Skyjacker President Lonnie McCurry, Jr. shares his faith, family, and future with us on Episode 218. A strong family man, he brings West Monroe, Louisiana, to life for us. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.
2:45 – this area of Louisiana is all about hunting, fishing, and family
9:14 – my parents were great about not forcing me into the business – y’all go make an education, get a college degree, and decide your own career path
24:27 – I learned two things doing the competitive side of rockcrawling: 1. It is a lot of work, and two, it’s hard to be competitive if you don’t have the seat time
34:54 – the way my dad worded it 40 years ago, if he built a lift kit, he wanted to feel like he could hand his daughter the keys and her go drive it, knowing she’d be safe
42:20 – We started working with Willy long before Duck Dynasty
54:15 – we focused on the marking side for many years, but we feel like we need to focus more on the manufacturing side for the next few years.
58:04 – let’s talk about family
Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.
TRANSCRIPT
[00:01:39.330] – Big Rich Klein
Welcome to Conversations with Big Rich. This week’s guest has deep roots in off-road, from sweeping floors to President, one of the original rock crawlers in the early years of the sport, to keeping a brand at the top of the market for years in all phases of off-road. My guest is Skyjacker Suspensions President, Lonnie McCurry Jr. Lonnie, thanks for coming on board.
[00:02:01.490] – Lonnie McCurry Jr.
Absolutely. Thanks for having me.
[00:02:03.850] – Big Rich Klein
So let’s jump right in. Where were you born and raised?
[00:02:09.380] – Lonnie McCurry Jr.
I was born and raised in West Monroe, Louisiana. We’re in the northeast corner of Louisiana. I’ve lived here all my life, and actually my dad was born and raised here as well.
[0:02:20.660] – Big Rich Klein
So deep family roots in the area?
[00:02:23.430] – Lonnie McCurry Jr.
Yes.
[00:02:24.610] – Big Rich Klein
And I’ve been through there. I have to say that Louisiana needs spend more money on the highways, and the potholes and the transitions from bridges to the main part are pretty rough on the highway, but it looks like a really nice community. What was it like growing up there?
[00:02:45.120] – Lonnie McCurry Jr.
Well, I appreciate you saying that. This area is all about hunting, fishing, and family. There’s not a lot of other things to do here. It’s a lot of farming for industry here. That’s the grassroots of how we got started is through hobbies of hunting, fishing, that thing. We’ve really enjoyed living here. I don’t really foresee moving off at any point. I’ve had a couple of kids that moved away just to get out of the small town life. Now, as they have kids, they start yearning to move back.
[00:03:28.060] – Big Rich Klein
Yeah, it’s that migration thing. Everybody wants to get out and see the world, and then they have a tendency to come back.
[00:03:36.120] – Lonnie McCurry Jr.
That’s right. We love it here.
03:39.870] – Big Rich Klein
And so growing up, what hunting and fishing? I mean, it’s a lakes and rivers, bayou type stuff, am I correct?
[00:03:49.560] – Lonnie McCurry Jr.
Yeah, you’re spot on. My dad did not do a lot of fishing. We would go once or twice a year, and a lot a lot of times that was a lake in a local subdivision nearby. But he was an avid deer hunter, white tail deer. A little bit of squirrel hunting, maybe a turkey hunter, too. But white tail deer was his big thing. I have to say, a lot of it was to also feed the family. We weren’t poor, but we didn’t have a lot. To him, he always made a purpose out of what he was doing, too. If he went deer hunting, a lot of it, it wasn’t just for sport, it was more to also feed the family. READ MORE
