The Hipster Behind Hipster Yoga Speaks, Believes in "Hipster Recovery"

Jon practices his third-eye gaze.

A while back we drew your attention to a rather amusing site called Hipster Yoga, where altered "hipster" yoga instructions are applied to photos of skinny-jeans-clad young people with ironic facial hair. Like so. We had the pleasure of speaking to the blogger behind the site (he also runs Hipster Kitty, which is exactly what you think it is). His name is Jon Raasch, and he considers himself a quarter hipster. Appropriately, he's from New York, and he currently lives in...Portland.

So, what made you start the blog?

Cat practices...something.

I actually started Hipster Kitty first, which gets more traffic. The Internet is inundated with cats! People send in their photos; I supply the caption. Along with actual hipster-cat photos, I get a lot of old ladies sending pictures of their cats just sitting around.

I started Yoga the day after. I'm a long-term fan of Hipster Runoff -- I love that site. I also like Look at This Fuckin Hipster.

Why Hipster Yoga?
Do you ever go to the gym and see a bunch of hipsters in their American Apparel gym outfits? I've always found that very funny. Yesterday I walked by this group of people playing croquet in the park, and they were all American Appareled-out! Hilarious.

Are you -- like everybody -- hoping for a book deal?
I'd consider it, but I can't imagine that these blog book deals really make the authors so much money. I'm a freelance web designer so I have lots of free time to do whatever I want. The sites aren't for profit -- they're just what I do for fun.

On to the important questions: Are you a hipster?
I'm about a quarter hipster. Usually when I'm writing these things I draw in some douchey hipster thing that I've thought of or seen in the past. The Portland hipster scene is the worst! I'm from New York, and at least the city has other people; Portland is where hipsters go to die or something.

Do you do yoga?
I've taken yoga classes and do it on the Wii Fit...

In your American Apparel wear?
I wear pajamas. I don't dress up, but I probably should get some Day-Glo headbands.

What's your favorite pose?
I really like the Triangle pose, but I don't know if that's the funniest. The Half-Lord of the Fishes has the funniest name.

What would you say to all the hipsters out there, self-professed or not?
There's that whole thing where no one wants to admit they're a hipster, like being a bad driver. I mock hipsters in a loving way. I believe in hipster recovery.