Johnny G & Friends

Throughout the year on episodes of Johnny g & Friends, Johnny would ask each guest: How do you work on the business instead of in the business? In this Season 4 wrap-up, find out how each guest answered that.

In this episode, hear from this year's guests including Andrew Firestone; Bridgestone Golf CEO Dan Murphy; Bubba, Kim and Pat McMahon of McMahon's Best-One; Sally Thomas, owner of J.P. Thomas & Company; Stacey and Frankie Pugh of Pugh's Tire; John Quirk, executive chairman of VIP Tires & Service; and Tim Tallman, president of Tallman's Tire & Auto.

From humble beginnings changing tires in New York snowstorms outside his single-bay corner gas station to becoming President of Tallman's Tire and Auto Repair, based in Utica, New York, Tim Tallman is cultivating a legacy that beautifully integrates family values with his sharp business acumen.

His journey began immediately after high school, fueled by a passion for cars and a keen mechanical aptitude. With his wife’s encouragement and a timely opportunity to buy his first business, Tim unknowingly embarked on a 44-year career in the tire industry that would not only shape his future, but also the landscape of tire and auto services in his community. 

Under his leadership, Tallman Tire and Auto has today expanded to six locations, a warehouse and a Quick Lube, and his story proves that with the right mix of passion and perseverance, small beginnings can lead to substantial achievements.

Tire Review: www.tirereview.com

John Quirk is a fourth-generation tire dealer with a storied history. His grandfather started in the tire industry opening Quirk Tire in Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1926. Back then, the business grew with the advent of the Interstate Highway System and serviced mainly commercial and off-the-road tires.

But as transportation evolved, so did the business. By 1985, John’s father, Edward S. Quirk, retired, and in June of that year, John left the computer sales industry, returned home to Boston from Manhattan and took over the business as President & CEO. 

Two weeks after Sept. 11, 2001, Quirk Tire purchased VIP Discount Auto Center and the two firms were merged. John decided to keep the VIP name thanks to its tremendous brand recognition throughout New England, changing the name in 2004 to VIP Parts, Tires & Service, and again in 2012 to VIP Tires & Service when the parts division of VIP was sold to O’Reilly Auto Parts. 

Today, VIP Tires & Service operates 70 locations, with 50 of those co-occupied by both VIP Tires & Service and O’Reilly Auto Parts, and on March 1, 2024, VIP opened its first store in Connecticut with the acquisition of Joe’s Tire Shop in Waterbury, CT. 

Tire Review: www.tirereview.com

Stacey and Frankie Pugh, president and VP of Pugh’s Tire in Greenville, North Carolina, are the embodiment of what happens when four generations commit to hard work, customer care, community involvement, and adapt to change. Their Grandpa George Pugh founded Pugh's Tire & Service Center in 1945 as a corner gas station known as George Pugh Shell Station, and in 1962 their father Sammy Pugh became the mastermind in expanding the tire and automotive service side of the business.

Today, with five retail locations, the third- and fourth generations continue to grow the business the same way the founder did. Pugh’s continues to thrive thanks to leadership and employees fueled by family spirit, a customer-first philosophy, and an unyielding commitment to quality.

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Sally Thomas is a second-generation tire dealer with ambition, grit, and heart for the tire industry. Her father, Paul, founded the business in 1981 out of the driveway of their family home, and he and his wife, Sandra, soon blossomed the company into a full-blown tire and service location in Asheboro, North Carolina.

Sally grew up working in the business but pursued a career in nursing before making her way back. In 2012, Sally, with her business-savvy, and her brother, Bryan, with his tire and service-know how, took over J.P. Thomas & Company, which had grown significantly into a multi-division corporation. They have since added several locations and have more than tripled their revenues over the past decade. 

Today, they operate eight retail stores known as Thomas Tire & Automotive, two commercial locations, three wholesale distribution warehouses known as East Coast Tires, a Mighty Auto Parts franchise, and an e-commerce business. They are also distributors for Hunter Engineering, Challenger Lifts, Atlas Copco and CPS Products.

Community makes McMahon’s Best-One stand out from the competition. The company was founded in 1969 by Pat McMahon, who bought out a local independent tire dealer in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, with the help of Paul Zurcher.

Pat built a strong foundation for the business, and today, his son, Bubba, who grew up in the tire industry, now owns it with Randy Geyer, a longtime employee. Bubba’s wife, Kim, is now president of McMahon’s Best-One, and together they are pushing the limits on what it means to be an independent tire dealer.

