DNA for sale

A local company is set to take celebrity collections to a molecular level when it opens its doors next month.

Celebrity Gene extracts DNA from the hair of celebrities and sells it in the form of a vial necklace. The company’s chief scientific officer Ryan Lehto said he got the "crazy idea" to extract celebrity DNA and sell it after he successfully took a sample from a 20,000 year old hair sample.

He decided to try the process on hair from Elvis Presley.

"So I tried it and I got it, so then I thought ‘well hey maybe somebody would be interested in this’," Lehto said Thursday from his Thunder Bay office.

Lehto got the sample because Elvis’ barber used to sell clipping after the king’s haircuts. Other samples, such as Princess Diana, were tracked down after she sold clippings of her hair for a Humane Society auction.

While the company has had a bit of friction with celebrity estates, the process is legal.

"Because we bought the hair legally it’s ours," he said. "We’re just taking what was in there already."

Celebrity Gene already has 10 celebrities ready to auction at its launch party Apr. 2 at the Tonic Nightclub. Half of the money will go to charities championed by the celebrities. Other samples that will be in the auction include Mozart, Michael Jackson and Al Capone.

The company hopes to eventually add the DNA to other products as well, not just necklaces.

"Let’s say if you had Jimi Hendrix’s DNA. Instead of a signature on a guitar pick we could put his DNA right into the guitar pick," he said. "That’s where we’re going with this."

Although the idea is controversial, Lehto said the company hasn’t opened its doors yet and is already getting queries from all over the world.

PR firms in Los Angeles are asking to partner with them, and people from Indonesia to Japan are already trying to pre-order DNA.

"It’s been an overwhelming response actually."

Celebrity Gene also has plans to extract DNA for people’s loved ones and pets. People can also purchase the DNA of animals long extinct like sabre-tooth tigers.

Lehto, who got his master’s in molecular biology from Lakehead University, said the company wanted to set up shop in Thunder Bay because it has experts in the field already.

Celebrity Gene has hired three staff and there are plans to hire more once the company can find a more permanent home.

"I guess the sky’s the limit really. The response has been so overwhelming. People are calling and we’re telling them we’re not even open for business yet."