The Exit Traveler
President of R.A.W. Rescue Products, which went on to produce the device in the U.S., and who demonstrated it in the U.S. and on television abroad.
In the press
Newsweek, 1987. “There is no free fall with the device, and that is unique,” says Rick Denzien, president of R.A.W. Rescue Products of Ambler, Pa., which distributes the product. Asked why the portable model stops at 12 stories: “Because that kit is not inconvenient to carry around.” Read the scan
The Morning Call, 1987. At the first U.S. demonstration, company president Rick Denzien made about five of the dozen descents from the fourth floor of the fire academy’s tower and said they were “basically like walking backward down the wall.” Read the scan
Making a World Class Product in the USA
R.A.W. never set out to be just a distributor. R.A.W. brought an Exit Traveler prototype to the United States so the product could be manufactured here. Distribution was only a step toward acquiring the product and developing it further.
The 1987 press calls R.A.W. the distributor, but that stage lasted only a very short time. R.A.W. then bought the patents, the production rights and the know-how, and began U.S. production in Ambler, Pa. All other distributors were tied to R.A.W., and no further production took place in the Netherlands. Rick made the key product changes, and Win VanBasten implemented them. (Rick Denzien, personal communication, October 27, 2026; the year is to be confirmed.)
Rick Denzien with the Exit Traveler, 1987.
Hundreds of demonstrations, many live on TV
The Exit Traveler was demonstrated hundreds of times, many of them live on television. Highlights include: (Rick Denzien, personal communication, October 27, 2026)
- Netherlands: a descent from the top floor of the Amsterdam Sonesta Hotel on national television, before a crowd of thousands, plus a James Bond-style scene he and Win wrote for the Dutch counterpart of “Late Night with David Letterman.”
- India: a demonstration from a 12-story hotel in Delhi.
- Australia: Beyond 2000 in Sydney, with host Maxine Gray, from the 4th floor of a hotel.
In his own words
My partner, Win and I demonstrated the product throughout the USA — mostly at invention and fire / rescue shows & expos. The unit was a one time use device but that made it very difficult and expensive to demonstrate. I asked Win to give this issue some thought. He came up with an ingenious solution so that we could demonstrate a single unit repeatedly while at trade shows.
Someone wrote a very nice article about our company in Newsweek Magazine, as a result, we got invitations to be on television shows all over the world.
In The Netherlands, Win and I […] a crowd of thousands as I prepared to descend from the top floor of the Amsterdam Sonesta Hotel on national television. We wrote a James Bond style scene for the “Late Night with David Letterman” of Holland. It was really cool to be “staff writers” for that one TV show. We filmed every segment and then the big moment when the “Star” also descended from the top floor, barely escaping [the] Russian spies [who] were about to whack him. It was a lot of fun.
After the show was “in the can”, Win flew back to the states and I went on to India [Delhi] where I demonstrated the product from a 12 story hotel building. I didn’t even pee my pants! Our product really worked.
From there, I was off to Sydney, Australia to appear on the high tech show “Beyond 2000”. The show’s host, Maxine Gray, and I descended from the 4th floor of a Sydney hotel room.
Reproduced with Rick Denzien’s permission, as his account. One phrase in the original is unclear and is shown as […]; bracketed words are small grammar fixes, and “[Delhi]” was added on Rick Denzien’s confirmation (personal communication, October 27, 2026). His page names his partner as Win VanBasten; see About.
More from Rick
Rick Denzien’s own site has his music, inventions and other work.