Interview to Omar Cai Salatissimo

In the last months we have discovered the youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKTDHJJxfX8wTj67qOEf29g/about of Omar Cai Salatissimo. In his channel (with many followers) he speaks about his passions, which go from biking to do it yourself. We have been knowing Omar and we understood his great passion for the mountains in all its forms; passion that he is able to spread also simply by a picture (see the one in this article during a trailrunning). Even if he is really reserved, which is nowadays something rare (especially in the virtual world), we were able to snatch a few words…

D: First of all we would like to know what you do when your are not busy with trekkings.

Omar: I started to work relatively early, from 20 years I have been an employee for a hydraulic company, a job which a still like a lot and that gives me satisfaction.

D: Can you explain to us what pushes you to be both on the one hand a trekking enthusiast and on the other hand a biker and trail runner? Which one of your passions was first born? Can you tell us how they were born and how you can continue to develop them together with your profession and being a father?

Omar: I have been going biking since I was 5, my father passed down the passion for biking and sport in general. I am a very lucky person, many times I still have the pleasure and honor to bike side by side with him, and he is an example for me and my children. Often when I was a child I was going with him also to find truffles in the woods, and from here I think my love for trekking, hiking, being in contact with nature was born. At the beginning of year 2000 I started to do Mountainbike and I fell in love immediately with it, then I started running and trailrunning, at the beginning because I had not enough time (a single bike training takes a minimum of 2 hours, while with running 40 minutes are already a good training), then trailrunning got me, and running inside the nature, woods, especially for long distances and many hours, have taught me a lot; it is a sport which teaches a lot about yourself, that helps you understand who you are and where you can push your boundaries if you have a good training and determination. It is not easy to take care of a family, work and do sport, but as for all the things in the world it needs commitment and sacrifice; my family is wonderful, obviously it is the most precious thing in the world to me, I have two splendid kids which I love and a great woman beside me, I train during the night with the headlamp (almost always) or in the morning before dawn, so that I do not take time to them, then I go back at the right time so that I can wake up the children and take them to school , because my wife starts really early in the morning. It is a great sacrifice, but I have ben taught that if you really want something you find the time for it, and when you reach the results you will be even more proud. And it is like that for me.

D: On your youtube channel there are videos of various hikings, can you explain to us what pushes you to shoot them, giving such useful information to mountain enthusiasts?

Omar: I love hiking, exploring, walking and sleeping outdoor, listening to the sound of nature. Moreover, I love taking pictures and videos and “working on them” at the computer, so that thanks to YouTube I could link all these things together. I mainly make the videos for myself, I know it seems selfish, but it is the truth. I make them for myself, they are unforgettable memories of my trekkings and adventures, often I rewatch them and I watch them with my children, and knowing that also many other people watch them and appreciate them, or write me to congratulate, all of this gives me a great pleasure…but I don’t like terms such as “youtuber” or the like…

D: Among the different trekkings that you did I think it is hard to choose one, but, try to tell us which one in particular strikes a chord with you? Can you tell us?

Omar: The 2 day trekking alone in the Foreste Casentinesi. It is hard to express the feeling of that weekend, those woods are really amazing, magical. In the morning, alone, in front of my tent there was a breath-taking sunrise. I swear, I was getting goose bumbs. Unforgettable.

D: The next question is about your next adventure. Tell us what you have in mind for the next months…

Omar: I have many ideas in mind, too many. And every day I get some new one, but I don’t want to tell them…I have never been a person that says something that maybe I will not do, for sure I won’t stop hiking, often with my family, enjoying it and playing the “game of life”…at the end of the day we are just big kids, even if we forget it.

D: Our last question is about Bivo. You have tried it, do you also suggest it to others? If yes, why?

Omar: After having tried Bivo many times, I find it to be a great product both for its taste and the weight/room it takes in the backpack. Surely I think the product can still be improved under some aspects, but it is an healthy product, made in Italy. I suggest people to try it.