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By: Tim Donaldson
“In His Own Words” - Up Close & Personal with
Brian Fisher of Fisher’s ATV World
Continued from page
2
Brian's new ride & trailer - Look for it
out on the road! |
ATVSource:
Where do you see the sport of ATVing in the next
one year? Five years.
Brian: ATVs have come a long way with bigger and
better technology introduced each year! The new
“side by side” trends are getting more people
involved with our recreation than ever before.
As the number of people that are enjoying our
sport rise, so will the number of places to ride
if we all stick together and do the right thing.
Some of the “right” things is to keep our noise
levels to a minimum, ride ON the trail that is
there--not off, wearing your protective riding
gear, keep kids on the appropriate-size ATVs,
don’t drink and drive your ATV, stay off private
property unless you have permission, etc. One
negligent ATV rider makes it bad for the rest of
our ATV Community. I believe there is power in
numbers, and we can make a difference. So I
guess it’s up to us of where we’ll be in the
next five years. I’d like to see ATVing keep
growing. It’s a great release of life’s everyday
pressures and a great way to recreate with your
family and friends to enjoy the outdoors!
ATVSource: What do you like best about having a
television show?
Brian: Traveling the world and riding in places
you could only dream of. Now that’s COOL!
ATVSource: What do you like least?
Brian: Nothing really. Maybe being away from my
family and pulling all of the sponsorships
together each year.
ATVSource: If you had to do it over again, would
you do anything differently?
Brian: No. I think life is a journey and I don’t
ever want to “arrive” because then you have
nothing to reach for. Everything we went through
to get to this point in our life was a lesson
learned to help us with the rest of our life.
ATVSource: What are your long term goals for the
show?
Brian: I guess my long term goal for the show
would be to make everyone want to get out and
ride! We want to create a positive image for our
sport and hopefully, someday, become the “Bill
Jordan” of our industry. The show is a tool to
show people where they can ride and it also
creates awareness of safety concerns. It’s cool
when we get emails and letters from kids that
tell us their parents or grandparents went out
and bought them a helmet because they see
everyone on our show wearing helmets. Again,
that positive reinforcement without jamming it
down everyone’s throat goes a long way!
First three ATVs bought & shold from
front yard! |
ATVSource: I know interacting with the viewers
is important to you. How is that best
achieved?
Brian: I try to be myself both on and off the
camera. Just the guy next door that likes to go
riding, I’m taking you all along for a new place
to ride each week on the show. We try to get out
to as many ATV events as we can to meet up with
people, shake their hands or share a hug, and
listen to their ATV stories. I get lots of
e-mails through our website, and we try to
answer each and every one. We get a ton of
emails from our viewers that want to go riding
with me and my crew. Something new we’ll
be doing this year is holding our own event,
Fisher’s ATV Reunion, in Gilbert, West Virginia
from June 20th through June 22nd. We’ve got a
lot of great things planned for this weekend and
hope you can come hang out and ride the Hatfield
& McCoy Trails with us! Check out our website
www.fishersatvworld.com for more
information.
ATVSource: Is there a most memorable moment from
the show?
Brian: I would have to say one of my most
memorable moments from the show was when I got
to take my
dad, who is 90 years-old, on a turkey
hunt in Northern Pennsylvania. My dad was a game
warden for over 28 years and truly loved
fishing, trapping, and hunting turkeys. Now, I
know many of you might be thinking that he’s a
little old to be my dad but actually he is my
grandfather. My mom died in a car accident when
I was 10 months old so my grandmother and
grandfather raised me and I call them Dad and
Mom because that’s what they were to me.
My Dad served a few years in the Army and then
went on to make a living at Caterpillar in York,
PA. He is the most honest and trustworthy person
I know. He thought his hunting days
were over when he was put in a wheel chair, so
this trip was a total surprise to him. We got to
show first hand how the side by side’s are
helping people with disabilities get out and
enjoy the outdoors. And as for Dad, he got to
whack one more turkey and spend some quality
time with our family! What an awesome trip!
ATVSource: What is your favorite trail or type
of riding (sport, mud, rocks, dunes, etc.)?
Brian: My favorite riding would have to be
some challenging technical riding combined with
a few trails that have awesome scenery! I’m more
of a utility ATV rider than a sport rider. I do
like riding sport quads when I’m at a track, but
for climbing over rocks and logs and doing some
trail riding, I really prefer a utility ATV with
independent rear suspension! That’s the hook up!
ATVSource: Anything you wish sharing that your
audience may be surprised to know about you
guys?
Brian: Something our audience might find
surprising is that we (Brian & Melissa) have no
formal training/education in what we are doing.
We just found a way to make a living doing what
we love!
ATVSource: What do you think separates Fisher’s
ATV World from the “other guys”?
Brian: I guess what separates Fisher’s ATV World
from “the other guys” is the personal connection
with me as the host combined with our “reality
based” format. I’m just your trail-riding buddy
that’s taking you to lots of places you can ride
and have the same experiences I do. It’s about
building the dream of where you can go and what
you can do when it’s just you and the open
trail……
We try to keep the show entertaining along with
setting standards for our industry. I guess in
the end, we’re looking to create an “image” or
“personality” that represents the ATV Industry
in a positive way–again kind of like “Bill
Jordan” with Realtree Outdoors. Riding ATVs has
really become a family recreation, and that’s
what we try to promote. We want to ensure that
the next generations to come will be able to
enjoy the same things we do!
The Fisher's February 2008 |
ATVSource
would like to thank Brian for taking the time to
give us an inside look at what it takes to make
it all happen! Currently, Fisher’s ATV World has
been airing exclusively on The Outdoor Channel,
beginning in January 2008 with the release of 26
original episodes (3 airs/week). The Outdoor
Channel caters to 30+ million households of
outdoor enthusiasts.
Supplementing
the traditional show features, Fisher’s ATV will
launch a new show called Fisher’s ATV
Adventures. The extra show format will feature
the same “Keepin’ it Real” style with which fans
are familiar yet will place more emphasis on
adventures, travel destinations, industry tips,
trends with industry leaders, plus “behind the
scenes” factory tours. Fisher’s ATV Adventures
will debut in July 2008, exclusively on Versus.
For more
information about Fisher’s ATV and the upcoming
Fisher’s ATV Reunion on June 20-22, please visit
their website at
www.fishersatvworld.com.
Photo's provided by Fisher's ATV World
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