I recently read – okay, listened to – Mark Hoppus’ autobiography, Fahrenheit 182.
As the seminal band during my formative years, Blink 182’s influence was immeasurable. Girl problems? Blink sang about that. Issues in school? That too. Parents breaking up? Yep, a few times.
The book was decent – a bit tame, as I’m more partial to raucous, drug-fueled band biographies, like Anthony Kiedis’ Scar Tissue or Mötley Crüe’s The Dirt – but it did give some behind-the-scenes insights into the inner-workings of one of the most influential pop/punk outfits of all time.
For instance, there was the dueling front-men dynamic of Mark (let’s say Paul) and Tom Delonge (John), with preternatural drummer Travis Barker (Ringo? Maybe George) lurking in the background.
And the boys hailed from the Southern California, so they had that late nineties, early 2000s West Coast ethos coursing through their veins, and oozing through their music, which made them guilty by association to the surfing and skateboarding renaissance that was happening simultaneously across the region. They became associated with surfers and brands within the industry – their music was featured more than a few times in the likes of the iconic Taylor Steele movies.
One brand the band was periodically affiliated with was Hurley. Over the years, they were often seen sporting the Orange County, California surf brand’s t-shirts. And although Travis is more inclined to go shirtless, he recently resurrected that relationship with a collaborative collection.
So, we caught up with him to hear about the collection, his connection to surfing, and more. (*Travis is understandably a busy dude, so the chat was fairly short).
Hurley
Back in the day, I remember you and the other guys in Blink rocking Hurley quite a bit. Talk about your longstanding relationship with the brand.
Bob [Hurley] was a close friend. I watched him start Hurley. It was an exciting time.
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What’s your experience with surfing, if any?
I was a trash man in Laguna Beach and I would skim board and surf as much as I could. [I would go] every day. One of the best times of my life. I was never great, but I loved it. I still love it.
Nothing beats a good punk rock soundtrack with a solid surf movie. And you guys were featured in some of the most iconic surf films of all time. Why do you think punk and late nineties, early 2000s surfing went so well together?
I feel like punk rock was the soundtrack to great skateboarding and surfing. We both fueled each other. Skating and surfing fueled and inspired us and I think we did the same for skating and surfing.
Hurley
You joined the band a little after the boys were touring around with Taylor Steele and his movies. But did you ever have any experience playing live shows to a surf-y crowd?
Yeah, we had a lot of friends that were pro surfers and skaters. We ended up playing a lot of the movie premieres.
What’s next for you? And for Blink?
Everything. I ain’t stopping till I’m dead.
Check out the collection here.