FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Chris Diede, CMO
Email: media@chillnreel.com
TULSA FIREFIGHTER TO APPEAR ON “SHARK TANK” WITH HIS FISHING CAN COOLER INVENTION
Jake Rutledge, along with his son and brother-in-law, will pitch the Chill-N-Reel on ABC’s “Shark Tank” airing May 13 at 8 p.m. EST/PST
SAND SPRINGS, OK, May 2, 2022— The team behind the Chill-N-Reel™ will be featured nationwide on Season 13 of ABC’s hit reality show, “Shark Tank” on May 13, 8 p.m. EST/PST.
Jake Rutledge, who has been a Tulsa firefighter for twenty-two years, will be pitching the Chill-N-Reel to the “Sharks” along with his son, Chase Terrell and brother-in-law, Chris Diede of Austin, Texas.
The Chill-N-Reel is a patented can cooler with an attached hand-line fishing reel. Made for a relaxing, fun day on the water, it allows anglers to catch fish without putting their drinks down.
“I’m so excited to have the opportunity to be on ‘Shark Tank,’” Rutledge said. “When I invented the Chill-N-Reel while on vacation at the beach a few years ago, I only dreamed about introducing it to a national television audience -- and now it’s coming true!”
Jake and his 28 year old “pitch man” son Chase Terrell started selling Chill-N-Reels at fairs and trade shows in early 2020, but then hit a roadblock when shows were shut down due to the pandemic. However, after they were featured on a local news story in Tulsa, Jake’s brother-in-law Chris Diede stepped in and pivoted the focus to ecommerce. Within 10 months, the startup hit $1M in online sales.
“After we started making more sales, my son Chase was determined to get us on ‘Shark Tank,’ so he was the one who applied,” said Rutledge. “Once the producers initially responded, I think it was the combined creativity and diligence from the three of us that took Chill-N-Reel from being one of tens of thousands of applicants to actually getting on the show!”
Chill-N-Reel sought to partner with the “Sharks” to leverage their business knowledge and experience and to help expand the company’s operations to support the growing demand for its product.
About Chill-N-Reel, LLC
Invented by Oklahoma firefighter Jake Rutledge, the Chill-N-Reel is the drink insulator you can fish with! It is a patented, hand-line fishing reel attached to the side of a hard-shell can cooler. Company operations are headquartered in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, with ecommerce and marketing operations based in Austin, Texas. Learn more at https://chillnreel.com, or follow @chillnreel on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or TikTok.
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