A few years back, Korn frontman Jonathan Davis launched his own pet brand - and there's no prizes for guessing what it's called. But while Freak On A Leash might seem like a fun, throwaway side gig, it touches on something very close to Jonathan's heart: his love for animals.
"Freak On A Leash actually came from a conversation I was having with my girlfriend; we're huge animal lovers!" he enthuses. "I was thinking, ‘What if we could dress our dogs in shit that we would like?’ Like, we go in the pet store and it’s just generic dog collars, leashes and stuff like that, so we were wondering where the cool stuff was. It was a no-brainer calling it Freak On A Leash! We thought it’d be fun and cool to do something for dogs. We wanted to share our love for animals with the world and dress them in alternative clothes.”
It's a pretty out there idea, but the brand has expanded since it was first launched in 2022 and they've now teamed up with LA fashion designer Ashton Michael - who has worked with celebrities including Beyoncé, Lizzo and Davis himself - to create unique pet accessories and toys and raise money for a good cause.
Raising money for Pup Culture Rescue, a non-profit dog rescue based in Pasadena, California, the new line includes collars, bandanas, plush toys and leashes, among other products. Knowing how much metal stars love their pets - including Rob Halford's adoration of cats, Hammer caught up with Jonathan to find out more about his love for our furry friends.
So we guess you’re more of a dog guy than a cat guy?
“I’ve had cats. You know what the fuckin’ kicker is? I’m deathly allergic to dogs. We have this moyen poodle and he’s hypoallergenic, his name’s Dante and I love that dog more than anything in the world. This is the first time I’ve actually had a hypoallergenic dog; with [my old dog] Chaos, he’d make me wheeze so bad, I’d get asthma attacks… all this shit. But it was worth it, because I loved him.
But yeah, I had cats too and they could be just as bad. They were a little more tolerable because they’d be outside more, but if I touched my eyes I was fucked. All that said, we need ‘em – they make us live longer.”
What does it mean to be working with Ashton Michael?
“I love him to death, he’s my dear, dear friend. He started dressing me back in 2018. We met and I just loved his aesthetic, I loved what he does and thought it’d be really cool to collab with him. He’s added some touches of what he does to what we’re doing and that’s just so cool.
He’s done stuff like with my three eyebrow piercings, there’s three rings on all the collars… It was really fun to collaborate with him and see what he came up with. Plus he dresses everybody now – I see loads of people wearing his stuff, which is wonderful.”
It's a pretty big boast – ‘Oh, my dog is dressed by Ashton Michael’.
“They fuckin’ deserve it! More than anything, man. I honestly love and respect them more than humans – I think every pet owner can relate to that.”
And proceeds from the products will go to Pup Culture Rescue, right?
“I love rescues. There’s so many dogs that don’t have homes and it breaks my fucking heart. Even in my hometown, Bakersfield, there’s thousands of dogs in rescues there. It killed me, dude. There’s lots of these dogs having puppies, sick dogs and stuff like cats and even pigs too. Tonnes of animals that need homes and it’s so depressing to see them all sitting in cages, waiting to find a home. So if I can do anything to help these facilities take care of these dogs and not kill them, find them homes… I’ll do whatever I can.”
What pets do you have these days?
“In the house, we’ve got my dog, Dante, a bearded dragon called Lady and a fish called Mermaid. But we’ve had all kinds. I’ve raised three boys, so I’ve had every kind of animal that wouldn’t drive me too crazy or put me in a hospital bed. But yeah Dante is my boy, he’s black and brown, and he brings me so much joy. I wake up and he’s attached to me until I go to bed. He’ll come with me to go get coffee, we do everything together when I’m home."
There’s nothing like the love of a pet, right?
“Oh it’s a different kind of affection, bro. True, unconditional love. Every time I walk in the door, that little fucker is there to greet me and it’s exciting. You see the love in his eyes and he loves to just sit down on my chair or lie by my feet while I play videogames. You don’t get that kind of love from anything else like you do from a dog or cat. Cats are different; I had them when I was little and I loved them to death, they were outside cats but they’d come and hang out with me.”
It's a real badge of privilege if a cat comes to you without being bribed.
“They’re an integral part of life. You might have all this metal work, lots of doom and gloom, this heaviness and all this shit, but I also need some good-hearted, wholesome loving stuff too. It’s a break from all that shit and makes me forget about my problems. I look in that little dude’s eyes and shit doesn’t matter, ‘Let’s go for a walk buddy’.”
What was your favourite pet growing up?
“Pete the parakeet. I couldn’t really have many animals – the only things I wasn’t allergic to were the fish or bird. My earliest childhood memories are of spending time with my parakeet – we had him for years and y ars until he passed. I loved that bird. Other times, we’d try to get dogs but I’d get too allergic. I’d go see my grandparents and they’d have dogs, so I loved playing with them but could only do it so long before I’d get sick.”
What’s the next stage for Freak On A Leash?
“We’re looking to get into more pet stores and do more collaborations. Good, fun things! We’re letting it go and seeing how things turn out. I’d really like to see this thing blow up, we’ve got some of the products and dogs just look so, so good in them. It’s something we started to dress up dogs and cats, but I’m happy man.”
The Freak On A Leash x Ashton Michael collection is on-sale now. Visit the official website for more details.
