A Conversation with Stephen Keimach

Interview July, 2025 with River Naile

Stephen Keimach is our August Maker of the Month.

Learn more about his Knot Tying Workshop here.

Stephen is originally from Berkeley, CA, spent 6 years in Seattle, and has been in Whitefish for 6 years now. He works outside in all seasons, ski instructing with DREAM in winters, and leading the trail crew for Flathead Area Mountain Bikers in summers. He started ParaPulls in 2021 when he noticed all his zippers were either broken, hard to see, or hard to grab. Since then he has been featured in the Flathead Beacon, has an Etsy shop with over 100 sales, and has been in 4 storefronts around the valley. He uses a combination of new and reclaimed materials from ground scores to retired parachutes.

Listen to our interview with Stephen! Shout out to volunteer member, River Naile, for producing and conducting our very first audio interview!

“The experience learning [new knots] I actually really enjoyed. I really don't like being caught in ruts. So the cool thing about tying these knots is that they’re public knowledge. I looked up a video on youtube of some guy who ties paracord into knots and followed his steps. I think it's pretty fun to learn by sight and figure it out, and then I can sort of redo that again and again, but it really clicks for me when I understand why I'm doing each over underpass…and so understanding the reason behind the knots and the theory behind how and why you put it in a circle this way but this side goes under and then it comes back and goes over and through and just how that final product ends up is just super interesting to me. ”

"Knot tying is super cool because I fidget all the time, and I cannot sit still. I work outside all day and when I get home my body is tired but my brain isn't. So I'll turn on some TV and start fiddling with the cord. It started off as gifts for friends as thank yous, and hitching rides up to the mountain I'd give one to whoever picked me up or I'd go out to the bars and trade a zipper pull for a beer.”

Learn to tie your very own Parapull at Stephen's Knot Tying Workshop.