Kayak Session: Dave, what's up? What are you up?
Dave Fusilli: I'm watching the Steelers game. I also just bought tickets to Billy Strings in Pittsburgh! (Bren Orton, if you are reading this right now and did not get Billy tickets… I'm not mad. Just disappointed.) Mostly, though, I have been doing sales, distribution, and some media for Pyranha Kayaks. I also help Immersion Research and Shred Ready and rip on the dirt bike while I wait for it to rain here in Washington.
KS: You've been with Pyranha for almost your entire career. That's some long-time love.
DF: I'm very grateful to be still working with Pyranha. I think the love is mutual; they have done a lot for me, and I think I have done a lot for the brand. I always liked the boats, but when I got to know the people running the show in the US, it was just my type of people. Pyranha has always had a wild side, and Demshitz kept that torch burning. Some things are just meant to be, I guess.
KS: Tell us more about Demshitz. What is Demshitz? How did it all start?
DF: The name came from me, my dude Dave George, and Mike Mathwin partying on the streets of Missoula, Montana. We were slightly intoxicated, and this huge dude in a tiny white car kept driving past. Out of the blue, Dave yelled, "DEMSHITZ LOVES US." Mike and I started laughing our asses off. We yelled "Demshitz!" at everything for the rest of that trip. After the trip, Mike made some Demshitz stickers. The following spring, I got sponsored by Pyranha and thrown into the Pyranha rig. I put a Demshitz sticker on the side of the van, and Jared and Graham Seiler, who were in the van with me, loved it. We took that van and that word all over the country for eight years. The rest is history.
KS: The Brown Claw also came out of the van years, right? That hand movement has made it all over the world. What led to the Brown Claw?
Graham Seiler invented the Brown Claw. Jared and I were in jail, and Graham was competing at FIBARK (where we were supposed to be). First place in the
