THE DENY STORY
After college, Jake and Neal Llewellyn found themselves in the midst of the Texas oil boom. The brothers were born and raised in North Texas and after dipping their feet in the oilfield game, they decided to dive in head first. In 2007, they went into business for themselves specializing in oilfield construction, and based right out of their old stomping grounds in Decatur, Texas.
Only a few short years later they expanded to South Texas, headquartering out of Cotulla, just ahead of the Eagle Ford Shale oil boom. As anyone who’s worked the oilfields of South Texas knows, it’s different down there. The days were long, hot, and they covered hundreds of miles with nothing but oil rigs in sight. The introduction of YETI coolers provided just what was needed for keeping items cold in that extreme environment.
The brothers came to love their YETI coolers. “It’s a way of life,” said Neal. For them, it was a tough cooler, one that kept ice for days – a necessity in the heat. Just having a YETI made a statement. After all, it was the best. That was the same image they relentlessly pursued in building their own business.
When their first $400 cooler was stolen, it was a punch in the gut!
Being right in the middle of the welding and fabricating world, Jake and Neal soon came up with a way they thought would stop the thieves. They fabricated a crude version of today’s StiffArm™ Locking bar and welded it directly to the bed of the truck and secured it with a padlock. Once that lock design was set, they splurged and coughed up the money to replace the original cooler.
It wasn’t long before they were hit again. The padlock was snipped, and another cooler was gone. The exposed padlock was the weak link.
Next, a full steel guard was welded to the bar as protection for the padlock itself. It was only days before they were defeated again. The scums had stolen a third, and final YETI.
After this third theft, war was officially declared against all cooler thieves!
In 2016, the first prototype of what would become the final lock system was ready. Since then, the IronFist™ Anchoring Lock Base has been through rounds and rounds of engineering and design, military grade testing at one of the top testing facilities used by the US Military, as well as extensive real-life testing in the back of pickups, flatbeds, roustabout trucks, on boat decks, and bouncing around in UTVs and ATVs across Texas ranches. Through these endeavors, a brand had been born. DENY Locks. A brand determined to STOP COOLER THIEVES COLD!
DENY Locks will win the war on cooler thieves!
Have you had one of your coolers stolen? We want to hear your story.