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| Demshitz Drop in Chile |
DBP Interviews Demshitz’ Jared Seiler
By: Alex DePue
Chances are if you follow whitewater, you have heard of Demshitz. Over the past several years, Demshitz has become the face of one of the best kayak brands in the sport: Pyranha Kayaks. Every year team Pyranha tours the United States in their signature van, competing in races, rodeos, and running the sh*t. Meet Jared Seiler; one of Demshitz founders, team Pyranha paddler, and kayaking legend. Growing up in Pennsylvania, Jared was the son of another kayaking legend, Jay Seiler. Growing up with kayaking in the family, Jared and his brother Graham were on the water before most of us learned to ride a bike. Besides pioneering many first descents and runs in Pennsylvania (and other states) such as Wapwallopen,and Raymondskill, Jared was crowned 2013 King of New York after he successfully navigated the bottom Moose in a sea kayak! Besides being a kayaking legend and owner of Demshitz, Jared is also a registered nurse, and one of the nicest most approachable people on the water. So be sure to show Pyranha and Demshitz some love (check them out here) and say hi next time you see the Pyranha van at your local run! Also be sure to check out Jared’s Sponsors: Astral, Immersion Research, Pyranha Kayaks, Watershed DryGear, and Werner Paddles and their new Demshitz Paddle!
DBP: You have traveled all over the world running some of biggest drops in existence. To you what are the biggest and scariest drops you have run? The hardest for you? How do these drops compare to local stouts such as Powder Hole on the Wapwallopen?
Jared: Hey! Thanks for the praises DBP! I appreciate the opportunity to chat with you all. So… My all time gnarliest drops I have run are salto palguin (85′), gerds drop (60′) both in chile. Horsecock falls (55′) in Argentina. The “Untouchables” on Fantasy Falls in California. Also most recently, Matzes drop (60′) in Norway… There may be a few others I’m forgetting but those ones come to mind.
The Powder hole is a special one for me because I first saw it when I was 17 and thought about it for almost 10 years before I got the first descent! Plus its 2 hours from where I grew up. Its a tough drop to stick, and I would say its on par with some of the hardest/sketchiest drops Ive run!
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| Powder Hole on the WapWallopen |
Demshitz in Norway – Day Edit – Marine-Juvet from jared seiler on Vimeo.
DBP: What goes through your mind as you run a huge drop? Are you scared, or Nervous? How do you cope with those fears? And what makes a big drop worth running or not running to you?
Jared: When I run a big drop I scout the line and at the same time try to rule out all the bad possibilities and imagine how I would react if my plan did go wrong. When I decide to run it I try not to dwell on the negative aspects and focus solely on hitting the line with plan b in the back of my mind. Being scared happens a lot and adds an energy to the situation which I try to channelize into a positive thing. I stretch a little, take deep breaths, keep a low heart rate, splash water in my face and ask the river god for strength and promise to try to do something good in return! I do not typically run drops where I think there is a chance I might not make it… It has to be fun otherwise its not worth it.
DBP: Out of all the places you have been, what country was your favorite and why? What is the most beautiful river you have ever been on? Your favorite river?
Jared: My favorite country to paddle in is the USA! Chile in close second.
The most beautiful river I have paddled is probably the middle kings in California. My favorite river is hard to say because there are at least three or four different kinds of rivers I like. Day runs, Play runs, park n play, park n huck and overnighters. In that order Little white salmon, Gauley river, scudders, old middle palguin and Fantasy Falls.
DBP: Demshitz is known for running the sh*t and starting a trend called the “brown claw”. For those of us not familiar with a brown claw, what is it and how did it get its name? Whats the biggest drop you have ever thrown a brown claw down?
Jared: When Dave Fusilli and my brother Graham Seiler and I were riding in the team Pyranha van we watched the movie Borat a lot and started talking like him. The Brown claw was created by my brother Graham and it was pretty much stolen from Borat. Borat calls taking a s#!+, “making a brown” and does a claw hand sign when he says “brown”. Graham did a brown claw while throwing a front loop and we cried laughing. The three of us grew up idolizing the infamous Tdub crew and they always called kayaking hard rivers “running the shit”, so we changed it for us to “running the brown”. Brown has since gone viral in the community. I threw a brown claw above the Demshitz drop (45′) which is a drop in Chile we first descended, so that was pretty stout and symbolic I suppose!
DBP: The new Pyranha 9R is a boat that is very hard to get a hold of. Can you give us a quick review of the boat? Are their runs you’d rather use a Shiva on, or is the 9R a better all around design for any type of water? Are more 9R’s going to become available, and will they be made in other sizes?
Jared: I have paddled the 9R a few times and just got mine this week. The bow rocker on this boat is on point. This feature alone makes the boat easier to skip over stuff. It is 9′ long and the bow never goes under so it feels a lot faster than the Shiva. The 9R has a tendency to boof everything so for a big waterfall you would want to plug the Shiva may be a better choice. Also, the Shiva is not as long so might be better on tight creeks.
Pyranha 9R Gettin’ Busy from jared seiler on Vimeo.
DBP: You recently became a registered nurse (congratulations by the way!). What drew you to this profession? Has it affected you at all on the river? Made you more cautious?
Jared: I am still working towards my nursing degree. I take the licensing exam this summer. I was influenced to become a nurse by my mom and my kayaking friends who are nurses. I like helping people and teaching and that’s a big part of nursing. I also wanted to learn about the body so it was a good fit for me. I’ve since grown so much respect for nursing as a profession and am as excited to become a pro nurse as I was to become a pro kayaker! I’ve set my buddies dislocated shoulders a couple times and I think my training has helped me remain calm when s#!+ hits the fan. Its comforting to have an understanding of what to do in emergency situations on the river.
DBP: Do you have any advice for up and coming paddlers or “hucksters” such as myself? What is in store for Jared Seiler in 2015? Any secret drops or runs you are looking at getting on?
Jared: The best advice I can give to up and coming creek boaters is to respect the river and skillfully climb the ladder of milestones. Its one thing to get down gorilla on the green and another to style it. The worst thing you can do is get in over your head on the river. Its just not fun that way for anyone, especially other people who have worked hard to get there who you could put in danger because they may have to rescue you! Put the time in styling stuff before you step up to the next big thing.
This summer I was thinking about hitting the races out west with that new 9R! Little white and NFC… But I’m worried they might not have water! In which case I’ll hang around the east side. Plenty of water here! I’d like to make a trip to New England and Quebec! We will see!
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| Salto Penguin |
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| Salto Penguin |
Pyranha JED from jared seiler on Vimeo.