Barry Meguiar

Barry James Meguiar (born July 24, 1942) in Pasadena, California was the President of Meguiar's, Inc., a California-based company of car care products founded in 1901.[1] and former host of Discovery's Velocity (TV Channel) series Car Crazy.[2]

Barry Meguiar
Meguiar in 2023
Occupation(s)President of Meguiar's Inc.
Former TV Host of Car Crazy
Founder of Revival Outside the Walls (ROTW)
TelevisionCar Crazy
Websitewww.meguiars.com
www.rotw.com

Early life

Frank Meguiar, Jr., Barry's grandfather, founded Meguiar's Inc. in the garage of his Indiana home in 1901.[3] In 1913, Frank moved the business to Southern California, where the family focused on making products for the professional market.[1] Barry's father, Malcolm Meguiar, and his two brothers carried on the family business in 1950.[1] Barry's involvement at Meguiar's began in grade school and continued throughout college,[4] when he served as the one-man accounting department generating $600,000 in annual gross sales.[5]

After graduating from college, Barry oversaw the company's relationships with GM, Ford, and Chrysler, and managed sales in the Eastern United States.[3] In 1969, Barry took Meguiar's products into the consumer marketplace.[1] Barry set out to create a new brand of Meguiar's products that targeted car enthusiasts.[3] After four years, Meguiar's Inc. launched its first consumer product, the Meguiar's Liquid Cleaner Wax, at the 1973 APAA Show in Chicago.[3]

Barry led a grassroots program to sell his products at car shows,[4] which grew into the international marketing campaign that became the backbone of Meguiar's global brand.[3]

Career

By mid-1990, car shows and car clubs were suffering in attendance and decreasing in number with the aging population.[1] With a passion for promoting and growing the hobby, Barry created "Car Crazy," a television show for auto enthusiasts that showcases interviews with celebrities and other "car crazed" enthusiasts.[3] Soon after its debut in August 2000,[6] Barry created a radio show of the same name, which emulated the television show and was syndicated to approximately 100 stations throughout the U.S. by Talk America Radio Networks.[7]

Successfully reviving the car hobby in the next generation, the "Car Crazy" TV Show stood as the longest running show on Fox's Speed Channel,[1] an all-motorsports network since 1995.[8] It was moved to broadcast through Discovery's Velocity Channel, with the ending broadcast date around 2008, when Meguiars was acquired by the 3M Corporation.[9] While no longer on Cable TV and no new shows being produced, past shows can now be seen on YouTube.

In 2008, Meguiar's Inc., the 100-year-old family business that manufactures the leading Meguiar's brand of car care products, was acquired by 3M,[10] a Fortune 500 company.[11]

Health and illness

In 2010, Barry contracted a rare virus during a filming of his show "Car Crazy" outside of the States.[12] He was admitted to a hospital, where he spent the next 17 days in critical condition.[13] Barry was diagnosed with a rare strain of viral pneumonia[14] and was placed in an induced coma battling life-threatening conditions.[12] As Barry's staff prepared his obituary, Barry made a dramatic recovery within 24 hours of intensive care and the illness subsided as quickly as it had arisen.[12]

Religion and ministry

In 1973, Barry encountered a man with a passion for leading people in the Christian faith and immediately wanted to experience the same joy in his own life.[15] In 1976, Barry was convinced that his business was his pulpit, and in 2000, embraced the vision for a ministry that encourages others to share their faith.[16]

Barry identifies the recovery from his illness in 2010 as the day he received marching orders from God for the rest of his life.[12] In 2011, Barry founded Revival Outside the Walls, a ministry devoted to bringing purpose and excitement to followers of Jesus Christ.[16]

Revival Outside the Walls

Revival Outside the Walls (ROTW) was founded by Barry Meguiar in 2011 as a non-clergy, lay-led ministry.[16] ROTW serves as an evangelical Christian organization that operates in respect to the traditional church. ROTW has a mission to serve as more of a resource than a ministry[16] and is dedicated to providing tools for intentional faith sharing. ROTW has 60 second radio segments, the "60 Second Recharge," [15] and features video resources to support the need for evangelism. Latest guests featured on the website include Brent Garrison, Director of CEO Relations at CEO Forum, and Dr. James Dobson, Founder of Christian radio channel Family Talk.[17]

Religious involvement and recognition
  • Pt. Loma Nazarene University's Alumnus of the Year
  • Church Board Member, Secretary, Treasurer and Chairman
  • General Council of the Assemblies of God's Layman of the Year
  • Chairman of Lay Ministries for the Assemblies of God
  • Chairman of David Wilkerson's World Challenge Board of Directors
  • Founder/President, Revival Outside the Walls

References
  1. "Nascar Pole Position: Fanatical Finish". Nascar Pole Position. Nascar. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  2. "Velocity TV Show Host Barry Meguiar". Velocity homepage. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  3. "Meguiar's Barry Meguiar Bio". Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  4. "Meguiar's Caribbean: Barry Meguiar Bio". Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  5. "OC Register: Car Wax King Wants To Unite The World". OC Register. David Whiting. 14 April 2010. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  6. "TV Guide: Car Crazy". Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  7. "Car Sound & Performance: Car Crazy". Archived from the original on April 17, 2001. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  8. "Charlotte Observer: Speed Channel". Charlotte Observer. Mark Washburn. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  9. "Velocity TV Shows: Car Crazy". Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  10. "Meguiar's 3M Press Release". Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  11. "CNN Money: Fortune 500 List". CNN Money. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  12. "OC Register: Barry Meguiar out of hospital with second lease on life". OC Register. Matt Degen. 10 September 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  13. "Auto Week: Barry Meguiar released from hospital". Auto Week. Dale Jewitt. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  14. "Sports Car Market: Monterey Hospital Goes "Car Crazy" to Save Barry Meguiar's Life". Sports Car Market. Jim Pickering. September 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  15. "Ambassador Advertising: ROTW". Archived from the original on 2014-05-01. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  16. "Revival Outside the Walls Homepage - About". Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  17. "Revival Outside the Walls Homepage - Videos". Retrieved June 3, 2014.
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