Awesome Auger has Youngstown connection

What began as a hobby for Youngstown native Tom Motosko has turned him into a nationwide success.

Motosko, 58, of Cambridge, Wis., is the brain behind the Awesome Auger, a gardening tool that attaches to any drill. He said it takes the tough labor out of gardening and yard work.

Motosko, who lost both legs in 1996 when a private plane he was flying crashed, said he came up with the idea in the late 1990s while doing rehab exercises on the floor of his father’s Youngstown home.

“I saw the neighbor digging in his garden. He always had a beautiful, meticulous garden, and when I was a little kid I always wondered what the point was,” he said. “That particular day my father brought back a bag full of personal stuff from the crash [including] an auger tie down for the plane. Something in my head just clicked about putting that on a drill.”

The tool has grossed more than $10 million through online purchase since hitting the market in 2003, he said.

Hiring a famous pitchman to advertise the product may have helped.

“When I invented the product, I invented it for TV,” Motosko said. “After a contract was negotiated, I got a call saying Billy Mays was going to do the commercial, and I just started laughing because I’ve known Billy ... since the 70s.”

Mays, who grew up in Pittsburgh and frequented the Youngstown area, said he has a lot of respect and admiration for Motosko.

“It was an honor. Here’s a guy who had everything,” Mays said of Motosko. “This guy was the premiere pitchman at the time. He was the best pitchman you could imagine in terms of working the crowd. Us pitchmen, we all watch each other.”

Read more in Sunday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com