Vyper Industrial makes sitting down cool.
Whereas the old mentality about working in a garage or machine shop may have been “if you’ve got time to lean, you’ve got time to clean,” says Alex Ostrihonsky, the company’s head of brand and partnerships, suddenly the ergonomic advantages of sitting in a good chair are not just manly, but also break‑the‑internet hip.
Vyper, a 2024 Inc. 5000 fastest-growing company, is headed by the sons of legendary Two Rivers machine maker Chris Rusch, whose business Rusch Machine and Design was pivotal in the West Coast Choppers movement and sold to Baileigh Industrial in 2018. Today, Dayne and Dylan Rusch are passionate about building Vyper Industrial in Greater Green Bay.
It started with a fed-up Chris Rusch’s design for a “non-crappy” shop chair, and it has quickly become not just a gearhead staple but a full-blown movement, with brand ambassadors ranging from Bill Goldberg and Jay Leno to Hoonigan and Jason Kelce and with products that include chairs, stools, creepers, shop fans and utility carts.
“Anything that sucks in the shop, we want to make a better version of it,” says Ostrihonsky, whose employment with Vyper actually started out on a volunteer basis as a highly enthusiastic customer. “People see Vyper like the Rolls-Royce: If we make something, they know it’s going to be the best.”
In five years, the company has gone from three employees to more than 55, with a new 65,000-square-foot headquarters scheduled to open in Wrightstown this month.
The design of Vyper products is so appealing and distinctive that it has even attracted fans to become collectors. And because of their form and function, they’re starting to find their way out of garages and into music studios, medical suites and even craft rooms, Ostrihonsky says.
Ultimately, it’s the reputation for quality that has put Vyper on the map and will keep it growing.
“We’re bringing back the old school way of building stuff,” Ostrihonsky says, “where you buy one thing you have forever.”
