By: Dwayne Parton

The Brown Claw

[![Get your very own Brown Claw at Gauley Fest 2013 for just $7!!!](/2013/09/16/brown-claws-for-sale.png)](http://dwayneparton.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/brown-claws-for-sale.png)
Get your very own Brown Claw at Gauley Fest 2013 for just $7!!!

I never really understood the meaning of “Brown Claw”, so I decided to look it up. I’ve seen lots of boaters doing this down drops and in holes, it’s just weird and yet also cool. It seems there is always someone beside me who is like”WHAT! He just brown-clawed that!”. Brown-Clawed? What kind of verb is that? So anyhow, time to figure out just what it means.

Here’s the gist: The “Brown Claw” is a way to style a rapid, share a laugh, and lighten the mood on any river. The story behind it is just about having fun and it originated from Demshitz who was throwing them during freestyle competitions. Now it’s turned into an international boater sign. The idea, well, instead of saying “That guy is ‘the $#!+’!” how about changing that the ‘The Brown’. Pretty witty and G rated. If you want to see the full story you can read it here or watch the Demshitz crew explain it in the video below.

“Be careful when you brown, you can end up eating Brown! Because when you’re running the Brown sometimes brown hits the fan. And Demshitz will tell you it’s still possible to hold your paddle with both hands and Aerial Brown yourself while running a ridiculously stout brown.”