[S3] Ep. 18 - Brothers Dick & Pete Dreissigaker: The Innovators Behind Concept2

Sep 3

Brothers Pete (L) and Dick Dreissigacker founded Concept2 in the 1970s when they started developing a first-of-its-kind composite oar.

Out for an early morning oar-testing session in their 1984 wooden Stämpfli 2- on Big Hosmer Pond, Craftsbury, Vermont.

Great Hosmer Pond, home to Craftsbury Rowing Center, and testing grounds for Concept2 oars.

Developing the Model A - an indoor rowing machine for training and mass market home use.

A Concept2 employee services an oar at the 2015 Head of the Charles, Boston, Mass.

Concept2 oars and indoor rowing machines are nearly synonymous with rowing. But did you know that it all started in the early 1970s with brothers Pete and Dick Dreissigacker? They were just a couple of grad students messing around with carbon fiber and fiberglass in a kitchen hoping to develop a better oar - their “secret weapon” for finding more speed on the water.

And to keep training through cold winters in Vermont? Nail an old bike to the floor and pull on the free end of a chain. Voila! The mass market indoor rower was born.

Pete and Dick open up about:

getting hooked on rowing
how Title IX expanded the demand for oars
being champions of rowing in the 1980s fitness market
hoping to get it all together by the time you reach the HOCR start line.

GUESTS
Dick Dreissigacker
Pete Dreissigacker
www.concept2.com

Facebook: Concept2, Inc.
Instagram: @concept2inc
Twitter: @concept2

TIME STAMPS
[00:00] Episode lead-in
[03:04] Rapid Fire Q&A
[08:20] In preparing for another run at HOCR (which they’ve done every year since 1979) working on disappearing into the row, and sharing memories about their coxswains
[15:28] Dick left football for rowing, and persuaded Pete – a discuss thrower – to get in a 1x
[19:00] Getting hooked on teamwork and getting it all right
[25:06] Starting to experiment with making composite oars
[30:38] Oars: early prototypes, manufacturing, and what made them unique
[33:55] Tackling innovations: split handles, big blade controversy of 1992
[39:29] Growing a business, hiring staff, driving innovation
[44:05] Success of C2 oars around the world
[46:55] Listener question: Who has a faster 5k?
[48:10] Listener question: How does the monitor calculate its data?
[51:10] The Model A origin story, and what the indoor rowing market looked like in the early 1980s
[55:00] Best screen display for learn to row students
[56:50] The impact of COVID on Concept2 production and staff, and the explosion of indoor rowing around the world
[1:00:30] What expectations Dick and Pete had for the business
[1:04:11] Favorite coxing commands

This episode was made possible in part by our Patrons, Concept2, and Lake Washington Rowing Club.
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