Donny Barley’s Gunning For It
Donny Barley is a legend of east coast skateboarding known for his speed, raw power and an unmistakeable style.
I’ve had the pleasure of getting to skate with Donny over the past couple of years. He is not slowing down at all. His energy on the session is unmatched; wizzing around a spot trying to figure it out and outdo himself constantly. His passion for everything he does is infectious and inspiring. I reached out to Donny to catch up on how he keeps the fire burning to keep pushing himself through the world on a skateboard.
How are ya?
I’m great. We came out to the zoo today cause the kids are on vacation and my wife’s in France, so I’m taking the time to spoil the kids and get them out doing a bunch of stuff while she’s away.
Are your daughters into skating at all?
Not so much. Which has been a blessing I guess, I know that sounds a little crazy. For me skating is this internal thing for me to escape away from life and plug into it without all the responsibility. For 10 minutes or 3 hours - it’s a benefit for my life. There has been times where I’ve been teaching skate camps and skate lessons where my kids have wanted to join because their friends are doing it. In those times my kids are all about it, they can drop in and carve corners. My youngest is 6 so she’s just learning how to tic-tac or whatever, but when their friends are in, they’re in and when they’re out they’re out.
Speaking of peers, you still seem to keep in touch with a bunch of the pro skateboarders that you went through your career with, how do you motivate each other to keep on skating?
Everyone is at different parts of their lives so I have different relationships with all the guys I keep up with. Some of the guys are more into it than others. I still need it and I still love it. I find myself sharing clips and stuff with a lot of my younger friends. I thrive off the clips I get from the younger guys I have in my life and then I want to share the clips that I get. Some of the older guys only get out once a year and some are full time. We all have our spurts for a little bit, that has been the case for me when my bodies been messed up and I needed to take the time to repair and get back into it later. Through the body ailments, I’ve discovered the depth of my love for skating cause when you can’t do it and are separated from it you feel your behavior shift and your balance shift, you realize how much it means to you.
Who are the young skaters that keep you hyped up?
Wow, there’s such a sea of talent. I get most of my exposure to rad skating from instagram cause it is at my finger tips. A lot of these guys I haven’t met yet or I’ve just met through Instagram by sending encouraging words. I don’t even know where to begin with names cause I’m getting hyped up by just about everybody out there that’s shining out there on Instagram. I do look at the Thrasher website sometimes but I stay really busy with life so I’m a little bit distant from some of the platforms. I’m not even the biggest advocate for instagram, I go through my ups and downs with it but it is a really good source and I’ve been using it to my advantage. It does suck me in at times and I have to switch it up and take breaks.
“I went to Brooklyn in late fall and did an event with KCDC. I just drove up by myself with a bunch of rainbow rails that we fabricated in my mini van.”
What was the last skate trip that you went on?
I went to Brooklyn in late fall and did an event with KCDC. I just drove up by myself with a bunch of rainbow rails that we fabricated in my mini van. We did this big event under the K bridge and a bunch of folk came out, it was so fun.
Is there more plans to do stuff like that?
Nothing concreted. I do have some travel plans coming up with Element, just some photoshoot stuff and some events. All the details are just starting to get sorted out, but I’m looking forward to it cause the weather is finally starting to get nice, we made it through the winter. It’s that time of year where you get the juices flowing. I gotta get into the gym and do some leg strengthening, knee stuff, ankle stuff to prep my body. I’m at that age where I know that I need to prepare myself and get my ligaments sturdy.
I’ve seen the way you get hyped up and I can imagine you sometimes try to push it beyond in a session.
I love that, I love getting lost in that, but it’s bitten me in the butt a few times as I age. Through the pain of biting off more than I can chew I know that I have to prepare a bit. I don’t like the gym, I don’t even like admitting it, it’s not fun but I know that it will hold me down for when that spark comes and I can sustain it. I can get lost in that, thinking that I’m 25 again and the truth is that I’ll be 50 in July. That number’s getting up there but I’m embracing getting older. I’m enjoying that I’m aging but I have to have a more mature discipline if I wanna keep it real and keep going.
I’ll swear every single time we skate you’re like “alright, I’m filming another video part”
I’m still in it man, I’m still gunning for Skate Of The Year, I’m gonna win the X-Games, I’m still gonna go film a part at the Berrics and there’s nothing wrong with that. I still freak over skate spots that I see, there’s still that little skate rat inside of me that just wants it all, I wanna do everything there is to do. I’m way too old to be taking crazy risks but in my heart and in my mind I still see myself doing all those things. I’m not actually sitting here claiming that I’m going to, but when you’re a skateboard fiend it stays with you. I love skating. That is one of the benefits of instagram where I am able to live vicariously through some of these young kids cause they’re just taking it so darn far.
How did it feel seeing your name back on an Element board?
It had been several years, but that’s not really super important to me. I did cherish it and felt special and honored by it. I’d had so many pro boards over the years, so all this stuff that is going on now is just like this bonus round, like the extra Sunday. Somebody sent you like a free steak in the mail or something (laughs). It’s really cool, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I don’t have a problem with where my position is in the world of skateboarding. I had an awesome time when I was at my peak and then I started having children and life changed a bit. It’s been a dope journey between all the ups and downs and everything in between. I wouldn’t change anything.
How has your board set up changed from back in the day till now.
It keeps changing. Man, I was riding a 7.75 last fall and then I went back up to an 8 and then an 8.25. I just set up a 9 inch cruiser board, big trucks and a cruiser shape. I’m looking forward to mashing around on that, I might have to put some riser pads on it cause I was riding it the other day and I got bucked off that thing. I put some 60mm Spitfires on that thing and got some wheelbite I wasn’t ready for.
What’s the next trick you’re trying to learn?
I think it’s more about doing tricks I haven’t done in a super long time. It’s like two full time jobs just to hold onto what I’ve got. This dude DM’d me the other day cause he was riding my new board and he did the most buttery kickflip backside tailslide, skating at MACBA. He was like “Yo, Barley I love riding your new board” and I was so jazzed, I’m still thinking about this kickflip backside tailslide and I honestly haven’t done a nice kickflip backside tailslide in so long I can’t even tell you, I can’t remember. A lot of the more technical skating has sorta escaped a bit because life changed. I’m still doing backside tails, but the flip in is comin’ soon. I don’t know if I’ll be filming it cause that’s just not what I’m doing it for any more. But at the same time, I’ll be driving home like “damnit, why didn’t I film that!”
What is one trick you think you’ll never lose. You’ll still have em at 90 years of age?
I’m still stoked that I can frontside 360 ollie but that one takes some agility, I’d like to be doing that at 60 but I don’t even know if I’ll still be here.
“I’m still in it man, I’m still gunning for Skate Of The Year, I’m gonna win the X-Games, I’m still gonna go film a part at the Berrics and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
What is your favorite feeling trick?
Probably a toss up between just the ollie and a quality frontside grind where you’re in the back seat just slashing on something raw and barking it. I know it sounds kind of simplistic but just floating a good ollie over something and pausing in the air and tweaking. Those two things come to mind and I do those a lot, wherever I’m at. When I go skate I just want to ride. I just want to have time on my board and not sit and fumble around all day. But then again, once I get warmed up, if I have time, I like to dig deeper.
