in this Jeep Think Tank

19:01 – started at FST, Fly-N-Hi’s fab shop,  with Ellis and Geiser

24:08 – first chassis for myself, 2x4 tube CJ7

26:52 – inspired by the Big Rig Jig

28:25 – Burning Man changed my life 

31:28 – building a mutant vehicle/art car

36:34 – falling in love with flatfenders

37:25 – the influence of Walter Productions

39:25 – I built Big Willy in seven months

47:48 – The Burning Man DMV accepted it as is

53:22 – the Go Devil run

1:02:10 – Big Willy Jeep, replacement parts for flat fenders

We want to thank our sponsors Maxxis Tires and 4Low Magazine.

www.maxxis.com

www.4lowmagazine.com 

Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

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Off-road innovator and industry leader, Pat Gremillion, shares stories from his 30 years in off-road. Seller of Premier Power Welder and PullPal, Pat brings a wealth of knowledge and good cheer to our podcast. Listen in as we present Episode 50 with Pat and Big Rich.

2:39 – growing up with a junkyard  

6:13 – I’ve always loved welding

7:56– the beginning of off-road

9:59 –my father-in-law was an inventor

11:32 – PullPal was made for friends

12:44 – “if somebody told you, you could make a living having this much fun, you wouldn’t believe it”

14:51 – the start of Premier Power Welder

18:02 – I owe those magazine guys 

22:00 – meeting Harold Off

24:35 – the January vendor show

32:20 – just like E.F. Hutton

37:28 – I ain’t scared

43:56 – go eat your lunch, old man

47:12 – the double PullPal

We want to thank our sponsors Maxxis Tires and 4Low Magazine.

www.maxxis.com

www.4lowmagazine.com 

Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

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Forty-seven years in any industry makes you an expert, in drivelines, that makes you Jim Reel.  Listen in on Episode 49 as Jim takes Big Rich through the intricacies of drivelines and why we see failures. Hint:  it’s not the driveline.  This is a very informative interview with news you need to hear – including how to measure your replacement driveline.
www.reeldriveline.com 

3:06 – ruined by age 19  

7:42 – 47 years in the industry

10:36– comfort is becoming a lot more important

13:07– working with trophy trucks for solutions for them

14:35 – “you’ll be out of business in two months”

16:05 – this is what we really do

17:59 – make it worse to make it better

21:26 – it’ll whip 

25:13 – innovations in drivelines

29:08 – let’s talk math and wear points

35:26 – how to measure a driveline

39:11 – Rzeppa ball and cage joints and their impact

41:14 – did you say Carbon Fiber??

51:39 – what’s the future hold?

We want to thank our sponsors Maxxis Tires and 4Low Magazine.

www.maxxis.com

www.4lowmagazine.com 

Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

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The most positive woman in off-road, Trail Mom, Barbara Rainey joins us for Episode 48. This episode is long on story, from Reno Rock to the Off-Road Hall of Fame.  Innovation and grit at its finest. Barbara’s interview tells a bigger story, though, we all have to get involved in preserving our stories.  The Off-Road Hall of Fame is a great place to start. Get involved with a partnership, a membership or a donation today. www.ORMHOF.org 

April is nomination month at ORMHOF, it's time to get started on your packets and nominations.

2:59 – I just wanted to go to the Races!  

4:32 – David got the girl, but not the Jeep

6:33–  having a list and a roll of quarters

10:57 – innovators and instigators, aggravators and agitators

14:29 – special place in heaven for race promoters

20:56 – the strongest link then is the weakest link now

23:07– the importance of Tread Lightly

27:09 – Reno Rocks is born, and the lessons there 

43:34 – testing the ramps in my rental car

49:32 – when I get stuck, I ask two questions

52:66 – the history of the Offroad Motorsports Hall of Fame

1:00:15 – everyone’s got a story

1:08:19 – the loss of the home of the vehicle collection

1:15:05 – it’s not the off-road Racing hall of Fame, it’s the off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame

We want to thank our sponsors Maxxis Tires and 4Low Magazine.

www.maxxis.com

www.4lowmagazine.com 

Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

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BFGoodrich has had a remarkable program for years supporting racers, especially in Baja.  Listen in as Rich talks with Richard Winchester about all things BFG.  Richard was at the start of the program and gives some great insight into how they built up Baja and why. 

3:14 – Sliding into the cornfield 

5:38 – then Uncle Sam sent me an invite for a visit to Korea

8:13– don’t wake the sleeping giant

9:30 – this performance stuff is a fad

14:50 – got the first lifetime membership out of the Southern Four Wheel Drive Association

21:28 – the start of the BFG Baja pits program

31:32– the people I count on to run the pits include my wife and daughter

32:54 – when things don’t go right in Mexico 

35:09 – the developer of the rock crawling tire, Gary Interline

52:27 – we can’t have an influencer if they don’t know our products

1:01:31 – we were kind of just winging it

1:04:24 – Danny saved the party

We want to thank our sponsors Maxxis Tires and 4Low Magazine.

www.maxxis.com

www.4lowmagazine.com 

Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

Support the show

Are you ready for an education? Raceline’s Greg Mulkey has more knowledge about tires and wheels than anyone we know. Take a trip down memory lane with Greg and Rich as they share some rad knowledge about the industry. It’s impressive

2:29 – Greg as a little whippersnapper 

3:23 – selling a box of tear-offs got me a job

7:09 – I was on a mission

12:33 – a beadlock just on the right rear tire

14:30 – I got a meeting with Bill Franz Jr. at NASCAR

21:24 – getting started at Raceline

28:55– working with the Germans

34:14 – stumbling across the OG race 

38:19 – it’s a serious business

57:03 – Hutchison and the military

1:08:15 – calculating ET

1:14:02 – dirt track racing with the old man, Don Campbell

1:18:29 –double beadlocks on Ian’s UTV

1:26:35 – showing Steve Kinzer how they worked

1:35:29 – I never intended to be a racecar driver

We want to thank our sponsors Maxxis Tires and 4Low Magazine.

www.maxxis.com

www.4lowmagazine.com 

Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

Support the show

Modified Stock Champion, Announcer, fabricator, and all-around good guy, Jake Good, of Kansas City joins Rich for a reminder of what family means.  Another family man teaching his kids about rock crawling and the family you choose. Listen in to hear Jake’s journey to rock crawling.

2:17 – I’ve lived 97% of my life on the same piece of property 

7:57 – A rear engine mower led to road-building

10:56 –I wanted to be like my dad

15:02 – this is the guy responsible for traffic circles

20:12 – Building a brand in the Midwest

22:47 – finding a rust-free Bronco in the Midwest

33:01– Fair price for a fair product

35:20 – I threw together the cheapest thing that I possibly could find and go have fun 

38:55 – concerned we were some hotshot team

46:44 – I was scared to death

52:53 – blessed with the best team in rock crawling ever

59:01 – Opened Kansas Rocks Recreation Park twenty years ago

1:01:29 –Announcing, it was very intimidating

1:08:02 – Opportunity to run Kenny Blume’s ProMod

We want to thank our sponsors Maxxis Tires and 4Low Magazine.

www.maxxis.com

www.4lowmagazine.com 

Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

Support the show