If you ever find yourself navigating the bustling lots of Acrisure Stadium before a Steelers game or around Pitt’s campus on a Panthers Saturday, keep your eyes peeled for a bold, logo-covered truck known as the MTU — the Mobile Tailgating Unit. Anchored proudly among the Pittsburgh faithful, the MTU is far more than a vehicle; it’s a landmark. And behind that landmark is a man with a story that sounds more like a TV show pitch than real life. Enter John Dusch — lifelong Pittsburgher, high diving daredevil, Hollywood stuntman, and Tailgating Hall of Famer.

 John is the kind of guy you’d expect to see helping a stranger park or handing out a pierogi by the grill, not the kind you'd imagine diving from a 100-foot tower into a flaming pool or working on movie sets with Stephen King and Pauly Shore. But that’s exactly what makes John so unforgettable. He’s a real-life Colt Seavers, the soft-spoken everyman with a secret history of stunts, fire dives, and west coast movie magic — and he’s traded his high-dive ladder for a custom-built tailgate rig in black and gold.

 With deep roots in Pittsburgh and an unshakable love for the Steelers and Panthers, John has been the driving force (sometimes quite literally) behind one of the city's most enduring and beloved tailgates. The MTU is as much a part of Pittsburgh football culture as the Terrible Towel, and John is the heartbeat behind it. In the spirit of the Tailgating Hall of Fame, it’s time to shine the spotlight on this Steel City stuntman and let him tell the story in his own words.

 A Conversation with John Dusch
Interview conducted by Hans Steiniger

 So you were born and raised in the city of Pittsburgh and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh.  Tell me about John ... family dynamic, hobbies, interests, stuff the rest of the group may not know about you.

Ok, The name is John Dusch. Born and raised in Greenfield section of Pittsburgh, same neighborhood that my father, 1 of 15 children also grew up. I am 1 of 6. I graduated from Taylor Allderdice H.S. where I was on the Diving Team, went to State Championships all 4 years. I went on to letter in Diving all 4 years at The University of Pittsburgh. I do Tailgate for All Pitt Football games also. Same parking lot, same parking spot. After graduating from Pitt, I moved away to Williamsburg VA to start my High Diving career. I was a member of the U.S. High Diving Team. I did high dive/ stunt shows around the country for several years. I was one of the guys you see climb the 100’ ladder and dive into a small pool. I also did Fire Dives and got to do shows with Dolphins and Sea Lions. I also worked in Hollywood for a bit working on stunts, props and special effects.

 So what do you do now, assuming that your stunt man days are behind you?

I am the H.R. Director at BAW Plastics Inc. I have been with the company for around thirty years. I work with great people, one of which is my brother Frank who is one of the top sales people there. We make some really nice things. Mostly point of purchase displays for retail stores around the world. I used to be a volunteer assistant diving coach at Pitt until the coach (who was my coach while there) retired. I decided to retire from coaching at the same time.

 How did the MTU get started?

The formation of the original group started back in 1995. I actually had season tickets back in the early 1980’s. In 1995, it was me, and my then brother-in-law, tailgating in the lots at Three Rivers Stadium. There was a group of about six guys that would always be there with a barrel of beer in the back of a pickup truck, so we all just joined forces. Each year the tailgate grew. We had an old bread delivery truck for a while that was all painted with Steelers, Pirates and Penguins logos all over it. When that truck eventually died, I started looking for something new. A friend told me about an old ambulance he had on his property. It didn’t run and was in the middle of a bunch of trees. I bought the ambulance from him and had it towed to another friend's auto shop. It was in pretty bad shape, but he got it up and running again. At that point, I got it all cleaned up, painted it and started to get it ready for tailgating. Since it was an ambulance, I came up with the MTU which stands for Mobile Tailgating Unit. Each year more and more logos were put on and it became the “Beacon” where everybody knew where to go for our tailgate.

 In late August of 2013 (I think?), we had planned a back-to-back tailgate. The MTU was loaded up and ready to go. The tailgate was going to start with a Pirate game and then continue to the Steeler game. As we were driving through town, the brakes went straight to the floor…nothing. I quickly turned to avoid going right into the cars in front of me [I'm guessing stuntman training came in handy here]. The MTU finally came to a stop, as it went into a wall downtown. Nobody was injured, but the MTU was pretty much totaled. I did have friends come to the MTU before it was towed and unload all supplies so we could still put on the tailgates, and we did. After that we bought a brand new box truck and started from scratch. It is the newest MTU and continues to get better every year.

 I'd like to circle back to your time in stuntwork. It appears that you were involved in many facets of the business during an exciting time in Hollywood, as CGI was making its first appearance on film. What was it like?

As I said, most of the stunt work was done for live shows around the country. Living in Los Angeles and helping friends in Hollywood was awesome. There were a few of us that were getting into the “Business” at around the same time. Some getting into stunt work, some getting into production work for the movies. I was fortunate enough to work with my friends, mostly in props and doing some behind-the-scenes stuff. Started with the Leeza Gibbons show, then some commercials, television shows like Clueless, and I got to hang out on Charmed.

 I worked on a few movies like Encino Man. I actually spent some time with Pauly Shore in both Encino Man and when he filmed Son In Law. My favorite experience was working with Stephen King on The Shining mini-series. He was a fun guy. Steven Webber and Rebecca De Mornay were also great to work with. I was fortunate enough to work with a LOT of great actors while out there.

I did make the choice to move back to Pittsburgh when I was offered a job at BAW Plastics Incorporated. With a new career and family and of course the Steelers here in Pittsburgh, I have no regrets. I still have many friends that remained in the stunt and movie business, and they have been very successful. I usually have a few of them visit me for a Steelers Tailgate each year. Keeps things interesting...

From diving boards to downtown collisions, film sets to tailgate spreads, John Dusch has lived one of the most eclectic and exciting lives in the Tailgating Hall of Fame community. He’s a throwback to a time when men worked with their hands, dared to climb ladders others feared, and built communities around a shared love of football and fellowship. Whether he’s suiting up for game day or firing up the next MTU upgrade, John brings the same passion, humility, and grit that made him a success in every chapter of his remarkable life.

 He might never admit it, but to many of us, he’s our very own Fall Guy — not just taking the leap, but making it look easy.