Civil Engineer by Day Inventor by Night with Joey Crookshanks

I meet Joey Crookshanks at Meet Up 64. He tells me about his business, Tailgator Outdoors. About a year and a half ago, he invented a product that turns a cooler like a Yeti into a beverage dispenser. You screw it into the drain plug, and it lets you keep a mixed drink separate from the rest of the cooler’s contents. He came up with the idea because he and his wife prefer different drinks and needed a way to keep everything in one place without mixing flavors or messing up the ice.

This isn’t his first invention. Back in 2020, Joey worked with Marshall University and the Robert C. Byrd Institute. He got some grant funding and a patent pending on a different product, which he sold to a company in Columbus, Ohio. He moved there for three years. When the company didn’t renew the patent pending, he moved back to West Virginia and started developing it again on his own. He explains that patent pending status lasts 12 months. It’s a common approach for early-stage products when companies aren’t ready to pay for a full patent.

Joey says he’s always looking for problems to solve. It’s not tied to any one industry. If something in daily life slows him down or seems annoying, he sits down and tries to fix it. He says that’s where his engineering mindset kicks in. He also says solving problems isn’t just about creativity—it’s about knowing how many other people have the same problem and how much they’d pay to fix it.

Even with multiple side projects, Joey works full time as a civil engineer. He admits it’s exhausting, but he’s passionate about the process. When I ask about taking a product from idea to reality, he says West Virginia has a lot of grant funding available, especially if you know where to look. Since he’s a Marshall graduate, he leans on his old professors and existing relationships to help push his ideas forward. In his words, it’s a lot about who you know and a little about what you know.

As we wrap up, Joey shares how people can find his product. He says the best place is his website, tailgatoroutdoors.com. I tell him I’m going to check it out myself. Joey’s story is a reminder that hustling means staying curious, solving problems, and building strong connections.