This is Johnny. He is a physiologist at The Baker Institute, working in the neuropharmacology laboratory where he specifically is interested in what the brain is doing. He also just got back from a world tour with his psych-rock band, Pretty City. And hosted a TV dating show last weekend.
Bro you don’t look like a scientist.
Have you seen Einstein? We’re like twins. But true, mostly everyone is surprised I am a scientist.
Most interesting thing you’ve learned?
If you take the kidney of a person with high blood pressure, and put it into a person with normal blood pressure, the recipient develops high blood pressure – and vice versa. Weird!
Have you discovered anything?
During my Masters degree, I showed the way scientists have been using a model of high blood pressure for the last 20 years, was hugely flawed. It had some wide repercussions in the scientific community – I love that even a student can shake things up.
You’ve toured America and now Europe twice – what kewl bandLYF things have ya got?
- I wrote a song based on the sound check from our bass player that ended up on a Cornetto commercial.
- we were invited to play SXSW a few years back, and again this year
- we record songs in the car during tours and stop for nuggets at every Macca’s we pass.
- were spun on Toronto’s biggest rock station (2 million listeners) during Canadian Music Week.
How did you get to host a dating show?
I entered a comp to host a show that Vice and Babble (language learning app) made called ‘Date The World’. You just needed to send a vid of the best German pick up line. I was chosen out of 50,000 entrants and they flew me to Berlin last weekend to film it. Clearly my pick up lines are better than I realise. Though I’m single.. ?
That is a crime. Your fashion on field, however, is not. You play the Community Cup with your sunnies on.
Community Cup is all about the shenanigans! I like to distract my lack of football skills with excellent on field fashion and style. If you can’t score actual goals you gotta score goals however you can.