With 13 locations and counting, McMahon has close-knit ties to the communities it serves and is elevating the professionalism in our industry to thrive in the future.

Tiger Woods, Jason Day and Freddie Couples are just a few of the names linked to the quality and precision behind Bridgestone Golf – but the man behind the scenes who helped create and catapult the Bridgestone Golf brand to PGA grounds is Dan Murphy, the company's current president and CEO.

Dan has a long history in the golf business and is a golf fanatic himself. However, it wasn’t until the early 2000s when he was recruited to help launch the Bridgestone Golf brand, and he quickly distinguished it for its golf ball fitting capabilities.  Since then, Bridgestone Golf has manufactured golf balls and accessories for everyone from PGA tour pros to weekend warriors teeing up with their buddies. Bridgestone Golf also serves as the premium lifestyle link to the Bridgestone Tire brand.

In this episode of Johnny g & Friends, presented by Firestone, Dan and Johnny g discuss: 

• Jason Day's involvement with Bridgestone Golf's new MindSet golf ball (1:06);
• Tiger Woods' involvement with Bridgestone Golf's golf ball R&D (3:35);
• Details on Bridgestone Golf's golf ball testing technology (6:18);
• How tire development influences tire design and vice versa (8:28);
• Experimenting to see how golf balls with different dimple patterns fly (11:15);
• An inside look at how golf balls are made at Bridgestone Golf's factory in Covington, GA (14:47);
• Dan's vision for Bridgestone Golf in the future (16:49);
• Rapid fire questions (19:06).

Tiger Woods, Jason Day and Freddie Couples are just a few of the names linked to the quality and precision behind Bridgestone Golf – but the man behind the scenes who helped create and catapult the Bridgestone Golf brand to PGA grounds is Dan Murphy, the company's current president and CEO.

Dan has a long history in the golf business and is a golf fanatic himself. However, it wasn’t until the early 2000s when he was recruited to help launch the Bridgestone Golf brand, and he quickly distinguished it for its golf ball fitting capabilities.

Since then, Bridgestone Golf has manufactured golf balls and accessories for everyone from PGA tour pros to weekend warriors teeing up with their buddies. Bridgestone Golf also serves as the premium lifestyle link to the Bridgestone Tire brand.

In this episode of Johnny g & Friends, presented by Firestone, Dan and Johnny g discuss: 

• Dan explains how he found himself with Bridgestone Golf (1:58);
• What was Bridgestone's marketing strategy to emerge from its underdog status as a golf ball maker in the early 2000s? (4:11);
• Bridgestone Golf's mandates for success (6:24);
• Johnny g and Dan discuss the ad campaigns developed to promote both Bridgestone tires and Bridgestone golf balls (8:36);
• How COVID changed golf (10:57);
• The importance of Bridgestone Golf's approach to golf ball fitting (14:04);
• Touring the Bridgestone Golf test center (16:36);
• Dan's fondest memories at Bridgestone Golf (19:00);
• Behind the curtain of when Bridgestone Golf signed the contract to manufacture Nike golf balls (22:31).

This is PART 1 of a two-part episode with Johnny g and Dan Murphy. Come back to Tire Review tomorrow to watch PART 2!

Andrew Firestone is the great-grandson of Harvey S. Firestone, the founder of Firestone Tire & Rubber Company. Andrew’s last name appears on signs in tire stores around the world, but it wasn’t until the early 2000s that Andrew began to delve into his Firestone roots after rising to fame on the series “The Bachelor.” Since then, Andrew has developed a love and appreciation for the tire industry and the Bridgestone-Firestone company and brands.

Today, Andrew continues his great-grandfather’s legacy as an entrepreneur, founding his own development company in the hospitality industry.

Welcome to Johnny g & Friends. Today, we have a special episode for you: The Greatness Round-Up of Season 3. In this episode, we take one question I asked all of our guests this year and compile their answers into one episode of never-before-heard audio.

This year, I asked our guests, “How do you work on the business instead of in the business?” In this episode, you'll hear from:

• Marc Pons, owner of Chapel Hill Tire;
• Beth Barron, president and CEO of Chabill’s Tire & Auto Service;
• Paul Sullivan, vice president of Sullivan Tire & Auto;
• Matt Jensen, president of Jensen Tire & Auto;
• TJ Beroth, president of Beroth Tire & Automotive;
• Dennis King, president of Dunlap & Kyle.

We appreciate all of our Season 3 guests sharing their knowledge about the tire business with us this year. Be sure to be on the lookout next year for Season 4. Have a Happy New Year!