The Early Days of Greasers Power-washers Online

Long before there was Facebook, LinkedIn, or even much email, there were

bulletin boards.

Robert Hinderliter from Delco ran one, Ron Musgraves had another, and Matt Bryan created one called The Grease Police. It was a simple but brilliant idea: a small online community of “greasers” from around the country—guys like me who worked in the kitchen exhaust cleaning industry.

Back then, bulletin boards were cutting-edge. There was no Facebook, no texting, and barely any email. So, these boards became the lifeline of communication and connection. Robert had one of the largest and most active boards, which was used for training and exchanging information. Ron, out of Phoenix, built another powerhouse that still has an online presence to this day. And then there was Matt, with his clever Grease Police board, dedicated exclusively to exhaust cleaners.

That was groundbreaking. Before those boards, the industry was notoriously secretive. No one wanted to share information—especially in the early years of ICA. But suddenly, thanks to Robert, Ron, and Matt, people were connecting and opening up. For the first time, knowledge was spreading freely across the industry.

I still remember walking into Robert’s office years ago and seeing binders stacked floor to ceiling. They had printed out every single response from the bulletin board—binders and binders of conversations, tips, and arguments. It was incredible. Those pages were a living history of our trade, and countless people learned from them.

Of course, even then, you had your share of “armchair pressure washers”—guys who sat behind a keyboard acting like they knew everything, when in reality they barely knew anything. But that was part of the charm. It was the start of a brand-new communication culture, one that shaped how our industry—and the internet itself—would evolve.

So when I look back, I’m grateful. Thank you, Robert. Thank you, Ron. And thank you, Matt. You were the pioneers who started it all, and the industry was forever changed because of it.