He came to my local skatepark when I was a kid and shredded with us, at the time I was trying to buy a pair of Emericas from a friend Dan Pensyl. He overheard and blessed me with a pair of Donny Barleys, all black for the free! This dudes has always been a beast with mad style💪💪
@@mattmolloy636 no one cared about board feel back then and I skated them old shoes from back in the day and they preformed better than most shoes today because they were made for skateboarding not a chiller/skater.
So nostalgic. Love all the guys from the 90's and early 00's. That was when it wasn't so prestigious to be a skater. No IG, just magazines and videos. Miss those days for sure.
I agree skateboarding back then was less mainstream and more testosterone it was awesome I still love it but it’s becoming real fluffy and too much look at me ig clips
@@thebayharborbutcher9115 @SoCalGearGuy Shit, you guys are forgetting about the late 80s - early 90s. Late 90s - early 00s (paid/pro) skaters were BLESSED, compared to the few of us that were still skating back then! Skating barely had a pulse, and was constantly on the verge of flatlining. We were actually thinking that skating might cease to exist at any moment... Could you imagine if that happened? I can't.
Wow. So beautiful and what he said about ‘skateboarding isn’t something you can buy. You can’t fake it, you have to bleed for it. You have to earn it.’ So true.
@@559 circumstances don't matter for shit my man. Nyjah got what ge got, sure, but he out in the time and effort and the results from that speak for themselves. Barley's daughters don't care about skating. Nyjah cared. You wont find Riley Hawk on a vert ramp too often lol. Circumstances don't mean as much as you're implying here.
My dad passed away in 1999, he was in Vietnam just like LT. Don Barley was. This hit on so many levels w me. I need to go visit my father's grave, thank you Donnie Barley
He’s still the same dude I grew up watching in the toy machine days. So much love man and I’m glad to see you having a good life. Thanks for being a huge inspiration in my early life. 🙏🏾
When I was 14 I broke my leg, but just a copy of Welcome To Hell...my very first skate video. I got sooo damn hyped but couldn't skate. I studied that video for half my summer. When that cast came off, it was GOOOOO time!!! Oh and a couple years later I switch Barley'd a few handrails thanks to you. Thanks Donny wherever you are.
Yes those were the best days of skating just popping in the WTH video tape then going out and skate what ever we wanted to. Skateparks were very few back then so most of us were in the streets skating anything we could
A loooong time ago, he was at an Adio demo at Rain City Skatepark in Seattle. He was injured, so he just rolled around a little. For 10 minutes, I watched him do shuffle kickturns and weird reverts 5 feet below the coping on the vert ramp while the demo was going on in the main park. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Style is fucking EVERYTHING.
Oh man I miss Rain City 😭. I don't think I was there for that event, but remember seeing the footy of him cruising around and Mike V doing some crazy drop from behind the vert ramp.
Skateboarders of the world.........This is skateboarding 👆. Zero dope use, no trash talk, no disrespect, no negativity, no destroying property or challenging minimum wage security guards....Just living, peace, harmony, respect, and an incredible amount of shredding. This man should be the template for living.
I'm 33, and first started skating over 20+ years ago and have been a skate rat ever since. As much as I love the modern age of skateboarding, and the evolution of skateboarding skaters from the past like Donny Barley and soooooo many others are absolute legends and hope skaters like him are never forgotten. Thanks for doing this video. Haven't heard from him in so long.
I got to meet and hang out with Donny back in early 2000’s slam city jam, he brought me and my friend to his room and we drank out the mini bar, he and Satva were the coolest and most welcoming dudes ever. Thanks Donny, 20 years later it’s still a big memory for me.
Hell yeah 🤘🏻. He’s a real one like his pops, his welcome to hell part is my childhood. That’s what a real pro looks like. .this was so sick to watch. I am a 38 year old skateboarder from San Diego, and I still skate to this day. This was almost too nostalgic for me lol.
My favorite kind of skating here - the random obstacles, shitty ground, slappies and loose pants. All with such good style. It's all so natural. Barley has aged and has not lost the grit. I loved this.
Had the awesome privilege of getting to be apart of Messhalls camp this past April and getting to meet him and Jamie Thomas and see their bond in person was the sickest thing to me. And of course Donnys style is unlike any other.
This had me melt. Growing up looking u] to donny barley as well as many others. S0 sick his mom supported him towards skating. Iam fortunate my mom did the same. I was at love or fdr every wknd thanks to mom.
This was rad! Me being from Connecticut and being around the same age as Donny made this even more special for me. Always loved and admired Donny's skateboarding.
