OUR HISTORY

Just a short stretch up the road from the oak lined streets and turn of the last century homes of Laurel, Mississippi is a quaint neighborhood where two friends put their mechanical minds together and have made history. Only in the South could you find a street named Sleepy Hollow Road and that’s where you’ll find the world headquarters of RJI, LLC. There is no pretentiousness here even the name of their company is uncomplicated and easy to remember, Russ and Jay’s Ideas.

Russ Freeman and Jay Thurman have been friends since they were students at Shady Grove Elementary School where they played baseball together in front of Russ’s next door neighbor’s house. As youngsters, Russ and Jay shared several common interests and they soon discovered that they both enjoyed making things out of junk. Years later, Russ’s automotive repair company located in Laurel, became the stopping point for frequent visits from his friend Jay. And of course taking apart automobile engines and rebuilding them fit just like a glove to what both of these southern boys consider having fun.

“July 23, 2003 is the day it all started”, Freeman recalls with such clarity as if he is remembering what he had for breakfast this morning. One day, Thurman made a quick stop at the shop to show Freeman the beginnings of a new barbeque grill he was making for his dad. The grill was shaped like an octagon and it was going to be assembled from junk that was found lying around. In the heat of the summer on a slow business day Freeman decided to putter around the shop and see what he could do to improve on Thurman’s design. Freeman got the notion that headers from a 440 Dodge engine would be just the ticket to helping the barbeque take on a more “automotive” appeal.

Great inventors always recall when their “Ah-ha!” moment hit them. That’s the moment when the inventor knows they have discovered that their invention is truly remarkable. That moment came when Thurman walked into the shop and discovered Freeman welding the headers on to his barbeque grill. It wasn’t long before Thurman grabbed another welder and helped his friend complete the task at hand. Their adrenaline began to pump full speed when valve covers from a 1973 pickup truck were added to the grill. But the real kicker was when Freeman thought welding an air breather for a smokestack was the just the right touch to making their grill begin to resemble a V-8 engine.

Freeman and Thurman immediately knew that they had assembled something out of old junk yard parts that could change their lives. But they kept their discovery hidden from their families and friends just in case they had let their emotions get the best of them and their idea was just a passing fancy. After a few days of thinking about the new grill, Freeman realized that that he and his friend’s work was a far cry from what would be accepted by real barbeque aficionados. So, Freeman junked the first proto-type because as he recalls the first grill was “awful” and Freeman went back to the drawing board. Only this time some thought and design went into completing another grill. After the second grill was completed Freeman knew that this was the design that could put his and Thurman’s idea on the map.

Somehow Freeman had to scrape together enough money to get the grill patented. Strapped for cash, Freeman took a risk and purchased a house on the court house steps. Only a short sixty-two days later Freeman sold the house and profited enough money to cover the costs of a patent attorney. Almost two years later Freeman and Thurman received word that the United States Patent Office had granted their request and issued patents for their barbeque grill.

Now they had to find a manufacturing facility that could produce their patented grill in a cost acceptable fashion. Little did Freeman and Thurman comprehend that the best place to manufacturer the grill would be on the other side of the planet. A manufacturer facility in China was chosen as the most cost effective place to provide the finished product. Not leaving anything to chance, Freeman and Thurman hopped on a commercial flight where they could negotiate the deal directly with manufacturer. The twenty-two hour flight to China was Freeman’s first airplane ride and it may turn out to be his most important one in his lifetime. The deal was struck with the manufacturer and now all that had to be done was to wait on the proto-type to arrive from China.

The grill was revealed at the Memory Road Show being held at the Texas Motor Speedway in April 2008. Hundreds of attendees stopped by to see the grill and were impressed by the uniqueness of the grill and how inexpensive it was to purchase. Chuck Whitbread, producer of the Memory Road Motor Show at the Texas Motor Speedway, was equally impressed. "The MotorHead Grill was just the type of unique product we wanted ticket holders to have a chance to see at our first event", Whitbread said. "The MotorHead Grill is a great way for any classic car, hot rod or NASCAR fan to become a member of the motorsport enthusiast's club without spending thousands of dollars and own something they can brag about", stated Whitbread.

Through all of the years of working towards offering the “Motorhead” one-of-a-kind barbeque grill to outdoor cooks across the USA, Freeman hasn’t lost his belief that he and his partner have come up the with the right idea at the right time. Freeman will wholeheartedly admit that his faith in Jesus Christ is what keeps him grounded and he signs his email with a simple phrase “In HIS grip”. Freeman probably never realized that one day his barbeque grill will be in “the grip” of thousands of barbeque enthusiasts across the nation.