Johann Peries: An artist inspired by nature, Johann is a hair-designer by profession and adventurer by choice. He is the only Sri Lankan man to summit Mt Everest at 8,848m (29,029 feet) , which he achieved on 22 May 2018. His passion for the great outdoors and his creative soul has struck a perfect balance and is evident in his work, life and interests. Johann began his hair-designing career 32 years ago. Opting for originality over formulaic, he soon became popular as one of the best hair-designers in the country. Taking his innate flair in the beauty and fashion culture a step further, he re-established the local industry to meet international standards by introducing new concepts in bridal designs, attire conceptualizing and make-up. Today he is one of the most sought-after hair and beauty designers, and amongst the few Sri Lankans in the industry to be globally acclaimed.

Presently he runs four salons, two in Colombo and one in London. His career as an artist began long before his venture into the fashion industry; initially as a professional singer with Mary Anne Singers spanning over 20 years, as an actor in the local English theatre, and as a professional dancer competing and performing at local and international com- petitions. Johann’s interest in exploring the great outdoors was impressed upon him at a very young age by his father, when the duo regularly explored the Knuckles Mountain range in Sri Lanka. The passion thus instilled in him, drives him to conquer mountains both in Sri Lanka and around the globe. His first exploration out of Sri Lanka was the Thai-Burmese border, in 2005. As a more experienced mountaineer Johann successfully conquered Everest Base Camp in 2010, Island Peak in 2012, and Mount Kilimanjaro in 2014. He had to turn back just 400 metres short of the summit in 2016 due to a malfunction in the oxygen tank. In 2017 Johann, as part of his continuing training, climbed Mont Blanc in Switzerland. Johann decided to take on the challenge of returning to Mt Everest to complete the journey, which he completed on the 22nd May 2018, making him the first Sri Lankan male and the only hair stylist in the world, to attempt and summit Mt. Everest. Following the success of summiting Mt Everest, Johann and his climbing partner, Jayanthi Kuru Utumpala, have taken on the challenge of completing the seven summits around the world. In February 2018 they climbed Mt Aconcagua, Argentina.