GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Patrick De Haan is one of the most recognizable face in fuel price analysis. You’ll often seem him as GasBuddy on FOX 17 weekly, providing gas price updates — and his passion for watching prices started right here in Grand Rapids.
"I think all of this really started with Junior Achievement back in eighth grade at Oakdale, a school that's closed now. Went to Grand Rapids Christian High. Always loved economics," De Haan said.
That love for economics continued through his time at Grand Valley State University, even as he was pursuing a career in law enforcement. It was the drive between Grand Rapids and Allendale that first made him take notice of how quickly prices could move.
"When I was at Grand Valley State, driving between Grand Rapids and Allendale, I'd go to class, it'd be like $1.28 and I'd come back out and be like $1.59 It's like, what the heck happened in five hours?" De Haan said.
He has since built an entire career around those numbers. What started as interviews in Grand Rapids has grown into a global media presence.
"I've been doing for the last 20 years, made it maybe not every day, because people want to know about the war. There's features in the GasBuddy app that we built with the developers to issue. Push notifications when prices spike in areas like Michigan," De Haan said.
GasBuddy's app service launched in 2000 with a mission to help users find the cheapest gas in their neighborhood. The company claims to have saved North American drivers more than $3 billion.
"We have a team, probably of about 50 to 75 people that are constantly working on the app, trying to make it better. Back in 2000, when the app started, was just a very small office. Well, I started in 2009 so I want to say I was the first US employee," De Haan said.
His office backgrounds have changed over the years, but his drive to follow the oil market has not.
"I guess it's my obsession. It's kind of the obsession of everyone that, you know, gas prices, again, they're up, they're down, they never hold still, and people always want to know what's happening," De Haan said.
Being a prominent face on this commodity does come with a downside. De Haan says he has received death threats simply for explaining the numbers.
"It's just, I'm analyzing a situation that's out of anyone's control, and when people see a face, reporting on something, they think that that person owns it," De Haan said.
With gas prices continuing to fluctuate because of world events, including the war with Iran, DeHaan plans to keep consumers looking for answers.
"Hopefully by the end of the summer, you know, the station could be 349 maybe higher if the situation worsens, maybe lower if things go better, but you know, this is one of those things, it's completely out of my control, you know, Iran and the US, and the President specifically have far more control over what I do, so that's the best guess," De Haan said.
De Haan moved out of my neighborhood many years ago but says he is often in town to visit family. He added he loves seeing all the progress being made in the city, from the soccer stadium and amphitheater.
