Danny Way The interview
At the age of thirty-three, Danny Way has broken many bones - but he’s probably broken just as many records. His list of feats includes some of the craziest stunts you’ll have ever seen. He made the highest, furthest and longest air on a skateboard. He jumped the Great Wall of China. He bomb-dropped out of a helicopter and off the giant Fender Stratocaster at the Hard Rock Hotel in Vegas. Pure madness? HUCK caught up with Danny to find out.
HUCK: What makes you want to push the limits of skateboarding the way you have over the years?
Danny Way: As long as I skateboard I do what I have to do to keep it interesting, to keep it fun and to keep it challenging. When it has been a lifetime commitment, as it has been for me, then you have to do it that way otherwise it really becomes a job. So I always ask myself what I can do to make it fun.
And ‘fun’ means going big?
All those big things are a sideshow to what I really do. It’s cool to do all that stuff. The mega-ramp, for example, created a whole new platter of possibilities. It’s just one ramp design and there are many more that I want to design and build that I haven’t yet. I’m in the process of working that out, but ultimately jumping off guitars and doing the big things with my board isn’t what I typically do when riding my skateboard. I skate street a lot, I ride pools and I hit the vert a lot. I skate the mega-ramp as well, but it’s definitely not the only thing I do.
The mega-ramp concept and all the other crazy things you did, are they all your ideas or does someone else create them and then come to you as the only guy who can actually pull them off?
No, the ideas and concepts of everything I do come from me. I must say that everything I do is done because of pure self-motivation, passion and creativity.
Is a special training regimen needed for those big stunts?
Yeah, sure, there’s no doubt that if you get yourself out there and expose yourself to that level of potential danger, you have to be prepared. Skateboarding your whole life means you have to develop different mindsets and understandings of how to take care of yourself. I do whatever I possibly can to be physically fit and to handle whatever abuse comes my way.
What kind of training does it require besides skateboarding?
I do all kinds of stuff. I’ve built a gym in the Plan B house so me and the team can workout the whole time. But I don’t want to bore everybody with what I do. I don’t preach about it, I just keep it to myself, but I can say that I’m on a pretty heavy training regimen. It’s a pretty serious one which helps me try to stay in the best shape possible. I won’t get into details, though.
Why not? Is it a secret?
It’s not a secret but the way I train is so not skateboarding. It’s not what skateboarders care about. The most exercises I do are designed to build strength through challenge of balance. I use balls or balance boards, things you typically wouldn’t be standing or balancing on when you’re weight lifting. Everything is designed to train my nerve system for a fast response time. That makes me react faster when I’m in a situation of danger. With weight training I focus on my core, which is my trunk, my fucking abs, my lower back and my legs. I train my core as it’s the foundation. It’s what prevents me from getting injured. In short: I do work out a lot, I work out like a motherfucker!
Do you also have a trainer?
Yes, his name is Paul Chek. He’s a good friend of mine and he’s my mentor. Chek uses a holistic approach for optimising my physical health but also my spiritual health. Metaphorically we’re trying to capture everything in one pill that I can swallow.
But if you take good care of your body and mind, isn’t it paradoxical to jump the Great Wall of China with a broken ankle?
My body is so important to me that I feel so much guilt sometimes when I actually destroy myself to a point where I have lifelong damage. But at the same time skateboarding is also my legacy. This is what I do. This is what gave me my place on the planet. My destiny is to do what I do no matter what I will walk away with in the end. As I said, my purpose on earth is riding a skateboard, so I take whatever the outcome is physically for granted. This is what I feel I should be doing and that’s why I’m always optimistic even though I sometimes take a few slams and get pretty beaten up. Often I just keep going and going until I self-destruct… but at the same time that’s kind of my personality. It’s who I am and I build my career on that. It’s my self-motivation.
What’s your main source of inspiration?
Waking up and challenging myself is an inspiration every day. Skateboarding is so miniscule compared to what’s important in life. It’s cool that I get to do it, it’s great! I love it, but at the end of the day life is so much bigger and there’s just so much more to it than just riding a skateboard.
Do you pray before pulling those massive tricks?
No, I don’t really pray but I do check in with myself before I do shit and I make sure that I’m not doing something for the wrong reasons. I’m not praying to God but I do try to calm myself down. It’s like a form of meditation for getting inner peace.
Does music help you as well?
I don’t really listen to specific music before I do my jumps. But music can be like drugs. I mean, there’s so much different music that creates such a different feeling in your body. It depends on what you’re looking for at what time. I spent a lot of time listening to bands like Slayer, old-school Metallica and Iron Maiden. I love that shit to death. I grew up listening to that and I love to skate to it. Nowadays I listen to more mellow stuff. As I already have so much energy I need mellow tunes to balance that out. Listening to Slayer would mean I would go ballistic. [Laughs]
Do you carry any amulets with you on big jumps?
No, not that often, but my father died a couple of years ago. When I jumped the Great Wall of China I had my father’s ashes in a jar in my pocket. I needed all the power that I could get. All the things that could possibly help me, I brought it in there. The Chinese Wall jump was one of the hardest things I did. I had a fractured ankle. Before that happened I thought it would be the easiest thing ever to do, but looking back in time I’m so thankful I hurt myself. It was another complication, which made accomplishing that so much more tremendous to me.
Rumour has it that Olympic sprint athletes don’t have sex for weeks before they have a competition. What about you?
That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard. I’m trying to get laid as much as I can before I go out for a record or so. Of course, only with my wife. [Laughs] But I don’t stop having sex for a month before I fucking do something… are you kidding me? [Laughs]
After the Chinese Wall jump and the Vegas Bomb Drop people want to know what’s next…
Good question… my bosses at DC are asking the same thing. I gave them my list of ideas and asked them to make it happen. What’s next is up to them.
What’s top of the list?
It’s so confidential that I can’t speak about it. It’s my secret weapon.
www.planbskateboarding.com
www.dcshoes.com
The original story appeared in Huck #007.
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