Misty Mountain Hop
Us- State your full name and birth sign. Him- Jason Robert Salisbury and I’m a Scorpio. Us- Right on, good one. Us- True or false? Him- True. Us- You were just in New Zealand surfing, traveling, backpacking and filming. What was that like? Him- Mind-blowing. It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to, also the coldest. There is so much to take in. It gets a bit overwhelming, some of the things you come across. But, you have to take it all in, its that good of place. Us- You have been experimenting with Chris Garrett on board designs, like finless and asymmetrical styles. How are you finding they are affecting your surfing? I mean, are the boards pushing you or the other way around? Him- Yah, the boards are definitely pushing me for sure. It’s just more fun jumping from board to board and seeing where it wants to go. Just to be hooting the whole time in the water, having zero expectation because you’re trying new things. Riding different crafts and being amazed with each of them. Us- You a Black Sabbath man? Him- No, not really. Us- You and your girlfriend Mia are quite the artistic power couple, have you ever collaborated on anything besides under the sheet artwork? Him- (chuckling) We’ve attempted a few things. Us- If anyone yelled out as they passed you by, “get a job longhair” what would you response be? Him- Why? Us- Solid. Us- Have you ever grabbed the planer and hacked on foam? Him- Nah. Us- Would you now? Him- Yah for sure, I’m psyched to hack away on a bit of foam. It may be the worst creation ever, but I’m frothing to shape. Us- It may be the best though? Him- Hmmmm. Us- You’re a soulful and spiritual cat in my book, and we’ve talked about Ayahuasca journeys in the past, when was the last time you had a mind bending exploration? Him- whoa, mind bending. I guess it would have to be the trip to New Zealand. But this was fueled by hard work and something completely different. Us- As one of the founding members of the Hair Force, you got any words of wisdom for the future Hair farmers of tomorrow? Him- Keep trimming those dead ends, natural oils keep the tangles away and wash less. Us- Rad wisdom, I feel bad now for getting a haircut the other day. Oh well, I still got the stash. There it is guys and dolls, straight from the source, Jason Robert Salisbury, the Scorpio. For real though Jason, his girlfriend Mia Taninaka, his brother Chris “Critter” Salisbury along with Rangi Ormond and Craig Allsop traveled through some heavy territories to get to where they wanted to be. Crossing rivers of icy glacier runoff and camping in the harshest of conditions. At one point it rained for the better part of 3 days and when the clouds broke, behind them were snow-covered mountains. Packing in only what they could each carry, 2 kilos of rice, lentils, oats, potatoes, a few moral boosting treats like lollypops, a surf board each (they did swap them around) and more rubber than a mobile sex shop. Navigating through the harshest of brush, only to find a left hand point that spilled out from a river mouth. How good is that? Constantly working to stay alive, temperatures dropping into freezing. They found a campsite from someone’s past adventure and posted up. Boiling water in pots left behind just to keep from freezing, more or less. Surfing during the day and having creative cook-offs at night. Doing whatever it took to keep their sprits up. They took wrong turns that led them through hellacious swamps. Then, having to make camp in the dark, only to regroup at first daylight and start all over again. They found wild boar tracks and followed them, as birds danced above their heads. Their tents leaked, they found old cots to sleep on next to the open flame they needed to survive. It’s almost too surreal to list. Look at the pictures and live through them. Oh yah in the midst of all this, Mia had her birthday out there and the boys made her a cake out of apples, dates, cinnamon, mixed nuts and dry milk mixed with brandy and Werther’s toffees. In five days of travel, they saw no one and loved every minute of it, well maybe not every minute… But the saga continues…they also hopped in a van and did a road trip. So stick around and see where that takes them… 
