Halcyon Pink
by Angel Cross

John Halcyon Styn (aka Halcyon Pink) is, by his own description, a "sexy-technolove-hippy". Sporting bright pink hair and an almost unshakable zest for life, he continues to blaze new trails in communication and alternative spirituality. On top of being a two-time webby winner, Halcyon runs and hosts a live, weekly hug. ( http://www.hugnation.com) An ordained minister as well as a sex activist, he is an unlikely spiritual leader. While so many people spend their time dealing in hate, he is a love dealer. His message is that people would rather hug you than hurt you.

On top of all this, Halcyon has started the PBC (Pink Broadcasting Company). PBC can be found on Veoh and shows both recordings of Hugnation and Life Student. Life Student is a video recording of Halcyon's daily journey. He records his thoughts, musings, and life lessons. With all these projects, you'd think that he had his hands full enough. Not so, Halcyon has recently purchased an RV for the launch of Hugmobile ( http://www.hugmobile.com) This RV will be taken up the west coast for live versions of the previously internet-bound Hugnation.

I sat down with Halcyon to ask him a few questions about what he does. The resulting conversation gave me an interesting look into his thought process.....

Q. "I guess the most common question you probably get asked is, what's with all the pink? Is there a special significance to that color?"

A. "There are several reasons why I have embraced the pink. 1, it is the color of hugs. It has all the energy of red without the aggression of red. Its the color we all are on the inside...."

"...Its one of the most vibrant colors..."

"...Pink is purple taken to the next level. If you are pink, you cannot fade into the background... you cannot be a wallflower when your hair is the color of a traffic cone."

Q. "What made you choose the internet as the way you would communicate with the world?"

A. "Well, I would say that the internet chose me. Originally, I was making an internet-zine called prehensile tales. Monkeys have a prehensile tale. I was working with the zine, and the company said "why don't you put your zine on the internet..."

"...As soon as I got the hang of it, I was like "i can communicate with the whole world" and everything changed from there... and i just got it..."

"...I knew that i had found my medium"

Q. "How did Hugnation come to be?"

A. "Originally I was living in a webcam house in San Diego. We had 24 cams. It was a bunch of burning man people..."

"...We could like throw a party in the house and we would have people participate remotely..."

"...We were experimenting with digital intimacy..."

"...Then we started playing with Hugnation and it resonated"

Q. "Does your personal life clash with your professional one or do they blend together."

A. "Well... I would say that there is very little that does not overlap, I've kinda made some choices in my life..."

"...All I need to do is live as loudly and vibrantly as I can and it turns into personal and professional results as well."

Q. "Your following really seems to be building... what to you attribute your success to?"

A. "Its interesting because I figure a huge part of that has to do with the passing of Grampa. And that's interesting because in the past few months we never had more than 20 people. This past week we had over 150. I think part of it is that "they'll appreciate me when I'm dead" going on..."

"..There's something very powerful about me carrying the torch of my Grampa and i think they're responding to that."

Q. "Do you have any plans for the future?"

A. "Well... I'm really a day by day kinda person. The things that I know I'm looking forward to are the Hugmobile mobile tour and everything that entails. So we've got the whole fixing up the RV..."

"... We're going to Vancouver and back and meeting people to do live Hugnation hugs..."

"... Right before Grampa passed we did a live Hugnation thing called Huggable..."

"... We're going to take these healing hug things and take it on the road..."

"...I've been considering a book that's a combination of my stuff and grampas stuff.... or a DVD."

"...The fact that I have an actual motor home out front with a mechanic working on it means that has legs."

Speaking with Halcyon was a real treat, and I know I'll be keeping up with his projects. His message, though simplistic, is one we often miss. Think about how often you are too busy to be courteous, too tired to show love, or too wrapped up in yourself to pay attention to the world around you. Wouldn't things be better if we all said something nice when we would normally say something snarky? Wouldn't life be better if we all spreak the pink?

If you want to know more about Halcyon Pink, or you just want to check out some of his work, you'll find a link list below.

• Halcyon Pink: http:// www.cockybastard.com
• Halcyon on Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/cockyvision
• Hugnation: http://www.hugnation.com
• Life Student: http://www.lifestudent.com
• Pink Broadcasting Company: http://www.pinkbroadcasting.com/
• Lust Monkey (Burning Man fun-stuffs): http://www.lustmonkey.com/
• HugMobile: http://www.hugmobile.com
• Prehensile Tales: http://www.prehensile.com/