Miss Essie BBQ-Meet The Team: Marcus Leon Jones

Marcus derives from very humble beginnings. Growing up in Arizona, with three siblings in the poorer areas of West Phoenix, he credits his mother with being the driving force in the family. Every few years, he remembers packing up the house and moving to a new house, a bit bigger, in a better neighborhood. Both his parents taught him the value of working hard and the value of a dollar. Marcus had a few learning issues to overcome as well, dyslexia and a stutter where challenges to his learning. Coming from an athletic family, Marcus learned early that he would have to work hard in the classroom as well as on the field if he was going to have a future in competitive sports.

Marcus found his love of sports in basketball, track and football. During his freshman year of high school, one of his coaches and mentors, Mark Lovett, suggested to Marcus that he focus his efforts more on football.

“He told me we needed to talk, and he told me I couldn’t play basketball anymore,” Marcus said. “When I asked why, he told me that although I was gifted, it was not my sport, it was not my calling. My calling was track and football because I was fast, big and was going to grow into a powerful person. He told me to trust him, and I did, and he was right. After that, I started hanging around with individuals that wanted to see me succeed.”

Marcus started lifting weights and working out, following the advice of people who wanted to help him succeed. He also worked hard on overcoming the stuttering by practicing reading out loud and spoke to the teachers so they understood that he cared about what was happening in the classroom. These mentors taught him the importance of “finishing”.

When Marcus was a senior, letters of intent rolled in, the University of Utah had the best offer. Utah offered him attendance and a scholarship on a Prop 48, this would bring him to the University of Utah and give him time to get a decent ACT score. Upon arrival they needed him to start as a freshman, Marcus hired a tutor and worked hard to get that score up.

“I don’t like to let people down, I learned to always work hard, people who don’t ‘finish’ fail, I hate failure.” Marcus said.

Upon finishing college, Marcus worked at Costco for ten years before launching Miss Essie’s BBQ Sauce in 2003. His daughter Michelle is following in her father’s athletic footsteps. At 16, she is an amazing soccer player and enjoys boxing.