It was 2017 when this story began, whose protagonist is Julián Lanzillotta, the owner of Fuegos JL, the company from the western suburbs that won its World Cup by beating 10 others that applied to be a supplier of the grills that would be sent to Qatar. together with 2630 kilos of meat. “Everything started from my passion for barbecue, especially cooking at stake. One day it occurred to me to do something different for the fund at home. I thought of something with wheels to move it according to the wind and to be multifunctional. This is how the first one was born ”, says Julián from his factory in Moreno.
It took eight months to make it, buying the wheels in different places and improvising a bit. “I had notions of welding, because I had worked in my old man’s generator company, and I got a knack for it because another of our family businesses was an industrial hardware store. The second one I did for my club, Mariano Moreno, where I played until years ago. And something incredible happened to me one day in June 2018: I left the locker room after a game and saw that there were close to 100 people around the device, taking photos of you and asking who had done it. On Monday I already had about 20 messages asking me if I could produce others. This is how the idea of opening an account was born. Instagram (@fuegosJL), with a logo that my brother put together for me, and to start manufacturing,” he says. It is not for less: because in addition to being a multifaceted and innovative device, it is aesthetic and very original, almost resembling a tank from the Bronze Age.
The first year I made 20 a week, in a very traditional way and with the help of a great friend (Toto), going to look for wheels in the interior of the country. But everything started to explode when famous athletes made their appearance. First it was Nicolás Laprovittola, player of the basketball team, Lanzillotta’s acquaintance from the western area of the Buenos Aires suburbs, where they both grew up. The point guard posted a photo of a Raqnar –each model has a different name from the Vikings series- in full roast and the followers soared. Then it was the boys from Locos x el Asado and then the footballers arrived.
The first experience was with Andres D’Alessandro and his brother. But everything exploded when the Funes Mori brothers bought several and uploaded several stories to their Instagram, crazy with the new acquisitions. “Just that day I was traveling to Italy, on vacation with my family, and thousands of messages began to arrive. I sold like 100 roasters. And I had nothing, no employees, not even a workshop”remember.
This is how many other footballers arrived. “Bruno Zuculini, a great one, bought me several. From River also has Enzo Pérez, at the time the Pity Martínez, Cavenaghi and Lamela took one for England. From Boca, Palermo, Battaglia, Schiavi, Andrada, the goalkeeper… Fernando Gago too. Not to mention (Rodrigo) De Paul. Little Schwartzman also, same as Turtle Deckthe former basketball player nba what is in the real Madrid, for when he returns to his town in Santiago. Although for me, who loves basketball, the top moment was when he asked me Manuin 2021. We take it to your house, in san antonio. I could not travel but my partner in Texas He made me a video call and I was able to chat with him for a little while. I admire him a lot. The truth is that all the athletes I had the chance to meet are admirable”, says who now he has 40 people working with him, between a headquarters in General Rodríguez, the factory in Moreno and a branch in Boerne, Texas -which sells throughout the United States-, another in Spain and a third in the United Kingdom, as well as reaching 39 other countries.
The business does not stop growing. Today it sells about 400 monthly products of a total of 15 different models, depending on the client’s needs and the money they intend to spend (the average for the products is approximately 130,000 pesos). Of course, he never thought that the new step would be on such a scale. Months ago, the same AFA contacted Lanzillotta to propose that he make a proposal thinking about barbecues during the World Cup. They didn’t want his innovative grills so much, they told him, but something more conventional, at the request of the selected chef, Diego Iacovone. Likewise, Julián convinced them to send him, in addition to four standard grills, a Floki, the flagship product, which has two crosses for cooking on the stake and a cage for hanging and smoking. All this was not used in the first roast, prior to the debut and after the friendly in Abu Dhabi, but at least he served as a stoker. Likewise, Lanzillotta does not lose hope “that one of the players will be encouraged to do something on the grill because what the product has is that: you can grill and cook in different ways,” he explains.
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When the AFA announced that “I had won my World Cup, I really couldn’t believe it, but there was not much time to celebrate because we had to work against the clock. I would arrive at the factory at 9 and leave at 11 at night to be able to deliver them on time and in the correct manner”, says the person who before they left for Doha He made a video and also a photo with the employees who put the project on their shoulders. Not to mention the pride he felt when he saw, days ago, that the players began to post on their social networks the first barbecue they shared in the national bunker at the University of Doha. “Everyone called me, it was very special,” he admits.
“We want everyone to feel as if they were in the Ezeiza property, in our country. That is why the barbecue area, the grills, the meat and the barbecue”, they assured from the national delegation. Scaloni, the DT, went further. “My favorite food is barbecue, but this goes further. The ones that seduce us to do it, to transfer that moment to other parts of the world and precisely here is what it means, what generates us… Because it gives us an atmosphere of union and collective chemistry. It is part of our culture, of the Argentine idiosyncrasy. It is that time that we enjoy together, that allows us to chat, laugh, relax and connect. Eating barbecue is not wine, dulce de leche, or even necessarily meat, despite the fact that we love it. It is being in a group and the connection that is generated”, admitted the head coach who specially requested Argentine meat and grills for this moment.
Lanzillotta defines himself as not a football fan, but this alliance with the AFA excites him a lot. “It is about the Selection of our most popular sport, with the best in the world in our squad, in a World Cup that we are looking forward to so much, with all that this generates in the people…. And that my products are there, with them, surely being part of a very special moment such as a barbecue, is something that really touches my heart. There is no better place for our products. If now I have to retire from this, that’s it ”, he was sincere, excited.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
