DVS signs Brian Deegan

DVS said Wednesday that it has signed signature moto athlete Brian Deegan to its moto team.

I followed up with DVS President Brian Dunlap and asked him a few questions about the news.

Deegan is also the co-founder of Metal Mulisha clothing brand, which is under the La Jolla Group. He previously represented Etnies in the footwear category.

See DVS website for the official press release.

How long has DVS wanted Deegan on its team?

The funny thing is I almost signed Deegan back in 1999 when we first created a FMX team for DVS. I signed Ronnie Faisst and Larry Linkogle at the same time and was trying to put something together for Brian but it did not work out.

Brian has always been such an iconic athlete and we always felt he would be a great fit for our brand. Fast forward 13 years later, and I am honored to have him on our program.

What percentage of DVS’s business is from moto?

It is always tough to determine what percentage of sales is coming from different categories. We have been backing moto for over 12 years now and we feel like it is become a strong segment of action sports business.

The TV media around Supercross, Motocross and the Off Road truck series has been a great reach for marketing. Our roots are built in skateboarding but do feel that this segment holds a strong part of the market share.

How do you plan to utilize the new relationship?

He will be one of our top marquee athletes that we will build a complete signature line and marketing strategy around. With all of Brian’s accomplishments we feel he hits such a wide market that is heavily influenced by motocross and off road racing.

Motor-sports have always been a large part of what DVS is and we feel this will really strengthen that market share for us. Brian will sit along side the DVS athlete roster of Daewon Song, Torey Pudwill, John Jackson, MFM, Kevin Windham and Justin Barcia to name a few.

How is business in the moto world these days?

Overall, it has been great for us. There are a lot of current action sports retailers that are backing moto these days, which is great to see.

I feel like the new age kids are way more open to doing multiple sports and not just stuck in one of the four. I grew up doing all of them and feel like more youth these days are doing the same.

If the waves are small go skate, if its winter and rained in the city then head up and go snowboarding, a long weekend comes along and its time to head out to the desert and ride dirt bikes with your family and friends. Surf, skate, snow or moto, just pick one and it will make you smile.