Thank you Donny for being one of the most influential skaters in my life. You have always rode hard and fast. Best style ever. Had many of your boards and met you once in Virginia riding the vert wall
I love this piece. I’m pretty sure Donny was my counselor at Woodward back in like ‘93. Maybe he was just a visiting pro. I can’t remember. The funny thing is at the time I had been skating with Panama Dan in Panama. Funny how small the skate world is. Both of these guys had a huge influence on me. Thank you skateboarding!
Welcome to Hell is the best skate video ever. He was one of three pros on the Toy Machine team back then. He's a huge part of skateboard history. That video changed skating and set the standards held to this day. Plus it was so raw.
One of my favorites! Definitely an influence on my skating. I had the honor to meet and skate with Donny at the Cowtown ramp. He was super cool and just annihilated the ramp. Stoked he’s still skating and doing well.
still my all time favorite skate part, donny in eastern exposure. i wore that tape out. nothing gets my hyped to go ride like watching those clips! thanks for the memories brotha!
east coast power house!!! what a legend! skater island after hour sessions with these guys were so awesome... we were bunch of groms yet they(donny and his pro buds) would cheer us on when we landed something. so much respect for donny🍻🙏🏻
One of the first street skaters that I saw as a kid on VHS. Unreal style. Truly buttery. Fitting that this video comes out now considering I landed my first decent Barley grind after failing to do it for over a decade.
The magazine and video days. Growing up in the 90's was the best shit ever, so crazy to see these same guys shredding at their age now. And getting to see the human side of them is wild too, guys I spent so much time watching on a skateboard when I was 13-14 years old. Thanks.
In the 90s Donny was a firecracker with style, speed and pop. His Toy Machine and Eastern Exposure parts are perfection. And today Donny is still humble, gracious, and respectful of everything skateboarding gave him. I love this guy. Gonna watch his old parts again now 🙏❤️
Someone told me that I skated like Donny barley and I said fuck yeah !!! He was always such a nice guy and ripping so hard when I did skate with him a few times at a skatepark in Los Angeles California . What a great guy , skater and an example of what we should become . Thanks Donny 🙏🏽🙏🏽
I was lucky enough to skate with Donny multiple times, and every time he was the best dude. As a young kid that meant the absolute world to me. Glad this came out and was a great watch. Cheers, Donny.
I used to try to emulate Donny’s push and how he set up for big ollies. Eastern exposure was highly influential to even us west coast skaters. Still so good and fun to watch. Baaaarrrleey!
I met Donny in Kansas City at a Zoo York demo just before Harold Hunter passed. He got out of the van and just ripped Pleasant Valley for like 2 hours straight. The event was crazy and I just remember pushing my way to the front right where he was setting up his runs, I yelled his name four or five times just to get a fist bump. One of my favorite skaters of all time.
oh gosh, how beautiful. I wish theasher could put out something like this for any pro skater of the past. so amazing. donny style was incredible and still is. so heartwarming.
This comment section is a testament to Donny's legendary status. Very happy to see him doing so well in this next season of life, and still shredding. He was such an influence on my skating and I've watched his Eastern Exposure part innumerable times, picking up something new every time. Glad to see Thrasher following up with the legends of our sport. Thanks for everything, Donny!
Years ago I met Donny at the Adrenaline house on Guerrero and Duboce (if I remember correctly the corner)in SF. Everyone there was bombing the hill towards 14th St. Halfway down Donny backside 180s over the entire center divide and bombs the rest switch. Legend.
I had many a'Barley boards once upon a time, it is so great to see you doing well myfriend, and the camp looks beautiful. much love for you and your camp🙌❤️🙌
Wished he would have spoken about his Fountain of Youth skate shop. Skate shop was awesome, great memories were made, still holding onto those days time was a bit simpler then. Eastern Glow, GIT BUCK, and Unsigned Hype are still my favorite body of skate clips
What a great watch. Growing up in eastern CT it was always sick to know him and BA came out of an area that pretty much no other pros do. Wish they touched on his brief moment on birdhouse in the early 00s or the shop he had in providence.
I met him at the owner of theory skateboardings party. he let me and this other kid skate on the owners ramp and he was genuinely really nice. it was that night that my step dad told me he is a pro. i will never forget that.
One of the best styles of skating all time. Love that he still shreds it up. I'm 40 years old and I skated in the late 90s and early 2000s when I was in my prime in Philly. Sucks getting old, but I still keep my board in my car at all times. All these years later, my favorite skaters from back in the day are still ripping it up on the board! They still inspire me to keep skating to this day. I fu#kin love skateboarding!!!
