It all began with a Craigslist ad for Josh Reynolds. Today, Josh has taken the reins of Fly-N-Hi Off-Road while continuing to nurture his passion and contributing to the off-road community. The shop, known for its expertise in Jeep modifications and custom builds, has become a hub for enthusiasts looking to push the limits of their vehicles. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.
4:53 – I moved to Alaska as a mountain guide for a long time as a professional skiing and climbing guide on some of the biggest mountains in the world
8:14 – There was a Craigslist ad for the Baja 1000, it said, do you want to come experience the Baja 1000, and I’m thinking – Hell, yeah, who doesn’t?
16:20 – I just brought that Mustang down last week, to rebuild the carburetor
22:37 – I’ve had every Jeep in the world, CJs, YJs, TJs, an LJ and more
31:09 – We had eight batteries, and we’d come into the pit and change the battery, I’d carry it in my lap because the alternator didn’t work
46:37 –so, literally, the whole thing started from Craigslist
Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.
TRANSCRIPT
[00:01:39.840] – Big Rich Klein
On today’s episode of Conversations with Big Rich, I have Josh Reynolds. Josh is a marketing partner with We Rock Events, especially for our Bagdad, Arizona event that we just finished this last weekend. It is his second Bagdad, Arizona event as the host with Fly-N-Hi Off-Road. Josh took over Fly-N-Hi last year, the beginning of the year, and has been running Fly-N-Hi, and thought we’d interview him and say how he’s doing and how he got to where he’s at. So, Josh, thank you so much for coming on board and being part of Conversations with Big Rich, and it’ll be a fun event.
[00:02:23.750] – Josh Reynolds
Yeah, thank you, Rich. I appreciate it.
[00:02:25.820] – Big Rich Klein
So let’s get started with the question I ask everyone, where Where were you born and raised?
[00:02:32.110] – Josh Reynolds
I hate to admit it, but I was born in Southern California.
[00:02:35.330] – Big Rich Klein
That’s all right. Hey, as long as you’ve escaped, you’re good.
[00:02:39.770] – Josh Reynolds
That’s right. No, I grew up in Southern California, in Anaheim. Most of my family is still there. We moved to Arizona in 1996. So I’ve been here in Arizona for the last, I call it 30 years.
[00:02:56.650] – Big Rich Klein
In Anaheim, I guess that’s where you got most your school years done?
[00:03:02.330] – Josh Reynolds
Yeah, I think I got here to Arizona in sixth grade. I’m not as old as everyone thinks I am. I’m only 43. I got a lot of gray hair.
[00:03:12.380] – Big Rich Klein
Yeah, I have to admit, I thought you were a little closer to 50, but it’s only because of the gray hair.
[00:03:21.060] – Josh Reynolds
I get it a lot.
[00:03:22.490] – Big Rich Klein
I was that way, too. But by the time I was your age, I was a lot closer to where I am now. So what was it like growing up in Anaheim? Did you get to Disneyland a lot?
[00:03:38.150] – Josh Reynolds
That was a common thing back then. I mean, it was a better time, right? California was cool back then. It was the ’80s, so there wasn’t all the BS that they have in California now. But it was a cool upbringing. My parents were still together to this day. My younger brother and I were growing up and just kids in California in the ’80s, riding bikes, going to the beach, getting home when the streetlights came on. That’s how it used to be.
[00:04:08.640] – Big Rich Klein
Excellent. Anaheim, as far as I can remember, has always been pretty much suburbia. It’s not rural like a lot of the outlying areas.
[00:04:18.300] – Josh Reynolds
Yeah, no, not at all. I mean, you’re in the middle of the city. My parents were big into hunting and fishing and camping, and so we got out every weekend. My dad had an Isuzu Trooper, and that was our four-wheel drive. So we would bop all over the country, going to national parks and camping and being outdoors. And that was our first four-wheel drive that we had.
[00:04:43.410] – Big Rich Klein
So you grew up as an Are you an outdoor enthusiast?
[00:04:46.370] – Josh Reynolds
Oh, 100 %, yeah.
[00:04:47.720] – Big Rich Klein
What is it about the outdoors that floats your boat?
[00:04:53.530] – Josh Reynolds
When I was young, just being out and about, my family was what I was into. And then When I went to college, my undergrad and grad school, I was at NAU, and I got really into climbing, and I actually became a mountain guide. I moved to Alaska for several years as a mountain guide and climbed all over the country. And that’s what I was doing for a long time as a professional guide in skiing and climbing on some of the biggest mountains in the world. And that led me to just the adventure part of things. That’s how four-wheel drive and off-road started for me as well, is just looking for adventure, looking for something exciting to do. Once you have a family, you got to settle down a little bit from the super extreme stuff, with age comes a cage, saying. Once I got married and started having kids, the extreme mountaineering that we were doing was off the table. That’s when I started getting into the off-road stuff. READ MORE
