Riding a Dart to fame
WATERLOO — The transformation takes about half an hour.
Jason Maslakow leans back in a barber chair and closes his eyes while friend Aaron Dorion gets to work at Waterloo’s Precision Hair Gallery Wednesday morning.
First, the outline of the Toronto Maple Leafs logo is traced on Maslakow’s face. Then the leaf covering his forehead, eyelids, nose and cheeks and is filled in with strokes of blue paint.
“Sorry, I forgot to bring my own makeup,” Maslakow says to his pal.
Dorion, a second generation hair stylist, laughs as he finishes the white portion of the logo before spraying Maslakow’s bushy beard in matching Bud blue paint.
“I bet that’s one thing you never thought you’d ever say,” replies the owner of the Erb St. West salon.
A few touchups to the Stanley Cup mohawk and the blue “Go Leafs Go” hair tattoo on the back of Maslakow’s head and the makeover is complete.
He is now Dart Guy, the world’s most famous hockey fan. At least, in the past week.
“I just can’t believe it,” he says. “I could have never imagined something like this would have blown up the way it did. I’m trying to take it all in stride.” The madness started this past Saturday. Maslakow — pronounced Mass-la-ko — hit the road with pals Colton Watts and Alex Farrow to catch his beloved Leafs against the Washington Capitals in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference quarter-final at the Verizon Center.
The 37-year-old from Sudbury, who has called Waterloo home for the past eight years, was a nervous wreck as he watched the see-saw affair from the stands. Midway through the match he slipped an unlit du Maurier Signature King Size cigarette in between his lips to ease the pain.
“The best way I can describe it is that it was my safety blanket,” he said. “I was stressing out a little bit and could have used a smoke. I just kind of popped one in there and waited for intermission.”
A television camera captured the image and — in a heartbeat — Dart Guy was born.
Maslakow’s mug spread across the Internet faster than an Auston Matthews slap shot. His painted profile has been a social media staple and appeared on a Canadian five dollar bill, atop Don Cherry’s body and in place of Mel Gibson’s face in a clip from the movie “Braveheart” among others.
His Twitter account ballooned from a few hundred followers to more than 11,000 and the media interview requests haven’t stopped rolling in.
Maslakow had already done three radio spots for stations in Barrie, Kingston and Toronto before his 9 a.m. meeting with Dorion. During the makeover he even pulled off an interview with CBC National via Skype and had three others lined up before Wednesday night’s Game 4 at the Air Canada Centre.
He has appeared on all the major sports networks and posed for pictures with former Leafs great Wendel Clark, Toronto Mayor John Tory and Blue Jays play-by-play man Buck Martinez. There is even talk of potential merchandizing opportunities.
Fellow Toronto fans toss cigarettes in Maslakow’s path when he passes by and often solicit selfies. The Leafs invited him to Game 3 as their guest. He attended Wednesday’s affair as Toronto radio DJ John Derringer’s plus one.
“For a lifelong Leafs fan to be able to go to playoff games at home is crazy and amazing,” said Maslakow. “The attention has been overwhelming and humbling. It has been non-stop but I am not complaining.”
Maslakow has been a Leafs fan since birth and the one-time goalie grew up idolizing Toronto netminders Allan Bester and Ed Belfour. He works at the Toyota plant in Cambridge but is off work recovering from foot surgery.
He has embraced the Dart Guy nickname and role as a pseudo mascot for the legions of passionate Leafs fans. And he realizes his ride will end one day.
“I know this is only a temporary thing,” he said. “I’m just going to enjoy every minute of it and when it’s over I’ll be Jason the former Dart Guy.”
But as long as the Maple Leafs keep going, he’ll keep painting blue and white on his face and dangling a dart from his mouth.