Big Rich sits down with Jagged X Off-Road founder Bill Schueler to trace the journey from a Phoenix garage to the front lines of UTV racing and aftermarket innovation. Bill shares how his sons Justin and Brandon turned a high school hobby into Jagged X, the early Rhino craze, and the fateful call from Polaris that put them on the map—leading to the first-ever desert race for the Polaris RZR.
Highlights:
– Chicago roots to Arizona life: construction, dispatching, and launching a successful transportation brokerage.
– The backyard beginnings of Jagged X: lifted golf carts, early Yamaha Rhinos, and magazine features.
– Polaris partnership: becoming an aftermarket development partner and fielding one of the first RZR race cars.
TRANSCRIPT
[00:01:11.380] – Big Rich Klein
On today’s podcast, my guest is going to be Bill Schueler. Bill Schueler is the principal behind JaggedX Racing, and used to be Jagged Extreme, went to JaggedX Racing, and is now JaggedX Off-Road. And he’s A trucking dispatch company is what he owns as well. His exit strategy is the kids to take everything over, which is a great exit strategy. But Bill, I’m glad you’re able to do the interview today. Thank you.
[00:01:43.900] – Bill Schueler
Rich Klein, how are you, my friend?
[00:01:45.480] – Big Rich Klein
I’m doing great.
[00:01:47.260] – Bill Schueler
Good to talk to you. Yeah.
[00:01:48.640] – Big Rich Klein
I’m really looking forward to this interview. We first started talking. We met at King of the Hammers, I believe, at one point.
[00:01:59.820] – Bill Schueler
I I think you’re right. I think you’re right. If it wasn’t maybe even prior to that, maybe at a We Rock thing, maybe over here in Arizona, even possibly before before KOH, possibly.
[00:02:07.920] – Big Rich Klein
Absolutely.
[00:02:08.580] – Bill Schueler
I haunted those places for a while before the whole KOH thing took off.
[00:02:15.160] – Big Rich Klein
Perfect. Then, yes, that must be when we first met.
[00:02:18.580] – Bill Schueler
Cool.
[00:02:19.760] – Big Rich Klein
Anyway, let’s talk about you. Most of the people that listen to this podcast have heard me go on and on and on about myself. So let’s talk about Bill Schueler. Where were you born and raised?
[00:02:32.520] – Bill Schueler
So I was actually born in Chicago, Illinois. My parents up and picked up and moved me out here when I was four years old. My dad got laid off from his job back in Illinois and came home one day and said, Hey, I don’t have a job. And we always wanted to move to Arizona, so let’s move to Arizona. And so my mom and I and my sister stayed back while my mom sold the house. My dad drove out here in a 1963 Volkswagen Carmen Ghia, or a squareback. Excuse me, a squareback. Okay. And black, no less, with no air conditioning. And drove out here to Arizona to find out that he needed to get something else. But yeah, so he came out and started hunting for a job. My mom sold the house, and then we hopped in our two-door Rambler, and we drove to Arizona with my mom, my sister, myself, and my grandmother. And lo and behold, that’s how I got here. I don’t remember any of that, but that’s how it happened, I guess. So we ended up here in Arizona, been I’ve had a North Phoenix area ever since. And here I am today, not planning on leaving anytime soon. READ MORE
