David Eichler

Many people call David "creative," which is just monkey talk for crazy and that's exactly how he likes it. Sired in New York and groomed in Los Angeles, David is the first to say his unique background makes him a "mutt."

After moving to Arizona in 2001 with his prime-mate Diane, David set banana sales records as the Top Marketing & Communications Ape at Ballet Arizona. Yes, it's true, toe shoes hurt like hell and no, David does not dance. Shedding those Nutcrackers, he then served as Top Communications Ape at the Arizona Office of Tourism. Poached by a local agency (barely living to tell about it) to head up their PR department, it slowly dawned on him that what he really wanted was to swing out on his own, but he needed a partner in crime. David did find that (business) partner - he and Sam founded  DSPR in 2005.

David was recognized in 2007 by Phoenix Business Journal's 40 under 40 for his professional accomplishments and community involvement - although some of us think his best qualification was that he hadn't turned 40 at that point.

He proudly serves on the Endowment Board for the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, and he also swings on the Board of Apes for Free Arts of Arizona - now in its 16th year, Free Arts introduces thousands of children from shelters and broken homes to all forms of the arts, creating new channels of expression, communication and self-esteem. Every month he hosts the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce's Valley Young Professionals monthly seminar series.

David's comments have been featured on E! Online, US Weekly, Forbes.com and MSNBC.com.  He has also penned guest columns for O'Dwyer's, PR News and Arizona Business Magazine.  He is an adjunct professor at Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and regularly guest lectures at Arizona State University and Mesa Community College.

Many more years ago than he'd like to admit, David graduated from Wesleyan University (the one in Connecticut), occasionally studying Film and Psychology.

He journeyed into the belly of the entertainment industry beast, the ape-training program at talent and literary powerhouse, Creative Artists Agency, where he peeled bananas for Kongs like Martin Scorsese, Sydney Pollack, Barry Levinson and Warren Beatty. Oh, the stories he can tell.

David spent the next epoch developing, producing, writing and marketing at habitats like Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Electronic Arts and Disney, making Murder at 1600, Broken Arrow and Free Willy 2.

He then hung ten on a banana board, surfing up the California coast to Palo Alto  where he took on marketing, public relations and branding first for a start-up hardware developer and then a public, enterprise-software company -- right when the tech bubble burst! Nice timing, Davey. Stranded in Dublin after 9/11, the decision to flee Silicon Valley and move to Phoenix was made.

When he isn't climbing the tree limbs looking for his next off-the-wall idea for our clients, David can be found chasing after his circus dogs, rooting for the Dodgers or snapping pictures. Jungle Boy has been known to zip around in a very yellow convertible -- what other color would you expect from the big banana? His dream vacation is a family reunion on an African Safari and if you listen closely he's probably humming his favorite song by U2, Original of the Species. Ask David about the times he has been attacked by a tiger, a spider monkey and a pot bellied pig since starting the Studio. Yes, we're serious.

david@davidandsampr.com